Dell Vostro 460- upgradeable enough to be worth it?

[NTMBK]

I'm in the UK, and considering buying a Dell Vostro 460 MT. Specifically the cheapest model which comes with an i5, and then upgrading it a bit myself (to dodge the heft Dell costs for simple upgrades). Anyone got experience with this model? Any recommendations, or reasons I should avoid it?

My main worry is that power supply- its only rated at 350W, so top end graphics cards are out of the question. I don't play high end games though, so I'm happy with a mid to low end card. (Not to mention that I can upgrade again in two or three years' time, when the mid to low end will be the equal of todays' high end, but in a lower power bracket ).

I'm mainly looking for a reliable machine that won't break, and will keep me happy for many years to come. I'm not the least bit interested in OCing, so the locked i5-2400 is fine with me.

 

[kevinsbane]

I'm in the UK, and considering buying a Dell Vostro 460 MT. Specifically the cheapest model which comes with an i5, and then upgrading it a bit myself (to dodge the heft Dell costs for simple upgrades). Anyone got experience with this model? Any recommendations, or reasons I should avoid it?

My main worry is that power supply- its only rated at 350W, so top end graphics cards are out of the question. I don't play high end games though, so I'm happy with a mid to low end card. (Not to mention that I can upgrade again in two or three years' time, when the mid to low end will be the equal of todays' high end, but in a lower power bracket ).

I'm mainly looking for a reliable machine that won't break, and will keep me happy for many years to come. I'm not the least bit interested in OCing, so the locked i5-2400 is fine with me.

The Vostro 460 is not a bad entry level machine. We're running a number of i7 2600 in the office, with either HD 5670 or HD 5750. Be aware that the power supply only has a single PCIe 6pin connector. 4 slots for ram, so that's decent. It also runs SATA3 6gbps ports, so you're good there. The HD 77xx series is a good fit, and I'd have gone for that if they were available a year ago.

 

[Zap]

Be aware that the power supply only has a single PCIe 6pin connector.

That's very sufficient.

The HD 77xx series is a good fit

My thoughts exactly.

Buy a Vostro 460 with the Core i5, but otherwise lowest specs. Upgrade RAM (and storage if needed) yourself. Toss in a 7700 series graphics card. You should then be able to play any game on the market with prudent adjustments in image quality - as in don't expect to run everything at super high resolutions in ultra high quality, but it should be very playable at medium settings.

 

[gmaster456]

We just bought a 460 to replace an old optiplex and are very pleased. Will definitely be getting more.

 

[kevinsbane]

The other thing to mention is that it has no 4pin molex connectors, but that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Puppies04]

I'm in the UK, and considering buying a Dell Vostro 460 MT. Specifically the cheapest model which comes with an i5, and then upgrading it a bit myself (to dodge the heft Dell costs for simple upgrades). Anyone got experience with this model? Any recommendations, or reasons I should avoid it?

My main worry is that power supply- its only rated at 350W, so top end graphics cards are out of the question. I don't play high end games though, so I'm happy with a mid to low end card. (Not to mention that I can upgrade again in two or three years' time, when the mid to low end will be the equal of todays' high end, but in a lower power bracket ).

I'm mainly looking for a reliable machine that won't break, and will keep me happy for many years to come. I'm not the least bit interested in OCing, so the locked i5-2400 is fine with me.

OP can you give me a rough idea of the spec of the pc you are looing at and the price (a link will be fine). By the time you have upgraded it then you might just be better off building one yourself, I will price up the parts for you.

 

[kevinsbane]

From what I see, budget = 300 GBP;

i5 2400 + H67
Case + Power supply
500 GB HDD
DVD
Keyboard/mouse
Windows 7 Home Premium
Basic office? (the Vostro comes with office starter)

If what you spec out can beat that, for <300 GBP, then you're golden.

 

[DominionSeraph]

OP can you give me a rough idea of the spec of the pc you are looing at and the price (a link will be fine). By the time you have upgraded it then you might just be better off building one yourself, I will price up the parts for you.

You're not going to beat a Dell with a legal copy of Windows.

 

[ponyo]

I've been thrilled with mine. I purchased one last July for $500. It came with i5-2500, 4gb ram, Dell U2211H 21.5"W IPS monitor, 320gb hard drive, and Win7 Home Premium 64bit. I added additional 8gb ram and HD 5670 video card last year. Yesterday, I added Crucial 64gb M4 SSD. Like you I'm happy with low end video card since I'm not much of a gamer and I like older games. My system is fast and responsive and does everything I need at budget price. I thought about building my own but why? It was cheaper and easier for me to buy the Vostro 460. It's a nicely built solid machine.

 

[Puppies04]

You're not going to beat a Dell with a legal copy of Windows.

Really depends what GPU he wants to fit, which is what I am trying to find out. If he has to replace the PSU aswell I think I could get close and we all know it is better to have a custom rig with hand picked parts tailored to what you require.

 

[NTMBK]

@Puppies I'd be very happy with a 77** series GPU, in all honesty. My gaming needs aren't all that demanding.

If you can beat the price of the Dell significantly with an upgrade to 8GB RAM and a 77** GPU, I'd consider it. But if the price is the same or more, then I'd go with the Dell for sheer ease and peace of mind. I'm interested to see what you come up with though

EDIT: When I say "upgrade to 8GB RAM", I mean an upgrade done by me with reasonably priced RAM

EDIT 2: Also note that the Dell price on the site doesn't include VAT- so you'll need to add 20% on to the price.

 

[airdata]

You can stick something like a 4670 in it without needing an upgraded power supply.

 

[Saint Nick]

Good stuff in this thread...going to pick up a Vostro here in a few weeks (the i5). Going to drop in an SSD and a memory upgrade, as well as use my own copy of Windows 7 Professional 64.

Going to be used for a recording studio

 

[kevinsbane]

Good stuff in this thread...going to pick up a Vostro here in a few weeks (the i5). Going to drop in an SSD and a memory upgrade, as well as use my own copy of Windows 7 Professional 64.

Going to be used for a recording studio

Hm. You're throwing away much of the price advantage of the Dell Vostro by using your own copy of Win7 Pro. By changing so much out, you will may lose Dell tech support as well. At that point it may be worth it just to build your own.

You can stick something like a 4670 in it without needing an upgraded power supply.

You can stick anything up to 7770, or even a 6850 into a Vostro 460. I wouldn't go up to the 6850 myself, but the 77xx series is basically the perfect fit for a Vostro 460.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Man, all this talk about Dells makes me want to buy one. But I've always been a "build-it-yourself"-type person. Don't think I've ever bought a prebuilt to use for myself. (Although I have purchased them on extremely good deals, and resold them, or at least tried to.)

 

[gmaster456]

Man, all this talk about Dells makes me want to buy one. But I've always been a "build-it-yourself"-type person. Don't think I've ever bought a prebuilt to use for myself. (Although I have purchased them on extremely good deals, and resold them, or at least tried to.)

Their business/enterprise line is very impressive. As is their support. Their consumer lineup and support is pretty mediocre.

 

[Zap]

Man, all this talk about Dells makes me want to buy one. But I've always been a "build-it-yourself"-type person. Don't think I've ever bought a prebuilt to use for myself.

It all depends on the price. Dell often has sales, and it is really tough to beat their pricing on the lower end, especially with the operating system. Also, sometimes you can even bundle a monitor for super cheap.

 

[Saint Nick]

Hm. You're throwing away much of the price advantage of the Dell Vostro by using your own copy of Win7 Pro. By changing so much out, you will may lose Dell tech support as well. At that point it may be worth it just to build your own.

That's funny. A few others in another thread I made about it said I should build a PC I guess at this point it doesn't even matter. I'll probably just buy whatever is cheap and roll with it. Anything is better than what I have now anyways.

Also, why am I "throwing away much of the price advantage (what does that even mean)"? My Windows 7 Pro 64-bit was provided free to me by my college. Not sure how that will directly effect my purchase or not. Nor do I care about Dell tech support. I would never call "Bob" or "Lacey" in India. I know how to work a computer.

 

[gmaster456]

That's funny. A few others in another thread I made about it said I should build a PC I guess at this point it doesn't even matter. I'll probably just buy whatever is cheap and roll with it. Anything is better than what I have now anyways.

Also, why am I "throwing away much of the price advantage (what does that even mean)"? My Windows 7 Pro 64-bit was provided free to me by my college. Not sure how that will directly effect my purchase or not. Nor do I care about Dell tech support. I would never call "Bob" or "Lacey" in India. I know how to work a computer.

Their business support line is not outsourced to india. And if your buying this for a business, tech support is essential. Say a motherboard died and you needed that machine back up and running pronto, you call their support and you can have the part and/or someone to install it for you in a matter of hours. Makes things much easier and you can be off doing other things and not have to worry about it. That being said, if your buying one for a home machine, ignore what I said. Support is much less important.

 

[kevinsbane]

That's funny. A few others in another thread I made about it said I should build a PC I guess at this point it doesn't even matter. I'll probably just buy whatever is cheap and roll with it. Anything is better than what I have now anyways.

Also, why am I "throwing away much of the price advantage (what does that even mean)"? My Windows 7 Pro 64-bit was provided free to me by my college. Not sure how that will directly effect my purchase or not. Nor do I care about Dell tech support. I would never call "Bob" or "Lacey" in India. I know how to work a computer.

If your Win7Pro is free, it just makes building your own a better idea, especially if you don't need support.

The idea behind getting a low-end Dell is generally that it's cheaper to do so than building your own computer, since Dell doesn't need to add the ~$100 for an OEM copy of Windows. But if you already have windows, you can put the money that you would have needed for windows and either save it entirely or buy better parts with it.

Given a total budget of ~$400, you would need to spend ~$100 on an OS, leaving you $300 for parts. If you have an OS already (through whatever source) then you have all $400 for parts. For a Dell, Win7 would have cost them, oh, let's say $50. So they'd give you $350 worth of parts. But that doesn't change even if you install your own OS.

 

[ponyo]

Man, all this talk about Dells makes me want to buy one. But I've always been a "build-it-yourself"-type person. Don't think I've ever bought a prebuilt to use for myself. (Although I have purchased them on extremely good deals, and resold them, or at least tried to.)

Vostro is Dell's business line. My Vostro came with free 1yr next day onsite parts and labor support. The Optiplex 460 I purchased a year ago came with 3 yrs free next day onsite parts and labor. I paid little over $300 for that computer. To get that kind of warranty on $300 computer is unreal and can't be matched. I priced out the components prior to purchase and there was simply no way I could build for cheaper or even come close. I built plenty of machines starting from Duron 700 pencil mark overclock days til my last Opteron 144 build. Even back during Athlon T-Bird and Thoroughbred days it was cheaper to buy Dell Intel special but I built because I enjoyed overclocking and messing with the hardware. But computers now are ridiculously fast so I don't see the point. Dell spends millions on R&D to choose the right case design, fan, etc. Their machines are quiet, cool, and nicely built. Bloatware is pretty much non-existent or minimal on their business line. If your goal is cheap, don't bother building. You can't match Dell's price or quality. You have to cut lot of corners too in order to match Dell and I can pretty much guarantee your machine won't be as quiet or nice looking as Dell. Plus time is money. Computers are nothing more than appliances now.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Vostro is Dell's business line.

If your goal is cheap, don't bother building. You can't match Dell's price or quality. You have to cut lot of corners too in order to match Dell and I can pretty much guarantee your machine won't be as quiet or nice looking as Dell.

"Dell Quality"? Kind of an oxymoron, don't you think? Reliability, sure. But features? No way.

Last Dell Vostro I messed with (purchased off of CL), fixed it up for my BIL, before I built him his current all-custom gaming rig, had a cheap-as-shit G31 micro-ATX mobo, with so few features it was pathetic. It did have a couple of SATA ports, and PCI-E x16 slot, but that was about all it had.

 

[ponyo]

"Dell Quality"? Kind of an oxymoron, don't you think? Reliability, sure. But features? No way.

Last Dell Vostro I messed with (purchased off of CL), fixed it up for my BIL, before I built him his current all-custom gaming rig, had a cheap-as-shit G31 micro-ATX mobo, with so few features it was pathetic. It did have a couple of SATA ports, and PCI-E x16 slot, but that was about all it had.

And you think your $300 budget built machine will be any better? I'll take Dell's quiet and efficient case and power supply over some cheap Newegg case and overrated PS. Same with motherboard. Sure you can't overclock and features are limited but all the important input/output and connections are present and nicely presented. Like I said, Dell spends millions on R&D to design and test their machines. Custom anything is more expensive and it's no different when it comes to computers.

 

[VirtualLarry]

And you think your $300 budget built machine will be any better?

Sure it will. For starters, it will overclock, which tilts the price/performance equation strongly in the direction of the custom system.

Dells are cheap, I'll give them that. But I mean that both ways. They use cheap parts too.

 

[Fire&Blood]

DELL (or any other OEM for that matter) does not allow you to reach the price/performance intersection, though you may get reasonably close with cheap computers or a hot deal online. Any attempt to customize the computer and increase value is blocked off and you are funneled into expensive setups. I ordered a DELL myself just last week (returned it since it was DOA)and while it's relatively cheap, it was still a far cry from the value you get by building your own. Rest assured their power supplies will never get an editor choice award nor will they drive the parts you want because they want you to go into higher price brackets for that.

Their stuff may meet your needs out of the box, cool if it does but for advanced users populating these forums, generally DELL is a poor option to go with. I used to work in a car parts warehouse so I've gotten a glimpse of "real prices". If there is one OEM that can obtain SSD's at the lowest price possible, it's DELL but consumers don't get that option with DELL until a hefty premium is charged for it. Not even newegg gets deals that DELL does yet pricing a PC on newegg vs the deals DELL offers tells the whole story.