I Know, I know ...

[LavrentiBeria]

... I should never recommend that someone purchase a prebuilt computer but, given the circumstances, just $600 to spend and not very much more, I suggested that someone consider a currently available Dell with P4 2.8 Ghz CPU, 256 MB DDR 400, 80 GB HDD, CD-RW Drive, 17" Monitor, XP Pro and a few other do-dads. If someone can explain how I might build something comparable for him for this price, I'd appreciate their listing the components for me. Frankly, I haven't built anything new here since the Intel 850E boards were made available so I'm a little rusty when it comes to markets. I'd appreciate your comments.

LavrentiBeria

 

[EULA]

You will burn in the fires of hell for your wrongdoing!

 

[amdguy]

u're doden

 

[airfoil]

You need to read this.

 

[ts3433]

Check JPeyton's guide at the top of this forum.

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

dells are ok for some people, who don't know anything about computers. the value system buyers guide published by anandtech is probly you're best bet. if a dell was a better value they would reccomend it

 

[mechBgon]

The classic why-not-a-Dell thread returns

1. Pay attention to the warranty. How long will the PC be kept? Make sure the Dell warranty option that you choose covers most of that timeframe (ouch, the price of a Dell just jumped, didn't it?). A "built" computer is going to leave you all your options open if it does need repair. An out-of-warranty Dell? Maybe, maybe not. And if you shop wisely, you will have 3-year to 5-year to lifetime warranties on the core components of your built rig, too. Antec, Seagate, Crucial/Kingston, Asus.
2. Remember, you can get good deals on computer components too. Watch the Hot Deals forum.
   
3. How is the Dell's performance and upgradability, compared to a built system? Factors:
   • No AGP slot on some of their "deals". With Longhorn a couple years off, the ability to have DX 9.0 acceleration will be strongly desirable. For a built system, no problem: drop in a leftover Radeon 9600 Pro or something. Dell? Uh... DX9 PCI cards maybe? :frown: Fun.
   • Single-channel memory with some Dells. Still. :frown:
   • And the single-channel memory's bandwidth is shared between two potentially-bandwidth-hungry items (a P4, and onboard video).
   • 250W PSUs on their base-model systems? Well, if they have no AGP slot, I suppose they can get away with that.
   • And of course, their delightful customer support :evil:

I know it will be a cold day you-know-where before I'll accept those compromises for myself or my family members. Besides, building computers is fun

[ / 2¢ ]

 

[ingenuiti]

Nothing wrong with getting a Dell. Especially if the person is looking for a good value (during their sales) and could care less about having the most high end parts.

 

[stevty2889]

IF they don't know much about computers, and don't care weather it performs well or not let them get a Dell. I know somebody that had a pentium 3 based Dell system, that was actualy pretty decent. Then it broke, and they sent it back to Dell to get it fixed. They couldn't fix it, and they didn't carry P3 systems anymore. Their solution? They gave them a new Pentium 4 system. Sounds like a good deal right? WRONG!! They gave them a very memory starved P4 system, that was much much slower than the P3 system they had before. Windows XP, with a 1.7Ghz (256k L2) Williamette core, and only 128mb of memory, and a cheaply made case. The clamp that holds the PCI cards in place won't stay latched, and the sound card is constantly falling out of it's socket. All I can say is I would never recomend a Dell to anyone.

 

[Skelshy]

Dell makes great computers for non-enthusiasts. Their stuff just works. And they have great deals on entry level machines, check the deals forum. Get a basic machine for $400 and spend some extra on memory. Dells prices get less attractive if you pick upgrades or want a specific parts in it.

 

[LavrentiBeria]

First, permit me to express my appreciation to those of you that have taken the time to reply to my inquiry and to try to be helpful. This forum guided me right a few months ago regarding a $30 ATI Radeon card I bought at one of the Microcenter outlets to replace a clearly exhausted Nvidia Riva card on an aging P2 machine I'd upgraded to the limit and now use as a webserver. It may sound strange but the card was selected for its text rendering capabilities in preferance to a much more expensive Matrox card which, of course, has a reputation for that kind of thing. So I've gotten lots of quality help here. Again, thanks.

The person we're dealing with in this case wouldn't be able distinguish a Dell from a smell, truthfully. I've built all of my own computers except for the first one I purchased, the P2 webserver described above, and thought I might build one for him. But I've had a decided preference for very high quality components: Seagate drives, Adaptec SCSI adapters, Plextor CD-RW drives, Matrox video cards, NEC monitors, PC Power & Cooling PSUs, etc., so building something has always meant expensive here. Someone sold this fellow a Dell laptop with a Celeron when his present business needs and circumstances require a solid but buget level desktop system. He has to be able to use the computer to dial out repeatedly, making sale call after sales call from a data base and his laptop cannot be used in this way - there's no "out" telephone jack on it. Eventually he'll be able to use the laptop for proposal work and will be aided materially by the mobility it affords, but for right now, it's of little value to him. Reading the guide Anandtech provides and to which many of you referred me, I note that the budget system will require an AMD processor, a processor with which I have absolutely no familiarity. I've built using only Intel boards and processors in the past, so I'd have to ask if there would be much of a learning curve before I might confidently - and I say confidently - build an AMD system. I'd hate to get into this and not know enough about heat dissapation requirements, for example, and at somepoint render this guy sterile. Is the learning curve steep with AMD or is it comparable to Intel?

Regards.

LavrentiBeria

 

[caz67]

Dell= The Devil