bachviet

I want to get a new computer and I have two choices:

1. Buy the Dell 8300 on "Deals" page with the R9800Pro upgrade - $711 after $150 MIR, tax, and coupon.

or

2. Build a P4 3.0C for about $600 (CPU, motherboard, video card, and RAM only).

What should I do?

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Dell Dimension 9200 | Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4GHz) | 4x1GB DDR2 | 256MB nVidia GeForce 8800GT

Dell Studio 17 | Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHz) | 2x2GB DDR3 1066MHz | 1GHz ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650

Intel P4-C 3.0GHz | ECS 865PE-A | 3x512MB PC3200 | 128MB PNY GeForce 6600GT

ribitch

build your own.

I just dont like dell

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PrObLy

I say build it....it's more self-rewarding

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DaFunkyUnit

going Dell would take less time and effort, and you would have an ultra quiet system.

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ribitch

you havent heaqrd quite until you have heard a G5 run. my external enclosures are louder than my CPU. I also have my replayTV in the same room. I did the fan hack, and thats even louder than the G5.

eSDee

I have a dual G5 and I agree its ultra quiet. However the dells are manufactured very nicely as well. I run a little Dell box in my room and it is about as quiet as the dual G5(maybe not, but close).

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Grumpy

i say build it.

Bires

My Dell is currently own (2.4C) is the first computer I didn't build since 1994(!) but I love it, and am glad I didn't have to buy the parts. It's fast, quiet, and rock solid. I just swapped in my HDs and GF-FX and added 2 PC3200's, and enjoyed thoughtless, flawless working and gaming.

So...I vote Dell, but $800 seems a little high...get the base system and add your own memory and video card.

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ski

You haven't heard loud until you have heard my PC run. I got a nice Lian-Li case, and made an effort to go with low dB fans, but it still hums. Compared to the 2 other Dells in my apartment, mine is noticably louder.

If you have the knowledge to build it, chances are you'll be able to fix it if something breaks. Therefore, you don't need Dell's warranty, and you'll be better off building your PC

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wxtwiztidxc

Buy it, quick and easy

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Jeffbx

Buy the Dell. You'll be glad you did if anything goes wrong & you have to swap out parts - they'll just ship replacement pieces to you.

slaus

I would say built it yourself but the Dells are so cheap now. So go and buy the Dell box.

bachviet

The R9800Pro would cost me at least $220 if I buy. It only costs me $140 to upgrade from the FX5200.

BTW the Dell 8300 comes with the new P4 3.0E with 1MB L2 cache.

Showtime

The new chip is a little slower in 90% of applications. Not slow enuff to really matter IMO, but benches slower. If your not planning on ocing than that Dell package cant be beat. You cant get a 9800 for under $150 and the rest of the system is good enough. Throw in that LCD for $250 and sell it on Ebay for over $300. 15% = about 7.5% savings on the rig and add ons. Sweet deal IMO.

-jel

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bachviet

I decided to buy the Dell 8300 with the 17" LCD. I probably either sell the LCD on eBay or to my cousin. Thanks everybody for advice.

eSDee

Changed my mind about the Dell being almost as quiet as the Dual G5. Although the Dell is a solidly built machine the Dual G5 is much quieter. Can't even tell that it is on. It's amazing.

revil

Jeffbx

Been a while since you bought a Dell, huh?

Dell uses all high end brand name parts - Intel processors & mobo's, Adaptec controllers, WD & Seagate drives, ATI & nVidia video...
Same with Dell - all individual components are industry standard. Also, Dell has much better margins on the parts they use to build the machines, so you'll pay less up front.
Again, same with Dell... you pick & choose every component, from the size of the case to drive configuration to add-on peripherals.
Well, you can make that argument about ANY manufacturer!
My experience has been exactly the opposite... I have an office full of Dells that we use for high end 3D simulation, and they're all solid as rocks. I wouldn't buy them if they had bad support or a high failure rate.

From my experience, you should only build a machine if you really enjoy the satisfaction of putting a system together, or if you really like to tinker around & play with overclocking. Otherwise, it's cheaper, easier and you get better support from buying a pre-built machine. IMHO, of course.

johnnymk

How are the cases in Dells nowadays?

About a year ago, I added a burner in a fairly new Dell. I had to drill out some rivets to gain access to one panel of the case and a few more to get to the 5-1/4" bay.

Not a big deal, but it appeared that Dell didn't want anybody fooling around with the inside of their computers/

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Jeffbx

Much easier now... they give you these little green rails inside the case, and you screw them to your dive & then slide it into the bay. No more mucking around trying to get to the screws on the other side of the case.

Tommy Boomfiger

what is a fairly new dell? all the dells i have worked on for the past 2-3 years have been extremely easy to work with. ive only worked with dimensions and precision workstations but they are easy to open and replace components. all the cables and wires are neatly routed along the edges of the case so they dont get in your way. i dont ever recall having to use a screw driver to get anything done.

eSDee

0wn3d.

johnnymk

I worked on it last July 4th. The guy who owned it told me it wasn't that old. It had Windows XP. So when did XP come out?

Plus it only had 2 5-14" bays, if that's any help.

Bires

Some of the older dells had rails that were actually tooless-they just snap into the screw holes on the drives. I have a few at school that are like that.

Tommy Boomfiger

i stand corrected. i remember one office where i did some repair work on the cd rom drives, none of them used screws to hold them in. 3 of the drives had ide cables which were loose, probably due to vibrations. i guess they changed that for a reason. the last dimension i worked with did have screws for the optical drives. should have remembered that because i stripped the dvd burner from it to put in my own box.

bachviet

There is another Dell 8300 deal with free hard drive (80GB instead of 40GB) and memory (1GB instead of 256MB) upgrades but no DVD burner upgrade for $649 (no rebate). If I add the R9800Pro, it comes out to be $779 + tax (7.75%). Should I get this one instead of the previous 8300 ($711 after tax, coupon, and MIR)?

Bires

I would. The 1GB of mem will cost you an additional $150-$200, and its WELL worth it, if it's dual channel. 1GB dual-channel is very nice...I load Gunbound games in 1 second!

bachviet

How can I use the 15% off coupon? Without the coupon, I don't think it's a good deal.