What do all these numbers mean? Help me Choose which computer to buy

[jacquesdutronc]

I hope this is the right place for my query, i really need some help. I'm looking at a couple of computers, both of which are similar prices, but i really have no idea what all the specs mean. Primarily, I will be using whichever one i get to play games such as spore and other strategy games, probably not too many shooters, but my main focus is primarily on computer speed and graphics performance. I'm wondering which one of these (if either) will best suit my fairly modest needs.

OPTION 1

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16G
GA EP45DS3 R Motherboard
2G DDR II Kingston PC6400
2x 500G HDD 32m Cache SATA II HDD (1.5TB)
896Mb Geforce GTX 260 PCI Express
TI Deluxe Case with 550W Power
Logitech Ps II Keyboard and Ps II Wheel Mouse
22” Benq T221W or Viewsonic LCD Monitor
20 Speed DVD RW LG SATA
Built in Dual Gigabit Lan,8 Channel Audio 12x USB2.0 & Firewire Raid
USB TV card with remote
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1

OPTION 2

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 CPU 3.16G
GA EP45DS3 Motherboard
2G DDR II Ram PC6400 800 Mhz
2 x 500G HDD WD 16mb Cache SATA II
iCute Case 220mm side fan & Cooler Master Extreme 550W power
512Mb Geforce 9800GT PCI Express
Logitech Ps II Keyboard and Ps II optical mouse
22" Benq T221W wide screen Monitor DVI
Pioneer 20 x DVD-/+ RW Dual Layer
Built in Gigabit Lan, 8 Channel Audio, USB 2.0,Firewire
Windows Vista Home premium SP1

thanks heaps for your help guys, i really need it.

JD

[KarmaKiller]

Option one is the better rig. But I would go ahead and order a different PSU if you can. That's a generic PSU that's coming with the tower, and that's the one piece of hardware you don't want to skimp on.

[jacquesdutronc]

cheers mate. i dont really know anything about putting pcs together my self, but ill have a chat to the guy at the shop and see what he can do about it. would you recommend getting anything else, such as more RAM? or will the rest be alright?

[KarmaKiller]

Well, that depends really. If he's putting Vista 64bit on, then I would go for another 2gigs of RAM, it helps a lot in Vista.
Other then the PSU issues, I think you'd be good.