Dell for $2.2k

M

michaelusaf

New Member
Just found this site. Alot of knowledgeable people here, very helpful for those of us who are not "pros" when it comes to computers. I was hoping to get some feedback for this Dell system. I am recently retired military and can get this deal through the military exchange system (sort of like Wal-Mart for the military). I know I could build a better one for less money, but if I tried at my current level of computer expertise it would probably just catch fire. On the other hand if you need almost any type of jet engine rebuilt, send me an email ;) . It will be a family computer used for email, webserfing, word documents and gaming of the CC zero hour, Rome Total War type. Here are the specs for the system I can get for $2.2k. Please post your thoughts and /or alternate suggestions and thank you very much for your input. :)

ItemDescription Quantity Unit Price Ext Price
Dell XPS 600;Pentium® D Processor 830 with Dual Core Technology (3.0GHz, 800FSB)
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
Hard Drive: 320GB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 160GB SATA HDDs w/ Native Command Queuing)
CD or DVD Drive: Dual Drives: 48x CD-RW Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ double layer write capable
Floppy Drive and Media Reader: 3.5 in Floppy Drive
Monitors: 19 inch UltrasharpTM 1905FP Digital Flat Panel
Video Cards: 256MB PCI ExpressTM x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800
Sound Cards: Sound Blaster AudigyTM 2 ZS (D) Card w/Dolby 5.1, IEEE 1394 capability
Speakers: Dell 5650 5.1 100 Watt Surround Sound Speaker System with Subwoofer
Keyboard: Dell USB Keyboard
Mouse: Dell Optical USB Mouse
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed): Microsoft Office Basic - Includes Word, Excel and Outlook email
Security Software: New! Norton Internet Security 2005 AntiSpyware Edition 15-months
Digitial Music: Musicmatch® Jukebox Basic
Digital Photography: Photo AlbumTM SE Basic
Financial Software: No QuickBooks package selected- Includes limited use trial
Adobe Software: Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Internet Access Service: No ISP requested
Modem: 56K PCI Data Fax Modem
XPS Specialized Support: Dimension XPS, Specialized Support
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 4Yr Ltd Warr,At-Home Service,and Tech Support plus Nights and Weekends

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Total: $2,206.00
 
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HOLY CRAP, for just email, websurfing, word documents and gaming of the CC zero hour, Rome Total War type, dont you think your overdoing it!

i tried makeing a cheaper one but it didnt copy paste right, but for what you want to do, your spending way too much for a computer
 
Ya Space, I know it is overkill for what we do. My main concern is getting a powerful enough system that I don't have to worry about upgrading for a looooong time. For instance I have a Dell 1.8mhz system that I bought over 5 years ago that is just now, with Norton, antispy software, windows xp, and all the other programs that I have added onto it is way slow, but I did not have a bit of trouble as far as slowing down, lag, etc until just recently. Also I may jump back into EQ/EQ2 and want a system that will handle it. But anyway, think bang for the buck as far as buying a system for that price range, you know? I am not sure if what you recommended is a system that I can buy online. Like I stated, it would be dangerous for anyone in the immediate area if I tried to build one :D
 
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At the local Exchange here they have some good deals on HP/Compaq computers. One of these will probably do it for you, and you could just upgrade the ram and video card. These are very easy to install for anyone. You'd save a lot of money that way and the system would be good for your needs.

I'm new to the "new" technology stuff myself and getting ready to build my first pc, so I'm not a "pro" by any means. Also, I went quite a bit overboard with my system too, so who am I to give advice? ;)

Just keep in mind that ANY computer you buy now will be behind the times in a few years. That doesn't mean you won't be able to use it for most things. The pc you have now would be much improved if you added more ram and cleaned up any messes that found their way onto your system.
 
@michaelusaf
Welcome to CF :) A few things:
1. That's a very nice system you've got spec'd out there ... for a Dell its not too ovepriced although I would argue that I could spec out a system for 500USD less (if not even more) and give you equal or better performance. I might suggest that your system is a bit overpowered for what you have in mind for using it (not that its a bad thing as far as the machine/task is concerned but rather i'm thinking of your wallet)
2. I would strongly urge you build your own ... if you are really adverse to doing this, another option would be to find a small computer store and just pay them to put together a custom spec'd system for you ... I'm guessing you'd be paying about 100 bucks for labour blah blah but even then you'd be saving money and getting a better system

As a simple point of reference:
- AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [ADA4200DAA5BV, 475USD]
- MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum [100USD after 25MIR]
- Albatron 7800GTX [435USD after 30MIR]
- Xclio 450W [12V@32A, 50USD]
- Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB [16MB, 95USD]
- Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB [16MB, 95USD]
- NEC 3540 [40USD]
- Patriot 2x512 [PC3200, [email protected], 110USD]
- Logitech z5300e 280W 5.1 THX [140USD]
- Logitech MX518 [1600DPI, 40USD]
- Logitech Office Internet Pro Kybd [5USD]
Subtotal = 1585

Now granted I didnt specify an LCD screen; you can pick that out yourself (or i can if you want, i'm just not a big fan of LCDs) but there's plenty of room left for OS, case, LCD etc and I assure you the machine ive spec'd above will run circles around that dell for virtually anything you toss at it :)

But again with my system ... overkill for what you're intending to do with it? Yes. But better value than the Dell? Absolutely. My point is, if you're going to go overkill, i might suggest you go overkill without overpaying :)
 
for the light gaming he would be doin i dont think he needs the athlon processor, eventhough its incredibly fast. i think the pentium d would be better for the emailing and websurfing.
 
for the light gaming he would be doin i dont think he needs the athlon processor, eventhough its incredibly fast. i think the pentium d would be better for the emailing and websurfing.
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I didnt pick the X2 for gaming per se but rather because it's a better processor overall gaming or otherwise :) Also note that my price tag is lower :)
 
the athlon X2 is just as good for that.
however, the 7800GTX, ah well.. he said he didnt want to upgrade in a while :)
 
The system Praetor listed is much better than the Dell and you wouldn't have a lot of usless software installed, on the otherhand if you have to purchase all the software that comes with the Dell, the cost could be substantially more. The warrenty on a custom built computer will probably be manufactures warranty of all the individual parts (memory, lifetime). If you speced out a same for same computer as the Dell you would see a much lower price.
 
may i recommend building through monarchcomputer.com - GREAT Customer service thus far, and I mean great, and yet I havent evem really finished placing my order because Praetor persuaded me to change a few things...

ALot cheaper than Dell, alot more options, but still costs more than buidling yourself.
 
may i recommend building through monarchcomputer.com - GREAT Customer service thus far, and I mean great, and yet I havent evem really finished placing my order because Praetor persuaded me to change a few things...
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ya perhaps ... i only used Newegg because it's kinda a de-facto point of reference for finding products etc rather than anything else really :)
 
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