Buddha Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Some of you might find this fun to help with... Mrs. Buddha has finally OKed the purchase of a new Dell to replace my 5 1/2 year old machine that takes 4 minutes to boot up. I have a budget of $2,500 and want power, expandability, and a digital flat panel monitor. I'll be doing just about everything with it but gaming-- burning CDs, making movies, editing photos. It MUST be a Dell (not interested in other brands), and I'm not brave enough to try and build my own system from parts. So which components should I spend the most money on (e.g., processor, HD, RAM, video/sound cards), and where can I afford to skimp to keep it under budget??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Lucky man It all depends on what you are going to use it for, games, work, movies, photos, laptop, pc, etc...... By the way you can get a very good computer for $1K don't waste over 2K on a computer. It will be outdated in 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 You lost me on "it must be a dell", I have a new one at work, top of the line everything, and it doesn't touch my sony... regardless, good luck and congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor The Invincible Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 Buddha first off, I wouldn't use Dell or any other computer vendor. They charge way too much. I would pay someone to do it for me. Such as me. You could get a 2.4 ghz P4 processor for pretty cheap now a days. It's enough to do most anything on but it's by no means top of the line. I just bought a 120 ghz Western Digital HD last week, works well. If you're going to be doing video editing, you could go for a ATI Radeon 9700 or something similar. Make sure it at least has 120 mb of rideo ram. That will be very expensive though. Speaking of RAM, you could get a gig of DDR400 RAM for cheap... Sound, Ummmm, Soundblaster Audigy or Audigy 2 is nice, I suppose. 5.1 surround sound. I'm not much of a sound card guy, so maybe someone else could help you out. In short, I wouldn't waste time spending $2500 on this new computer of yours through Dell, when you could buy all that for $1000 if you get someone you trust to do it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeCarl Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 I'm with Skeletor....have someone (preferably someone local) build you a screamer. I can DRIVE to my local computer shop in less time than it would take to get a Dell technician on the phone. Order you a fine looking case - nothing wrong with a little eye candy - and just use top line components. Buy your monitor separately (I got a refurb 18" Gateway for under $400 and it's been spectacular). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riggins44 Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 I have a Dell and have a custom PC at work. Like both of them. The biggest difference is the Dell is hooked to cable modem vs DSL. Budda, check and see if your company has any kind of employee discounts with Dell. I took advantage of this. If you don't PM me and will see if can help you out. There is ways around everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddha Posted July 3, 2003 Author Share Posted July 3, 2003 I am VERY wary of getting someone to build me a computer because I don't know enough about the nuts & bolts to fix serious problems on my own. I'd rather have the security blanket of an overpriced warranty. Had to use it twice with past Dells and had the problem fixed onsite the next business day without trouble. Riggins44, the State of VA contract my office would use SUCKS (they only carry office workstations now), but I did find out that Dell has a local government employee purchase program. Looks like I can knock off $100-250 right there depending on their specials. I'll manage to get under my budget amount, I just need to figure out which parts to cut corners on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riggins44 Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 I've been looking at getting a Dell for my father. The extended warranty to me is worth the price. Have to say Dell is very good about quick service. Had to replace my hard drive few months ago and they were here next day. I'm not a computer guru, but for me having plenty of memory is a big plus. What is Dell's special of the month? I got free CD-RW drive in addition to DVD drive when bought mine. Wonder if you told them shopping Gateway as well, if you could work them into extra discounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Punani2 Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Originally posted by Buddha I am VERY wary of getting someone to build me a computer because I don't know enough about the nuts & bolts to fix serious problems on my own. I'd rather have the security blanket of an overpriced warranty. Had to use it twice with past Dells and had the problem fixed onsite the next business day without trouble. Riggins44, the State of VA contract my office would use SUCKS (they only carry office workstations now), but I did find out that Dell has a local government employee purchase program. Looks like I can knock off $100-250 right there depending on their specials. I'll manage to get under my budget amount, I just need to figure out which parts to cut corners on. That's too bad. You could save a sh*t load of $$$ if someone built it for you. here you go.... Dell Dimension 8300 Series Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.80GHz w/800MHz front side bus/ HT Technology Qty: 1 SALE PRICE Price: $2,336.00 [save $100.00] Date: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 8:03:45 PM CDT Catalog Number: 29 19 Dell Dimension 8300 Series: Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.80GHz w/800MHz front side bus/ HT Technology SP288H [221-2453] Memory: 512MB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz (2x256M) 512M4 [311-3001] Keyboard: Dell ® Quietkey ® Keyboard QK [310-1582] Monitors: 17 in 1703FP Ultrasharp™ Digital Flat Panel Display 1703FP [320-0659] Video Card: 64MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4 MX™ Graphics Card with TV-Out 64NV420 [320-0751] Hard Drive: New 120GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive (7200 RPM) 120G [340-8151] Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices: 3.5 in Floppy Drive FD [340-8628] Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional WPXP [420-1922] [412-0383] [313-7222] Mouse: Dell™ Optical USB Mouse OM [310-4037] Network Interface: Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet IN [430-0412] Modem: 56K PCI Telephony Modem 56KWS [313-1314] CD orDVD Drive: 4x DVD+RW/+R Drive w/CD-RW including Roxios Easy CD Creator® 4DVW995 [430-0462] [313-1464] [430-0428] Sound Card: SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 Digital Sound Card SB1024 [313-1932] [313-6010] Speakers: Harman Kardon® HK-395 Speakers with Subwoofer HK395 [313-7284] Software Bundles: WordPerfect® Office11 (WordPerfect,Quattro pro,Presentations) WPO11 [412-0402] Security Software: Dell SecurityCenter by McAfee, 90-day introductory offer MCAFE90 [412-0326] Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCH MMBASE [412-0298] Digital Photography: Dell Picture Studio, Image Expert Standard DPS [412-0271] [412-0273] Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: SAVE $60 (system price shown before rebate) 4 Yr Ltd Warr plus 4 Yr At-Home SPRO4OS [950-4270] [950-7447] [900-2933] [970-9159] [412-0360] Dial-Up Internet Access: 6 Months of America Online Membership Included AOLDHS [420-3224] [420-3224] [412-0371] [412-0366] Multi-Media Players: RealOne™ Player, with 14 day SuperPass trial REALBAS [412-0380] High Speed Internet Access: Find a high speed Internet service provider in your area HISPEED [462-0984] Surge Protectors - Protect Your Investment: Belkin SurgeMaster Gold - 10 Outlet with Coax (for Broadband) GOLD10 [A0109553] Special Offer: $100 OFF SPECIAL OFFER 100OFF [460-9055] Dell PCs use genuine Microsoft® Windows® www.microsoft.com/piracy/howtotell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor The Invincible Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Ugh Buddha, look, I know you like the Warranty, but you are getting ripped off if you spend anywhere CLOSE to $2,500 for a computer. I just don't like to see people ripped off, especially a Redskin Fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Punani2 Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Originally posted by Skeletor The Invincible Ugh Buddha, look, I know you like the Warranty, but you are getting ripped off if you spend anywhere CLOSE to $2,500 for a computer. I just don't like to see people ripped off, especially a Redskin Fan. I know, it's way too much to spend on a computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor The Invincible Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Well it's not really the cost behind it, it's just the cost you could spend compared to the cost you SHOULD spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskns21 Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Buddha, This is only one reason that you should NOT buy a Dell, http://165.193.123.52/articles/upgrade3_01_01.asp You say that it has to be a Dell but then in the same post you say that you want expandibility. My friend, that is a contradiction in terms. I would suggest buying a custom system from a local dealer or somebody on this board. I too agree that spending $2500.00 on a computer is a little much, even with a flat panel. I'm in IT and currently support 100+ computers daily. All of my systems here are custom built (by me or my staff) this includes my servers. I am currently able to build an extemely fast and stable system without the monitor, speakers, mouse or keyboard for under $700.00. I built one for my home with a 2.8 GHz processor, 1GB or DDR400, 80GB HDD, a video card with 128 MB of DDR memory, 5.1 Channel sound, dual network, CD-RW/DVD combo drive, firewire and USB 2.0 in a sick piano black finish case for under $1000 bucks. The price is probably even cheaper now. I bought a 19" Samsung LCD that has a digital connection and pivots between landscape and portrait views for only $650.00 about 2 weeks ago and I absolutely love it. Now the system that is have is probably overkill for you but for me it is just great! Even better is that my work bought it for me. In any case that system and the monitor total was only about $1650.00, add in a keyboard, mouse and some decent speakers and you are looking at another $100 or $150 dollars. At most that is $1800, far less than $2336 for that Dell listed above with about half of the features. In any case, good luck with your new system. I'm sure that you'll enjoy it no matter who it comes from. If you ultimately decide to purchase a Dell, let me know and I will try to give you a hand. If you want the exact specs for a custom system or the system that I have I can help with that as well. BTW, if you really want to drop $2500 check out these sites. The systems by Falcon Northwest are sick, they do custom paint jobs on all of their high end systems and could probably do a Redskins one if you paid them enough. www.falcon-nw.com www.voodoopc.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor The Invincible Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Wow, I had never come across that information redskns56. Truly amazing that Dell would continue to do that. It must be costing them a hell of a lot of money to continue making custom components. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskns21 Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 I'm not sure if they are still doing this but it still alarms me. I would bet that they have some reason, probably monetary, that they did it though. My thoughts were that by designing something like that they could make more money in the end by overcharging customers for the proprietary parts that they couldn't get from anywhere else. I'm sure that the initial cost of designing it this way is offset by charging much more than the going rate for a power supply or a motherboard. I would bet that a replacement power supply from Dell is at least $50 bucks more that you can grab one from an internet vendor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wicked Wop Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 One thing to remember in deciding to buy from a big corporation vs. a local customizer is that most of the part are the same if not better. I recenlty upgraded my old pentium II 350 and went barebones for most of the upgrades and spent just over $120 to upgrade to a 1ghz machine with with a extra 40 hardrive and 64mb of ram and a new PC case. In most cases its not worth upgrading to the latest and greatest unless your using your CPU for some high end purposes.......if you use it for mostly email, web surfing, and general data processing and game play, you are much better off upgrading every few years at extremely cheap prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor The Invincible Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 newegg is your friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wicked Wop Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 googlegear.com is better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor The Invincible Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Yeah it's about the same.. here and there it's better and worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wicked Wop Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 actually some of the best deals are found in the weekly sale papers (especially ragarding hard drives and ram). Some people are a little skeptical about the mail in rebates associated with them, but i've taken advantage of them many of times and got every rebate I've ever sent in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Yeah I'm getting around to upgrading to a bigger and better rig also but I have heard several friend complain about their Dell so I'm steering clear. Heck my 5 year old compac hasnt crashed or had any problem even with all of the power spikes in this area over the years but its time to move on. What I have my sights on is making a rig like the one I saw on tech tv that had a XBox, PS2 and PC hardrive in it so you can switch between systems and the video out can project onto the wall as an option for the ultimate big screen when not using my TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskns21 Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Buddha, Any word on what you decided? Haven't heard anything for a while and I was just wondering how the decision was going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OURYEAR#56 Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Go get an intern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddha Posted July 10, 2003 Author Share Posted July 10, 2003 Originally posted by redskns56 Buddha, Any word on what you decided? Haven't heard anything for a while and I was just wondering how the decision was going. I'm still set on a Dell. I enjoy mocking my coworker and the problems he has with his custom-made machine, and don't want to let him turn the tables on me. I would really feel uncomfortable without that corporate warranty as my safety net. Using one of Dell's special discount programs for government employees, I'm hitting around $2200 for an 8300 with a 17" flat panel monitor (very similar to the one Johnny Punani spekked out). I'm probably going to back off of the flat panel though-- after checking out some of the models at Best Buy and Circuit City, I'm not real impressed with the picture quality. I'll probably take the plunge in August and watch for their best combination of free upgrades. I'd still like to go for their XPS, but they are still charging too much for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fansince62 Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 rigins......:applause: ....way cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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