My statement is not that they NEED it, but it's cheap enough that it might as well be added.
OEMs are rip offs. The Mx brand is basically so comapnies can put the word Geforce4 on their comptuer spec list and charge GF4 prices. Meanwhile it lacks the shaders of a actual Geforce4, uses SDRAM & really has nothing to do with the GF4 line. Carmack said it himself.
It's just brand-name PCs are such a money-flusher-down-the-toilet. Let's integrate everything or use every single "Value part" we can find. I use the value high end stuff. ^_^ You'll probably be paying just as much for the low end card from a vendor as you would purchasing the high-end card yourself.
A Dell PC w/ 2.4Ghz P4, 256MB RDRAM, a 30GB hard drive w/ onboard sound/video. $1600. That is no where near worth it.
Bah... I don't like them...
Maybe I am stating this more in the fashion of I would not buy them because you can get much better for not a whole lot more.
Of course it would be a waste if it never went to use.
Okay, I guess my suggestion has no play on the inept, joe schmoe, doesn't know his cd-rom from his coffee coaster type of user...
~klinky