new comp buying question and component question

[yhlee]

1) I have a budget of ~2500 (give or take a few hundred) from work to get a new comp for home. I was thinking a dell P4-2.0 with a 17" LCD. What do you guys think? The main uses for this will be vstudio, notepad and office (and of course counterstrike This machine has to be good for at least 1.5-2 years...

2) When i was speccing out this machine, I chose the geforce3 with DVI but it doesn't say which company... Is this going to be of the quality of a third party geforce3??

3) Also, the reviews I have read about the geforce3 arent entirely clear about the quality of 2d and text.. I have a geforce2 gts and an AIW radeon and I cannot stand the geforce2 anymore. Should I wait a month and get one with the radeon 8500 (they -are- coming out next month, right?)?

4) For ease of doing the paperwork, I would rather buy from one or two places max. Comp from dell, misc components from cdw, etc.

thanks for any input!

in regards to #1, does anyone use frontpage like me to do asp stuff?

-young

 

[calpha]

My aunt was buying a computer, and at the time, I speced the different big-boys and told her to go to Gateway, or HP for the best options/price ratio,and get a 1.8Ghz

LCD's are nice, but I still don't think they're worth it when you can spend the same $ and get a flatscreen 21 or 22 inch monitor. I myself program, and I like programming on a 21" or 19" running 1024, since it's easier on the eyes. When I have big projects I do change the res though.

GF3.....I personally tried a VisionTek card from CompUSA (good return policy) for a couple of days, just to see what it was like to run my newer games at max detail. They were really good, and the detail on Max Payne was unbelievable. But I didn't see it worth $399 to just have better detail. Plus, an even bigger point, is that when the newer chipsets do come out, the 8500, and the NFORCE, I would expect GF3 prices to go lower.

Processor Speed......I really don't see a point to getting the 2.0 Ghz, when you can save around $200 and get a 1.8. No use in paying $200 for 200 Mhz to me. Plus, when you do get a System from Dell/Hp/Gateway/Compaq, there's not really any Oc'ing you can do b/c most of those manufacturers use their own custom BIOS on their boards, and don't allow FSB or Voltage Changes.

Lastly, I have bought Dell before, and their service continues to be the best in my opinion. Tech Support is OK, but if you're smart enough to be @ AT, then you can probably figure out most of your problems yourself.

The one problem I do have with Dell Tech Support is this rule about your warranties:
If you have a defective part, before they will send a Tech Out to replace it, you are contractually obligated to do everything that the TECH requests you to do via the phone. I had a person working for me in another city and her MB went caput. Before they would send a tech rep out to fix the MOBO, they had to spend 3 days on the phone trying different things to verify that everything else was fine.
IE...OK...Unplug everything in the case. Take everything out. Reseat Everything. Ok......Reseat one part at a time, and power up.....and so on

Just my .02c