Dell question

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Gyrx
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Dell question

Postby Gyrx » Wed Sep 04, 2002 8:36 pm

I'm going to buy a dell, but it seems to me like they are jacking people too high hell on their monitors.

Does anyone have a good reason why I shouldn't buy monitor from say..best buy instead of purchasing a monitor with dell?
Daz
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Postby Daz » Wed Sep 04, 2002 8:40 pm

dell with throw a fit and scold you?

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Tilandal
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Postby Tilandal » Wed Sep 04, 2002 9:08 pm

Well, they sometimes offer extra discounts for package deals but then again I wouldnt buy from Dell anyway.

If you can do yourself a favor and assemble yourowns stuff from parts. Its actually cheaper considering you probably already have software.

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Ragorn
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Postby Ragorn » Wed Sep 04, 2002 9:18 pm

I bought a dell, didn't buy a monitor with it. You have to be really careful about buying computer packages online... be sure you note where the default settings for equipment are, so you don't accidentally order a huge monitor or 1GB of RAM because you didn't think to change the settings.

I find that online packages tend to drop the processor price down and gouge you on the accessories... this is probably so that Dell can sell you a $1000 computer package, but advertise it on their commercial as "Starting at $599!" (no monitor, no printer, no warranty, minimum equipment). If you know about computer hardware, skip the monitor and purchase the least amount of memory they offer, then shop around for better deals. Dell and Gateway both charge around $50 for a 128 MB RAM upgrade, when you can get twice that amount of memory at CompUSA for literally half the price -- 256 megs for $25.

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Yayaril
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Postby Yayaril » Wed Sep 04, 2002 9:30 pm

Dude, you're getting a Dell!

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Postby Zoldren » Wed Sep 04, 2002 9:41 pm

do like i did buy w/o a monitor
and buy a bigger monitor and better for the same/cheaper price...

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Postby Wobb » Wed Sep 04, 2002 9:58 pm

I bought a dell...

its too high priced for what it offers, if you have some confidence in just buying what you need then you can order what you want online from somewhere else.

I'm not sure what the BBS policy is on posting about vendors... but I have a few recommendations on where I would buy from online. I bought one system from Atlas Micro, they were reasonable and threw a hell of a lot into one package.

I bought a AMD 1800 xp, with 256 MB of ram, 19 inch monitor, DVD drive in one bay, CD-RW in the second bay, 64MB video card, 20 G hard drive...all for 1000$.

Now, their speakers sucked. So if i ever order from them again, i'll get it without their speakers, everything else has worked great.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of other vendors online that don't have a name like 'Dell' or 'Gateway' behind them, but they sure as hell do makeup for the lack in name with a boost in product for the $.

If you want more info mudmail wobb.

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rylan
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Postby rylan » Wed Sep 04, 2002 10:08 pm

Ask wuva about her expereince with her Dell LCD monitor. I think she is on replacement number 3.. thank god for warranty Image
Gyrx
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Postby Gyrx » Wed Sep 04, 2002 11:13 pm

Heh, I can't really mud from where i am atm, so can't use mudmail Image

I'd never ever ever buy a gateway, and I don't want to mess around with assembling my own.

Another question I had was about how it would work out if i did what was suggested and buy the smallest amount of ram possible, and then upgrade it for much cheaper myself. But the system I'm looking at (8200 series) comes with RDRAM, but I dont really need that, i can use DDr just fine..

I just don't know if the motherboard that comes with the 8200 series supports DDR (i don't know krap about the dim slots or anything on ram)
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Postby Tilandal » Wed Sep 04, 2002 11:20 pm

Almost a definite no there.

There are only a few chipsets other that support ddr for P4's and none that I know of support both.

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Postby rylan » Thu Sep 05, 2002 12:45 am

Don't get rambus.. it sucks. I can explain in detail if ya want to know why.
But yeah abou the memory, its gonna be cheaper to upgrade on your own.
Personally I buy the components all seperately and assembly the system myself. AMD all the way baby.. can't beat a screaming fast system for half the price of retail. Image
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Postby Zrax » Thu Sep 05, 2002 12:58 am

My dell is the smoothest system I have. I have no problems with it at all, XP is actually stable. If you find a system you want, follow it for a month or so youll find a good deal on it eventually. The dimension 8200 is a good machine, if they offer a free monitor or upgrade i would go for it. I paid about 1400 about a year ago for a p4 1800, 512 mb rdram, t1-200 g3, 19 in monitor, harmon kabrew speakers which are adequate, 80 gb hard drive, 6x dvd rom. Xp pro, and a bunch of other software i probably didnt need. Its a good way to go if building your own system has lost the magic it once had for you.

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Gyrx
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Postby Gyrx » Thu Sep 05, 2002 1:21 am

With the current rebates (which end tomorrow), i can get a 2.53 p4, 526 RDRAM, geforce4 4200, cd burnder, 16x dvd drive, monsoon speakers w/subwoofer, 80 gig HD and some other stuff for 1600 after shipping and handling and tax


but that's without a monitor too..but the rebates right now are damn spanky
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Postby Tilandal » Thu Sep 05, 2002 6:34 pm

$1600. Oof thats a big chunk.

Just picking components I can some up with this for $600 less. Which is why Ill never buy from the likes of Dell.

Summery:

amd xp 2200+
512 ddr 2700 memory
GF4 TI4200
SB Audigy
16X dvd
40x CD/RW
80GB 7200 RPM HD
$980

Add $150 if you want a kick ass 4.1 soundsystem with an 8" sub and 4 3.5" sat's

_______________________
Qty Product Item # Unit Price Qty x Price

Cases PC - ATX - Modified (window, rare color..)
Chieftec Server tower DX-01BLD SPX-02BL With WindowDragon Blue Entry Level Server Case w/2 x 80mm sleeve cooling fan. 400W AMD approved Power Supply, Powered by Foxconn (Deer) more info>
N82E16811125703 $81.00
$81.00
CD Recorder/Rewritable Drive
Lite On 40X12X48 CDRW Model: LTR40125S-Full OEM
Specifications:
Recording 40X(6000KB/sec) Z-CLV (20X, 24X@8min, 32X@18min, 40X@53min)
Re-writing 12X High-Speed (1800KB/sec) CLV
Reading 48Xmax (7200KB/sec) CAV (20X~48X)
Interface : ATAPI-E/IDE, support up to Ultra-DMA Mode2, 33.3MB/sec
Buffer Memory Size: 2MB
Access Time : 80ms (typical)
SMART-BURN® technology Underun protection,
MTBF : 70'000 Power On Hours with 25% Duty
OEM (Full kit with accessories) more info>
N82E16827106177 $59.00
$59.00
CPU Thermal Paste / Grease
Arctic Silver's NEW Premium Silver Polysynthetic Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 3. 3-gram( 1 cc. ) tube. Artic Silver more info>
N82E16835100003 $6.00
$6.00
DVD ROM
Lite-On 16X DVD ROM Drive OEM (48X CD-ROM) Model LTD-165H
Specifications:
Speed ImageVD-ROM 16X (6.4X~16X) CD-ROM 48X (20X~48X)
Interface : ATAPI-E/IDE
Sustained Transfer Rate : DVD-ROM 8600~21600 KB/sec CD-ROM 3000~7200 KB/sec
Burst Transfer Rate : Support up to Ultra-DMA/33, 33.3MB/sec
Access Time : 120ms (typical)
MTBF : 70'000 Power On Hours with 20% Duty
Support OS: DOS 6.xx, Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP, OS2 Warp
OEM Package with Power DVD Software more info>
N82E16827131102 $37.00
$37.00
Fan / Cooling Device - CPU
Thermalright AX-7 ( Heatsink ONLY ). Copper heat spread. Dimension: L77 x W72 x H42 (mm). Will not fit on a Soltek 75-DRVX motherboard. Retail. Please see the image. more info>
N82E16835109002 $28.00
$28.00
Speeze CPU Fan Model 5F263B1M3 for AMD/Intel Socket A/370 Dimensions Heat sink :12VDC Fan : 74×74×47 mm (l × w × h) 80×80×25mm Bearing Ball bearing Rated speed 2500 RPM +/-10%Rated power 1.56 W Noise level 26.5 dBA Air flow 31.70 CFM at 2500 RPM Features Aluminum fan frame CPU: Intel Pentium III ~ 1,4 GHz (FC-PGA2) Pentium III ~ 1,13 GHz (FC-PGA) Celeron ~ 1,8 GHz (PPGA) AMD : Athlon XP ~ 2200+ (Thoroughbred) Athlon XP ~ 2100+ (Palomino) Athlon ~ 1,4 GHz (T-Bird)Duron 1.3 more info>
N82E16835150010 $8.00
$8.00
Hard Drives - IDE
Seagate Barracuda IV 80GB 7200RPM ST380021A Hard Drive OEM
Specifications:
Size: 80 Gigabytes
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA100
Seek time: 9ms
RPM:7200
Cache 2MB
OEM(Drive alone) 3 Year Manufacturer Warranty --* Works With PC & Mac *-- more info>
N82E16822148004 $108.00
$108.00
Keyboards - English
BTC Model 5106 PS/2 107 Key Keyboard OEM The BTC 5106 is a vintage keyboard with state-of-the-art design. Provides three ACPI power management keys: Power off, Sleep, Wake up Stylish and contoured design 12 function keys Spill resistant more info>
N82E16823110103 $9.00
$9.00
Memory - PC (DDR)
Samsung Original DDR333 PC-2700 512mb CAS2.5 - OEM Version
DDR 333MHz True PC 2700 chip (Not over clock from PC-2100 chip) New release for Best Performance-Lifetime warranty more info>
* (Includes FedEx Saver Shipping) N82E16820147102 $155.00
$153/3 pcs*
$151/10 pcs*
$148/25 pcs*
$155.00
Motherboards - AMD
BIOSTAR M7VIF AMD ATX VIA KT333 200/266MHZ FSB PC 2700(DD333) - RETAIL BOX.
4 X 184-pin DDR33 DIMM,Maximum 3.0GB, 5 x PCI slot. 1x AGP, 1x CNR, 1x ACR. W/Hardware Monitoring. AC'97 2.2 Audio CODEC Onboard. Dimension: 30.5cm x 24.4cm (W x L). 2 Year Warranty.** Handbook Menu is in the dics/ CPU Auto detracts the Bios** more info>
N82E16813138014 $70.00
$70.00
Mouse
Microsoft Optical Wheel Mouse PS/2 & USB (New Color) Version 1.1a - OEM .
A unique IntelliEye® optical sensor replaces the old-fashion mechanical mouse ball and works on virtually any surface.
Convenient scroll wheel and comfortable design.
Left or Right Handed use.
Two buttons.
*Must be Purchased with Hardware!*--* Works With PC & Mac *-- more info>
N82E16826105123 $16.00
$16.00
Processors - AMD Athlon Thunderbird, XP, MP
AMD ATHLON XP 2200+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU - OEM
Specifications:
CPU: 1.8 GHz
Type: XP 2200+ Thoroughbred
Cache: 256K
BUS: 266MHz
Socket A (PGA) OEM (Processor Only) more info>
N82E16819103332 $152.00
$152.00
Sound Card
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer Stunning 24-bit multi-channel playback for incredible high definition audio in games. Unmatched power of the Audigy chip delivers 4X more effects processing for high intensity gaming. Innovative EAX ADVANCED HD technology provides ultra realistic acoustics for high definition audio environments. Fully integrated SB1394 enables high speed PC-to-PC connectivity with low latency gameplay for the ultimate frag fest. Retail Box more info>
N82E16829102150 $84.00
$84.00
Video Cards
Chaintech Geforce4 4200 "GT20" 64MB W/TV-Out and DVI ports Retail
Specifications:
Chipset - NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200
Memory -64MB DDR
128-bit Memory interface
256-bit Graphics Architecture
250 MHz Core Clock
444 MHz Memory Clock
350MHz internal RAMDAC
With Games/Software bundle:WinDVD, 3Deep more info>
N82E16814145021 $130.00
$130.00


Subtotal » $943.00
Shipping and Handling Charge »
>How Newegg.com calculates shipping< $ 37.68
Grand Total » $ 980.68




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Gyrx
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Postby Gyrx » Thu Sep 05, 2002 9:38 pm

Just purchased my machine, should get in in 12 days tops.

 
 
Base Unit: 

Dimension 8200 Series, Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 2.53GHz (221-0191)
Memory: 

SAVE $70! (savings included inprice) 512MB PC800 RDRAM (461-5718)
Keyboard: 

Dell Quiet Key Keyboard (310-1582)
Monitor: 

Video ready option w/o monitor (320-3000)
Video Card: 

64MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4 TI 4200 Graphics Card with TV-Out (320-0491)
Hard Drive: 

FREE Upgrade! 80GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive (461-2885)
Floppy Disk Drive: 

3.5in Floppy Drive (340-1927)
Operating System: 

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition,English (420-3079)
Operating System: 

Dell Application Back-up CD, Factory Install (313-7222)
Operating System: 

Dell Support 1.2,Dimension (412-0189)
Mouse: 

Dell 2-button Scroll Mouse (310-1871)
NIC: 

10/100 PCI Fast Ethernet NIC Factory Install (430-5353)
Modem: 

56K PCI Telephony Modem for Windows (313-1583)
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive: 

Free Upgrade! 16X DVD-ROM Drive (461-1632)
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive: 

Cyberlink Software Decoding for DVD Drives (430-0310)
Sound Card: 

SB Live! 1024 Digital Sound Card (313-1488)
Speakers: 

Harman/Kardon Speakers,HK-695 (313-1487)
Bundled Software: 

MS Worksuite 2002,CD with Documentation,OEM,US,English Dimension (412-0133)
Factory Installed Software: 

Symantec Norton Antivirus 2002OEM Package,English,90 Day Trial Version (412-0259)
Feature 

Dell Jukebox powered by MusicMatch (412-0246)
Feature 

Dell Picture Studio Image Expert Standard,Dimension (412-0271)
Feature 

Dell Picture Studio Paint ShopPro Try and Buy,Dimension (412-0273)
Service: 

Type 3- Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year (950-4270)
Service: 

Type 3 Contract - Next Business Day Parts and Labor On-Site Response, 3YR Extended (900-2933)
Service: 

4 Year Limited Warranty (950-7447)
Service: 

$70 DELL MAIL-IN SERVICE REBA TE! Rebate# 35219. Redeem after purchase. Redemption form atwww.dell4me.com/rebates. (902-7249)
Misc: 

6 Months of Earthlink Internet Access Included (412-0258)
Misc: 

AOL 7.0 Factory Install for US DHS (412-0279)
Misc: 

AOL 7.0 Buddy Rom (412-0287)
Misc: 

1 Pak of DVD+RW Media (313-1203)
 

DHS Instant $50 Off (460-8164)
 

24x/10x/40x CD-RW Drive (313-0728

Right now i want to go the safest route possible, and i had someone step in and say if it was dell (someone they trusteD) they'd let me put it on their charge card and i could pay them since i have no family help. The four year warranty is comforting, although i bet there is some fine print that i missed that will make it so i can't get the warranty to work Image

Basically, i like it when people shit in a box and slap a warranty on it..it makes me feel all warm and happy inside Image
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Postby Gyrx » Thu Sep 05, 2002 9:41 pm

Oh ya, it cost me $1500, i forgot about a mail in rebate and they wanted me to buy some silly 40 dollar surge protector that protects my modem or something. Might have been a good deal, might not. I don't know much about surge protectors i guess Image
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Postby Mishre » Fri Sep 06, 2002 5:33 am

If you want real power for almost no money, go with a Slot A AMD Athlon.. they are slower processors but transfer rate is faster.. get a GeForce4.. 512mb ram.. and you should be able to play anything smoothly with good quality graphics.. im just running a 500mhz amd athlon slot A with 32MB tnt2 and 256mb ram.. i run everything smooth, but i usually have graphics down 1 notch from the best.. and i play WC3 and all that fine.. dunno how it'll be running in a year or more as games take advantage of the processor speed.. but if you want to spend lil money for running well.. thats what id do Image

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taelin
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Postby taelin » Fri Sep 06, 2002 4:21 pm

Having used and abused almost every member of the Dell product line among the many other computer systems I've used from name brands, I will say this much:

You can't go wrong buying a dell.

Their prices may be high, but they offer a level of support par unto practically none. Their choice of components for integration is almost always well made, with the basic exclusion of video. I've seen the Dimension and Precision series go through a ton of revisions and every time things get better. As far as laptops go they may have the most open standards architecture of any manufacturer.

Does all this come at a premium? yes! Do I own a Dell? yes. Would I buy a Dell over building a machine myself? No! My current personal system is built by hand with parts we only wish Dell would put together for a reasonable price. Pipedreams aside, you don't get any better than picking the tried and true, best of the best components and hand matching them in a well designed enclosure with proper cooling etc etc.

Compaq and Dell have great integration engineers, but they add cost to the systems.

Lastly, I never advocate buying of anything that will outlast the computer as part of the computer package unless EVERY indication points to it being a better deal. Dell doesn't make monitors. They rebrand one of 3 makes of monitors, give it a new model name and ship it at a nice markup. Lets face it, a good monitor lasts for 2-3 computers. Research the model you want, find it at a good price and buy it from a reputable dealer if at all possible. Most often big brands dont carry the monitor you would choose if you had your way.

On that topic, I have to put my 2 cents in on monitors. If money is no object, as one might say it would have to be if yer buying a Dell, then go Sony... get a nice flat tube 19-22. For the rest of us, the Korean manufacturers have come into their own. My personal fave is Samsung. I have a SyncMaster 900NF on my desk, and since I got it I've seen it on a number of sites recommending it. I can't say its as good as a similar Sony but it costs less than half as much. I love it, by far the best I've had.


Ok enough from me.
Sobu
Gyrx
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Postby Gyrx » Fri Sep 06, 2002 7:46 pm

Thanks Sobu for the imput!

And yes, money is an object. Everything I have is because I personally have worked hard for it. Mommy and daddy aren't doing things for me, only me.

I went with dell because I need the security that they offer, because if something I made my own computer, and something went wrong with it in two years guess what? No more computer for Jason Image

Another question, how much can I trust the products that pricewatch puts out? I see a 21" monitor with a 3 year dealer warranty for 400 bucks.
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Postby Tilandal » Fri Sep 06, 2002 8:55 pm

For monitors I would not go with an online store. The key is to make sure you can walk back into the store with the moniter if anything goes wrong. There is already another thread concerning moniter choices.

If your on a budget go with a CRT. When choosing you want to go into a store and actually look at the one you want to buy. Since your gonna be staring at it for long periods of time its important that it looks comfortable to you. Id recommed running at at least 85Hz. The catch is the maximum resolution listed for most moniters is running at 60Hz. So the key is to find a monitor that runs at a good resolution at 85hz and has good color ect.

For a 21" one of the issues is a 21" crt is big. I mean BIG. It will take a lot of desk space. Good ones will have a reduced depth CRT that will save a bit of space. Very worthwhile if you need the room but also expensive.

Sony makes some realy top of the line stuff with thier trinitron monitors but they are expensive. Samsung makes some very impresive ones to. There are also some Samsung models sold under the name Samtron.

Well the main point is always look at what your gonna buy when it comes to monitors. A bad screen will ruin even the best system.

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