Good Deal?

[GeneralSnatch]

Hey, my POS computer has prompted me to search for a new(er) model. I was poking around the major retail chains and found this deal on dell:

XPS 420

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor E8500 (6MB L2 Cache,3.16GHz,1333FSB)

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium w/ Digital Cable Support SP1

4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs

ATI Radeon HD3870 512MB GDDR4 <--GPU

640GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cacheâ„¢

Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia Speaker System

and ofc other bells and whistles..blah blah support blah blah.

This is all for $1,100. Is this a good deal? It doesn't include a monitor so I'll have to tack on another...200 bucks or so for 19" from Newegg. I know pretty much nothing about building a PC, but that doesn't mean it isn't an option.

Anyone know of anything better with that approximate price?

edit: Oh, forgot to add that his PC would be for gaming. I found out that my PC literally laughs at me when I try to run Warhammer.

Yeah...it's that bad.

 

[worshipme]

This is all for $1,100. Is this a good deal? It doesn't include a monitor so I'll have to tack on another...200 bucks or so for 19" from Newegg. I know pretty much nothing about building a PC, but that doesn't mean it isn't an option.

I don't think it's a good deal at all. You could build something twice as good for the same money.

 

[GeneralSnatch]

I don't think it's a good deal at all. You could build something twice as good for the same money.

Really? Including an OS?

Also, I'd liek to point out that the "new Build" section's GPU for non overclockers are 'deactivated items' on newegg...

Any suggestions for different GPU for the 'enthusiast build'?

 

[worshipme]

Really? Including an OS?

Also, I'd liek to point out that the "new Build" section's GPU for non overclockers are 'deactivated items' on newegg...

Oh yeah:

E8500
P5E Deluxe 16x + 16x Crossfire support so you can run dual HD 4850's.
OCZ 2x2GB DDR 800 Only takes two DIMMs so less stain the north bridge. + the timings are much tighter than Dell RAM.
2 x Palit HD 4850 - 2 x HD 4850 in CF > HD 4870
Xigmatek 650W modular - Again, much more reliable and solid than anything Dell will use.
Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB - Fastest 7200RPM drive on the market
Cooler Master RC-690 - I have seen this case in the flesh and it's much smarter and better built than anything Dell will use.
Optical drive

Total: ~ $1100

 

[GeneralSnatch]

Oh yeah:

E8500
P5E Deluxe 16x + 16x Crossfire support so you can run dual HD 4850's.
OCZ 2x2GB DDR 800 Only takes two DIMMs so less stain the north bridge. + the timings are much tighter than Dell RAM.
2 x Palit HD 4850 - 2 x HD 4850 in CF > HD 4870
Xigmatek 650W modular - Again, much more reliable and solid than anything Dell will use.
Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB - Fastest 7200RPM drive on the market
Cooler Master RC-690 - I have seen this case in the flesh and it's much smarter and better built than anything Dell will use.
Optical drive

Total: ~ $1100

Wow, that looks like a lot of bang for the same amount. How about an OS though, should I bite the bullet and buy Vista? Or go for Linux? (Or does my old XP work if I have the reinstall CD's? >.>)

 

[rohan23]

Personally, I'd go with Xp. The only real reason to ever switch over to Vista, would be for DirectX10. Vista does require a lot of resources from your computer. Plus, not everything is compatible with it yet. So you will get a lot of drivers that won't work with it yet. They will down the road. But, just not now.

 

[Teny]

I'd go with Vista.
The only drivers i found thats not supported by Vista are those that were really, really, really old things.
Since you are getting a new build, all the drivers should work, unless you plan on putting something old in there.
After Vista got the SP1, its much more stable, easy to use, and really good.

 

[JogaBonito1502]

Oh yeah:

E8500
P5E Deluxe 16x + 16x Crossfire support so you can run dual HD 4850's.
OCZ 2x2GB DDR 800 Only takes two DIMMs so less stain the north bridge. + the timings are much tighter than Dell RAM.
2 x Palit HD 4850 - 2 x HD 4850 in CF > HD 4870
Xigmatek 650W modular - Again, much more reliable and solid than anything Dell will use.
Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB - Fastest 7200RPM drive on the market
Cooler Master RC-690 - I have seen this case in the flesh and it's much smarter and better built than anything Dell will use.
Optical drive

Total: ~ $1100

The total, realistically, is about $1500 when he includes OS, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, and Monitor. So if you take that into account with the dell, it might be a good deal.

 

[Teny]

in my computer class, our assignment is to build a computer, with monitors, mouse, etc.
So far, it seems like i am the only one selecting each and one of my parts from newegg, all the rest of the class went to dell.com and chose a computer, and upgrade some parts.
We arent actually going to buy it, the teacher just wanted to see if we know what is what, and why we chose it.
i looked at the people that sat next to me, and one cost $3000 with the upgrades and stuff, then i looked at mine, and it cost $1600 total with shipping, and the parts i chose was either the same, or better than the dell.

one best way to know which one is cheaper is to find the exact price for the dell, and the parts from newegg, and see the difference.
I dont know if dell does it to XPS, but when they choose the parts, the motherboard, psu, ram and stuff are usually the worst with mediocre performance, for example, and $50 board, a PSU that only powers that system, and cant upgrade much, or bad speeds/timings on the ram.

So in the end, building your own might cost the same, but the little specs like those are what makes your moneys worth.

 

[GeneralSnatch]

Cool, I think, instead of buying 2 videocards, I'm just going to get one for now to lower the price. That way I won't have to skimp out on speakers, monitor and OS. Later on I'll buy another one.

As for OS, I don't even think XP is available to buy anywhere...seems as though I can't just reinstall my XP because it came preinstalled. Vista it is...?