New Dell desk-top computer.

[Ban Hammer 13,620]

william, just had this conversation with booty - here's her thread:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry1784701

check out my reply at post #42. i'd suggest pushing the processor higher than you have listed, preferably close to 3 ghz as a 2.2 really isn't that much (plus if you get an application written for a 2.4 ghz single processor it may not run on a 2.2 dual - the jury is still out on that as i've asked numerous tech geeks around here and they don't really have an answer).

the one you have listed in the op has a slower front side bus, the hard drive looks good (7200 rpm). dump the vista and go with xp. bump up the ram if you can to 4 gb. get a video card that isn't on the motherboard as suggested earlier.

the new computer is supposed to arrive this thursday

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

We have been stalling on the purchase, but no more. Here is our proposed system configuration. Please advise any suggested changes.

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E4500 (2MB L2 Cache,2.20GHz,800 FSB)

Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate

22 inch SP2208WFP Wide Flat Panel with Webcam and Mic

2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs

250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™

16X DVD+/-RW Drive

Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100

Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

Keyboard included in Dell Bluetooth Package

Dell Media Card Reader included in Dell Bluetooth Package

No Modem Option

My Software & Accessories

Dell AIO 926 - Includes Media Card Reader

Dell All-In-One Printer 926

1Yr Ltd. Warranty, 1 yr HW Warranty Support, 1 yr Advance Exchange

Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Stereo Speakers with Subwoofer

No Subscription (only 30-day protection)

Microsoft Works 9.0

My Service

1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support

Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr

Recycle my old system with Dell (FREE)

Also Includes

Mouse included with Keyboard purchase

Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1

Integrated 10/100 Ethernet

Windows Vista™ Premium

No Entertainment software pre-installedCompatibility Alert

It sounds like this is an inspiron spec - I agree with the other posters on upping the spec a little in regard to processor speed, system memory, graphics card and hard drive size (you might even want to consider 2 HDDs).

All depends on how much you want to spend - there is a tendency is to get carried away. All these things are nice - but they can obviously up the cost of your machine significantly. The XPS line is basically Dell's premium line for gaming - and the 420 model (the entry level model, the ninja machines are upwards of $3-$4K) has been very well reviewed. Though Dell's website offers change all the time you won't be able to get anything like that XPS spec for less than $1400 (XPS models don't usually come with a monitor - you have to add that separately) and if you want to upgrade to a 512mb graphics card you're already pushing $1700.

That's quite a difference considering that the inspiron machines (with monitors) start at $500 - $750. The only reason to spend significantly more is if you are into professional photo/video editing or gaming (though when you work it out its actually cheaper to buy a lower spec PC and a PS3). If its the usual odds and sods type home stuff you really don't need to spend more than $1000-$1200.

That's Dell of course - they are more expensive than some of the other vendors so doubtless you could find a reliable machine, for less elsewhere. I will say though that their customer service (specifically tech service) is a lot better than it was 10 years ago. You pay for that of course - but if you're not a tech-head, it is worth it.

Edited April 29, 2008 by Number 6

[Flames9_RN 358]

Dell sells reconditioned computers at a discounted price!! Some are really not "used" computers, they are systems that others have purchased, then decided not to buy them, so really they are brand new, but they cant sell them as new. I purchased a "reconditioned" XPS 410 last year, and saved hundreds by going that route.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/categ...&lid=543238

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Dell sells reconditioned computers at a discounted price!! Some are really not "used" computers, they are systems that others have purchased, then decided not to buy them, so really they are brand new, but they cant sell them as new. I purchased a "reconditioned" XPS 410 last year, and saved hundreds by going that route.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/categ...&lid=543238

Yeah the Dell Outlet store can save you a lot of money - but you can't really play with the spec too much, basically its whatever systems they have in stock.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Dell sells reconditioned computers at a discounted price!! Some are really not "used" computers, they are systems that others have purchased, then decided not to buy them, so really they are brand new, but they cant sell them as new. I purchased a "reconditioned" XPS 410 last year, and saved hundreds by going that route.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/categ...&lid=543238

Yeah the Dell Outlet store can save you a lot of money - but you can't really play with the spec too much, basically its whatever systems they have in stock.

that is true, and at times you have to act pretty quick, a few times I was about to buy a system, only to find it was sold,lol actually worked to my benefit. Doesnt hurt to look

[William33 110]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I am building the computer with (some) of the aformentioned thoughts in mind.

I will post the final build tomorrow.

One departing thought provided by a colleague: buy the machine with the Vista load (and disk), wipe the drive and download my copy of XP Pro. Later on, download Vista. This supposition follows the expected service packs that may fix the many issues, including resource consumption. This approach surmises that any of this can actually be fixed.

Given that this is a baseline OS build, I think not.

Edited May 1, 2008 by William33

[Ban Hammer 13,620]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I am building the computer with (some) of the aformentioned thoughts in mind.

I will post the final build tomorrow.

One departing thought provided by a colleague: buy the machine with the Vista load (and disk), wipe the drive and download my copy of XP Pro. Later on, download Vista. This supposition follows the expected service packs that may fix the many issues, including resource consumption. This approach surmises that any of this can actually be fixed.

Given that this is a baseline OS build, I think not.

i'm not really understanding this part in bold. it sounds like you're gonna buy it with vista, wipe that out and install xp pro (download or install???). if install your own copy then i recommend this: just swap out the drive with a new one and install xp pro, keep the original drive until you want to switch over to it, then just a simple swap.

[William33 110]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I am building the computer with (some) of the aformentioned thoughts in mind.

I will post the final build tomorrow.

One departing thought provided by a colleague: buy the machine with the Vista load (and disk), wipe the drive and download my copy of XP Pro. Later on, download Vista. This supposition follows the expected service packs that may fix the many issues, including resource consumption. This approach surmises that any of this can actually be fixed.

Given that this is a baseline OS build, I think not.

i'm not really understanding this part in bold. it sounds like you're gonna buy it with vista, wipe that out and install xp pro (download or install???). if install your own copy then i recommend this: just swap out the drive with a new one and install xp pro, keep the original drive until you want to switch over to it, then just a simple swap.

And the great advice continues.... I will remove the Dell supplied Vista installed HDD, and replace with with a new (blank one) enabling the XP Pro install... Later on, I can install the Vista HDD and go forward ( or backwards) depending on the perspective.....I think this is great advice...

Thanks for the advice Charles!!

[Dakine 26]

XP is an average operating system and being canned June. The biggest complaints about Vista are because of people trying to use 5 year old hardware with a new operating system designed for the latest hardware. My Vista ultimate 64-bit machine kicks ### over my XP PC. Using it for over a year now..

No, the biggest complaints about Vista are about how much it sucks; which it does. I told Microsoft that while I was doing their Beta testing (I'm a Microsoft OEM Partner). It's like Windows Meets Fisher-Price. They tried to make it like Mac OS-X, but only got the graphics close; not the functionality. It's a total cluster-f##k.

DITTO

[William33 110]

Please check this final system build. We are going to order tonight.

My Components

PROCESSOR Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB) edit

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium edit

MONITOR 24 inch E248WFP Entry Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor edit

MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 4DIMMs edit

HARD DRIVE 500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ edit

OPTICAL DRIVE Dual Drives: 48X CDRW/DVD COMBO Drive + 16X DVD+/-RW Drive edit

VIDEO CARD ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB edit

SOUND Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit

KEYBOARD & MOUSE Logitech Cordless Desktop S 510 Keyboard and Mouse - Arctic Silver edit

BLUETOOTH OPTIONS Dell Bluetooth Wireless Media Hub (13-1 Media Reader w/Bluetooth 2.0 EDR) edit

FLOPPY & MEDIA READER Dell Media Card Reader included in Dell Bluetooth Package edit

MODEM No Modem Option edit

My Software & Accessories

PRINTER Dell AIO 926 - Includes Media Card Reader edit

SERVICE & SUPPORT 1Yr Ltd. Warranty, 1 yr HW Warranty Support, 1 yr Advance Exchange edit

DELL 926 PRINTER Dell All-In-One Printer 926 edit

SPEAKERS Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Stereo Speakers with Subwoofer edit

ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 30-Days edit

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9.0 edit

My Service

WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support edit

DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr edit

ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM

Miscellaneous Award Winning Service and Support

Mouse Mouse included with Keyboard purchase

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1

Network Interface Integrated 10/100 Ethernet

Labels Windows Vista™ Premium

PHOTO AND MUSIC SOFTWARE No Entertainment software pre-installed

Sadly, this will cost $1438.00 Perhaps we should reconsider something?

[Dan J 277]

Please check this final system build. We are going to order tonight.

My Components

PROCESSOR Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB) edit

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium edit

MONITOR 24 inch E248WFP Entry Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor edit

MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 4DIMMs edit

HARD DRIVE 500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ edit

OPTICAL DRIVE Dual Drives: 48X CDRW/DVD COMBO Drive + 16X DVD+/-RW Drive edit

VIDEO CARD ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB edit

SOUND Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit

KEYBOARD & MOUSE Logitech Cordless Desktop S 510 Keyboard and Mouse - Arctic Silver edit

BLUETOOTH OPTIONS Dell Bluetooth Wireless Media Hub (13-1 Media Reader w/Bluetooth 2.0 EDR) edit

FLOPPY & MEDIA READER Dell Media Card Reader included in Dell Bluetooth Package edit

MODEM No Modem Option edit

My Software & Accessories

PRINTER Dell AIO 926 - Includes Media Card Reader edit

SERVICE & SUPPORT 1Yr Ltd. Warranty, 1 yr HW Warranty Support, 1 yr Advance Exchange edit

DELL 926 PRINTER Dell All-In-One Printer 926 edit

SPEAKERS Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Stereo Speakers with Subwoofer edit

ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 30-Days edit

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9.0 edit

My Service

WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support edit

DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr edit

ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM

Miscellaneous Award Winning Service and Support

Mouse Mouse included with Keyboard purchase

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1

Network Interface Integrated 10/100 Ethernet

Labels Windows Vista™ Premium

PHOTO AND MUSIC SOFTWARE No Entertainment software pre-installed

Sadly, this will cost $1438.00 Perhaps we should reconsider something?

You probably wont need the Q6600 processor. I would suggesting going with something inbetween what you had and this one, if the option exists. I don't know what processors Dell allows for thier configuration.

As far as the memory goes, you can probably buy some from a local computer store and install it yourself for cheaper than what dell will sell it to you.

[Flames9_RN 358]

newegg.com is great for memory and monitors!! love my Hanns-G monitor

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Please check this final system build. We are going to order tonight.

My Components

PROCESSOR Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB) edit

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium edit

MONITOR 24 inch E248WFP Entry Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor edit

MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 4DIMMs edit

HARD DRIVE 500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ edit

OPTICAL DRIVE Dual Drives: 48X CDRW/DVD COMBO Drive + 16X DVD+/-RW Drive edit

VIDEO CARD ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB edit

SOUND Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit

KEYBOARD & MOUSE Logitech Cordless Desktop S 510 Keyboard and Mouse - Arctic Silver edit

BLUETOOTH OPTIONS Dell Bluetooth Wireless Media Hub (13-1 Media Reader w/Bluetooth 2.0 EDR) edit

FLOPPY & MEDIA READER Dell Media Card Reader included in Dell Bluetooth Package edit

MODEM No Modem Option edit

My Software & Accessories

PRINTER Dell AIO 926 - Includes Media Card Reader edit

SERVICE & SUPPORT 1Yr Ltd. Warranty, 1 yr HW Warranty Support, 1 yr Advance Exchange edit

DELL 926 PRINTER Dell All-In-One Printer 926 edit

SPEAKERS Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Stereo Speakers with Subwoofer edit

ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 30-Days edit

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 9.0 edit

My Service

WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support edit

DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr edit

ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM

Miscellaneous Award Winning Service and Support

Mouse Mouse included with Keyboard purchase

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1

Network Interface Integrated 10/100 Ethernet

Labels Windows Vista™ Premium

PHOTO AND MUSIC SOFTWARE No Entertainment software pre-installed

Sadly, this will cost $1438.00 Perhaps we should reconsider something?

It really depends on what you're using the computer for - but the most expensive components in the build are the processor, memory and the monitor. Cutting back to 22" would save you $150 at least. Also agree with the other poster that dropping the quad core would save you a lot too. Dual Core is decent enough for most things.

One final piece of advice - don't order it on the website. Save the spec, get the reference number and order over the phone. Mine cost about $200 less than the website quote.

Edited May 3, 2008 by Number 6

[William33 110]

The additional 2 GB of RAM is $130 and the quad processor upgrade is $50. According to Crucial.com, the additional RAM is a wash.

As an aside, the 24" monitor is an additional $150 0ver the 20". We wanted the Dell ultra sharp model, but it is not available with the Inspiron configuration.

[melusine 5]

i hate dell..

had a friend who got a 5k comp there and their support is just plain horrible