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

GoCanes

GoCanes

New Member
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.
 
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.
 
Last edited:
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 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.
 
lowcar100 said:
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
Click to expand...

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???
 
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?
Is it just a matter of screwing the pieces together and plugging everything in???
Click to expand...
That, and doing it corectly :P... 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.
 
Last edited:
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
 
34erd said:
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?
Click to expand...

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?
 
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.
 
34erd said:
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.
Click to expand...

Well, primarily I have open multiple windows of IE, a citrix client for work, and something like Microsoft Word or Excel. I would like to get into building my own website using Dreamweaver, so factor that into the mix as well. I don't plan any real video editing. I also run Norton in the background.
 
np for the P4, idk how much resources dreamweaver uses up as i prefer notepad but the p4 will run very smooth with all those
 
spawn said:
np for the P4, idk how much resources dreamweaver uses up as i prefer notepad but the p4 will run very smooth with all those
Click to expand...

I guess I have a tough decision... go for the dual core or be price conscious and take the P4... I got some thinking to do.

Do you think the ATI Radeon X600 Video Card is decent??? Will, in the tasks I am doing (Civ 4, Star Wars, IE, Office), see a difference between the Radeon X600 and the GeForce 6800??? Would the 6800 just be a waste of a card on someone like myself?
 
i personally think the 6800 would be a waste for ya unless u wanna run civ 4 and star wars on higher settings, im not sure about the required specs on the 2 but either one will play them both
 
spawn said:
i personally think the 6800 would be a waste for ya unless u wanna run civ 4 and star wars on higher settings, im not sure about the required specs on the 2 but either one will play them both
Click to expand...

Thanks for all your input. Civ 4 recommended specs are 128mb video card with pixel and vertex shaders... and star wars has no specs yet, but should be similar as it is also a 3D RTS.
 
I think I will go with the Radeon X600. The price difference with Dell is $190 for the system without the GeForce 6800. I see I can get it for around that price online anyway. So, if I find I need it, I can always purchase it later on. If I find I do not need it, then saved almost $200.00. If Dell was giving it at a huge discount, than maybe I would reconsider, but this seems logical.

Now I am working out the price difference between Dual Core and a P4 HT... seeing if it is worth the cost difference.
 
Just one thing, the X600 hyper memory leeches of your systems RAM, so while you are going to be able to play those games, they are mostly CPU dpendent, so if you get into FPS it will not do too well.
 
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??
Click to expand...
Ok so 1655+6%+25=1780USD ... which is a crapload. Lets have a look at what you could get for that price:

- AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [S939, Manchester, ADA4200DAA5BV, 400USD]
- DFI Lanparty UT NF4Ultra-D [130USD]
- OCz Powerstream520-SLI [140USD]
- GEIL Ultra 2x512 PC4000 [CL2.5, 155USD]
- NEC 3540 [40USD]
- Maxtor DiamondMax10 300GB [16MB, 90USD]
- MSI 7800GTX [455USD]
Subtotal = 1410USD

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.
Click to expand...
In that case, swap the 7800GTX i picked out for a MSI X800 [165USD after 30USD MIR]
 
34erd said:
Just one thing, the X600 hyper memory leeches of your systems RAM, so while you are going to be able to play those games, they are mostly CPU dpendent, so if you get into FPS it will not do too well.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. I bought the system with the X600 right now (it has 128mb onboard and then pulls additional 128 from system ram) and I will see how it runs. I would rather have my choice of a multitude of cards than be at the mercy of Dell. It was only $40 for the X600, so not a huge investment if it does not work out for me. It seems like for now and what I am doing it should be okay. If not, I will be either shopping on tigerdirect.com or newegg.com for a new PCIE video card. But hopefully should be good for now. The system came out to around $1400 with the 20 inch Dell widescreen 2005FPW flat panel. So, definitely looking forward to enjoying that. The final system specs: PD 2.8, 1GB 533Mhz RAM, 80BG SATA, Soundblaster Audigy ZS w/ 1394, X600 128 supporting 256, and Windows XP Home. I am debating also adding a TV Tuner on my own. Any recommendations??

Thanks for all your guidance.
 
In an interesting turn of events, I called Dell and bitched about their website not clearly stating that the X600 is not a true 256mb card. After about 5 or 6 reps and several phone calls, and on the verge of returning my system, a dell representative offered to send me the nVidia 6800 256mb Geforce for FREE!! How sweet is that... so it is in the mail!! So, ended up being a really good deal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top