Pre-built desktops

[Essence_of_War]

One of the leaders in my research group has assigned me the task of selecting two new desktops for day-to-day workstation use. They don't need to be super fancy, but we're looking for ~8GB RAM, an i5, a 1 TB HDD. Some sort of manufacturer warranty would be optimal also, I/we would not like to deal with any sort of RMA procedure if they break down.

I haven't been given a hard budget number, but I think we're looking at roughly $500-800 for the desktops (with KB/Mouse), and $100-200 each for new monitors to go with them.

They'll mostly be used to run analysis tools like Matlab, Mathematica, and Python but they will also be used to develop/test-run some OpenMP/MPI Fortran code before we throw the code at a cluster.

We have a microcenter nearby, so I was looking at that, plus newegg, as well as dell/hp/lenovo websites.

My first pass turned up this:
Dell Optiplex 3020 @ MC for $680 pre-tax

Same, at newegg

Is that a pretty good price? I couldn't build it at the Dell website for less than $820...would it be worth following up with Dell over the phone?

 

[gmaster456]

Go with the Dell Optiplex. They're always my default go to system whenever I need to order a new workstation or office machine for myself or a client. They're rock solid and have great support.

 

[Burpo]

Agreed.. Hard to beat that Dell deal at Micro Center..

 

[Essence_of_War]

I've been poking around, and it looks like the MC and Newegg prices are pretty good for the specs, especially considering it includes a 3-year dell warranty.

I think we'll probably go with those.

 

[piasabird]

It is a shame to purchase just 2 computers at a time. Dell probably offers better deals when you purchase 100 at a time.

So I went to Dell and used this other website and selected 3020, 8Gig, i5 and this is what it comes up with:
http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/o...EMRY_SIZE_GB=8&3x_page=1&filterCollapsed=true

Anyway by using the search function it gets the result of $739

Who knows what that is with tax and delivery???

I think you go to dell => work => shop.

It will save a lot of headaches just going to the micro center.

I think where Dell rips people off is on the price of the Monitors and anything custom selected. However, if you watch for sales at DELL they often have Monitors on sale. A 19" monitor is like $90 but that looks awful small. we use those monitors that are more adjustable up and down. They look like they are about 22 inches.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Sidenote:

In the meantime, I'm setting up one of the guys who needs a workstation on an old IBM T60 for a bit, and I was thoroughly surprised by how nice it is.

The top and the KB do not flex at all, the palm rests only flex when I drop my whole body weight on them. Sure, it's a little heavy, and you can't do some of the slick two-finger scrolling on its touchpad, but the touchpad works quite well. Even though the battery doesn't hold a charge, and it's only got 2 GB of RAM, it's surprisingly perky in Ubuntu.

For an 8 year old laptop, I'm quite impressed.

 

[gmaster456]

Sidenote:

In the meantime, I'm setting up one of the guys who needs a workstation on an old IBM T60 for a bit, and I was thoroughly surprised by how nice it is.

The top and the KB do not flex at all, the palm rests only flex when I drop my whole body weight on them. Sure, it's a little heavy, and you can't do some of the slick two-finger scrolling on its touchpad, but the touchpad works quite well. Even though the battery doesn't hold a charge, and it's only got 2 GB of RAM, it's surprisingly perky in Ubuntu.

For an 8 year old laptop, I'm quite impressed.

Those things are tanks. All these years later I still wouldn't mind having one. The newer thinkpads don't really compare. They are still rugged but they just don't have that "feel" to them.