~~~~ Should A buy a Dell 3000 or 4700??? 8400 with the DDR2 ????~~~~

[EXman]

Does the 3000 have a agp/PCI Express slot?

I think the 4700 just has the PCI E which I am not thrilled with.

the 8400 has PCI E and DDR2.

This is for a gamer friend of mine that doesn't get out much so I need something not bleeding edge but a decent gam rig.


anyone own a 3000? Slots?

I'd like some real world anecdotes.

 

[Rhin0]

Originally posted by: EXman
Does the 3000 have a agp/PCI Express slot?

I think the 4700 just has the PCI E which I am not thrilled with.

the 8400 has PCI E and DDR2.

This is for a gamer friend of mine that doesn't get out much so I need something not bleeding edge but a decent gam rig.


anyone own a 3000? Slots?

I'd like some real world anecdotes.

PCI-E doesn't give much peformance wise. It would offer PCI-E upgradeability though. Doesn't look like Nvidia is going to abandon AGP anytime soon though. I expect the at least the next 1-4 generations of GPU to be AGP and PCI-E offerings. The DDR2 will make some difference on a P4 probably. Check out some sites for DDR2 bencmarks.

BTW- you won't find a motherboard with AGP & PCI-E slots. One or the other, take your pick. Just get him a comp with a good processor (pick the second to fastest to save money, like 3-5% peformance difference probably) get 1 gig ram, good size drive and best/largest mem video card you can get.

 

[EXman]

Originally posted by: Rhin0

Originally posted by: EXman
Does the 3000 have a agp/PCI Express slot?

I think the 4700 just has the PCI E which I am not thrilled with.

the 8400 has PCI E and DDR2.

This is for a gamer friend of mine that doesn't get out much so I need something not bleeding edge but a decent gam rig.


anyone own a 3000? Slots?

I'd like some real world anecdotes.

PCI-E doesn't give much peformance wise. It would offer PCI-E upgradeability though. Doesn't look like Nvidia is going to abandon AGP anytime soon though. I expect the at least the next 1-4 generations of GPU to be AGP and PCI-E offerings. The DDR2 will make some difference on a P4 probably. Check out some sites for DDR2 bencmarks.

BTW- you won't find a motherboard with AGP & PCI-E slots. One or the other, take your pick. Just get him a comp with a good processor (pick the second to fastest to save money, like 3-5% peformance difference probably) get 1 gig ram, good size drive and best/largest mem video card you can get.

Yea I agree with all that I really need to know if anyone can verify the slots. they are always subject to change on the website so that means they don't know jack!

 

[DaveSimmons]

8400 and a 6800GTO would be a good combination for games now and released in the next couple of years.

Of course that combo with a 17" LCD runs you $1400 this week, next week when the specials change it might drop a bit but come with a CRT instead.

4700 - I was reading somewhere about people having problems putting in a 6600GT, though a BIOS upgrade fixed it for some. People were guessing it's a heat issue, could also be a wimpy power supply.

 

[Slowlearner]

Looking at the system documentation I do not see a AGP slot in the Dim 3000. The 4700 has a PCI-E/PCI. I have been using a couple of Dim 4700s at work with PCIE X300 cards and for pretty intensive CAD/CAM work seems ok. Plus the choice in PCIE cards is getting better every day.

Based on my experience I would stay away from the very low end Dells, particularly those with integrated graphics, as they are dogs in general - though very reliable and all that.

 

[Atrye]

If you really want a good gaming rig, consider building your own.

 

[EXman]

Originally posted by: Atrye
If you really want a good gaming rig, consider building your own.

Sorry Building your own you don't get a free LCD! I have many homebuilts but the $1 LCD coupon is dope!

 

[Longkid]

I know this thread is a bit cold but I thought I'd drop you a reply on an 8400 I got for under $1300. Ive build alot of systems but using some dellf coupons I "think" i was able to get a decent system for a good price. The 25% off $1499 coupons are plentiful on forums or just from playing on the dellf. Worst case buy one off ebay for $2. The $1 LCD TV is about impossible to find. I was lucky a roommate of mine got one and didnt want it. Depending on the deal you can get this setup with a free LCD monitor anyway. Visit xpbargain.com for the stackable coupons (differ from week to week).


Dimension 8400
Pentium® 4 Processor 540 with HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800 FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Qty: 1
Unit Price: $1,569.00

Dimension 8400 Pentium® 4 Processor 540 with HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800 FSB)
Memory 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (2x512M)
Keyboard Dell Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard
Monitor Dell Multifunction LCD TV/Monitor Selected Above
Video Card 256MB PCI Express? x16 Nvidia® GeForce 6800 GTO Graphics Card
Hard Drive 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ Native Command Queuing
Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices No Floppy Drive Included
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Mouse Dell 2-button scroll mouse
Network Interface Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
Modem 56K PCI Data/Fax Modem
Document Management Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
CD ROM/DVD ROM Dual Drives: 16x DVD + FREE UPGRADE! 16x DVD+/-RW w/dbl layer write
Sound Card Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio
Speakers No Speaker Option
Productivity Software WordPerfect®, Powerful Word Processing
Security Software No Security Subscription
Digital Music Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software
Digital Photography Paint Shop? Pro® Studio trial, Photo Album? Starter Edition
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr At-Home Service, and 1Yr Technical Support
Dial-up Internet Access 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Dell Media Experience Dell Media Experience?

Dell Home Customers: Save 25% off any Dimension over $1499!
Expires on 2005-01-15 23:59:59 - $392.25

Dell W1700 LCD TV w/1 Yr Svc Qty: 1
Unit Price: $649.00

Dell Home Customers: Buy a Dimension over $699, get a 17 LCDTV for $1!
Expires on 2005-01-15 23:59:59 - $648.00


Dell 720 Color Printer
Free Dell Color Printer 720 Qty: 1
Unit Price: $0.00
Dell Color Printer 720 Free Dell Color Printer 720
Hardware Support Services 1Yr Ltd. Warranty , 1 yrTechnical Support , 1 yr Advance Exchange


ADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS AND COUPONS


Dell Home Customers: FREE 3-5 day shipping with purchase of ANY new Dell Home System! Limited time offer.
Expires on 2004-12-23 06:00:00 - $99.00

Dell Home Customers: Save $45 on select Electronics and Accessories orders of $425 and more (before tax and shipping) purchased online from the Electronics and Accessories site.(affiliate only offer)
Expires on 2004-12-05 23:59:59 - $45.00


Sub-Total $1,132.75
Shipping Discount -$99.00

Shipping $0.00

Tax $79.29
Total $1,212.04

**little gift from dell. they ended up shipping me a 550 (3.4Ghz) instead of a 540.**

 

[meltdown75]

Will I catch crap if I say...

DUDE...

Sorry I won't finish it.

 

[Longkid]

ive ALWAYS built my own rigs, but this was just too good a deal to pass up. ill probobly sell the LCD TV cause I really have no use for it.

hopefully i dont ever have to deal with their tech support on anything.

 

[JBDan]

I say get the 4700. I just set up a friend of mine with this and tower is nice and compact compared to 8400 and you can get same performance out of the 4700 as you can the 8400. PCI-E is fine seeing how Dell doesn't offer much anymore in the way of AGP pc's. 4700 runs you a little less $. Over all 4700 nice pc and Dells are STABLE as ever! Just up the gfx card as you probably already know
and being near x-mas mid-range pci-e cards are coming out in droves.

 

[WobbleWobble]

The last Dell 3000 I played with a month ago did NOT have an AGP port.

P.S. I'd totally jump on the deal.

 

[Steg55]

Build you own. At least that way you the components you want so you can guarentee the quality. And unless you do lots of video encoding you dont even want a P4
Indeed that Dell might come with a free LCD - but applying the very old law of 'you get what you pay for' gives you a clue at just how cheap and tacky that free LCD will be.

Build you own - its normally cheaper but ALWAYS better

Steg

 

[alphacompany]

whats the diff of dell's gf6800 and gf6800 gto graphics card?

 

[Steg55]

The 6800GTO is OEM - see?
There only hardware difference is the GDDR3 is clocked at 900Mhz instead of 1Ghz and by default 4 pipelines and a vertex shader are disabled. Using rivatuner you can easily reactive the pipelines/shader and a bit of overclocking brings in up to 6800GT speeds.

Steg

 

[DGath]

IMO, I don't see the point in getting a PCI-E Dell. Without looking up prices, I don't think the performance justifies the cost and you'll have to upgrade in two years anyways. Once again, without looking up prices, I gotta imagine the 865 Dell prices have to be dropping like rocks.

 

[Longkid]

Gath I think I've tried to tell you this before, in another thread, so ill just quote myself to save some time.

"The mobo handles PCIe, which to my knowledge would immediately eliminate the 865 chipset. From what I know the 8400s are based on the 925X chipset.

Why not get PCIe? Now the graphics card I got bundled with the system will be able to be used in later SLI configurations. To say that just because its a dell its not upgradeable makes no sence. There are plenty of open expansion slots (3 PCI, 1PCIe 1x) as well as an extra IDE channel and open SATA headers. There are also two open DIMM slots to add more RAM should I need it. I guess what Im trying to say is there is no difference in upgradablilty from this system compared to any other.

With the deals available a PCIe setup seemed to be the only rational path to take, unless of course you have an excellent AGP graphics card you want to continue using. I still have a RADEON 8500 that im anxoius to retire.

Thats just 2-cents from a noob"

 

[Regs]

Longkid, that's an impressive system for only 1200 dollars.

But a Intel gaming Machine? *cries* At least give AMD some glory.

 

[Longkid]

Originally posted by: Regs
Longkid, that's an impressive system for only 1200 dollars.

But a Intel gaming Machine? *cries* At least give AMD some glory.

Im feelin ya man. I thought I would never be persuaded into buying an Intel based system. Now in find myself half way through college with a budget for a gaiming system so tiny I could cry ($800). I come across a $1 LCD TV coupon for dell and decided Ill buy on my dell perfered card for the $1200, sell the LCD when it comes and hope to hit my $800 target. I was so close to buying a socket 939 setup but I couldnt see laying down good money for an agp card when I know my next upgrade will be an sli PCIe setup. At this time Im not aware of a socket 939 with PCIe. So in the end I sold out to dell and their too good to pass up deal.

Im actually happy with the quality of the dell setup so far. My only problem is the PSU has a tendency to emit a high pitch squeel during some speeds. I've got a super lanboy with a nice antec 430watt psu that I'm thinking of swapping the dell into. A project for another day I guess.

 

[Regs]

True gamers build their own PC J/k

It's really an excellent machine.

 

[alphacompany]

Is the GF6800 from dell [not GF6800 gto!] is same like the normal GF6800???...this card is optional for the dell 4700. Is it same like a normal gf6800?

 

[Longkid]

Originally posted by: alphacompany
Is the GF6800 from dell [not GF6800 gto!] is same like the normal GF6800???...this card is optional for the dell 4700. Is it same like a normal gf6800?

As far as I know the 6800 from dell is no different than any other on the market. It was just the 6800gto that is different.