Help choose between 2 cheap systems: P4 vs Celeron D

blobert

Hi there,

I'm finding a cheap deal for my friend who needs a basic pc for broadband, MSoffice, etc He also has no tv so he's keen on a 19" monitor for watching DVDs.

I've narrowed it down to 2 options from dell:


Option (1): € 687.28 inc Vat: running the Celeron


Dimension 3000 Celeron 345 (3.06GHz),
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows(r) XP Home Edition, SP2
Memory 1024MB Dual Channel DDR333 (2x512MB)
Monitor 19" Value Flat Panel (E193FP)
Hard Drive 80GB IDE (7,200rpm) Hard Drive
CD/DVD Drives 48X DVD/CDRW Combo Drive

or

Option #2: € 759.88inc Vat: Running P4 and with bigger HD


Base Intel(r) Pentium(r) 4 processor (2.80GHz, 533fsb, 1MB cache)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows(r) XP Home Edition, SP2
Memory 1024MB Dual Channel DDR333 (2x512MB)
Monitor 19" Value Flat Panel (E193FP)
Hard Drive 160GB (7200 rpm) IDE Hard Drive
CD/DVD Drives 48X DVD/CDRW Combo Drive

I have no experience of how crap the Celeron processor is comared to the P4 and can't find any reviews of it on the net.

Do you think it's work paying the extra for better processor/bigger hd?

My friends flatmate may will be using this computer for gaming, I know neither are any good for that but would the P4 be a lot better in this regard?


Any advice would be much appreciated, deals end in two days so let me know.

Thanks,
Robert

Mr. Presentable

P4 for gaming. Forget the Celery

blobert

Thanks for the fast reply

DemonOfTheFall

You wont be doing any gaming with a pc with no graphics card.

HungryJoey

Get the P4, Plenty of speed in the 2.8 Ghz CPU, You will regret it if you pick up that Celeron, They really are slow no matter what Clock speed, Pretty Cache Dependant also and with the lack of cache on that die, It is pretty slow CPU.

Hj

unkel

You didn't mention your mate is into gaming or video / audio encoding and I presume the PC is going to be used for light stuff like you describe (including watching tv / movies etc.)

In that case the celery is just fine

If your mate is going to use it for heavier stuff, get the P4 and if he/she is into gaming, you need to get a decent graphics card too

Alkers

Check out the FS boards, you might get a nicer system for around that price.

blobert

Thanks guys, I think I'll get the P4 alright.

Any recommendations on a cheap graphics card? It'll have to be PCI i think thats all the dimension has.

Jes.de do a 64mb one for about €35 I think, probably not great though.

HungryJoey

With a PCI Graphics card, I have experienced, No matter what card, Once in PCI form it wont play a game. It plays very Choppily and everything runs slower, I noticed in my A64 system with a PCI Ati 7000 64MB DDR, Windows can run a tad bit slower minimising window's, Scrolling Etc... All happens slower and Isn't most pleasant at times. Thats PCI for ya, Slow slot it is.


Hj

Pack3t3rroR

There is no contest. P4 is the one to buy, i mean as #2 says, forget the celery ;D

unkel

blobert wrote:

Thanks guys, I think I'll get the P4 alright.

Wanna share why? If he is into gaming neither will be any good if there's no AGP / PCI-E graphics. He needs to get another PC altogether...

blobert wrote:

Any recommendations on a cheap graphics card? It'll have to be PCI i think thats all the dimension has

No point getting a PCI graphics card. It won't give any improvement over the onboard graphics for playing games. Both would be crap

astrofool

at least make sure the system has an agp/pci-e slot, I wouldn't call €700+ without one of those a "cheap" deal.

He'd be better off with the cheap cheap celeron's and just upgrade to a 19" monitor in that case.