Its a Dell but geez!

[Kccdx2]

So I have the option of building my own Athlon 939 64 comp or get a dell prebuilt one.

The specs of the athlon would be like Athlon 3200 or 3500 (either way clocked to about 2.4)

Thermaltake VA3000 Dream Tower Tsunami VA3000SWA ATX Case with Transparent X type side panel window -RETAIL

Artec Silver 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive, Model WSM-52Z, OEM

Seagate 160GB Barracuda 7200.7 7200RPM SATA II with NCQ Hard Drive, Model ST3160827AS, OEM

Logitech Cordless MX Duo USB/ PS/2 104keys -RETAIL

PDP SYSTEMS Memory Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB (512MBx2) DDR PC-3200, Model PDC1G3200LLK - Retail



EPoX "EP-9NDA3+" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL

Aspire 520W 12V Triple Fan Aluminum Power Supply (Silver), Model "ATX-AS520W SILVER" -RETAIL

GIGA-BYTE nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-Bit, TV-Out/DVI, 8X AGP, Model "GV-N68128DH" -RETAI

OR: I could get a dell with the specs

17" LCD monitor "Free"
3.4 Ghz Pentium 4 800 FBS
1GB DDR2 @ 400MHz
160GB SATA HD
A "neutuered" 6800 256 MB Video Card (Aparently the mem is clocked at 600 not 700)
etc etc...with a decent set of speakers and whatever

So basically which is the better deal if the price is the same???
The Dell has the 17" LCD but a possibly "neutured" 6800

The Comp is gonna be mainly for school work and gaming, which is the better deal???

I have never built my own comp before so I think that plays into it too, since I wouldn't have to take a risk of messing up on the dell.

Edit: Btw it is the 4700 Model, so less PCI slots than the 8400 I think.

 

[Omizzle]

prices?

 

[Kccdx2]

"So basically which is the better deal if the price is the same???"

 

[Kccdx2]

Well would you say it would definitly be worth it if I could find that $1 LCD TV coupon?

 

[Goi]

I'd say build your own computer.

 

[Azndude51]

Originally posted by: Goi
I'd say build your own computer.

 

[exodus454]

Originally posted by: Azndude51

Originally posted by: Goi
I'd say build your own computer.

dells also tend to come pre-loaded with crappy dell programs, such as dell alerts and stuff like that, which I wouldnt be able to stand. Not to mention dell always finds some way to make proprietary parts.

 

[saltedeggman]

just format it install your own copy...less than 2 hr, and you have a fresh intsalled, free of preloaded software computer

 

[AJeightFive]

Building your own is the way to go I think. right now I'm looking at saving $500-700CAD by doing so and you have the benefit of knowing EXACTLY what is going into your system. I'm also building an A64 system right now. The only thing with building your own system is the time it takes to do some good price shopping. If you're like me you'll get obsessive over finding the absolute lowest price for your parts. Tonight marks the 20th hour I've spent researching and pricing up components.

 

[Gurck]

I'd never buy a Dell for my own personal use... Anyway, keep in mind that Dell's parts may not be of very high quality and make sure when you compare prices to include tax & shipping - Dell nails you there.

 

[Sc4freak]

I've never heard of DDR2 running at 400mhz.

 

[arsbanned]

Originally posted by: Gurck
I'd never buy a Dell for my own personal use... Anyway, keep in mind that Dell's parts may not be of very high quality and make sure when you compare prices to include tax & shipping - Dell nails you there.

Bullshit. Tool-free case, Intel mobos, Ati or nVidia PCI-e vid cards, Maxtor SATA drives, etc.
If you purchase through the Home division and reside in a state with no Dell operations you pay NO sales tax. Also, Dell frequently ships FREE.
That said, get the Dell if you're interested in stability and reliability and a free fricken monitor (if it's the ultrasharp 17 that is a great deal, nice monitor). Though I would opt for the 8400 if I were you.
OTOH, if you are looking for overclocking capability and are into the enthusiast scene, (and not necessarily doing you homework) build an Athlon64.

DDR2 400. Yes, it's out there.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: arsbanned

Originally posted by: Gurck
I'd never buy a Dell for my own personal use... Anyway, keep in mind that Dell's parts may not be of very high quality and make sure when you compare prices to include tax & shipping - Dell nails you there.

Bullshit. Tool-free case, Intel mobos, Ati or nVidia PCI-e vid cards, Maxtor SATA drives, etc.
If you purchase through the Home division and reside in a state with no Dell operations you pay NO sales tax. Also, Dell frequently ships FREE.
That said, get the Dell if you're interested in stability and reliability and a free fricken monitor (if it's the ultrasharp 17 that is a great deal, nice monitor). Though I would opt for the 8400 if I were you.
OTOH, if you are looking for overclocking capability and are into the enthusiast scene, (and not necessarily doing you homework) build an Athlon64.

DDR2 400. Yes, it's out there.

Not even worth it :roll:

 

[Kccdx2]

so many mixed responses. For gaming preformance, how much better is the athlon at 2.4ghz vs the Dell at 3.4?

 

[losershot]

i think at those speeds the video card is the bottleneck

 

[bigboxes]

If you can figure out how to build your own that is the route to take. If you buy a Dell and your tech knowledge increases you will regret it everyday. Once you build your own you will never buy another pre-built system. Dell cheaps out on much of their parts and when you go to repair or upgrade you will be pulling your hair out as you find one proprietary part after another. Let's not forget Dell's stellar customer service. You will spend half of your day as they transfer you around the world in search of someone whose "english" you can understand. For those that say otherwise have never owned a Dell.

 

[tart666]

i had built 4 computers for myself and GF prior to buying this last dell. I am a lot happier with the Dell.

Stability / power is about the same (i have 4 HD's, and 8500 in the 400sc, all voltages very stable)

The price and noise levels are significantly better than building my own with antec cases / psu's / even extra-low speed HSF.

Even overclocking is possible, my gen 1 xps is oc'd from 2.8 to 3.4 running 24/7.

 

[jterrell]

Dude, build your own.
Otherwise, you'll end up trying to figure out what all those crappy parts are inside the case when something breaks. You'll spend 2 days setting it up now as you build it out or 2 days later finding out the generic psu is crap, the memory was cheap et al.
Dell is a good choice if you are cool with just average performance in gaming.

If as you say you are gonna game and do school work than an a64 is the way to go.
I would be very worried about an underclocked vid card.

Advise dell to your grandparents or other peopel who would need customer support and a base set tup but a student should be learning and learning about building out a pc will be a great experience for you.

Lesson 1. Get a good PSU from antec, ocz, fortron/SPI or other reputable companies.

 

[imported_Computer MAn]

I'd build your own too. You can probably get it cheaper and its more fun to build it than to buy prebuilt.

 

[Hanpan]

There is a lot of FUD in this thread.

How many of you bashing dell have actually owned one or perhaps more dell systems.

I have built many custom computers and have customized dell's for others as well.

There are some benefits and negatives to each.

For DELL:

Benefits: Often very quiet, tool-less cases, prebuilt, shipped free in most cases, next day repalcement parts. Also if you clearly state what steps you have taken to troubleshoot the support is usually quite willing to give you an RMA on the spot if you have done proper troubleshooting.

Negatives: Some parts are proprietary including fans and motheboards, however they are often quality components. In fact I have had a far higher percentage of MSI motherboards fail than Dell. Dell however allows for little customization, no Ram timings etc.

Custombuilt: Benefits: latest greatest equipment, exactly what you want, sometimes cheaper, but if you read hot deals or fatwallet dell is often far cheaper after software costs than self built.

Negatives: Quiet costs extra, shipping is extra, RMA is not always that easy,time spent sourcing components, building etc, troublshooting when hardware does not play well together, sending mobo etc back to the manufacturer can be time intensive.

Note this is hardly an exhaustive list, but rather should illustrate there are positives and negatives to both solutions and to simply state one is superior does not acknowledge that not all would prefer the one you choose when all factors are considered.

 

[Azndude51]

what's FUD? sounds like i've heard it somewhere before.

 

[Hanpan]

FUD is fear uncertainty and doubt.

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: Hanpan
FUD is fear uncertainty and doubt.

Actually it has another much more vulgar translation that is often heard in rap songs. "____ed up dialogue." :Q

Both meanings are surprisingly interchangeable.

 

[Gurck]

No "FUD", just common sense. You think Dell is a benevolent corporation which does business at a monetary loss so as to get quality computers to their customers? :laugh: They're a good choice for businesses and noobs, I'll give 'em that much.

 

[halfadder]

The "free" Dell LCDs are usually the analog/HD15/VGA-only type. Even with the "free LCD upgrade" you still have to pay more for the "UltraSharp" LCD with the DVI port.

The underclocked graphics cards also bug me.

It's little things like this that really annoy me about companies like Dell.