New "reliable" computer needed, Dell?

[DGath]

Originally posted by: techwanabe
I have working computers so I can take my sweet time waiting for another hot deal from Dell.

I'd say do just that then, it'll only be another couple weeks max.

 

[techwanabe]

Deal is back up!

My question now is some have commented that 17" LCD's with .26 dot pitch looks sharper, 19" LCD's with .29 dot pitch were noticably blurrier. Any comments?

 

[techwanabe]

I think I'm just going to order the darn thing and they would probably be happy to switch me to the smaller LCD after the fact if it is supposed to "look" better.

I was wondering since there is no "coveted" DVI connector, it might make a difference in the 17" vs 19" and respective dot pitches.

UPDATE:

Ordered!!!

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: techwanabe
I think I'm just going to order the darn thing and they would probably be happy to switch me to the smaller LCD after the fact if it is supposed to "look" better.

I was wondering since there is no "coveted" DVI connector, it might make a difference in the 17" vs 19" and respective dot pitches.

UPDATE:

Ordered!!!

uhoh, DrCool is going to burn you now, hehe

 

[mbackof]

Against my better judgement, I am going to post in this thread....

Qualifications: I wrote build procedures, qualified vendors and components and built computer systems that were qualified by the FDA as medical devices. I also installed and supported them. I later ran the service and manufacturing departments.
Some random thoughts:
All computer components can fail. It doesn't matter if they are Crucial or PNY. Quality and testing can reduce the number of potentially bad components that ship to customers and users. Our process included putting all compoents through incoming inspections which involved component specific tests. Partitioning, formatting and R/W tests on the hard drives. R/W programs on the memory. Running the full system for burn-in. This catches a lot of the bad parts and you can look at failure trends to determine when it may be time to switch to another supplier. When you ship equipment into radiology departments you have to go through all that hassle, home users can usually handle some level of failing components because cost is an issue. Cheaper components may not have gone through as much testing as more expensive ones, but this isn't always the case.
I just built three systems for family members. One has a cheap power supply (it was a gift and I wanted something that would run well and was cheap, so I didn't splurge). One has a cheap DVD/CD-RW drive. One has a little bit more expensive parts since it is used for AutoCAD and had to be more powerful. Guess what, none of them has failed yet. They have been running for about 6 to 9 months depending on the system.
The bottom line of all of this rambling is that you can buy the most expensive components and build a machine for them, you can go with a Dell, HP, or Gateway system, you can look at some reviews and pick some components that are highly reguarded on review sites. Quality is so relative, and all manufacturers make dud systems. I tend to pick "quality" (where quality is defined as companies I have used before and had good luck with) memory, hard drive, and motherboard manufacturers, and power supply as well if it isn't a budget system. I like Crucial, Kingston, or Corsair for memory, Seagate or Maxtor for hard drives, Asus or Abit for motherboards, and Antec or Enlight for power supplies/cases.

Try to figure out why your home system is failing? Is it because you built it quickly and didn't worry about grounding? Did you use a cheaper motherboard because you wanted the latest Metallica CD? If you enjoy building them, and are willing to support the system for your parents, build them one. If you don't want to mess with it, get an HP or Dell and let them support it. The quality should be about them same, assuming that you know how to build systems correctly.

Also spend the money on a UPS. Your house could have crappy power.

BTW The HP my wife has (2 years old) uses an Asus motherboard and AMD processor. It isn't proprietary and I've been able to upgrade the hard drive, video card, memory, and optical drives and the system runs better than when we got it.

 

[styrafoam]

BTW The HP my wife has (2 years old) uses an Asus motherboard and AMD processor. It isn't proprietary and I've been able to upgrade the hard drive, video card, memory, and optical drives and the system runs better than when we got it.

Dell intentionally make the connections to their motherboard and power supply non standard, you cannot upgrade the motherboard and you cannot change out the power supply for anything other than a Dell. I have no idea how religious dell is with bios upgrades and processor support.

The system in question is a nice setup for a great price when you factor in the LCD. In the end you will probably break even when you do finally decide to upgrade, the money you are saving now you will have to spend later. Unless of course one of the crucial components dies out of warranty, anyone know what dell charges to purchase a replacement motherboard direct?

 

[PumpActionWalrus]

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer

Get rid of that garbage chaintech and you have a nice system there

Sorry to burst your bubble, but they have the best price/performance ratio, I have never had a problem with them after building 60+ computers based off of them while not as fast as ASus, Abit, DFI, they have been more reliable 😉

 

[ingeborgdot]

I have a dell and it does work good. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't buy a dell because of several things. The one mentioned above. Dell has you by the ba..s. I bought because of their so called great service. Recently: wait time almost 20 minutes then you can't understand what they are saying. They always want you to reinstall and not try to find the problem which I have had several. Not serious but frustrating. Never will I buy a Dell, hp, compaq or gateway. Build my own is what I will do.

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: ingeborgdot
I have a dell and it does work good. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't buy a dell because of several things. The one mentioned above. Dell has you by the ba..s. I bought because of their so called great service. Recently: wait time almost 20 minutes then you can't understand what they are saying. They always want you to reinstall and not try to find the problem which I have had several. Not serious but frustrating. Never will I buy a Dell, hp, compaq or gateway. Build my own is what I will do.

So, you bought a Dell for tech support... But next time you're are going to build your own and have zero tech support?

 

[ingeborgdot]

I have had several questions on several of the ones I just built for some people. Much better tech support than at Dell and you can understand them. Surely you know about build your own computers. Also the warranties are better. The memory is lifetime. Do you get that with Dell? Five year on the hd, three on the motherboard and two on the vid card. If I would buy that kind of extended warranty it would cost a lot more. And then when your dell goes, and it will because I am already having problems along with many others I know, try to get a new motherboard without going through Dell. $$$$$$$$ And also your tech support only lasts for a little period of time unless you buy extended from Dell. Also, Dell hasn't been able to answer hardly any of my questions anyway, I have to go to forums to get the questions answered so what is the big deal with Dell.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: techwanabe
Well,

I have an older computer with a "computer show" cheap case I bought, ABIT ST6 motherboard and Celeron-T processor - I have had that case/PS for 4 years now and used it solid for over 2 with no problems where I live. I'm thinking that Antec isn't as good as it has been made out to be. I bought an Antec case to build a computer for a friend and the P/S was bad right off the bat. I've had issues probably which can be traced to mine now - how can I have a memory stick fail once and video card fail four times? I replaced the motherboard and the video card is failing again (4th time). Only thing left is the power supply.

Anyway, the money was given to buy a new "reliable" computer so I want to make an effort back in that direction. Besides, my 17" Samsung monitor is getting long in the tooth (4 years old now) and showing signs of age. A new system with new monitor would be a good idea in some ways. Dell seem to be reliable - many companies and Universities rely on them.

I bet that system was working fine because it had almost no load to produce for.

A Celeron based PC from 4-5 years ago can easily be run forever by a generic 250W, (I know, I've been there) 😛

 

[beany323]

dim 4700 series
P4-3.4
512 DDR2
80 gb hdd
256 Nvida geforce 6800 Card (not sure which one this is going to end up being)(still confused on what is what in that damn system!)
fax/modum (no need i have broadband)(now i need a card)
sound blaster live 24 bit advanced hd with audio 100dB perform (no idea if this is any good)
48x cd rw
16 dvd rom
and a bunch of bs programs.

total: 629.00

not to bad i think...

 

[callmesteve]

Originally posted by: Naustica

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Well, if you want to BUILD a reliable system, thats easy for $1000. Just let us know, and it will blow that Dell out of the water for gaming. How about this ?

ANTEC Life Style Series Black Case With 380W Power Supply, Model "SONATA"
Item# N82E16811129127 $95.99

NEC 8X Black Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive, Model ND-2510A BLK, OEM BULK
Item# N82E16827152023 $69.99

Seagate 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model ST3120026A, OEM
Item# N82E16822148022 $88.50

Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail
Item# N82E16820146219 $156.00

CHAINTECH nForce3 250 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 Athlon 64 CPU, Model "VNF3-250" -RETAIL
Item# N82E16813152043 $78.00

AMD Athlon 64 3400+, 512k L2 Cache, The Only 64-bit Windows Compatible Processor - Retail
Item# N82E16819103484 $235.00

eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB GDDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP, Model "128-A8-N343-AX" -RETAIL
Item# N82E16814130202 $285.00

Total (Before tax): $ 1,008.48

I would take that Dell deal over this.

I second that, Dell has gone down the drain, and don't even think about calling them for tech support.