Dell system are usually not upgradable unless you get the expensive ones.Any thing around $600 most likely can't even upgrade a video card ( happened in my friend's machine )why? there's no AGP slot for it,for that money,everything is pretty much on board. Dell is also slow in shipping (6-10 days for process & ship ) But if you email and complaint about it hard enough,Dell will sometimes send you freebies like mine case.I got a Microsoft wireless keyboard & mouse $69.99,and a Dell all in one printer 922 $89.99 for free including shipping because I screamed at Dell in all the email ( about 16 or more email ) for taking so long to ship my 21 inches LCD ( 7 days just to sit in the warehouse before shipping it out ) If you're not going to upgrade the computer in a year or so and willing to wait for 2 or sometimes 3 weeks to receive it then Dell would be a good choice,they have bad customer service though. Try to say the computer is for some one's birthday and ask it to be shipped within 5 days,Dell will promise you but I can garantee Dell won't be able to ship it on time then you do some screaming,Dell may offer you something free to compensate you.