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Is it worth it?

Discussion in 'Whatnots' started by Sir Belisarius, May 12, 2003.

  1. Sir Belisarius

    Sir Belisarius Viconia's Boy Toy Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

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    Remove all ads!
    [​IMG] I've narrowed my search for a pc down to the description below...But now for the last question, is what I'm getting worth the price? For $1,900 USD, I will get the following:

    Pentium® 4 Processor at 3GHz with 800MHz front side bus
    Memory: 1024MB DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
    Video Cards: 128MB DDR ATI RADEON™ 9800 Graphics Card with TV-Out
    Hard Drives: 200GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive
    Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices: 3.5 in Floppy Drive
    Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
    Network Interface: Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet
    CD or DVD Drive: 16 Max DVD-ROM Drive
    Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy™2 premium sound card including FREE MuVo MP3 Play
    Speakers: Harman Kardon® HK-395 Speakers with Subwoofer
    Software Bundles: WordPerfect Productivity Pack
    Security Software: No Virus Protection Requested
    Secondary CD or DVD Drive: 48x/24x/48x Max CD-RW Drive

    This system will replace my old system, which is:

    Celeron P2 /766Mhz
    256k RAM
    32MB GeForce 2 video card
    30GB hard drive
    Soundblaster
    O/S: Windows XP

    What do you think? I can afford it, but I'm wondering if it's a good deal...
     
    Sir Belisarius, May 12, 2003
    #1
  2. Mesmero

    Mesmero How'd an old elf get the blues?

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    That seems the best of the best what is currently avaliable. For such a low price it is certainly worth it. Your old system seems a bit outdated by current standards.
     
    Mesmero, May 12, 2003
    #2
  3. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Well, the only thing I would add are side-firing missiles and a cup holder. :D

    That's a sweet deal for what looks like a monster system. Where are you getting it from?
     
    Death Rabbit, May 12, 2003
    #3
  4. Sir Belisarius

    Sir Belisarius Viconia's Boy Toy Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

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    [​IMG] Dude, it's a Dell...can you believe it? I figure for the price, I should be in good shape as far as obsolesence...At least for a year or two ;) !

    My current pc is about 3-4 years old. I am looking forward to having something newer and faster! Plus, I think the Win XP O/S I installed last year is a little too much for it.
     
    Sir Belisarius, May 12, 2003
    #4
  5. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    The thing about Dell is, if you can get past their cheesy-ass commercials, is the fact that consumer reports gave them the best ratings in almost every area. Service, breakdown rates, quality parts, etc. All in all, they're really good machines. I'm looking for a laptop for my girlfriend right now and I'll probably go with Dell too. Iv'e had one for 3 years now and the only problem I ever had was with that turd-bomb that is WindowsME. Also, Dell is so popular now they can afford to keep their prices affordable and still crank out good systems.

    I noticed you aren't getting a monitor - that'll save you a bunch. My monitor added $600 to my total cost (!) when I got mine, but I needed an extra-special monitor for my profession (graphic designer). Regardless, monitors are expensive. Especially the flatscreens.
     
    Death Rabbit, May 12, 2003
    #5
  6. Sir Belisarius

    Sir Belisarius Viconia's Boy Toy Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

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    [​IMG] I don't really need a monitor...I have a decent 19" and the flatscreen/plasma monitors are waaaaay too expensive!
     
    Sir Belisarius, May 12, 2003
    #6

  7. Sephiroth Gems: 14/31
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    I may seem silly, but where have you USD as money :confused:
    You should add the transportation coasts to your bill, I had to add 89€ extra to my Dell-Pc ...
     
    Sephiroth, May 12, 2003
    #7
  8. Mesmero

    Mesmero How'd an old elf get the blues?

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    Seph -> USA

    The down side of a dell is that you don't know what for products you get. For example, one '128MB DDR ATI RADEON™ 9800 Graphics Card with TV-Out' might be better from one manufacturer than it is from the other and with Dell, you never know which one you will get. (Although they cost the same.) The same goes for DVD drives etc. Dell says you get a 16 speed DVD drive, but what for DVD driver that is, you don't know. If you select a specific manufacturer, you know which DVD types it supports and if it is region free etc.

    Just my opinion why I don't like Dell, but even though, it looks good.
     
    Mesmero, May 12, 2003
    #8
  9. Sir Belisarius

    Sir Belisarius Viconia's Boy Toy Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

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    [​IMG] Sephiroth - That's part of the reason why I may buy it...Free shipping, free HD upgrade to 200GB, free 512k RAM upgrade, and a free cd-rw drive. It almost seems too good to pass up!

    Silverblade - I know what you mean about the hardware differences, but for the price...I am willing to take my chances.
     
    Sir Belisarius, May 12, 2003
    #9

  10. Mathetais Gems: 28/31
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    Bel ... go for it. Nice toys are always helpful.

    As to the cup holder request, if you push the "eject" button on the front of the tower, a cup holder does come out. :lol:
     
    Mathetais, May 12, 2003
    #10
  11. Sir Belisarius

    Sir Belisarius Viconia's Boy Toy Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

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    [​IMG] Now all I need is a silly straw!
     
    Sir Belisarius, May 12, 2003
    #11
  12. Death Rabbit

    Death Rabbit Straight, no chaser Adored Veteran Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    As for Silverblade's point - which is a good one - I too would rather be able to choose exactly which brands are which in my system. But since Dell has such a great service/breakdown record, it would stand to reason that they stick to quality manufacturers. So I wouldn't worry too much about not knowing where the components come from. You could certainly do worse. As long as you treat your system with care, it should serve you well and relatively hitch free for at least a few years.
     
    Death Rabbit, May 12, 2003
    #12

  13. Big B Gems: 27/31
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    Wow Bel, those stats beat mine. I recently got a Dell, it's waiting on me for graduation.

    Pentium 4 @ 2.66 GHz
    264MB memory
    60 GB Hard Drive

    Same Video Card though.

    Then again, you're a lawyer, and I'm not. :money: I say go for it.
     
    Big B, May 12, 2003
    #13
  14. Sir Belisarius

    Sir Belisarius Viconia's Boy Toy Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

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    [​IMG] When I get it...Right now, your system is whipping up on my crusty old Pentium 2/Celeron. It's held up well for the last 3-4 years, but lately it's been slow, crashy, and clunky.

    And since most of the hardware wasn't Win XP compliant...some of the functions don't work. My pc originally had Win ME (Ugggggggh!)
     
    Sir Belisarius, May 12, 2003
    #14
  15. Shell

    Shell Awww, come and give me a big hug!

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    That sounds like a damn good machine to me. Can I have it? ;)

    I looked on a converter Here and worked it out as £1,180.70 which is a hell of a lot of money but worth it for all the gadgets you get with it.
     
    Shell, May 12, 2003
    #15
  16. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Eww, are you sure it's working? It's too cheap to be true. And definitely it's more power than you can handle :D
     
    chevalier, May 13, 2003
    #16
  17. Chandos the Red

    Chandos the Red This Wheel's on Fire

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    [​IMG] Sir Bel -- I have sold computers for years, even as far back as 286/386s, if you can believe it. That price is excellent. And the machine is definitely state-of-the-art. The i875P chipset will support 8X AGP, serial ATA and hyper-threading, all the new technology. That 400Mhz RAM is dual-channel, so it will have twice the memory bandwidth as single channel RAM. Really sweet.

    As far as the name on the outside of the box, it really does not matter as much as it did in the old days. That machine will probably be built in the same plant as Compaq (or is it Compaq by HP now?), HP, Gateway, etc. The only thing with Dell is that they have an exclusive contract with Intel. That is the real reason their machines are so well priced. You will not find an AMD in any current Dell boxes. Thus, they get a nice price break from Intel. But IMO, Intel is superior to AMD anyway. Did I say that? Flame suit on.
     
    Chandos the Red, May 13, 2003
    #17

  18. Mithrantir Gems: 15/31
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    I always believed that when you buy a PC is crucial to know what's in there and it would be best to have choose it yourshelf, since by that principle you might find easier the solution to any problem it comes forth. That is the main reason i don't buy pc's from companies that sell them as a complete pack. If you,on the other hand, feel that you are satisfied with that information Dell supplies to you then go for it. It looks ok :cool:
     
    Mithrantir, May 13, 2003
    #18
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