New Dell PC - advice required please

WICKL0W

Hi. I want to get opinions on Dell system please. Work is going to pay for the pc about €1800 which I will use for business and pleasure at home. I want to use pc for video editing from a camcorder and burning onto dvd. I wouldn't mind being able to record tv and watch and/or burn onto my pc. I want to buy a system that wont need upgrading and has enough technology for future growth. Wont be used for gaming. Wont be networked. Where I have given 2 options, I'm leaning towards the first one. I have existing 5 year old dying pc and will be transferring some files. Feedback please in non techy talk!


Dimension 9150

BASE: Intel Pentium D 820 2.8 ghz 800FSB, 2 x 1 MB Cache
OR - Intel Pentium4 630 3.0 ghz, 800FSB, 2mb cache
? is it worth paying the extra €121 for the D 820 ?

O/S XP Professional
OR Windows Media Center Edition
? Will MCE be too difficult for novice to master or is it gimmick ?

MEMORY - 1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533mhz (2x512)
? Part of free upgrade, I would imagine this is sufficient for my needs

HARD DRIVE - 250GB 7200rpm Serial ATA HArd Drive with 8mb databurst cache
OR 160GB version
? IS 160gb enough for my needsas it took me 5 years to fill 20gb ?


CD/DVD DRIVE - 16x DVD +/- RW & 16 x DVD Drive
OR 16 x DVD +/- RW and 48-32 x cdrw (extra €10)
? - What is the difference between both, are these dual drives ? does that mean a dvd in one drive can be copied onto blank dvd in another ? And cd's and dvd's can be played in both ?

FLOPPY - Internal 9-in-1 flash card reader & 1.44mb floppy drive

SOFTWARE - Office 2003 Professional - needed for work

MONITOR - Dell E176FP 17" Midnight Grey TC099 Flat Panel Monitor
? - If I use my existing E151FP monitor, Dell say that i will need a video card with dual monitor support, will this do the job ?

VIDEO CARD - 256mb ATI RAdeon X600 Hypermemory graphics card
? - If I use my existing E151FP Monitor as a second monitor, Dell site say that you need a video card with dual monitor support, will this do the job and also sufficient for my requirements ?

VIDEO EDITING - IEEE 1394 PCI Adapter Card (extra €30)
? - Do I need this ?


SOUND CARD - Sound Blaster Live ! 24 - bit ADVANCED HD Sound Card
? - Sufficent ?

MODEM - V.92 Data Fax Modem
OR - Dell V92 data/fax/voice modem
? - Do I need a modem as I will have broadband ?

KEYBOARD - Wireless Keyboard & optical mouse

DELL PRINTER - Dell PErsonal Laser Printer 1100 (extra €120)
? - Dont print that much but figure that this will be better value in the long run over an inkjet printer. Any comments ?

USB - 128mb memory key (+€60)
OR - 512mb (€108)
? - mainly using to transfer data from existing pc

TV TUNER - AverMedia USB TV Tuner external USB2.0 TV Tuner
? - Do I need this if I want to record TV and if so is that all I need ? If I choose Media Center Edition, isnt there a built in TV Tuner. ?

Any comments please ?


I would not notice small differences in processor speed or graphics card that techies or gamers would.

the_jocky

WICKL0W wrote:

Hi. I want to get opinions on Dell system please. Work is going to pay for the pc about €1800 which I will use for business and pleasure at home. I want to use pc for video editing from a camcorder and burning onto dvd. I wouldn't mind being able to record tv and watch and/or burn onto my pc. I want to buy a system that wont need upgrading and has enough technology for future growth. Wont be used for gaming. Wont be networked. Where I have given 2 options, I'm leaning towards the first one. I have existing 5 year old dying pc and will be transferring some files. Feedback please in non techy talk!


Dimension 9150

BASE: Intel Pentium D 820 2.8 ghz 800FSB, 2 x 1 MB Cache
OR - Intel Pentium4 630 3.0 ghz, 800FSB, 2mb cache
? is it worth paying the extra €121 for the D 820 ?

O/S XP Professional
OR Windows Media Center Edition
? Will MCE be too difficult for novice to master or is it gimmick ?

MEMORY - 1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533mhz (2x512)
? Part of free upgrade, I would imagine this is sufficient for my needs

HARD DRIVE - 250GB 7200rpm Serial ATA HArd Drive with 8mb databurst cache
OR 160GB version
? IS 160gb enough for my needsas it took me 5 years to fill 20gb ?


CD/DVD DRIVE - 16x DVD +/- RW & 16 x DVD Drive
OR 16 x DVD +/- RW and 48-32 x cdrw (extra €10)
? - What is the difference between both, are these dual drives ? does that mean a dvd in one drive can be copied onto blank dvd in another ? And cd's and dvd's can be played in both ?

FLOPPY - Internal 9-in-1 flash card reader & 1.44mb floppy drive

SOFTWARE - Office 2003 Professional - needed for work

MONITOR - Dell E176FP 17" Midnight Grey TC099 Flat Panel Monitor
? - If I use my existing E151FP monitor, Dell say that i will need a video card with dual monitor support, will this do the job ?

VIDEO CARD - 256mb ATI RAdeon X600 Hypermemory graphics card
? - If I use my existing E151FP Monitor as a second monitor, Dell site say that you need a video card with dual monitor support, will this do the job and also sufficient for my requirements ?

VIDEO EDITING - IEEE 1394 PCI Adapter Card (extra €30)
? - Do I need this ?


SOUND CARD - Sound Blaster Live ! 24 - bit ADVANCED HD Sound Card
? - Sufficent ?

MODEM - V.92 Data Fax Modem
OR - Dell V92 data/fax/voice modem
? - Do I need a modem as I will have broadband ?

KEYBOARD - Wireless Keyboard & optical mouse

DELL PRINTER - Dell PErsonal Laser Printer 1100 (extra €120)
? - Dont print that much but figure that this will be better value in the long run over an inkjet printer. Any comments ?

USB - 128mb memory key (+€60)
OR - 512mb (€108)
? - mainly using to transfer data from existing pc

TV TUNER - AverMedia USB TV Tuner external USB2.0 TV Tuner
? - Do I need this if I want to record TV and if so is that all I need ? If I choose Media Center Edition, isnt there a built in TV Tuner. ?

Any comments please ?


I would not notice small differences in processor speed or graphics card that techies or gamers would.

how much for pc

WICKL0W

€1850 with 160Gb HD.

smeggle

pc about €1800

Not that kean on them myself but I'll be getting one of there laptops and a server of them soon.

Either the 3.0 or the 2.8 and most of the rest is ok for either but for video editing - RAM! and as much as possible - think my mate was using 2gigs on one of his machines - made the difference between 3hrs work and about 4hrs

irlrobins

WICKL0W wrote:

? is it worth paying the extra €121 for the D 820 ?

I think the D820 will prob help you with video editing. And it will future proof as well. You might not see a huge advantage until s/w makes use of second core.

WICKL0W wrote:

O/S XP Professional
OR Windows Media Center Edition

XP Pro is what i'd go for

WICKL0W wrote:

MEMORY - 1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533mhz (2x512)
? Part of free upgrade, I would imagine this is sufficient for my needs

I'd go for 2Gig if you can stretch to it

WICKL0W wrote:

What is the difference between both, are these dual drives ? does that mean a dvd in one drive can be copied onto blank dvd in another ? And cd's and dvd's can be played in both ?

2 drives, one is a reader, the other can read and write.
Yes
Yes

WICKL0W wrote:

FLOPPY - Internal 9-in-1 flash card reader & 1.44mb floppy drive

Didn't bother to get one myself. But it might come in handy sometimes

WICKL0W wrote:

? - If I use my existing E151FP monitor, Dell say that i will need a video card with dual monitor support, will this do the job ?

Nothing wrong with this monitor

WICKL0W wrote:

VIDEO CARD - 256mb ATI RAdeon X600 Hypermemory graphics card
? - If I use my existing E151FP Monitor as a second monitor, Dell site say that you need a video card with dual monitor support, will this do the job and also sufficient for my requirements ?

You can connect one using analogue and the other monitor using DVI

WICKL0W wrote:

VIDEO EDITING - IEEE 1394 PCI Adapter Card (extra €30)
? - Do I need this ?

Some video cams connect using this. No harm in getting it

WICKL0W wrote:

SOUND CARD - Sound Blaster Live ! 24 - bit ADVANCED HD Sound Card

I'd go for a audigy 2zs for sorround sound. But that one is prob decent enough

WICKL0W wrote:

? - Do I need a modem as I will have broadband ?

Sometimes u don't get a choice, so jsut take the cheapest one.

WICKL0W wrote:

DELL PRINTER - Dell PErsonal Laser Printer 1100 (extra €120)
? - Dont print that much but figure that this will be better value in the long run over an inkjet printer. Any comments ?

Dell screw you for ink. Get a HP or something else. You'll get better prices for toner. But laser is usually more econmical for b&w printing

WICKL0W wrote:

USB - 128mb memory key (+€60)
OR - 512mb (€108)
? - mainly using to transfer data from existing pc

Again cheaper elsewhere. So no.

WICKL0W

The only reason I'm getting a couple of extras is because I wont have to pay for it but I do need to bring the price down a wee tad. I agree about the USB key. Sorry my post probably wasnt clear about the monitor. I actually dont need the monitor but as I have one already and if I decided to run two displays on the pc, Dell say I need a video card and suggest ATI X850XT which doesn't come up as an option. Will my selection do the trick ?

Also any idea how much Dell's toner for the laser costs ? ( My thinking is if I dont buy now I will have to pay myself).

From reading a few posts here, am I right in saying that you cant really mess around with Dells, ie upgrade ?

irlrobins

According to Ati's site teh x600 supports dual monitors.

67e for toner for the 1100

And you can upgrade Dell's for most things. Video card, sound card, RAM, HD etc can all be upgraded. Some parts like fans etc are sometimes only available thru dell.

WICKL0W

So which CD/DVD Drive ?

Do I need TV Tuner to watch live tv (assuming I go with XP Pro) and does pc need to be near NTL box ? Or is there a cheaper alternative elsewhere as tuner is extra €83

irlrobins

first option is fine.

I'm not all that familiar with TV tuners so gonna leave that question for someone else.

SouperComputer

Get MCE, it's well worth it.

MCE is XP Pro with extra apps and will help you get the most of of your TV capture. You wont regret getting it. Ive been usuing it on systems for a good while now, well impressed. Yes, the PC wil need a TV input for this, just like you TV.

250Gb is fine, just remember that you will be capturing video @ approx 2GB/Min depending on the quality you choose. Of course you can recode to h264\Divx\xvid later on to save space.

The 2.8Ghz is fine, 3.0 will some in useful if you decide to perhaps capture/process video while working or capturing more video.

jor el

WICKL0W wrote:

Hi. I want to get opinions on Dell system please. Work is going to pay for the pc about €1800 which I will use for business and pleasure at home. I want to use pc for video editing from a camcorder and burning onto dvd. I wouldn't mind being able to record tv and watch and/or burn onto my pc. I want to buy a system that wont need upgrading and has enough technology for future growth. Wont be used for gaming. Wont be networked. Where I have given 2 options, I'm leaning towards the first one. I have existing 5 year old dying pc and will be transferring some files. Feedback please in non techy talk!

Won't need upgrading eh? Then you need 2-4G RAM, at least 250G hard disk, if not two of them, minimum graphics of X800/6800 and possibly a 64-bit CPU. This will be very expensive, especially from Dell. From your options below I'd reccommend this.

Dimension 9150

BASE: Intel Pentium D 820 2.8 ghz 800FSB, 2 x 1 MB Cache
OR - Intel Pentium4 630 3.0 ghz, 800FSB, 2mb cache
? is it worth paying the extra €121 for the D 820 ?

Isn't the D820 a dual core? If so, get that.

O/S XP Professional
OR Windows Media Center Edition
? Will MCE be too difficult for novice to master or is it gimmick ?

Do as SouperComputer says and get MCE. I've never used it but I'd trust his opinion on it.

MEMORY - 1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533mhz (2x512)
? Part of free upgrade, I would imagine this is sufficient for my needs

Get 2G if you can, if not 1 will probably do.

HARD DRIVE - 250GB 7200rpm Serial ATA HArd Drive with 8mb databurst cache
OR 160GB version
? IS 160gb enough for my needsas it took me 5 years to fill 20gb ?

You need the 250G, at a minimum.

CD/DVD DRIVE - 16x DVD +/- RW & 16 x DVD Drive
OR 16 x DVD +/- RW and 48-32 x cdrw (extra €10)
? - What is the difference between both, are these dual drives ? does that mean a dvd in one drive can be copied onto blank dvd in another ? And cd's and dvd's can be played in both ?

Single DVD Writer is fine. You can copy a DVD on the fly with some software, but it would be very slow and not nearly as reliable as taking an image first to hard disk and then writing that back. Plus, if it's backups of movies your after you'll need to re-compress anyway.

FLOPPY - Internal 9-in-1 flash card reader & 1.44mb floppy drive

The cardreader would be handy, floppy is dead though.

MONITOR - Dell E176FP 17" Midnight Grey TC099 Flat Panel Monitor
? - If I use my existing E151FP monitor, Dell say that i will need a video card with dual monitor support, will this do the job ?

Yes you will. I'd recommend a 19" monitor though if you can afford it.

VIDEO CARD - 256mb ATI RAdeon X600 Hypermemory graphics card
? - If I use my existing E151FP Monitor as a second monitor, Dell site say that you need a video card with dual monitor support, will this do the job and also sufficient for my requirements ?

Dell are the only ones who can accurately answer this question. Allthough the X600 does support dual monitors, Dell may not have the 2nd connector on the card you buy. Knowing Dell and their shoddy over priced merchandice, they most likely don't.

VIDEO EDITING - IEEE 1394 PCI Adapter Card (extra €30)
? - Do I need this ?

Does your camcorder have a Firewire (1394) port or a USB2 port? If it's a digital camcorder then it will have one of these. If it has only firewire then you'll want this card. If it's analog output only, then you won't need it. The Dell has USB2 ports by default anyway.

MODEM - V.92 Data Fax Modem
OR - Dell V92 data/fax/voice modem
? - Do I need a modem as I will have broadband ?

If you have broadband then you don't need an overpriced modem from Dell.

DELL PRINTER - Dell PErsonal Laser Printer 1100 (extra €120)
? - Dont print that much but figure that this will be better value in the long run over an inkjet printer. Any comments ?

Don't buy a printer from Dell, you have to buy the ink from them in the future, and once again it's over priced. Toner for a Laser printer will be mad expensive, get a cheap inkjet from PC World or anywhere else if you don't print that much anyway.

USB - 128mb memory key (+€60)
OR - 512mb (€108)
? - mainly using to transfer data from existing pc

Can be bought way cheaper elsewhere.

TV TUNER - AverMedia USB TV Tuner external USB2.0 TV Tuner
? - Do I need this if I want to record TV and if so is that all I need ? If I choose Media Center Edition, isnt there a built in TV Tuner. ?

There is no built in tuner with MCE, there will be software, but it'll require a TV tuner of some sort. If you have digital TV then you will need the TV output of the decoder box connected to the TV card. You'll only be able to watch whatever channel is selected on the box and the PC will not be able to change channel. If it's a cheap Sky+ style option you're after then just get a Sky+ box.

Any comments please ?

Yeah, don't buy a Dell. Did I mention they're over priced? I have a personal hatred of Dell that goes back many years, sorry.

I would not notice small differences in processor speed or graphics card that techies or gamers would.

If you won't be gaming and only _maybe_ want dual monitor support then I'd suggest you buy a dual connector graphics card at a later time (for a lot cheaper), if you need it. The crappy onboard Intel graphics will probably suffice if you're not going to do.

irlrobins wrote:

And you can upgrade Dell's for most things. Video card, sound card, RAM, HD etc can all be upgraded. Some parts like fans etc are sometimes only available thru dell.

Be very carefull saing something like that. I know for a fact that many Dells sold without an extra graphics card pre-installed, don't have the PCI-E or AGP ports on the motherboard. The footprint is on the PCB, but the connector is missing. This is one of the reasons I hate them so much. If you don't buy their over priced upgrade then they make it impossible for you to buy it elsewhere. Some models only come with two PCI slots aswell, so if you buy two PCI devices with it (say a 1394 card and a sound card) then you have no more upgrade-ability, unless you swap one of these. Again with the RAM, there may only be two slots which you've filled with 2x512M DIMMs. An upgrade will mean replacing both of these, instead of adding to them.

irlrobins

jor el wrote:

Be very carefull saing something like that. I know for a fact that many Dells sold without an extra graphics card pre-installed, don't have the PCI-E or AGP ports on the motherboard. The footprint is on the PCB, but the connector is missing.

The model in this case comes with a PCI-E motherboard so it is fully upgradeable. I know some of the smaller models (Dimension 3000) don't have the ability to upgrade. But thats not the case here.

SouperComputer

id agree with pretty much eveything jor_el has said (espcially the trusting me bit! LOL!), Although im not too sure on the RAM. I do a bit of video editing with 512Mb and find its OK.

1GB should be sufficient for you for at least six months. At which stage, if you need to add an extra gig, it will be even cheaper.

Oh I forgot, MCE is designed to be used by people who dont even know its running on a computer! MCE itself a an application that provides you with a nice navigion menu for your entertainment needs. Somthing like a skybox, but of course you can shedule and review TV recordings, listen to music, view photos blah blah.

WICKL0W

Thanks guys for the input.


O/S: If MCE is XP Pro with add ons why is it 30 euro cheaper ? I presume it would be fully compatible with Office Professional and not be all about media ? When I say I want my pc to do video editing and record TV, I'm not going to be spending all day at it. Gotta do my day job and surf and email. What are the drawbacks of MCE v XP Pro ? Is it too new !!

TV TUNER: I dont have digital or sky. Recording TV would be from NTL's basic package. Do you just split the connection and run a wire from NTL to pc ? If so, is the selected Tuner gonna do the job ?

BASE: 64 - bit CPU - which ones of Dells are this. Read that 64-bit is way forward but I have no clue what it means

BASE: Which is faster the Pentium D 820 (2.8ghz) or the Pentium 4 630 (3.0ghz) ? I thought the higher the ghz the better ? Or is Pentium D just better ?

VIDEO EDITING: Yeah camcorder only has firewire, so I will get one of these.

Ok I will take your advice and not get the Dell printer or USB or modem.
Gotta bring the price down on the system anyhow........

Oh yeah has anyone gotta tips getting around the Dell codes. This particular promotion is up tomorrow. If they have cut staff and profits are there further better deals to be got by waiting ? Kinda gotta go with Dell if Im going to get it bought for me

{off topic) - when I "reply to thread", right click and copy text, it does not allow me to paste to quote, how come ?

irlrobins

WICKL0W wrote:

BASE: Which is faster the Pentium D 820 (2.8ghz) or the Pentium 4 630 (3.0ghz) ? I thought the higher the ghz the better ? Or is Pentium D just better ?

You're sorta of comparing apples with oranges here.

The 630 is a single core (single processor), the 840 is dual core (2 processors). Most software is currently not written to take advantage of the dual core capability, so head to head the 630 might come out on top of the 840. But as more software is updated to run on dual core the 840 will def be faster than the 630. tasks such as video editing will def see the advantage.

irlrobins

WICKL0W wrote:

Oh yeah has anyone gotta tips getting around the Dell codes. This particular promotion is up tomorrow. If they have cut staff and profits are there further better deals to be got by waiting ? Kinda gotta go with Dell if Im going to get it bought for me

Dell always has some soft of offer on. Sometimes they might want to shift more laptops so they might have better offer better value on laptops. Its hard to know whether to buy now or to wait later.

I was very lucky in buying my 8400. For about 3 hours they had offers overlapping so instead of getting jsut one offer like double memory for free, I got a further 2 which saved me 400e off the normal price. Just was in right place at the right time. If i had waited an hour the price would have risen by 250e.

Malafus

irlrobins wrote:

The model in this case comes with a PCI-E motherboard so it is fully upgradeable. I know some of the smaller models (Dimension 3000) don't have the ability to upgrade. But thats not the case here.

Some of Dell's machines have proprietary PCIe slots with extra dividers, making them incompatible with standard PCIe cards(unless you feel like sawing off the extra dividers). Be ye forewarned. I know this was the case a while back, but perhaps things have changed. I doubt it though.

irlrobins

Malafus wrote:

Some of Dell's machines have proprietary PCIe slots with extra dividers, making them incompatible with standard PCIe cards(unless you feel like sawing off the extra dividers). Be ye forewarned. I know this was the case a while back, but perhaps things have changed. I doubt it though.

where did u see this???

Malafus

irlrobins wrote:

where did u see this???

T'internet.... hmmm linky....
I'll see if I can find the exact article(s) I read this in. For now, here's some guy's random rant about said topic - although this is a server mobo, and I don't actually recall whether the articles were about desktops or servers:
http://www.gudlyf.com/2005/01/12/rant-of-the-day-dells-proprietary-pcie-slot/

irlrobins

thought thats what you might be refering to. What happened in that case was that the guy wanted to fit a x16 card into a standard x8 slot. (PCIe has 5 standard sizes (1x,2x,4x,8x and 16x))

So nothing proprietary from Dell. Just some idiots trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Malafus

irlrobins wrote:

thought thats what you might be refering to. What happened in that case was that the guy wanted to fit a x16 card into a standard x8 slot. (PCIe has 5 standard sizes (1x,2x,4x,8x and 16x))

So nothing proprietary from Dell. Just some idiots trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Did you follow the link off that page? PCIe slots should have 1 divider, regardless of size - unless of course, the extra divider is just to have a 16x sized slot, without the functionality, which actually makes perfect sense now that I think about it.... :rolleyes: Oops. Should have thought about that more carefully. Odd that the mobo said 16x though, no?

Oh, and that article I was referring to, may have been written by someone thinking similarly to Gudlyf... though I cannot find it again. Maybe it never existed in the first place, and I just remembered this rant in article form in my head. Doesn't really matter anyway.

irlrobins

Malafus wrote:

unless of course, the extra divider is just to have a 16x sized slot, without the functionality, which actually makes perfect sense now that I think about it

Thats it exactly.

Motherboard could prob take a x16 slot but dell wanted to sell it with an x8 one, probably to make it cheaper. Hence the x16 sized slot.

WICKL0W

WICKL0W wrote:

Thanks guys for the input.


O/S: If MCE is XP Pro with add ons why is it 30 euro cheaper ? I presume it would be fully compatible with Office Professional and not be all about media ? When I say I want my pc to do video editing and record TV, I'm not going to be spending all day at it. Gotta do my day job and surf and email. What are the drawbacks of MCE v XP Pro ? Is it too new !!

TV TUNER: I dont have digital or sky. Recording TV would be from NTL's basic package. Do you just split the connection and run a wire from NTL to pc ? If so, is the selected Tuner gonna do the job ?

BASE: 64 - bit CPU - which ones of Dells are this. Read that 64-bit is way forward but I have no clue what it means

BASE: Which is faster the Pentium D 820 (2.8ghz) or the Pentium 4 630 (3.0ghz) ? I thought the higher the ghz the better ? Or is Pentium D just better ?

VIDEO EDITING: Yeah camcorder only has firewire, so I will get one of these.

Ok I will take your advice and not get the Dell printer or USB or modem.
Gotta bring the price down on the system anyhow........

Oh yeah has anyone gotta tips getting around the Dell codes. This particular promotion is up tomorrow. If they have cut staff and profits are there further better deals to be got by waiting ? Kinda gotta go with Dell if Im going to get it bought for me

{off topic) - when I "reply to thread", right click and copy text, it does not allow me to paste to quote, how come ?

Just altering system and :
TV TUNER: The AverMedia USB TV Tuner External USB2.0 doesnt seem to be compatible with Pentium D. According to Dell "TV Tuner MUST be ordered with Pentium 4 processor and aminimum of 512MB memory" although they allow it as an option under 9150 (D11916)

SouperComputer

not sure why MCE is cheaper than Pro.

If you need to join a domain in work then MCE is not for you, XP Pro is your only option. Best check this with your IT dept at work. What I really should have said is that MCE is "mostly" XP pro with an added application. Like all things M$ there is a catch. Again, this is a non-issue unless you need to login to your work network from home and it uses a domain structure.

MCE is ideal if you dont plan spending all day playing with the TV, it does the work for you.

Office professional will work with 2000 upwards, Home or pro with office your OS is not relevant once you have either 2k, Xp or 2K3. Office pro just has extra apps, such as BCM, Access, powerpoint etc. and will run on XP home as well as pro.

WICKL0W

.....and what about the TV Tuner issue with Pentium D ?

Hobbes

I got this system last night..

http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_XPS_M170/4505-3121_7-31520758.html

Ignoring the pointless flashing lights the machine is a seriously good machine.

irlrobins

WICKL0W wrote:

Just altering system and :
TV TUNER: The AverMedia USB TV Tuner External USB2.0 doesnt seem to be compatible with Pentium D. According to Dell "TV Tuner MUST be ordered with Pentium 4 processor and aminimum of 512MB memory" although they allow it as an option under 9150 (D11916)

That might be the minimum requirement. i.e you can't run it on a cleron chip and 256Mb Ram. So a Pentium D would be fine. Maybe ring to find out is the best way.