Dell V Komplett?

kifi

I was configuring a desktop on the dell website and to jump from a P4 640 to a PD 950 you must fork out 520euro. However to buy a PD 950 chip from komplett is only 350 euro. Whats that all about??

forbairt

As I see it .. its how dell makes their profits ...

They sell the base machines pretty reasonably ... however they do scrimp a bit on the components

Extra memory = a complete rip off ...
other components ... very pricey ...

astrofool

you're generally better off going for a higher spec base, than picking a low spec base and adding to it.

conzy

Buy from Komplett, You will get much more bang for buck...

Something like this is amazing value for money.

And is a very decent PC and will play all current games at high settings

TempestSabre

Wait for an bundle offer, or just buy it off the Dell outlet store when a bargain comes up. When you start looking into it you'll realised that a AMD chip is a better deal for gaming.

SeanW

Dell. Horrible. Yuck. Avoid 'em like the plague.

Unless you're buying bulk PCs for a medium large organisation, you're better off going elsewhere, like Komplett.

kifi

I see.

Its just that I had been looking into building a new system not primarily for gaming but for running mathematical type programmes involving heavy number crunching and also running CAD/CAE programmes.

Here's what Ive been looking at-

Case
Antec P180

Power Supply
Seasonic S12 430W

CPU
Intel Pentium D940

Mobo
ABIT AW8, I955X

Memory
Corsair Value S. PC5300 DDR2 2048MB

Graphics
Point of View GeForce 7900GT 256MB

HDD
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 250GB

Some sorta nice high res 19" or 20" LCD monitor for my CAD work.

Minus the monitor I think this came in around 1300 on the Komplett builder.

Anything I should improve on or on which I can save?

Thanks

TempestSabre

If it were me I'd get a 2nd monitor, even it meant getting a cheaper gfx card.

kifi

why would I get a second monitor? That would be a huge expense

TempestSabre

Its a huge productivity boon. Once you've used one for a while its hard to go back to a single monitor.

kifi

I can see how that'd be true. However I also have a laptop which may be useful in this respect

conzy

Get an AMD machine they are cheaper/better/quieter/more efficient Plus they have an onboard memory controller and a 2ghz system bus.

Look at this AMD win in every benchmark except flash.......

An X2 4200 would be a much better buy, along with an ASUS a8n-E and 2 gigs of OCZ platinium. It would put the intel to shame, and has upgradeability unlike Intel who release a new chipset weekly:rolleyes:

segasega

I think Dell just make their computers annoying to update, their cases always see to have random bars and bits of plastic in the way of everything so it takes ages to get to stuff and you have to take out like 20 screws! Think they just want you to buy a whole new PC off them!

maidhc

TempestSabre wrote:

Its a huge productivity boon. Once you've used one for a while its hard to go back to a single monitor.

Couldn't agree more. I use two 19" CRTs and the screen space is fantastic. when I use my laptop after I feel like im looking through a letterbox

Bill gates wrote an article recently going on about how much he loves his triple monitor setup.... hummm

SeanW

whoever designed Dells cases should be dragged out into the street and shot.

First of all on my (now replaced ) Dell PC, the front side USB and headphone ports are angled almost straight down, so with the PC on the floor, to use the ports you have to lie down on the floor, stick your head underneath the flap panel, then try to feel for the port with the cable you want to put in. The cables all then have to be longer because they start off going down and have to turn to get back up to wherever their device is.

I saw pics on some blog to show that on some PCs they were still doing this in 2005. Also, as said before, they're designed to have limited upgradeability, a couple of PCI cards, one or two IDE drives, RAM and that's it.

My old Dell also had one hell of an annoying noise problem, for the last 3 years it has sometimes made a throbbing kinda noise that can only be surpressed by applying pressure to the case, e.g. a clamp. It also cost a small fortune, and was mid-low spec even then.

I wouldn't touch Dell again with a 10 ft barge pole. Komplett FTW.

TempestSabre

Dell cases are all pretty much designed for easy access to the swap out a drive etc. Can't see why you'd have a problem with that feature. They are not designed for people who like to swap out motherboards or PSUs.

However I have to say the design of Dell cases is poor. You need loads of sapce to open them, and nothing is standard inside. Those angled USB ports are a disaster. The Workstation cases are the worst. The only case I like is the cheap 4600 one as it has straight USB slots, takes a normal ATX PSU and has a normal side panel. Dells are for people who won't be looking inside of them. The ordinary PC users. Not for PC enthuiasts/gamers who want to custom build everything and upgrade later.

kifi

Conzy,

To quote from the link you gave me
"we actually are finishing up this lab report with a fairly positive impression of the Pentium-D 900-series processors."
and "In overall performance, we would estimate that the Pentium-D 950 is about on par with the Athlon64 X2 4400+, which certainly isn’t bad, as the 4400+ is a nice processor and delivers great performance."

In the benchmarks Overall there's not a hell of a lot between the PD 950 and a AMD X2 4400+. However there's a glaring difference in the price with the PD 950 being 155euro cheaper! Don't mean it in a bad way Conzy but I think, like many others, your just jumping on the AMD fanboy wagon.