Dell XPS 400... I have a price quote, looking for opinions on whether it is a deal?

GoCanes · 10-31-2005, 05:29 AM

I am looking to purchase an XPS 400. I see there is not much going on in the promotion front, but Dell Home got me a quote and I wanted to see if there was a consensus of whether I should take it or wait it out for a better price?

I am looking at a system with Pentium D 2.8Ghz, 1GB RAM, Dell 2005FPW Display, 256MB GeForce 6800 PCI-Express, 160GB SATA HD, SoundBlaster Audigy ZS w/ 1394, and 2 years of service. It is looking to cost me $1655 plus 6% tax and $29 for handling with free shipping. Does this sound like a deal or should I hold out for a better coupon??

Suggestions would be appreciated.

34erd · 10-31-2005, 05:46 AM

Price is good, for a dell... You could build that for like $300 cheaper. I'm assuming (hehe assuming, corect me if i'm wrong) you are a gamer since u wre going for the XPS 400 and a 6800GT, so AMD processors would probably be a better choice for you. Dell doesnt use AMD's though, so if you dont want to build it and you are indeed a gamer I would look into some smaller companys like ibuypower, they are alot cheaper also.

St)2ike)2 · 10-31-2005, 05:47 AM

Just rounding numbers from memory here but; from what you posted, i can tell you that it would be a lot cheaper to build the thing yourself.

www.pricewatch.com for all the detailed pricing info.

lowcar100 · 10-31-2005, 05:48 AM

for 1665 you could build yourself a better pc, however you wouldnt get the 2 years of service. would you mind building it or would you prefer to have it pre-built?

it is not a bad deal, but you can do better with the money (as i said before) by building it

GoCanes · 10-31-2005, 05:49 AM

I am actually not really a big gamer... the only games I am looking to play on my computer regularly are Civilization IV and definitely Star Wars Empire at War when it comes out.

I am just looking for a system that will last for a few years and be dependable. I am focusing on Dell and the XPS line because of the 18 month no interest financing at the moment. I have an AMD chip now in my system from 2001 and have found it quite dependable.

GoCanes · 10-31-2005, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowcar100

for 1665 you could build yourself a better pc, however you wouldnt get the 2 years of service. would you mind building it or would you prefer to have it pre-built?

it is not a bad deal, but you can do better with the money (as i said before) by building it

I thought about building a system. But leaned against it because just did not have the time to sit down and build the system I would like. I priced it out and saw it would be far cheaper.

The other thing is that I have never built a system before, and really do not want to mess it up. I have worked in IT during college and law school, and worked on desktop systems, but have never done anything from scratch.

Is it just a matter of screwing the pieces together and plugging everything in???

34erd · 10-31-2005, 05:56 AM

Well than yeah, that dell would be pretty good, actualy a worse video card might be better for you since those games arent the most intensive. Whats the next step down gfx card?

Quote:

Is it just a matter of screwing the pieces together and plugging everything in???

That, and doing it corectly

... Well I built my own system and I'm only 12, so I cant say its the hardest thing ever. But then again its not something you just want to just do carelessly if you dont have the time.

spawn · 10-31-2005, 06:02 AM

it actually doesnt take as long as u might think to build, and you can find many how to guides and faqs online about it.

also if you custom build a computer you dont have to have one of the crappy dell cases and chose your parts more.

as u said your not really a bigger gamer i do suggest a pentium processor, i love amd but intel can run more programs at a time, just runs a lil hotter

@34erd-a 6600 GT or maybe a radeon x300 would be cheaper work but he might get away with a 9200se or even a 5500 GT

GoCanes · 10-31-2005, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 34erd

Well than yeah, that dell would be pretty good, actualy a worse video card might be better for you since those games arent the most intensive. Whats the next step down gfx card?

I believe it is the 256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X600 SE HyperMemory.

The other thing I could do is change to the Dimension E510 and get a P4 w/ HT 3.0ghz instead of the PD 2.8ghz...

Right now Dell is running a 30% off Dimension promo and I can get it for around $1100. That would be with the video card downgrade to the ATI X600 and the P4.

Any thoughts?

34erd · 10-31-2005, 06:08 AM

Depends, do run alot of multithreaded aplications like adobe products, and video encoding, or running alot of programs at the same time , if not, then the regular P4 would be better.

10-31-2005, 05:29 AM	#1 (permalink)
GoCanes New Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 14	Dell XPS 400... I have a price quote, looking for opinions on whether it is a deal? I am looking to purchase an XPS 400. I see there is not much going on in the promotion front, but Dell Home got me a quote and I wanted to see if there was a consensus of whether I should take it or wait it out for a better price? I am looking at a system with Pentium D 2.8Ghz, 1GB RAM, Dell 2005FPW Display, 256MB GeForce 6800 PCI-Express, 160GB SATA HD, SoundBlaster Audigy ZS w/ 1394, and 2 years of service. It is looking to cost me $1655 plus 6% tax and $29 for handling with free shipping. Does this sound like a deal or should I hold out for a better coupon?? Suggestions would be appreciated.

10-31-2005, 05:46 AM	#2 (permalink)
34erd Diamond Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Age: 15 Posts: 2,842	Price is good, for a dell... You could build that for like $300 cheaper. I'm assuming (hehe assuming, corect me if i'm wrong) you are a gamer since u wre going for the XPS 400 and a 6800GT, so AMD processors would probably be a better choice for you. Dell doesnt use AMD's though, so if you dont want to build it and you are indeed a gamer I would look into some smaller companys like ibuypower, they are alot cheaper also. __________________ DFI Lanparty UT nF4 SLI DR Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1 Gig OCZ VX DDR500 DDR BFG GeForce 7800GT 160 Gig SATA HDD CD-RW DVD-ROM Antec NeoPower 480 Thermaltake Tsunami Last edited by 34erd; 10-31-2005 at 05:48 AM.

10-31-2005, 05:47 AM	#3 (permalink)
St)2ike)2 New Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 12	Just rounding numbers from memory here but; from what you posted, i can tell you that it would be a lot cheaper to build the thing yourself. www.pricewatch.com for all the detailed pricing info. __________________ AMD Athalon XP 3000+ @ 2.1 Ghz 400Mhz FSB Asus A7N8XE-Deluxe Mobo 1GB (2x512) Corsair XMS PC3200 2-2-2-5 GeForce 6600GT Slightly OC'd to 550/1100 80 GB Maxtor HD 7200 RPM Xion Ultimate Engineering Black/Blue Case /w side window

10-31-2005, 05:48 AM	#4 (permalink)
lowcar100 Platinum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Kent, Washington Age: 18 Posts: 499	for 1665 you could build yourself a better pc, however you wouldnt get the 2 years of service. would you mind building it or would you prefer to have it pre-built? it is not a bad deal, but you can do better with the money (as i said before) by building it __________________ Computers:family\|\|mine CPU:P4 2.6GHz\|\|AMD 3800+ X2 Motherboard:ASUS P4SD-LA\|\|MSI K8n Neo4 Platinum RAM:256MB x2 DDR\|\|Corsair XMS 2x 1GB DDR GPU:GeForce 5200 128MB\|\|GeForce 7900GT 256MB PCI-E PSU:250W Off brand\|\|ASPIRE ATX 520W HDD:120GB Ultra DMA\|\|WD 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Case:Retarded\|\|Sunbeam Transformer (Black)

10-31-2005, 06:08 AM	#10 (permalink)
34erd Diamond Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Age: 15 Posts: 2,842	Depends, do run alot of multithreaded aplications like adobe products, and video encoding, or running alot of programs at the same time , if not, then the regular P4 would be better. __________________ DFI Lanparty UT nF4 SLI DR Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 1 Gig OCZ VX DDR500 DDR BFG GeForce 7800GT 160 Gig SATA HDD CD-RW DVD-ROM Antec NeoPower 480 Thermaltake Tsunami

10-31-2005, 05:49 AM	#5 (permalink)
GoCanes New Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 14	I am actually not really a big gamer... the only games I am looking to play on my computer regularly are Civilization IV and definitely Star Wars Empire at War when it comes out. I am just looking for a system that will last for a few years and be dependable. I am focusing on Dell and the XPS line because of the 18 month no interest financing at the moment. I have an AMD chip now in my system from 2001 and have found it quite dependable.

10-31-2005, 06:02 AM	#8 (permalink)
spawn New Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 12	it actually doesnt take as long as u might think to build, and you can find many how to guides and faqs online about it. also if you custom build a computer you dont have to have one of the crappy dell cases and chose your parts more. as u said your not really a bigger gamer i do suggest a pentium processor, i love amd but intel can run more programs at a time, just runs a lil hotter @34erd-a 6600 GT or maybe a radeon x300 would be cheaper work but he might get away with a 9200se or even a 5500 GT

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