Dell Packages

[Raptor9]

I've got two questions about Dell--first, if I can get this computer for $500 dollars after coupons, would you consider it a good deal? Secondly, how can I tell what kind of slots the motherboard has? Down the road I might be interested in upgrading the graphics card, preferably to something PCI Express 16X, and I'd want to be sure that I could fit in a 7800 GX or whatever.

 

[JBT]

That copmuter looks OK for $500 it DOES have a PCI-express slot though. It says it right where you can choose the video card.

 

[Raptor9]

Only OK? Where can I get a better box for $300 (assuming the monitor and peripherals would cost me $200).

 

[imported_fx]

My friend has that computer which that I recommended him and he said it's the best computer he ever use than his old PIII emachine so I think that computer is pretty good deal.

Dell Dimension E510-
4 Slots:
2 PCI slots
1 PCIe x 1 slot
1 PCIe x 16 (graphics) slot

I think you might need more than 305w PSU if you want to install high end video card so you might need this PSU

 

[Luckyboy1]

Dell's and all the toher so called "brand named" computers are notorious for causing problems when upgrading. Here are some of the concerns...

1) Power supplies are weak and sometimes arrainged so they are not easy to replace with standard replacements.

2) If you replace the mommaboard, the OEM version of Windows and many of the other programming that came with the Dell box will first go looking for the Dell bios before running. No Dell bios, no run!

3) Cases are small and not cooled well.

4) Bios is quite often setup so that it goes looking for what brand system RAM you have installed before booting. Upgrade to a different brand of RAM and it might work and it wight not.

5) They now quite often have a hidden partition where they do things like keep track of what you do etc. and does youi no good and takes up hard drive space for no good reason.

Of course, there's no way you can build your own with programming for same price first time around. Companies like MicroSoft give a much better deal to these large Corporations, so in the end, you'll have to decide for yourself what is right.

 

[GrammatonJP]

Dell has all their docs online

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim5150/sm/index.htm

1) Semi true - not all their system uses non atx standard psu

2) thats pirating - 1 copy of windows for 1 pc

3) thats the design of this model, if you shell out more money you get bigger cases

4) false, crucial, corsair and many others sells generic ram,

5) false, those are diagnostic partitions and you can see whats in them if you know how

 

[Shadow Conception]

Originally posted by: Raptor9
Only OK? Where can I get a better box for $300 (assuming the monitor and peripherals would cost me $200).

Woah, $300? You should go for a 1999 Pentium III if you want that...

 

[Raptor9]

Does anyone have personal experience trying to put a better graphics card in this computer? It comes with some cheap PCI Express 16X card, but I don't know how much power it would use compared to a high end one. What is the range of power-usage on video cards? Also, will a Dell case accept another PSU, and does Dell tamper with any of their PCI slots so only Dell components will fit in?

 

[Shadow Conception]

No, they don't tamper with the PCI-e slots, I can assure you that. The only thing they tamper with is the motherboard, and the CPU socket, which is custom-made by Dell. If you're going for a high-end video card on that Dell, I wouldn't take anything less than a 350W PSU, my recommendation would be a 400W PSU from a good quality manufacturer.

Edit: I can also guarantee you this because I'm running a Dell Dimension 3000, which has 3 PCI slots, none of which were custom-fitted. So, basically, none of the PCI slots were tampered with, and I was easily able to fit an ATi Radeon video card into one of them.

 

[batmanuel]

It might be hard to gete a 7800GT or GTX to run on the E510, considering all the issues I've heard people having trying to get these cards working on the 8400 models. I've seen several discussion threads where people simply can't get the cards going. Dell probably limits you to an X600 on the configuration page for a reason.

 

[Shadow Conception]

Originally posted by: batmanuel
It might be hard to gete a 7800GT or GTX to run on the E510, considering all the issues I've heard people having trying to get these cards working on the 8400 models. I've seen several discussion threads where people simply can't get the cards going. Dell probably limits you to an X600 on the configuration page for a reason.

The main reason being they want you to upgrade to an XPS 600 to get the best quality cards pre-equipped with the system.