Best Dell or E-Machines package for under $400?

[mshan]

The secretary in my dad's office wants to get a desktop computer package complete for under $400 (wants at least a 15 in. LCD display and ideally, package includes a printer, too).

Dell 3000 series (how do the Dell 2400 series compare?) seems nice and I've read some good things about the e-machines packages (just worried about multiple rebates typically totally about $300).

What would be the best configuration (cpu type and speed, etc.) for her to get? I believe it would be used for web surfing, word processing, etc.

 

[imported_2x]

For web surfing/word processing get the cheapest dell. The basic 2400 dimension can be had for $438 with a 15 inch lcd and printer. Under $400 you will have to find a coupon but that may be tough for such a low budget Dell. Comes with a Celeron, speed at this point won't matter.

 

[mshan]

Would there be any perceptible difference (essentially, non-gaming computer) between plain old Celeron, Celeron D, and Pentium 4?

Also, can I pretty much compare speed of each to get an idea of relative performance.

 

[imported_2x]

There will be little difference for a non gaming web surfing and word/excel machine. Almost non noticeable and for someone who is not a heavy computer user, definitely not noticeable. In any case, going with a Celeron D and definitely a Pentium 4 will throw you out of your budget. The $400 budget mandates you get a regular Celeron basically if you want to stick to the $400.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

What are you guys talking about? A 15" LCD alone is at least $150--and that's if you buy the cheapest piece of junk available. Does Dell even make a sub-$400 package?

A complete system with LCD display is going to run at least $500, and probably more like $600 or $700.

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

if you wait for a good deal, you can definately get a celeron D. My friend got a emachines 2.66 celeron D with 512ram and 60gig hard drive from bestbuy last thanksgiving for $160, i think it was. Then he bought a 17in lcd for $150 or so. That puts you only at $310. Of course, not every day is thanksgiving but i would think that prices have gone down in half a year enough to be able to get a celly D under 400

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: unfalliblekrutch
if you wait for a good deal, you can definately get a celeron D. My friend got a emachines 2.66 celeron D with 512ram and 60gig hard drive from bestbuy last thanksgiving for $160, i think it was. Then he bought a 17in lcd for $150 or so. That puts you only at $310. Of course, not every day is thanksgiving but i would think that prices have gone down in half a year enough to be able to get a celly D under 400

Best Buy doesn't sell PCs for less than $400 or so. Their LCDs start at about $200. You must be mistaken.

 

[imported_2x]

$438 for a Dimension 2400 with a 15 inch LCD. What is so hard to understand? I stated $438, cheapest Dell with a 15 inch LCD. 38 dollars over but thats the best he/she can hope for.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

The cheapest system Dell offers is as follows:

Celeron "Northwood" 2.4 GHz
256 MB RAM
integrated video
80GB hard disk
CD burner
modem, LAN, etc.
keyboard, mouse, speakers
17" CRT display
(an inkjet printer is automatically bundled with system, but you have to buy a USB cable to use it)
$423.98 after tax & shipping

The same model with a 15" LCD instead of the 17" CRT:
$571.68 after tax & shipping

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: 2x
$438 for a Dimension 2400 with a 15 inch LCD. What is so hard to understand? I stated $438, cheapest Dell with a 15 inch LCD. 38 dollars over but thats the best he/she can hope for.

Plus about $130 for tax and shipping = $571.68.

 

[CreativeTom]

Originally posted by: hurtstotalktoyou

Originally posted by: 2x
$438 for a Dimension 2400 with a 15 inch LCD. What is so hard to understand? I stated $438, cheapest Dell with a 15 inch LCD. 38 dollars over but thats the best he/she can hope for.

Plus about $130 for tax and shipping = $571.68.

That is strange I just went online to Dell's site and was able to pull up a system for $399 with shipping and tax included. I also put in one upgrade on the base model for a 15" LCD, so I am not sure what all you people are talking about especially this $571 nonsense above ouch!!!!!

 

[Tostada]

Yeah, Dell charges $100 for shipping on their $300 systems (which come with a CRT). You can go through Dell Small Business and get a $300 system with free shipping, but I don't think that has a monitor at all.

Originally posted by: mshan
Would there be any perceptible difference (essentially, non-gaming computer) between plain old Celeron, Celeron D, and Pentium 4?

Also, can I pretty much compare speed of each to get an idea of relative performance.

What are you talking about? You're acting as though you actually have a choice. Good luck finding a system at all with a decent LCD for $400. You don't need to concern yourself with what CPU is best. This is disposable computer territory. This is "take what you can get."

Unless someone pulls some great coupon out of their ass, dude, you're gettin' an eBay.

 

[CreativeTom]

Originally posted by: Tostada
Yeah, Dell charges $100 for shipping on their $300 systems (which come with a CRT). You can go through Dell Small Business and get a $300 system with free shipping, but I don't think that has a monitor at all.

Originally posted by: mshan
Would there be any perceptible difference (essentially, non-gaming computer) between plain old Celeron, Celeron D, and Pentium 4?

Also, can I pretty much compare speed of each to get an idea of relative performance.

What are you talking about? You're acting as though you actually have a choice. Good luck finding a system at all with a decent LCD for $400. You don't need to concern yourself with what CPU is best. This is disposable computer territory. This is "take what you can get."

Unless someone pulls some great coupon out of their ass, dude, you're gettin' an eBay.

UGHHHH

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: CreativeTom
That is strange I just went online to Dell's site and was able to pull up a system for $399 with shipping and tax included. I also put in one upgrade on the base model for a 15" LCD, so I am not sure what all you people are talking about especially this $571 nonsense above ouch!!!!!

I don't know what to say except that you're wrong. That $438 model you mentioned ships for $100, and the tax is about $30. That brings the price up to $571.

If you think I'm mistaken, give me a link.

 

[imported_2x]

Ok, Dimension 3000 is $429. Shipping is $0 through small business. Tax is subject to state/situation. Myself I pay no tax for one reason or another. They probably do. In general, I'll estimate state tax at 5% (mid range figure). So total is $450 (assuming 5%) and that includes a LCD, no printer however, but a Celeron D. So it can be as low as $429, or as high as whatever a high tax state might tack on. But it can be had for $429 if you are fortunate. Realistically probably $450-475 but it should not be over $550 if you are prudent. But sub $400 is probably impossible for a new computer.

SYSTEM COMPONENTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dimension 3000 - Celeron Qty 1
Intel® Celeron® D Processor 320 (2.40 GHz, 533 FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Unit Price $499.00

Special offer View Details
- $70.00

Catalog Number: 4
Sort
Module Description Product Code Sku Id
Processor Intel® Celeron® D Processor 320 (2.40 GHz, 533 FSB) WC245B [221-6679] 1
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition WHXP [412-0721][412-0688][463-2282][420-4834][420-4927] 11
Memory 256MB DDR SDRAM at 400MHz 256M4 [311-4257] 3
Keyboard Dell Quietkey® Keyboard QK [310-1582] 4
Monitors FREE UPGRADE FROM CRT! 15 in (15.0 in viewable) E153FP Flat Panel Display E153FPP [463-5947] 5
Video Card Integrated Intel® Extreme Graphics 2 IV [320-2870] 6
Internal Hard Drives 40GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive 40 [340-9049] 8
Floppy Drive and Memory Keys No Floppy Drive Included NFD [340-8688] 10
Mouse Dell 2-button scroll mouse SM [310-1871] 12
Network Interface Integrated 10/100 Ethernet IN [430-0412] 13
Modem No Modem Requested N [313-3607] 14
Document Management Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0 AAREAD [412-0705] 15
CD or DVD Drives -- Read, Write and Store Data FREE! Single Drive: 48x CD-RW Drive P48CDRW [463-2724] 16
Sound Card Integrated Audio IS [313-2758] 17
Speakers No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system) N [313-4514] 18
Productivity Software Pre-Installed No Productivity Suite - Corel WordPerfect® word processor only COREL [412-0701] 22
Security Software Pre Installed No Security Subscription NS2 [412-0754] 25
Digital Music Musicmatch® Jukebox Basic MMBASE [412-0741] 27
Digital Photography Photo Album? SE Basic DPS [412-0744] 28
Dell Service & Support Plans No Extended On-site Service, Support or Ltd Warranty B90DNO [412-0360][900-3961][902-7980][981-9287][960-6480] 29
Onsite System Setup No Onsite System Setup NOINSTL [900-9987] 32
Internet Access Services No ISP requested NISP [412-0148][412-0670] 37
Mail-In Rebate None NONE [463-1832] 81
Miscellaneous Dimension 3000 Celeron D30MIN [463-7395] 82
Financial Software Pre-Installed No QuickBooks package selected- Includes limited use trial QBSSP [420-5136] 83
Purchase Intent Purchase is not intended for resale. NOT4SEL [462-4506] 138
TOTAL: $429.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Total Price
Sub-total $429.00

Shipping & Handling $0.00

Tax $21.44

Total Price $450.44

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

For that model, I do get a lower price than $571, but it's still not the one you give.

Subtotal: $429.00
Shipping & handling: $79.00
Tax: $32.87
Total price: $540.87

 

[imported_2x]

I guess we'll just have to live with the fact that Dell config's change depending on who you are.

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: 2x
Tax is subject to state/situation. Myself I pay no tax for one reason or another. They probably do. In general, I'll estimate state tax at 5% (mid range figure).

Does the IRS know about that?

 

[imported_2x]

Originally posted by: Tostada

Originally posted by: 2x
Tax is subject to state/situation. Myself I pay no tax for one reason or another. They probably do. In general, I'll estimate state tax at 5% (mid range figure).

Does the IRS know about that?

Hehe - it's all legit. I don't have the stomach for those kind of things

 

[Macro2]

Too bad Dell doesn't sell AMD. Those Dell Celerons are forking dogs...
If they sold AMD I'd be tempted to buy Dell. They just have their head too far up Intels a...

 

[CreativeTom]

Originally posted by: hurtstotalktoyou

Originally posted by: CreativeTom
That is strange I just went online to Dell's site and was able to pull up a system for $399 with shipping and tax included. I also put in one upgrade on the base model for a 15" LCD, so I am not sure what all you people are talking about especially this $571 nonsense above ouch!!!!!

I don't know what to say except that you're wrong. That $438 model you mentioned ships for $100, and the tax is about $30. That brings the price up to $571.

If you think I'm mistaken, give me a link.

No i am not wrong!!! here is your link if you want to see the price I came up with please add the LCD 15" and there you go have fun!!!!

Dell

 

[CreativeTom]

It seems as though everyone is mistaken here that you must choose the Dimension 3000....I think that is where everyone's mistake lies.

Text

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: CreativeTom
It seems as though everyone is mistaken here that you must choose the Dimension 3000....I think that is where everyone's mistake lies.

Text

Hmm... The price gets even lower, this time, to $508.99. But it's still nowhere near the $400 mark.

How are you getting free tax and shipping? My shipping is $79 and tax is $31.

 

[CreativeTom]

Originally posted by: hurtstotalktoyou

Originally posted by: CreativeTom
It seems as though everyone is mistaken here that you must choose the Dimension 3000....I think that is where everyone's mistake lies.

Text

Hmm... The price gets even lower, this time, to $508.99. But it's still nowhere near the $400 mark.

How are you getting free tax and shipping? My shipping is $79 and tax is $31.

Oh my people.....it's dell.com here not FVCKING rocket science. The reason your shipping is coming to $79 is because you are choosing to have it shipped next day air (actually Dell is probably deciding that for you)change your shipping option to ground ship 3-5 days, that does not cost you anything for that......and where I am, I do not get charged any tax.....I don't think all states do get charged but maybe yours does which then makes it $430 dollars with a 15" LCD without the monitor it's about $325 or so. I have seen better deals on Dell before if you keep an eye out for their coupons and you can get a bunch and stack 'em

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: CreativeTom
Oh my people.....it's dell.com here not FVCKING rocket science. The reason your shipping is coming to $79 is because you are choosing to have it shipped next day air (actually Dell is probably deciding that for you)change your shipping option to ground ship 3-5 days, that does not cost you anything for that......and where I am, I do not get charged any tax.....I don't think all states do get charged but maybe yours does which then makes it $430 dollars with a 15" LCD without the monitor it's about $325 or so. I have seen better deals on Dell before if you keep an eye out for their coupons and you can get a bunch and stack 'em

Okay, okay. I stand corrected.

It's still over-budget, though, in some areas. $425.05. And you don't get speakers or even a modem.