Dead now - Dell Dim 8300 Northwood (no more Prescott), 8xDVD+R, 15" LCD, now $819+tax

[UTmtnbiker]

Bah! Cancelled mine as I was going to get the Northwood processors. MaximumPC did a good article this month saying how Prescott didn't do anything basically at current speeds but wait till they crank it up to 5ghz. That's where the payoff will be.

However, all that being said, I wanted Prescott (it's the newness and neato-ness thing) and according to the CSR, nobody would be getting Prescott (take this with a grain of salt, it is after all a Dell CSR) as the lead times were extremely long.

Best o' luck to everybody who got in early.

 

[Zerg]

Does anyone have the original page saved that showed this was going to be a Prescott chip?

I have been on the phone with Dell for most of the day and it appears that the rumor of no one getting Prescott's is true. NO ONE will be getting a Prescott in their machine, NO matter when it was ordered. From what I have been told, Dell is not comfortable with the heat that the Pescotts are generating inside, acoording to their own testers.

Unbelievable that Dell can "bait & switch" like this and get away with it. While I know the words "bait and switch" are a bit harsh in this case, since Dell was only trying to "protect" themselves, er clients from major computer issues down the road, I still think they should have been forthwrite with us and told us upfront that they were subbing in the Northwood chipset. BTW - The Northwood has 512 cache vs the Prescott at 1cache and that is my main beef.

So does anyone have the page saved where it said it was going to be a Prescott/1 cache? Even a copy of someone's invoice from Dell will help ....

And yes if you have a email confirmation taht says either Prescott or 1mb(?) cache, then I would recommend you call and confirm this. PLEASE!

Sorry to add all of this to ya'lls thread. I just hope it helps someone else out with the confusion re: Prescott vs Northwood chipset.

Zerg

 

[newbiepcuser]

Any updates from others who ordered?

 

[Yo2]

I have Dell acknowledgement and confirmation e-mails both stating 1MB prescott - however the order in production simply shows up as PIV 3.0GHz (no specific mention of prescott or 1 MB). My primary goal was to obtain a leading edge system. If they deliver it without Prescott I will not pay their part of my CC invoice because the product does not meet the specifications outlined and acknowledged (and confirmed) when ordered.

I am aware of the heat issue i was just wondering how Dell is going to handle it - well let's see.

I will keeep you posted

 

[newbiepcuser]

Originally posted by: Yo2
I have Dell acknowledgement and confirmation e-mails both stating 1MB prescott - however the order in production simply shows up as PIV 3.0GHz (no specific mention of prescott or 1 MB). My primary goal was to obtain a leading edge system. If they deliver it without Prescott I will not pay their part of my CC invoice because the product does not meet the specifications outlined and acknowledged (and confirmed) when ordered.

I am aware of the heat issue i was just wondering how Dell is going to handle it - well let's see.

I will keeep you posted

thanks, my buddy order one too. She said she will raise hell if its not a Prescott.

 

[russw]

THANKS to those of you!

I originally ordered this 8300 early Tues evening, but had a coupon problem. Was able to get that rectified when Dell Online Sales opened Wed AM (after 55 mins on phone and getting routed from Austin, TX to India, disconnected, Austin - same lazy csr, back to India, and back to Austin.)

Anyway, I printed copies of the web pages, I printed copies of my cart before and after the coupon problem. I printed a "detailed" view of the cart.

We all know the offering online was for a choice from 3 cpu's:
3GHz /1MB cache
3.2GHz /1MB cache - add $100
3.4GHz - add $270

My Order Summary from the csr who helped with the "eaten" coupon issue shows the first item as:

Qty 1, Part # 221-4282, Dimension 8300 Series, Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 3.0GHz w/HT Technology and 1MB cache.

NOTE THE PART # above as it is the same as was on my "detailed view" of my cart (listed as a SKU with a product code of SPA308B), and is also the same part number as listed currently on my "Check Order Status" page (though that page's item description entry may be truncated as it only shows "221-4282 / DIM 8300, PENTIUM 4,3.0GHZ,HT,INT SNDNICV". (this seems to be referencing the system board having onboard sound&nic?)

I don't know who told who what, but we all know what Dell was offering and I think they have a pretty good track record judging from previous threads here wherein they've held up their end on bargains. (Hopeing)

I don't know what type of cooling system used on the 8300 board since the case design if different from the 400sc server case, but that server has a big fan directly on the heatsink for the std Northwood cpu. And from what I've read on Ziffnet and a January 30th Precott review at ExtremeTech, the temp issue is with the 3.4gHz chips. According to PCMag Dell was shipping Dimension XPS's with the high end Prescott too.

...russ

 

[Yo2]

I don't know why people print out the webpages - the order acknowledgement as well as the confirmation will tell you what you get. If they do not match what I think I ordered, I'd be on the horn right away.

Thank you for doing the cross-referencing though. I am not too worried myself - my experience with Dell lets me believe that they will deliver what they promised - we'll see.

As for the internal case layout, the 400sc is very similar to the 8300 and actually also the XPS case(which really is an optiplex case). I have seen the XPS with 3.2GHz CPU and it uses a heatpipe style heatsink, which appears to be very efficient in cooling the high-end Northwood chips. I would expect Dell to approach the Prescott with a similar design, which should be able to handle the higher temps - may be it won't be quite as silent though

 

[Yo2]

Just got a shipment confirmation - it shipped last night UPS - should be here early next week

 

[BakedWafer]

Yuor shipped last night and you got a Prescott! Cause mine comes up as 1 mg prescott and I'm just trying to see if it will ship before April 01, 2004!

 

[Zerg]

I agree Yo2 about what you said being that if what they sent/send out to you in the emial conmfirmation matches up , then all should be beloved patriot dory, right?

Have you called in to Dell to personally confirm that you are in fact getting the 1mb cache on the L2 yet? Or in other words that you are indeed getting a Prescott running your machine. I am willing to bet you a pizza that you will NOT get a Prescott with the 1mb cache and instead you will get a Northwood, with 512 of L2 cache. According to what I discussed with them yesterday. My main reason for wanting the Prescott config, is mainly because of the advantages of the L2 extended cache and the results it shows against the Northwood when it comes to doing video editting, compression, etc... This system is not even being purchased for a gaming rig or anything else, thus the reason why I am fighting so hard for the Prescott config. But as I mentioned, I do NOT think Dell is going to come through on this one because of the heat issues in reflection to the 8300 series build design and how the Prescott runs extremely hot and will lead to more breakdowns over a period of months. Of course Dell does not want to be on the hook for replacing a bunch of machines (Prescott builds) 6 months or even worse at the 11th month. Especially since they will be hawking 5ghz Prescotts at that time.

I have asked Dell to make it up to me for the "downgrade" to the Northwood from the Prescott (NOTE: Yes I have read the reviews and I am aware that at the present time the Northwood is tried and true technology currently, and the Prescott is not tried and proven) by upgrading my RAM (ordered 512 RAM in my original configuration) to 1MB of RAM or upgrade my processor speed to compensate for the loss regarding the L2 cache. It might be a loosing battle, but I have not given up the ghost yet and I suggest to ALL that have a order in with Dell for this particualr configuration call ASAP and please post your results from your conversations with them.

Between you, me and the fence post, it really does not matter to me that much if I get the Northwood, since it will still be a screamer for the processes I want to use it for. But it is a matter of principal and the words "bait and switch" still float to the top about this whole situation.

Good luck all and I hope ya'll post what type of chips you get, when you get your computer in.

Till then...I will be in lurking mode


Zerg

PS - Yo2 - Let me know what type of pizza you want if you get a Prescott, LMAO!

 

[Sillyrib]

I ordered the same system with the prescott. After being on the phone with dell csrs and tech support I recieved the following information. Take it with a grain of salt. Dell sales rep states that the Intel prescott was pulled by Intel and that dell does not take responsibility for this. I understand the arguments about heat issues and no relative speed changes but what I have an issue with is Dell advertising and selling a product and shipping a different product. I will in fact use this as a home system for hiigh computation activities( high poly count 3D modeling/animation) but thats beside the point. I was waiting for the prescott chip to be available for this reason. Anyways, after getting no where with customer service they switched me to the returns department and they offered me $100.00 to keep the system, apparently the standard rate. The prescott will probably not be released again for a month or two, who knows with intel and I am not willing to wait that long considering my system has already shipped.

 

[Kung Lau]

Hate to change the subject, but does anyone know if the mb will support SATA even if the system was ordered with the base 40 gig hd? I'm assuming a Northwood cpu will get another mb vs a Prescott one.

I wanted to cheap out on the deal (except for the 9800 pro upgrade) and get a Raptor later, but if the base mb does not support SATA, I may have to cancel my order.

 

[Zerg]

Sillyrib
Sounds like you and me have the same beef. I decided to discuss the issue a little further with what I will call my "Dell Contact" this morning and he told me the best course of action at this point is to accept the machine that gets shipped to us and then call back their Customer Care and fight on from there. I will not drop this issue as I still think it is illegal to advertise one product and then make a switch-a-roo at the last minute. The reasons should not matter to us as the consumer, maybe Dell should have never advertised the product in the first place.

Kung Lau
Yes I think I did read that the MB is SATA compatable...check the thread at Chubby Wallet. Tons of info over there too.

Good Luck

 

[masteropp]

Quick update from here, but I was able to order one in the evening on Wednesday, and at the time I was placing my order the description had the "w/ 1MB Cache" and shortly after placing my order when I went to check out my order status the description had changed to the non-Prescott description. I have not called to pursue this further as I read too many scary hardware reviews of the Prescotts and their heat issues. I am going to be using this pc as a HTPC, so I need as much help as possible to keep this thing quiet, and high temps generally means more fans which means more noise...

Another interesting note is that my order status says my system has shipped as of last night. Crazy fast.

Good luck to those of you who are fighting to get Prescotts. I definitely agree that Dell should be obligated to get you that chip if you want it, since that's what the description said.

 

[deci8]

Just spoke to CSR as my order also has an April ship date. It is due to the Prescott. I asked if there was any way it could be expidited. She upgraded me to next day air free of charge, and is having their person in charge of ordering call me. I'll repost with updated info. I'll switch out to a Northwood if need be.

 

[deci8]

Originally posted by: Kung Lau
Hate to change the subject, but does anyone know if the mb will support SATA even if the system was ordered with the base 40 gig hd? I'm assuming a Northwood cpu will get another mb vs a Prescott one.

I wanted to cheap out on the deal (except for the 9800 pro upgrade) and get a Raptor later, but if the base mb does not support SATA, I may have to cancel my order.

The motherboard will still have sata support.

 

[whatnow]

Mine shipped also. I will wait to see what pro. I get and maybe asked for a deal like Sillyrib.

 

[Yo2]

Originally posted by: Zerg
I agree Yo2 about what you said being that if what they sent/send out to you in the emial conmfirmation matches up , then all should be beloved patriot dory, right?

Have you called in to Dell to personally confirm that you are in fact getting the 1mb cache on the L2 yet? Or in other words that you are indeed getting a Prescott running your machine. I am willing to bet you a pizza that you will NOT get a Prescott with the 1mb cache and instead you will get a Northwood, with 512 of L2 cache. According to what I discussed with them yesterday. My main reason for wanting the Prescott config, is mainly because of the advantages of the L2 extended cache and the results it shows against the Northwood when it comes to doing video editting, compression, etc... This system is not even being purchased for a gaming rig or anything else, thus the reason why I am fighting so hard for the Prescott config. But as I mentioned, I do NOT think Dell is going to come through on this one because of the heat issues in reflection to the 8300 series build design and how the Prescott runs extremely hot and will lead to more breakdowns over a period of months. Of course Dell does not want to be on the hook for replacing a bunch of machines (Prescott builds) 6 months or even worse at the 11th month. Especially since they will be hawking 5ghz Prescotts at that time.

I have asked Dell to make it up to me for the "downgrade" to the Northwood from the Prescott (NOTE: Yes I have read the reviews and I am aware that at the present time the Northwood is tried and true technology currently, and the Prescott is not tried and proven) by upgrading my RAM (ordered 512 RAM in my original configuration) to 1MB of RAM or upgrade my processor speed to compensate for the loss regarding the L2 cache. It might be a loosing battle, but I have not given up the ghost yet and I suggest to ALL that have a order in with Dell for this particualr configuration call ASAP and please post your results from your conversations with them.

Between you, me and the fence post, it really does not matter to me that much if I get the Northwood, since it will still be a screamer for the processes I want to use it for. But it is a matter of principal and the words "bait and switch" still float to the top about this whole situation.

Good luck all and I hope ya'll post what type of chips you get, when you get your computer in.

Till then...I will be in lurking mode


Zerg

PS - Yo2 - Let me know what type of pizza you want if you get a Prescott, LMAO!

Why should I call dell?

To be on the phone for 45minutes only to reach a bonehead csr who doesn't no the least thing for sure and keeps me guessing just as well?

If they do not deliver what they promise I MAY call them - or I may just not pay their charge on my CC - then THEY will call me...

Until then I trust that they will ship what they promised.

As for the Pizza - I'll let you know when it's here

 

[Sillyrib]

You can call tech support with your order number and they can look up the part number of your processor pretty quickly. Its customer service/care that you will have problems getting answers out of. At this point AFAIK no Prescotts will be shipped until a minimum of April 1st at which time better deals and better technology will probably be available.

 

[russw]

Yo2: How did you get them to send a shipping confirmation. I've noted that the option is listed at the bottom of the order status page, but that doesn't work. Today I received the 400SC server I ordered on the 13th and never received shipping confirmation. Might that be because I stayed with the free shipping option?

Someone mentioned that the motherboard for the 400sc and the 8300 were the same more than one around here, but I think (w/o rescanning this thread) that there was a mention of a bios update for the Prescott? I was actually considering pulling the Prescott from the 8300 and switching with the 2.8 Northwood in the 400sc. Would you know if this would be viable?

Checking my order status showed up as in Boxing and est ship on Monday, March 1st. Odd such a delay between production and shipping.

Anyway, I agree that one shouldn't have to call a seller to verify you're getting what you're supposed to be getting.

I am wondering if Dell may actually have gotten so many orders that there wasn't enough supply of the newer chips to fill orders

We'll all see shortly
...russ

 

[Yo2]

Originally posted by: russw
Yo2: How did you get them to send a shipping confirmation. I've noted that the option is listed at the bottom of the order status page, but that doesn't work. Today I received the 400SC server I ordered on the 13th and never received shipping confirmation. Might that be because I stayed with the free shipping option?


I think I set that up a while ago in my profile - not sure though but I get notified on most if not all orders automatically and I usually use the cheapest (free) shipping method.


Someone mentioned that the motherboard for the 400sc and the 8300 were the same more than one around here, but I think (w/o rescanning this thread) that there was a mention of a bios update for the Prescott? I was actually considering pulling the Prescott from the 8300 and switching with the 2.8 Northwood in the 400sc. Would you know if this would be viable?


The boards are supposedly the same - so what you are considering should be possible as long as you can apply the 8300 bios update to the SC400 system.


Checking my order status showed up as in Boxing and est ship on Monday, March 1st. Odd such a delay between production and shipping.


That whole order status page is not quite accurate. Mine went from pre-production right into shipping (I guess they had my configuration on the shelf). Usually they ship before the predicted shipping date anyhow...


Anyway, I agree that one shouldn't have to call a seller to verify you're getting what you're supposed to be getting.

I am wondering if Dell may actually have gotten so many orders that there wasn't enough supply of the newer chips to fill orders

I do not believe the rumors of "no prescotts at all". I am hoping that they had the systems configured and ready to go, and then ran out of chips because of the high demand sparked by this deal. Because I ordered early and my system shipped already I am quite hopeful that it got processed before they ran out.


We'll all see shortly


Yes we will

...russ

Yo

 

[Kung Lau]

As for memory crucial is a great supplier with excellent quality (I bought from them numerous times despite the fact that their prices are a bit higher than elsewhere - their service and product make up for it) HOWEVER - their PC3200 ram is rated only at CAS3 latency. I know it is faster than that but the dell machines have no options to manually tweak the memory timings. I would therefore suggest to look for some quality brand PC3200 DDR rated cas 2.5 memory, which the dell can read and interpret correctly and which will give you a slight performance boost, quite noticeable actually as the system appears more responsive. In my SC400 I am currently using 1GB (2x512MB) of GEIL memory from newegg($160+/- shipped) with great results

Yo

I would like to know if you augmented the 256meg ram with the additional aftermarket or replaced them completely. I know the system is only as fast as the slowest piece, so is paying for premium aftermarket ram worth it if you keep the 256meg stock ram from Dell?

Also, do you have the exact link for the GEIL sticks? So many different PC3200's out there it's very confusing.
Thanks

 

[Yo2]

Originally posted by: Kung Lau

As for memory crucial is a great supplier with excellent quality (I bought from them numerous times despite the fact that their prices are a bit higher than elsewhere - their service and product make up for it) HOWEVER - their PC3200 ram is rated only at CAS3 latency. I know it is faster than that but the dell machines have no options to manually tweak the memory timings. I would therefore suggest to look for some quality brand PC3200 DDR rated cas 2.5 memory, which the dell can read and interpret correctly and which will give you a slight performance boost, quite noticeable actually as the system appears more responsive. In my SC400 I am currently using 1GB (2x512MB) of GEIL memory from newegg($160+/- shipped) with great results

Yo

I would like to know if you augmented the 256meg ram with the additional aftermarket or replaced them completely. I know the system is only as fast as the slowest piece, so is paying for premium aftermarket ram worth it if you keep the 256meg stock ram from Dell?

Also, do you have the exact link for the GEIL sticks? So many different PC3200's out there it's very confusing.
Thanks

link to Geil ram at newegg - I am using this, but there are also a couple of other Geil sticks in the same price range. I did not order a pair just two single sticks and they seem to work fine (saved me about $20)- my SC400 came with only 128MB RAM, and it's ECC, so besides the different timings (cas3(DELL) vs. cas2.5(Geil)) there is no good way to run them together, besides the performance difference between having 1GB and having 1GB+128MB or 1GB+256MB is likely close to nothing.

 

[russw]

on a non-Prescott v Northwood note, presumably most ordered the 8300 with the Free 8x DVD+R burners. Anyone know who Dell oem's these drives from?

...russ

 

[Yo2]

Just got my system - went right into bios - (1024 wopping KB of cache) IT"S A PRESCOTT - yeah baby