DEAD [Good while it Lasted!]: Dell Dimension 4550 2.4Ghz w/ 15'' Flat Panel 60GB HD 64MB Video $599 Shipped!

[Hulk]

Does anybody know what memory timings are available on this motherboard?

I'm going to pick up some PC2700 memory but don't want to spend the extra for CAS2 if the board will only run CAS2.5

BTW, 2 memory slots, right?

 

[JWade]

My brother drives for a trucking company that delivers parts to Dell, so he gets an "associate" discount. I priced a system through the employee/associate site and it was rougly $50 cheaper than after all the coupons and rebates. so if anyone else has a similiar job they might want to look into it.

 

[Yo2]

Originally posted by: Jindan
if you choose Premium Audio, you'll have an option for Turtle Beach Santa Cruz DSP Sound Card, does anybody know if this is the same card that sells for above $70 around?

Yes it is and it is one sweeeet card...

Yo

 

[Yo2]

Quote: "Hard drive question:
Are all the hard drive sizes offered with the 4550 from the same brand/series? I don't need the extra space, but I'd pay extra for a bigger drive if it had quieter or better performance. "

I got one with a 20GB drive, intend to clone it and put the install on another 40 or 60GB drive I have laying around. Anyhow I think I'll hold off with that since that 20 GB drive appears plenty fast and very very silent.

Yo

 

[themaestro72]

It costs $70 more to upgrade from the analog E151FPp LCD to the UltraSharp 1504FP with DVI and better viewing angle. Does anyone think its worth it?

 

[Aldyn]

I ordered one of these computers last night without the stackable 5 percent or 10 percent coupon. I am considering buying a coupon but wanted to know if it would be possible to call dell and have them apply the discount? Or, could I just cancel the order and reorder with the discount? The order isn't shipped yet. Thanks for the help.

 

[Keego]

Originally posted by: Hulk
Does anybody know what memory timings are available on this motherboard?

I'm going to pick up some PC2700 memory but don't want to spend the extra for CAS2 if the board will only run CAS2.5

BTW, 2 memory slots, right?

2 mem slots!

 

[DaCurryman]

Originally posted by: themaestro72
It costs $70 more to upgrade from the analog E151FPp LCD to the UltraSharp 1504FP with DVI and better viewing angle. Does anyone think its worth it?

I'm wondering the same, because I ordered one last night for my parents with the regular 15" LCD. They're not to keen on 15", so I'm thinking of ordering myself one tonight with the UltraSharp 15" LCD and the GF4 Ti4200 so I can run a dual set-up and just give my parents my 17" CRT. What do you guys think of this? It adds $160 to the price though.

Also, how big is the difference between the Regular and UltraSharp. Is it worth the $160 price tag difference?

Lastly, what kind of DDR memory do I need to buy to upgrade for this system...PC2100 or PC2700 or PC3500, etc. and how do I know if the ram I buy will run at 333MHz? Thanx again.

 

[technoteaser]

40GB is the max performance than 60 and 80 GB drives. Response time 8.9ms compared to 9.+

Originally posted by: Yo2
Quote: "Hard drive question:
Are all the hard drive sizes offered with the 4550 from the same brand/series? I don't need the extra space, but I'd pay extra for a bigger drive if it had quieter or better performance. "

I got one with a 20GB drive, intend to clone it and put the install on another 40 or 60GB drive I have laying around. Anyhow I think I'll hold off with that since that 20 GB drive appears plenty fast and very very silent.

Yo

 

[tazmania99]

Originally posted by: DaCurryman

Originally posted by: themaestro72
It costs $70 more to upgrade from the analog E151FPp LCD to the UltraSharp 1504FP with DVI and better viewing angle. Does anyone think its worth it?

I'm wondering the same, because I ordered one last night for my parents with the regular 15" LCD. They're not to keen on 15", so I'm thinking of ordering myself one tonight with the UltraSharp 15" LCD and the GF4 Ti4200 so I can run a dual set-up and just give my parents my 17" CRT. What do you guys think of this? It adds $160 to the price though.

Also, how big is the difference between the Regular and UltraSharp. Is it worth the $160 price tag difference?

Lastly, what kind of DDR memory do I need to buy to upgrade for this system...PC2100 or PC2700 or PC3500, etc. and how do I know if the ram I buy will run at 333MHz? Thanx again.

I don't think with the Geforce4 Ti4200 card you can set up dual monitors.Correct me if I am wrong coz I have this card too. Regarding the memory, if your system is Dell 4550 you need PC2700 rams running 333mhz. Dell 4500 needs PC2100 rams running 266mhz.

 

[MmmmmBeef]

Does anyone have any info on the motherboard in it?

Thanks

 

[drewdogg808]

Originally posted by: jrichrds
Hard drive question:
Are all the hard drive sizes offered with the 4550 from the same brand/series? I don't need the extra space, but I'd pay extra for a bigger drive if it had quieter or better performance.

i upgraded to the 40gig from the original deal, and it's listed as a maxtor 6L040J2 under device manager. the computer is super silent. i can't even tell it's on. the hard drive seems to be the loudest thing when running (the cd-rom spinning up is also loud). otherwise, a really nice computer at a great price. btw, i bought this for my gf, but i'm really tempted to get one for myself.

 

[DaCurryman]

Originally posted by: tazmania99
I don't think with the Geforce4 Ti4200 card you can set up dual monitors.Correct me if I am wrong coz I have this card too.

Can anyone confirm this please...

 

[Pothead]

Does anyone have any info on the motherboard in it?

MSI, I think.

 

[J9JM3]

The Ti4200 card is a great upgrade if you need a gaming machine. It does handle two displays with one connected to the VGA interface and one on the DVI interface. Install the latest drivers and under display settings/adapters enable Nview.

The e151fp 15" is great. I can't find any real flaws with it. My main machine I have a 1900FP and I really can't say is a whole lot better than the 15" screen for regular XP desktop stuff. I have not tried any video or games with the 15".

Originally posted by: tazmania99

Originally posted by: DaCurryman

Originally posted by: themaestro72
It costs $70 more to upgrade from the analog E151FPp LCD to the UltraSharp 1504FP with DVI and better viewing angle. Does anyone think its worth it?

I'm wondering the same, because I ordered one last night for my parents with the regular 15" LCD. They're not to keen on 15", so I'm thinking of ordering myself one tonight with the UltraSharp 15" LCD and the GF4 Ti4200 so I can run a dual set-up and just give my parents my 17" CRT. What do you guys think of this? It adds $160 to the price though.

Also, how big is the difference between the Regular and UltraSharp. Is it worth the $160 price tag difference?

Lastly, what kind of DDR memory do I need to buy to upgrade for this system...PC2100 or PC2700 or PC3500, etc. and how do I know if the ram I buy will run at 333MHz? Thanx again.

I don't think with the Geforce4 Ti4200 card you can set up dual monitors.Correct me if I am wrong coz I have this card too. Regarding the memory, if your system is Dell 4550 you need PC2700 rams running 333mhz. Dell 4500 needs PC2100 rams running 266mhz.

 

[jrichrds]

Originally posted by: drewdogg808
i upgraded to the 40gig from the original deal, and it's listed as a maxtor 6L040J2 under device manager. the computer is super silent. i can't even tell it's on. the hard drive seems to be the loudest thing when running (the cd-rom spinning up is also loud).

That's interesting. Last time I called, the Dell sales rep checked and said they were using Western Digital and Seagate drives for the 4550. Their peripherals store has primarily WD and Seagate drives as well, with the exception of one 60GB Maxtor.
Anyone else know what brand/model hard drive came with your 4550?

 

[cosmicbluematrix]

I have a 40 gigabyte hard drive and its a Maxtor! Kind of surprising! By the way, what I ended up doing with this deal is selling my old Dimension 4400 and the new LCD combined. And I made 100 bux by upgrading! Thats great!

 

[Karsten]

Just a little update. The OS CD that comes with the DELL is a full fledged version. I and some other people did a test install to make sure and everything went fine. Only thing is you have to deal with the licence activation.

So... in case you plan on running Linux on your Dell, it is perfectly legal to resell the CD's or use it for any other computer.

Karsten

 

[Rally1]

edit

 

[Yo2]

Originally posted by: technoteaser
40GB is the max performance than 60 and 80 GB drives. Response time 8.9ms compared to 9.+

Originally posted by: Yo2
Quote: "Hard drive question:
Are all the hard drive sizes offered with the 4550 from the same brand/series? I don't need the extra space, but I'd pay extra for a bigger drive if it had quieter or better performance. "

I got one with a 20GB drive, intend to clone it and put the install on another 40 or 60GB drive I have laying around. Anyhow I think I'll hold off with that since that 20 GB drive appears plenty fast and very very silent.

Yo

Response time is only one component and 8.9 vs.9.2 or so is not going to make a whole lot of a difference in real life applications (some of the number are also a matter of HOW they have been established).

More important is areal density, which translates directly into rotational speed if looking at the outer sector of a 7200rpm HDD (If it reads 100 sectors per rotation it's faster than if it reads only say 80). a 20GB drive nowerdays most likely has only one platter, whereas a 40GB likely has two platters possibly 3 with either even density or sightly lower density.Same applies to 60 GB drives (3 or 4 platters).

In a recently purchased 8200 the 40GB drive was a WD 400 (20GB/platter).

Yo

 

[Rally1]

if you want to get the extra $50 off you have to be over $749 (we all know that), but you can get two $600 machines, and then you are over the $749, and each machine gets the $50

 

[Hulk]

If anyone has one of these systems with the new D845PE motherboard I'd really like to know what memory timing settings you can change in the bios. i.e. can you set aggressive memory timings?

 

[jrichrds]

I admit being more interested in quietness than performance for the hard drive. The Seagate Barracuda IV (and V) hard drives are the quietest around, by quite a lot. Although any capacity 30GB and above is suitable, I'd base my choice on one size over the other if it means I'm getting a Seagate Barracuda.
Problem is...Dell doesn't seem to know what's being used. First Dell rep. I talked to said he didn't know. Another went to ask, and said either WD or Seagate. Two people here have said they got 40GB Maxtor drives in their 4550s. So word-of-mouth from owners seems much more reliable than Dell.

 

[vietofmars]

I ordered a 4550 from dell on 10/09. Recieved it on the 10/17.

The 40gig hd I got is the same as drewdogg's, maxtor 6L040J2.

The free upgrade 15" lcd is nice. Uses vga input, no dvi. I play unreal 2003 with it and I don't see anything wrong.

I upgraded to ti4200.

I ordered only 2.4ghz, 128 ram and dvd drive.

Total: $786 (includes CA tax, 60 bucks) - $100 rebate.
and it was shipped via USPS. No problems with that.

Bought 512 ddr pc2700 Corsair value select ram at fry's for $129.

and MS Works comes with word 2002.

 

[jrichrds]

Originally posted by: vietofmars
I ordered a 4550 from dell on 10/09. Recieved it on the 10/17.

The 40gig hd I got is the same as drewdogg's, maxtor 6L040J2.

Hope it has the Fluid Dynamic Bearing motor! These drives come in 2 versions (ball bearing & FDB), and Maxtor makes no mention on their website on how to differentiate between the two.

and it was shipped via USPS. No problems with that.

Is it delivered by your regular mailman on his normal route? Can't imagine my mailman having to carry around a 40 pound Dell box.

and MS Works comes with word 2002.

Cool. Last time I tried MS Works, it sucked. But if it comes with Word 2002 this time, that's pretty good.