new Dell computor, need advice

[HappyGamer2]

I have been think of getting a dell, new or refurbished. my question is mainly about ram type and it's performance. this PC will mainly be used for gaming, put also heavy surf'in. the cpu will be a P4 2.53 gig or higher
the options are:
model 8300: has Dual channel DDR SDram ,PC 3200, price about 1500 dollars with 3.06 gig cpu (no slower cpu's available)
model 8250, has dual channel RDRAM, PC 1066, price about 900 dollars with 2.53 GIG cpu
model 4550 has DDR SDram, PC 2700, price about 750 dollars with 2.53 Gig cpu

I don't want to spend any more than possible, but want the most bang for the buck without taking a big performance drop while gaming.
any advice?

 

[crip11]

Better Yet.....Build a PC.....Also what kind of Video Cards do they have?

 

[HappyGamer2]

it will be a ati 9700 TX or 9800 TX
the model 8300 has the 9800 tx, the other two models have the 9700 tx, this is included in the prices I listed

how much money can I really save, by building it myself?

 

[crip11]

Well not only save money but by building you choose everything that goes in there. Also i would recommend a AMD Barton processor if you build yourself.. You might end up spending about the same but you will like your PC more if you build it yourself. It will be tailored to you...Also if you decide to build your own just post what your thinking on here and we'll help you get exactly what you want..

 

[HappyGamer2]

maybe I should build , I have thought about it
but look at the deals dell has, check out there site
www.dell.com
they even have free shipping sometimes

 

[Tret]

listen youre always going to save money if you build your own computer

 

[crip11]

If i were you i would build.....if your scared of things just post on here we'll help you.....its not as hard as you think just make sure u get compatable parts..

 

[Paperlantern]

take a skip over to my (incomplete) website and see the difference in price for very similar systems. its usually HUNDREDS cheaper, i have a good connection with a distrubuter, i could hook you up with a really good system, for really cheap. Building from scratch is no different than buying from dell, it just doesnt say dell on the front =)

http://elitecustomcomputers.8m.com =)

 

[crip11]

Dont you need a reseller license to sell that stuff legally?

 

[HappyGamer2]

I haven't ruled out self building, but lets say I did buy a dell

 

[HappyGamer2]

example, with free shipping:
SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
Dimension 8250 (System Identifier FLVWVZ02)
Dell Dimension 8250: Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.4GHz, Premium Audio, Intg. NIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

System Price $1,041.00
Promotion Discount ($275.00)
Discounted Price $766.00

Memory: 256 MB PC1066 RDRAM (2 RIMMs)
Floppy Drive: 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive
Hard Disk Drive: 120 GB EIDE Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Video: 128 MB DDR ATI RADEON 9700 TX with TV Out
Modem: V.92 Data/Fax/Voice WinModem
Sound Card: Sound Blaster Live! Digital Sound Card
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows XP Home
CD Read-Write Drive: 48X CD-RW Drive
DVD Drive: 16X DVD-ROM
Software: WordPerfect Productivity Suite 10.0
Resource CD
AOL 7.0/MSN Internet Access
Britannica Software
Image Expert Standard Software
Dell Support 2.0
Dell Support 2.0
DVD Software
Music Match 7.1 Software
Dell SecurityCenter by McAfee, 90-day introductory offer
Quicken - New User Edition 2002
Software
Misc: Shipping Material
Logitech Optical 2-Button Mouse
QuietKey Keyboard

 

[Shide1]

If you can wait about a month you will be able to get a Dell 8300 with one of the lower Intel 800Mhz fsb/HT processors. Like 2.6 or 2.8.

 

[Cacolaco]

I have a Dell, and it's been great, but I would recommend staying away from rdram. Sooo much cheaper to expand/replace ddr. Just an opinion.

 

[Tom]

I have a Dell 8250 and a 4550, they are very nice computers. The 4550 is a particularly good value.

Like Shide1 said, probably a month or two from now Dell will have a new model that will be close to the 4550 price but will have the dual-ddr Springdale chipset and Hyper-threading; thses won't make a giant difference in performance but will be useful.

 

[gf4200isdabest]

DDR SDram, PC 2700 = bad

the other two are both fine. Either one will work great.

Building it yourself is usually a money saver but if you use various hot deal sites and get dell coupons you will come out pretty close. If you don't know what you're doing, it isn't worth the aggrevation of messing up building it and needing to trouble shoot. With the deals currently available, a dell would be a good choice for almost anyone....

 

[Ryan]

Originally posted by: gf4200isdabest
DDR SDram, PC 2700 = bad

What in the hell are you talking about?!?!!?

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: Tret
listen youre always going to save money if you build your own computer

Dell 1600SC Deal $550:
Dual Xeon ServerWorks GC HE Mobo with Adaptec U320 SCSI
Xeon 2.0
Dual 73GB 10K RPM U320 SCSI Drives
Gigabit NIC

 

[HappyGamer2]

yes, I can wait a month for a new pc, are they going to come out with slower cpu's with HT?
I really want to pay less than 1000 dollars for system complete without Monitor

I wonder if the 4550 or 8250 will be phased out soon?

 

[Shide1]

Yes, the Pentium 4 2.40C, 2.60C and 2.80C CPUs w/HT will be released on May 20th. When that happens you should be able to get a Dell 8300 for less than $1000. Dell will phase out 8250 once the new cpus come out, but 4550 might last a while longer for budget systems.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Tret
listen youre always going to save money if you build your own computer

its impossible to beat dell's sales.

plus you have 1 place to turn if something breaks instead of troubleshooting it and dealing with 2 or 3 companies via email because they don't have an 800 number

 

[Lvis]

When this rig needs replacement, I will be buying a prebuilt.


Kinda sad really, it will be my first. No way is it cheaper to build your own anymore. A few more years and our hobby will no longer exist.

When you can buy a complete machine for less than $350, like you can this weekend, building your own doesn't make much sense.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: rbloedow

Originally posted by: gf4200isdabest
DDR SDram, PC 2700 = bad

What in the hell are you talking about?!?!!?

yeah, what the hell ARE you talking about

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

When this rig needs replacement, I will be buying a prebuilt.


Kinda sad really, it will be my first. No way is it cheaper to build your own anymore. A few more years and our hobby will no longer exist.

When you can buy a complete machine for less than $350, like you can this weekend, building your own doesn't make much sense.

Yeah, it still makes plenty of sense. A $350 computer's going to suck at most everything but internet and office apps. If you game or do video editing, you're going to need higher quality hardware. Some people like to know exactly what's in their PC, some people like to control what exactly is in their PC, and some people like to overclock. Some people like to case mod. It's not like the PC building hobby is huge anyways.. it has a decent following, but by no means will it ever eclipse the big makers like Dell or Gateway, etc. As good as Dell's deals are, if I was trying to make myself a gaming machine, I'm pretty sure I could beat Dell's prices hands down and get similar to better performance.

Why buy a something made with second tier mystery brand parts for $1000 w/ limited upgradability (the thread about the guy who was bragging about his Dell w/ no AGP comes to mind) when you can make something for $1300 and put EXACTLY what you want and what you trust in it with similar to better performance?

As for HappyGamer...the PC looks good, but I'd upgrade to 512mb of RAM. Your games and Windows will thank you for it.

 

[HappyGamer2]

my example listed above is refurbished and if I bought it I would add ram later myself.

I am sitting behind a dell right now, it been a good pc. it start life as a p3-450, it now is a p3-800 and I sometimes overclock it up to 1062. It has a plenty of miles on it, sure I have added ram, hardrives and beefed up the cooling. It has had about 4 different graphics cards in it Windows is still the original install, never crashed.

But It has hit it's limit for upgrading and in the future I will need more cpu power for gaming. this dell did good but a 4 year old system becomes outdated.

 

[crip11]

Originally posted by: HappyGamer2<b>

I am sitting behind a dell right now, it been a good pc. it start life as a p3-450, it now is a p3-800 and I sometimes overclock it up to 1062.

Theres no way to overclock a dell is there? Or did u replace motherboard?