Thinking about buying a Dell, can anyone help

[Legendaryswan]

I am considering buying a new computer, as the one I have I bought in 1999.  It is old and busted and I have had to change harddrives twice now.

The thing is I would be considered a retard when it comes to specifications and was wondering if anyone has some knowledge with Dell computers.  Basically I want it to be able to multitask like there is no tomorrow.  I am sick to death of waiting half an hour for things to load.

I was looking at one Dell in particular and was hoping someone could tell me if they believe this will be sufficiant to run iTunes, Word, Powerpoint, a few internet windows, windows explorer, and MSN all at the same time and switch between them quite regularly as I am doing Uni.  As well as play a few basic games.

The specs are as follows:
Processor:        Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-920 Processor (2.66GHz, 8MB)
OS:                   Pre-Loaded Genuine Windows Vista(R) Home Premium 64 bit OEM Version
Memory:           4GB (4X1GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz Memory
Hard Drive:       500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive with Native Command Queuing
Video Card:      512MB ATI(R) Radeon(TM) HD 4850

Alternately you can view the website:
http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-studioxps-435mt?c=au&cs=audhs1&l=en&s=dhs

The model is the - Dell Studio XPS Desktop (S210114AU)

Cheers for any help

[x2543]

This is a good computer! The specs are awesome, it only now comes down to how much the whole computer package will actually cost.

[Method_One]

More RAM will make a difference in the speed. If you can afford it, max out the RAM. You want as much RAM as the motherboard can handle.

[Legendaryswan]

I can afford this one ... just haha.  It will cost me $2000 AUD but that comes with a 21.5" monitor and some other stuff as well.

Yeh I would like to max out the RAM but I am not sure if Dell has an option to upgrade that or if they are pre-built.

[Method_One]

They do.
 
On the link you posted click on "customize" and them click on "memory". That computer will support 8 gigs fo an extra 400 dollars.

[Legendaryswan]

Thats good.  If I do have 8GB of RAM will this be more than enough to support all those programs I listed and swap back and forth with ease?

[x2543]

Given what you're doing, 4gb should be plenty but I'd go max out the ram if I could since you're getting a 64bit version of windows which can handle more than 4gb of ram!

It's like you are driving  Bugatti Veyron but you only drive as though you had  a Honda Accord. Or a 450 watt power supply when you really only need 300 watt power supply.

You really don't need the extra, but it wouldn't hurt to have it .... ultimately just factor in the end cost to see if you really want it or whether you want to save that money for something else that'll make you happy

[mroilfield]

I agree with x2543 about the 4 gigs being plenty to do what you want. Keep in mind that ram is easy to upgrade and if you don't absolutely need it right now you can always get it later and you might actually get it cheaper later.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

The RAM is perfectly fine. Unless you are going to be running multiple high-resource programs (like running two games, compressing files and burning DVDs all at once).

Just note, for over 4GB or RAM, you will need a 64-bit operating system.

[Legendaryswan]

Thanks to everyone who answered back, x2543, mroilfield, carbon, and method1 its been a big help.