Dell/Intel has better price/performance than AMD?

[tart666]

With the tiny/negative margins Dell has, it appears Intel platform has finally the best performance AND price. Just check this: Can anyone build a reasonable quality (no ECS/PCChips) XP2400+ system cheaper than a Dell 2.4? Or find an HP/Compaq/any reasonble vendor that can?

- P4 2.4/533
- 256MB DDR333
- 40x CDRW
- 60GB harddrive
- 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 front)
- SB live! 5.1
- Geforce 4 MX 460 64MB with TV out
- Ethernet and 56k modem
- 15" TFT active matrix LCD (1024x768, 350:1, 250cd/m2)
- Edit: forgot XP home license, keybd, intellimouse, floppy, screwless case, silent PSU/fans
- 1 year on-site warranty ( I know, it's been getting worse, but still the best according to a pcmag study)

All of this for $699 shipped, no rebates.

I mean seriously, as much as it saddens everyone, AMD does not have a lead even on the PRICE/PERFORMANCE anymore. There is no way a system with XP2400 would come CLOSE to this price.

R.I.P. the price/perfomance myth

 

[Elcs]

Personally, I'm a fan of who can provide me with good performance for the price. I bought a 16mb TNT 2nd hand when the Voodoo3? (cant remember which V) was out. Provided good perf. Bought an Athlon Slot A over the P3's going, cheaper for their perf. I purchased a Kyro II before the Graphics Card industry went berserk and produced too many chips to count on one hand, Performance for price.

I purchased an Athlon XP (in the UK) before those Thoroughbreds came out and made their start in the US, I bought an EPoX 8KHA+ for stability and overclocking power, performance for cheap.

And I'll continue to buy the stuff that gives me price/perf I need until I get a decent pay cheque.


I prefer not to flame, AMD is the one for me and will continue to be so until it is undeniably proven otherwise (or i need another cheap upgrade and need the services of the Reviewers again). It seems Intel has the ball in their court at the minute and AMD hasnt got a trump card this time. Lets hope they are able to do something to keep their Hammers smashing into Intels monopoly.

 

[Bovinicus]

AMD still holds the crown for price/performance if you plan on building your own system. If Dell made AMD systems, they would be priced more competitively. Of course, I will never ever buy a pre-built system ever again. They just cannot match the stability and performance of one made by oneself. You would be surprised how much faster my system runs than an equivalently equipped system pre-built and setup by some company. I would suggest you try and make an equivalent Intel based system for a lower price, it will be even harder than making a similar AMD system. This is not a good comparison. If Dell made AMD systems for higher prices, then it would make sense.

 

[Adul]

pre built system. who the hell wants that

 

[Bovinicus]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the way Dell has configured the system is just like every other pre-built system. It is configured very poorly for the gamer. Why would someone waste their money on a fast CPU like a 2.4GHz P4 and constrict it with a crappy GF4 MX? Also, with WinXP, I would choose a slower CPU and more memory. Pre-built systems are bad for this very reason, one cannot cater to the needs of the user exactly. Upgradability is often hampered as well. Tweaking ability is also reduced because they often use proprietary BIOSes that just cannot be tweaked for optimal performance. Don't compare pre-built systems to ones that people make themselves, because Dell can get super deals on Intel CPUs and other parts because they buy them in extreme bulk. It is simply a comparison that cannot be made.

 

[Adul]

also where the hell are you seeing this deal?

I want a direct link please.

this is what i see for a deal on their page

Special Offer
Featured at
$799
$749
$50 OFF Instantly!
Offer details

See special offers below for details.

Pentium® 4 Processor 2.0GHz
FREE 2nd Bay CD-Burner Upgrade!
FREE Memory Upgrade to 256MB DDR SDRAM!
FREE Flat Panel Monitor Upgrade- Online Only!

 

[Adul]

you must be trolling.

Hell this system has 128 MB of ram! wtf.

http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/offers/specials_m_dimen4550.htm

 

[KoolHonda]

No more Dell's for me at any price (I've owned 3, but now I'm down to one and wishin it was a Toshiba). This is also being "debated" at Dell .

 

[tart666]

Hell this system has 128 MB of ram! wtf.

No, no, no. Go Small Biz>Dimension 4550> Featured>Customize. You can customize it all you want, the one I mentioned before is $679 w/256MB

 

[tart666]

it is configured very poorly for the gamer.

That's why they have the "customize" button. For an extra $140 you can have 512MB of DDR333 + GF4-4200.

The whole price/performance myth is totally ruined for me after this. It's impossible to put together even an XP1800 system at this price.

And looking at Pcmag's reviews, the dells consistently beat Alien/Falcon/Homemade system while undercutting them by over $1000 on the high-end.

If Dell doesn't pick up AMD I will have to switch to buying pre-made. i can spend the $400 I save on a Rad9700 or super-ultra-loud THX speaker setup

 

[Adul]

well i go there and change it to a what you7 specified i get it for 798 dollars. And some of that stuff is on a special deal. so it wont last.

 

[Adul]

also all this expires today or the next few days.

FREE CD-RW Upgrade on Select Dell Systems!
Expires 10/23/2002
FREE Ground Shipping or Save Up to $65 on Next-Day and 2nd Day Shipping! Online only.
Expires 10/23/2002
FREE Flat Panel Monitor Upgrade! With purchase of select new DimensionTM desktops. Expires 10/20/2002

And I still am getting a $798 Price

has for the XP 1800 system, I think I could do that for that price

 

[Adul]

Correction 818 dollars. I had a ATI rage XL

 

[Adul]

ok i config one for 871 with shipping at newegg. But I got a 19" trinitron instead of a 15" flatpanel.
Nforce MB from asus and everything else matching. more or less. I guess I could have done better
that is with a 1800+

But at least with mine I could swap in a NEW MB and PRoc down the road for a cheap upgrade . whether it be intel or amd.

 

[sak]

hey if Stupid people at dell start using AMD there prices on their computers would be at least $100-150 dollars less...

so when u see these good deals from dell for like $350 or 400 then u see i bet u there u can get at least $50 off if they been using AMD processors...and not have to settle for lesser processor such as celeron

AMD has a good product...if u cant admit it ..oooh well..

 

[sharkeeper]

I saw this over on the RAGE3D homepage.

I wouldn't buy this. Many of my clients buy Dells. I don't know what Dell does to their computers, but they run fargin' slow as King molasses during a mid January Barrow blow! Unbelievable!

Cheers!

 

[Adul]

Originally posted by: sharkeeper
I saw this over on the RAGE3D homepage.

I wouldn't buy this. Many of my clients buy Dells. I don't know what Dell does to their computers, but they run fargin' slow as King molasses during a mid January Barrow blow! Unbelievable!

Cheers!

not enough ram is my bet

they are stable systems, but slow.

 

[tart666]

And I still am getting a $798 Price

I am getting $639 shipped right now. Small Biz, right?

Can anyone make an AXP1800/256MB DDR333/CDRW40x/40GB/SB live!/6 USB2.0/GF4MX460 64MB/ 15" Samsung LCD for that much DELIVERED? Let alone the paper-launched XP2400?

Nothing integrated, upgradeable like a mofo. Except the mobo. but you are upgrading a mobo, might as well get a case. you can keep the rest of the parts.

No more price/perfomance advantage. Hell, even at 600 "rating points" deficit AMD systems are losing on price.

 

[sharkeeper]

not enough ram is my bet

they are stable systems, but slow.

256MB SDRAM, P4 1.6 GHz (I didn't verify but I'm willing to bet the catch that it was a Willy!) Windows XP Pro. Trash Mangler showed 100MB used. Should've been a lot faster than that! I think my brother in law's P3 550 with IBM 75GXP felt faster. :Q

Cheers!

 

[Adul]

yes I was in small biz and did a custom config and I have yet to come accross your magical number. Less you not forget that some of these special end today and the next few days has well.

price is $818

LCD upgrade expires today
free mem upgrade deal expires


Free CD-RW upgrade expires Wednesday
Free shipping expires Wednesday

 

[dexvx]

Wow I see some really smart comments on this thread.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the way Dell has configured the system is just like every other pre-built system. It is configured very poorly for the gamer. Why would someone waste their money on a fast CPU like a 2.4GHz P4 and constrict it with a crappy GF4 MX? Also, with WinXP, I would choose a slower CPU and more memory. Pre-built systems are bad for this very reason, one cannot cater to the needs of the user exactly. Upgradability is often hampered as well.

Ti4200 for $70 more, 512MB DDR333 for $70 more. If you want it, you can get it that easily. It more than meets the needs of the user exactly if you want it. Upgradeability? Please, they use the retail i845pe chipset, not some funky custom made chipset. It can go as far, upgradability wise, as any i845pe motherboard on the market, be it Abit, Asus, Epox, etc. You can pop in, right now, a 2.8Ghz P4 once it comes out, or a hyperthreaded P4 once that comes out. Look at the Dell power supply specifications, they are the exact same pin layout as a standard ATX PSU, which means that it doesnt need a proprietary power supply.

The main reason they are slow is because Dell in their mighty wisdom bogs it down with a lot of additional software at startup. If anyone with a half decent knowledge of Windows came along, they could easily disable those and make it run much faster. It has nothing to do with the hardware itself. The hardware is JUST like any other hardware that you or me build. A p4-processor, i845pe based mobo, ti4200 64mb, sb live 5.1, seagate barracuda IV hdd. I dont know where a lot of people get the idea that their identical pre-built system can be any faster, without overclocking or switching to different components. Yea, if I get a WD 8MB SE, it'd be a little faster. Or if I overclock to 166FSB and 200Mhz memory, it'd be faster also, but thats common sense. Hardware is Hardware, there is no difference in it, if you build it, or if Dell builds it.

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: Adul
yes I was in small biz and did a custom config and I have yet to come accross your magical number. Less you not forget that some of these special end today and the next few days has well.

Look harder

As far as Dell specials go, they seem to be coming every other week.

 

[Adul]

show me screen shot then this is what i am getting for a 4550

Dell Dimension 4550 Series
Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.40GHz with 533MHz system bus/ 512K L2
Cache
Qty: 1
Price: $918.00
Date: Sunday, October 20, 2002 5:10:01 PM CDT
Catalog Number: 04 04
Dell Dimension 4550 Series: Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.40GHz with 533MHz system bus/ 512K L2 Cache DN4524 [221-1086]
Memory: 256MB DDR SDRAM at 333MHz 256M3 [311-2075]
Keyboard: Dell® Quietkey® Keyboard QK [310-1582]
Monitors: FREE UPGRADE! 15 in (15.0 in viewable) E151FP Flat Panel Display E151FPP [461-7994]
Video Cards: New 64MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4? MX Graphics Card with TV-Out 64NV420 [320-0476]
Hard Drive: 60GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive 60 [340-7888]
Floppy Drive: 3.5 in Floppy Drive 3 [340-1927]
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition WHXP [313-7222] [412-0306] [420-3079]
Mouse: Dell® 2-button scroll mouse SM [310-1871]
Network Interface: Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet IN [430-0412]
Modem: 56K PCI Data/Fax Modem DFAX [313-0738]
CD or DVD Drive: FREE UPGRADE! 40x/10x/40x Max CD-RW Drive with Roxios Easy CD Creator® 40CDRWP [461-8074]
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Live 5.1 Audio Card SB1024 [313-1319]
Speakers: New Harman Kardon® HK-206 Speakers HK206 [313-0954]
Software Bundles: Microsoft® Works Suite 2002 w/Money Standard WORKS [412-0133]
Virus Protection: Norton AntiVirus? 2002, 90-day introductory offer NAV2002 [412-0259]
Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MusicMatch MMBASE [412-0298]
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year On-site Service and CompleteCare B111YCC [950-2440] [950-5628]
Internet Access Service: 6 Months AOL,Featuring the Netbusiness Service for Small Business AOLSMB [412-0280] [412-0287]
0

Dell PCs use genuine Microsoft® Windows®
www.microsoft.com/piracy/howtotell

 

[RanDum72]

One question: In order to buy computers under Dell's small business program, do you need to have a business license to order?

 

[Adul]

ok i found this

Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.0GHz w/ 512K L2 Cache
256MB DDR SDRAM at 266MHz
FREE UPGRADE! E772,17IN(16.0IN VIS)MONITOR, Midnight Grey,Dimension
$729
$629

but that is a 2.0 P4