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Alright, convince me why building is worth about $200-300 over a Dell

R

RalphTheCow

Golden Member
OK, I was all ready to buy a Dell 8400, with 1 GB DDR-II memory and 17" LCD (not sure which one, DVI or not) for about $900 after rebate. But now I understand that there will be no sales until March, and my daughters want a Sims 2 machine now.

So why would this machine be $300 better? It will be just slightly more expandable, with a standard power supply and case as opposed to Dell proprietary, and probably better cooling, but I don't tend to upgrade that much anyway. HD should be about comparable. Better MB adds about $70. Is memory equivalent? Will it run faster with the clean XP install with no junk? And finally, why does everyone here seem to build AMD? Is it really that much cheaper or faster?

Asus P5GD1 $130 http://www.asus.com/products/m...775/p5gd1/overview.htm
P4 3 GHz 540 $200 $330
17" LCD $270 $600
1GHZ DC DDR$140 $740
80 SATA HD $70 $810
Case $60 $870
NEC DVD-RW $70 $940 --Dell was DVD-ROM only
XP Home OEM $90 $1030
KB/Mouse $30 $1060
video card $130 $1190
 
DDR2 is a waste at this point with its penalty for high latencies..so dont worry about that....

Often times where you cant touch dell machines is there cost for OS.....They get it so much cheaper then we can and bundle it with software that amounts to about free. They also get the Intelk chips at quite a discount. So it is tough to beat them after the rebate.

Will you have a better machine...You could, but more likely you will have a better situation. You will have an actual OS disk and not necessarily a restore disk that bloats the system with worthless crap....You will have a clearer less hampered upgrade path....you will have a dvd-burner!!!!!!

In the end if you are somewhat savvy you don't need the downward spiraling Dell tech support anyways.....
 
There are Dell deals going on all the time. Every week new deals come out. Sure, the best deals are often at the end of a quarter, but not always. Click here.. Looks like that webpage hasn't been updated yet for this week, but it always has the best deals listed.

The Sims 2 doesn't need much. I run it on a 2.5 year old 2.4 GHz P4 with 384 MB RAM and a GF4 MX 420. Even the cheap $399 computers today can do that. Although I'd suggest a slightly better video card than what I have as it jumps a bit in some video cut scenes in The Sims 2.

I see no reason for you to go with the 8400. It is quite a bit more expensive than the 4700 without any current tangeble benefits.

Intel is due for a price cut at the end of January. You might do good to wait until then if you don't see a good deal in the next week. Dell usually passes Intel's cuts on to the customer within a day or two (usually in a form of a better processor for the same price).
Originally posted by: Duvie
In the end if you are somewhat savvy you don't need the downward spiraling Dell tech support anyways.....
Click to expand...
Dell desktop support is still ranked higher than any other PC (Apple is higher than Dell). Dell's laptop support however has spiraled down and is ranked near the back of the line.
 
The OS restore CD Dell gives you is not loaded with any crap, not even any drivers above what Windows has built in. Its just Windows. That's the reason I still recommend Dells to people who don't need anything really customized. That said, I'll still build my own desktops because I love 100% control of the components inside.
 
Half the fun to me is building, tweeking, overclocking, ect. If that sounds like a headace to you then by all means get the Dell. I have a friend that loves to game. He spends a ton of money on Alienwares computers that are already set up and ready to game. He never overclocks them, runs them for a year or too, then buys another one. To me this is a complete waste, but to him its a solid computer, with tech support, and a warranty.
 
NOt for our laptops at work...Pure bloat!!! I have no stand alone winxp pro disk....

Their tech supprt is still better then most but sucking more and more everyday as they outsource it to other countries...definitely right on the tech support for the laptops....
 
And finally, why does everyone here seem to build AMD? Is it really that much cheaper or faster?
Click to expand...
You know where to check on the prices, and I think I linked some Sims 2 benchmarks in your previous thread. But I'll try to dredge them up again if you like.

And then there's warranty... if you shop with your brain turned on, your self-built will have 3-year or longer warranties on all the core hardware: CPU/heatsink/fan, motherboard, hard drive, memory and power supply. And you will be at liberty to expand, upgrade, replace, swap and substitute stuff. What's a 3-year warranty add to the price of a Dell? And which is better, Dell's support on their somewhat-proprietary Happy Meal? computer, or our support for your cherry-picked, expandable, rebuildable 100%-standard system? 😉

On a practical note, if you're planning to build, then you might look at the Works Suite 2005 OEM DVD at MWave.com, which is looking like a hot buy for $45. Word 2002, the Works spreadsheet/database/calendar stuff, Money Standard 2005, Encarta Standard 2005, Streets and Trips, Picture It Photo Premium 10 and I think something else too. Word alone is worth more than $45, and the encyclopedia would be nice for your daughter to have too.
 
Here's the Sims2 benchie, along with others: AnandTech's review. Other factors being equivalent, Athlon64 3200+ > Intel P4 3.46 Extreme Edition, and for a small fraction of the price, too. Not that it would be the end of the world to have your 3GHz P4 either, but you begin to see why the gaming crowd is into A64's at the moment, when an $1100 P4 is getting mediocre results against sub-$200 A64's in gaming benchmarks.
 
NOt for our laptops at work...Pure bloat!!! I have no stand alone winxp pro disk....
Click to expand...
my 5150 bought in may had an install disk. heck, i wanted a restore disk so i could sell the laptop (didn't use it enought and needed money for server upgrade) but had to go through an actual reinstall.
 
Ours were older then May.....I have one from Jan 04, and I think we got the other one around Sept of 03.....If they have changed that then that is definitely great. Our one gateway one came with a winxp pro disk and separate office xp disk and that is the one I took....
 
Dell desktop support is still ranked higher than any other PC (Apple is higher than Dell). Dell's laptop support however has spiraled down and is ranked near the back of the line.
Click to expand...

I have never used the Desktop support, but i can tell you that the whole customer service / technical service replacement area was horrible.

It took me well over 2 hours to get a replacement through Dell, talking to 4 different people.

I would perfer any day of the week to pay a bit more at a retail store just to make it easier.

Although Newegg, ZZF,and Mwave all make it pretty easy as well.
 
Edward,
I have to disagree on this point. I think one of my first posts was Dell vs Build your own, and right now I am really excited to get my hands dirty again building my own. If you are looking for a PURE cost standpoint, Dell is going to win almost everytime hands down and I am sure there are some arguments here. However, when it comes to bringing in the fun factor of building your own, that part is extremely hard to beat.
 
So how does this look?: That ATI Radeon X700 really mopped up in a Sims 2 comparison, but I can't find it at the moment. I know it's overkill! I may have to try an AMD option also.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...ductCode=211211-200404
$29
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=240339
$112
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...sp?ProductCode=80803-1
$199
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...d=4599777&type=product
$30
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=320806
$200
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...affiliate=pricegrabber
$79
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...sPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT
$250
http://xpcgear.com/sonydwd22a.html
$67
http://www.24ezmall.com/index....n=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3575
$57
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...s&CMP=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r
$78

This is the total - including shipping and taxes
TOTAL $1093 ($1098 if harddrive in NJ)

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=35-126-003&depa=0

Here is the Antec Case from Bestbuy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...d=6852943&type=product
 
I think you can build an equivelant or better computer than what you can order from Dell if you shop smart. You can consistently save around $300 or more by building one yourself. I just built a friend a desktop and saved him around $400 rather than buying from a similarly equipped Dell.
 
I think you've got the links messed up. You linked to two processors and no motherboard.

Everything else looks good, but i would recomend you go with an AMD processor. Faster in sims2, they run cooler, and are less expensive for similar performance. You have nothing to loose with getting one.
 
Everyone else has put there 2 cents in so I figure I may as well.
Reasons to build.
1) on a High Performance (not high priced) Custom and O/C is the only way try to tweak the cheap parts that Dell, HP, and GetaWay use Forget it. I buy 3 to 5 new Dells a year for my division at work (we have to purchase Corprate thing) My $1320.00 Pc listed below Kills a $2300.00 Dell.

2) You are getting the same or in most cases a better warrentee for free 3 years on all major parts life on others.

3) You can pick the individual parts that you would like and eveyones is different look around there are very few Identical PC's but a loot of High performance ones.

4) the fun of building and tweaking.

5) For most of us it's a hobby.

If you just want to have a pc simply to use Buy it from Dell, Heck I ordered one for my Mom. She loves it!
If you want to play and learn about PC's start reading post, checking out prices. I took about 2 months to figure out what I wanted before ordering. Talk about a kid in the candy store!!
Just do what you are comfortable with.
 
If you have Scottish genes like me, working the sales and rebates is part of the fun of rolling your own. For example, right now on Newegg, you can get an 80gb Hitachi for 10. less than your price worksheet, Win 2k can be had for $65 and will work just as well as XP with far less hassle, etc. etc.
.bh.
 
Dell uses garbage motherboards ... Case closed.
Click to expand...

They're Intel, aren't they? Nothing fancy but reliable. Garbage was one I returned to a local computer store before I bought my Dell 4100 in 2000 - a Boardrunner!
 
right now on Newegg, you can get an 80gb Hitachi for 10. less than your price worksheet, Win 2k can be had for $65 and will work just as well as XP with far less hassle, etc. etc.
Click to expand...

Sounds good, but links, Zepper? I sure didn't see those. Why is Win2K less hassle?
 
I would definitey be changing to athalon 64 if I were in the market for a new pc now, price is right and definitely the best performer nowadays. I would definitely think you could get a very nice system for 8-900 for sure as well as the full warranty that mech was talking about.
 
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