New PC

tinofapples

Folks ,
Thinking of purchasing a new PC and looking for opinions on what I've chosen. Building my own is not an option. It will be for general usage nothing OTT. Opinions please ?

Compaq 1440 with 15"TFT

AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3400+
1024 Mb DDR SDRAM
250 Gb Serial ATA Hard Disk
Multi-format Dual Layer DVDRW & DVDR
256 Mb NVIDIA GeForce 6200 Graphics
9-In-1 Card Reader
7 x 2.0 USB Ports
56k Modem
Windows XP Home Edition
Microsoft Works v 8.0


Price : 999
Can upgrade to

17" TFT - 1049
19" TFT - 1149

Will probably go for 19"TFT.

I'm in Galway so if you think better value can be got shout !!

Cheers.

Shiny

I think it is fine other than the 6200 graphics.

I would be happier to see it with at least a 6600.

go for the 19".

JackKelly

graphics card shouldn't really matter too much if it's only for general usage.

stevenmu

The processor and memory are more than adequate for what you want, but it's always a good idea to have that little bit extra. The graphics card won't be great for gaming but should manage most current games ok (with some detail turned down etc), if you're going to be serious about games get something better. The only real downside that I see is that the price seems a little steep, dell (especially the outlet store) might be able to give you a similar system at a better price. The thing to watch for with dells is that many of them come with integrated graphics which are useless for gaming and don't even have a seperate port for a graphics card if you decide to upgrade it later on. If that's an issue for you make sure to specify one with a seperate graphics card.

tinofapples

graphics card shouldn't really matter too much if it's only for general usage

Very True. I'm not big into gaming in fact the only game I see myself running on it is FM2005.

JackKelly

well FM2005 would be more processor and Ram heavy so i wouldn't bother changing the Graphics. It is a bit pricey but thats the problem when you buy a prebuilt system. (building it yourself is completely and totally 100% out of the option?)

philtaylor

Yes I know the below is amd however is it not wise to hold out till the new Pentium chips come out next month , that way pentium 4 chipped pc will be alot cheaper as the new system will be carrying the premiums.

Nukem

Mercy save me for telling someone to do this
Here we go

Dell 8400 , 3.0Ghz,160gb,floppy,1Gb of RAM and a 6800 ; Dell Outlet
For 663 -VAT
Including VAT and with the 79 euro off offer that comes to 707; now plus 30 del = 737euro

Add a 17" flat panel monitor from them for 200 quid. So 937euro delivered or go for the 19 or more bits and its still slightly cheaper for a better machine.

Nukem

EDIT. If that offer is gone just have a look around the outlet for similar deals

tinofapples

When I went back to purchase the machine I originally mentioned PC World were out of stock .

I was looking through a Dell brochure over the weekend and like the look of a Dell 5100 with a Pentium 4 3.2 GHz processor .

1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 400MHz [2x512]
250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
16x max. DVD+/-RW & 16x DVD
Dell E193FP 19" Value Flat Panel Monitor
128MB PCI-Express ATI Radeon X300SE™ with TVout & DVI
Dell A425 Midnight Grey speakers with subwoofer UK version
Dell Entry USB Keyboard
Dell USB 2Button Wheel Mouse
Microsoft® Works 7.0 - English
Photo Album™ SE Basic
Paint Shop™ Pro® Basic Edition
Dell v92 Data/Fax modem


Are they really that bad to deal with ? And what exactly is bad ? Girl on the phone was obviously pushing additional cover to me at 150 yo-yo's for 3 years. Is the extra cover worth it ?

Opinions please ?

Thanks

Nukem

There just made from cheaper parts and they really arent upgrading friendly. Mobo and PSU generally are just for Dells. Overclocking isnt an option with Dell.

Example: for the parts thing - go look at 2*256mb Ram and then try change that to 1*512mb RAM its like 127euro or something daft? Like com'on you can buy a gig for that. Just an example. That x300 is rubbish but you can upgrade later from komplett or someone.

Nukem

Dinner

tinofapples wrote:

I was looking through a Dell brochure over the weekend and like the look of a Dell 5100 with a Pentium 4 3.2 GHz processor .

How much would that cost? If you already have a moniter and or speakers you could get a powerful Dell in the outlet store for cheap.

I've never had a problem with my dell. My 4600 is easy enough to upgrade. I didnt need to pay Dell's prices for RAm or need a PSU.

However I'm not too sure on the 5100 though.

tinofapples

Overclocking isnt an option with Dell.

This was never part of my plans.

That x300 is rubbish but you can upgrade later from komplett or someone.

As I've said Graphics cards are not high on my list of necessity I'm sure the 128 will be grand for my needs. And as you've said I can always add later on.

How much would that cost? If you already have a moniter and or speakers you could get a powerful Dell in the outlet store for cheap

I was quoted 1169 over the phone yesterday with that rising by 150 for the 3 yr cover (Necessary ?). I have monitor (17"CRT)) & speakers but will prefer the flat screen and new speakers.

Dinner

tinofapples wrote:

I was quoted 1169 over the phone yesterday with that rising by 150 for the 3 yr cover (Necessary ?).

Personally I wouldnt (didnt) bother with it. I prefered getting it for slightly less and only having the 1 year collect and return.
But if you would like the extra piece of mind that if anything did go wrong 2 years from now you would have something to fall back on, then get it.

tinofapples

I think I'll be ordering this evening without the extra cover.

What's delivery time like ? A week ?

Dinner

tinofapples wrote:

I think I'll be ordering this evening without the extra cover.

What's delivery time like ? A week ?

Varies I think, but I had mine in just over a week. Ordered on a thursday and got it on the following Friday or something likle that.