dullard
Elite Member
The lab/office needs a few computers. Price is of primary concern; however I will give suggested specs which I don't want to go much under. The trouble of finding good values is that any order must go through the university system. That means rebates can not be filled out, a great deal on a Dell small business computer will not help me as I will be charged the education price regardless (much much higher), it must be prebuilt, etc.
Who can find the best computers for a low price?
[*]Dell, HP, Compaq, and IBM education section computers are all ok.
[*]A B&M computer is also ok (with preference given to non E-Machine computers) but must come from Best Buy, Office Max, Office Depot, or Walmart as there aren't any other B&M stores around.
[*]I don't mind adding a part or two myself (such as memory) but the computer must be operational when it is shipped to me.
[*]Software expense should be kept to a minimum as a campus agreement lets me install ANY Microsoft software for a mandatory $130 per computer lifetime charge (even if the computer never runs any Microsoft software in its life).
[*]Computers will be in use for at least 6 years WITHOUT any further upgrade. Thus forget upgrade potential.
[*]Warranty over 1 year is not important. Neither are fancy colors, optical drives other than a CD, expensive keyboards, etc.
[*]Include price with and without shipping.
[*]Ordering will likely be on Monday/Tuesday of next week (I won't answer questions on the weekend)
Office computer (replaces K6-266 and P2-450/P3-450 computers; 96-128 MB memory)
[*]Suggested spec: 3000+ Barton, 2.8 GHz P4, 2800+ Athlon 64; 512 MB memory; 40 GB HD; integrated video; ethernet. Slight deviations from that will be acceptable given that there are large savings for going less or slight costs for going more.
[*]Uses: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, MathCad, minimal Solid Works, but mostly home written Fortran and VB.
Workstation computer (replaces dual 1.7 GHz Xeon, 1 GB memory, ATI Fire GL2)
[*]Suggested spec: dual Opteron 246, dual Xeon 3.0 GHz (benchmarks show these are ~ equivalent for my use); 1.5 GB to 2.0 GB memory; 120 GB HD; video card? (might keep GL2, but low cost home cards may be faster now)
[*]Slight deviations are accepted in specs if cost is justified.
[*]Uses: scientific calculations (home written as well as commercial).
Laptop (replaces 800 MHz P3 laptop, 128 MB memory)
[*]Suggested spec: Pentium M 1.5 GHz, 14" SXGA, 384 MB memory. Slight deviations are fine.
[*]Uses: light use same as office computer. Will travel internationally so battery life is very important as well as low heat to save users legs from 3rd degree burns.
Who can find the best computers for a low price?
[*]Dell, HP, Compaq, and IBM education section computers are all ok.
[*]A B&M computer is also ok (with preference given to non E-Machine computers) but must come from Best Buy, Office Max, Office Depot, or Walmart as there aren't any other B&M stores around.
[*]I don't mind adding a part or two myself (such as memory) but the computer must be operational when it is shipped to me.
[*]Software expense should be kept to a minimum as a campus agreement lets me install ANY Microsoft software for a mandatory $130 per computer lifetime charge (even if the computer never runs any Microsoft software in its life).
[*]Computers will be in use for at least 6 years WITHOUT any further upgrade. Thus forget upgrade potential.
[*]Warranty over 1 year is not important. Neither are fancy colors, optical drives other than a CD, expensive keyboards, etc.
[*]Include price with and without shipping.
[*]Ordering will likely be on Monday/Tuesday of next week (I won't answer questions on the weekend)
Office computer (replaces K6-266 and P2-450/P3-450 computers; 96-128 MB memory)
[*]Suggested spec: 3000+ Barton, 2.8 GHz P4, 2800+ Athlon 64; 512 MB memory; 40 GB HD; integrated video; ethernet. Slight deviations from that will be acceptable given that there are large savings for going less or slight costs for going more.
[*]Uses: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, MathCad, minimal Solid Works, but mostly home written Fortran and VB.
Workstation computer (replaces dual 1.7 GHz Xeon, 1 GB memory, ATI Fire GL2)
[*]Suggested spec: dual Opteron 246, dual Xeon 3.0 GHz (benchmarks show these are ~ equivalent for my use); 1.5 GB to 2.0 GB memory; 120 GB HD; video card? (might keep GL2, but low cost home cards may be faster now)
[*]Slight deviations are accepted in specs if cost is justified.
[*]Uses: scientific calculations (home written as well as commercial).
Laptop (replaces 800 MHz P3 laptop, 128 MB memory)
[*]Suggested spec: Pentium M 1.5 GHz, 14" SXGA, 384 MB memory. Slight deviations are fine.
[*]Uses: light use same as office computer. Will travel internationally so battery life is very important as well as low heat to save users legs from 3rd degree burns.
