Designing Computer on Website, Please Critique Choices

[Relmiw]

my dad is looking for a desktop from which he will run a small business and play world of warcraft. we're looking for something around 5-800$ which will last for a few years and be upgradable well beyond that.
i've been selecting options from http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...=DDCWDE2&s=dhs
but am a little hazy about what some of it means
can ya'll go over the choices i've made with me and help with some of it?
any help at all would be greatly appreciated. i'm especially wondering about 1, 4, 7, 8, and 12
the total cost on the computer i've designed with the italic choices, after tax, is $825

1. PROCESSOR
a. intel pentium dulal-core E2160 1MB
b. intel pentium dual-core E2180 1MB----+20
c. intel core Dduo processor E6550 4MB--------+120
d. intel core 2 quad processor Q6600 8MB-------+170

they have bigger options. i am very unsure about this, i don't know the difference between them. i am leaning towards option B

2. OPERATING SYSTEM
a. Windows Vista Premium
b. Windows Vista Premium+Belkin Easy Transfer---+39
c. Windows Vista Business------------------------------+100
d. Windows Vista Ultimate--------------------------------+120

i'm leaning with option A here. i'd rather have XP but it's not an option

3. MONITOR
a. No Monitor
b. 17 Inch Flat------------+140
c. 19 Inch Flat--------------------+190
d. 19 Inch Flat with Truelife--------+190
e. 20 Inch Flat-----------------------+240
f. 20 Inch Flat with Webcam and Mic----+290

i think B would be good here, unless maybe A and getting one somewhere else

4. MEMORY
a. 1 gig 667MHz 2DIMMS
b. 2 gig 667MHz 2DIMMS----+50
c. 3 gig 667MHz 4DIMMS------+100
d. 4 gig 667MHz 4DIMMS--------+150
e. 2 gig 880MHz 2DIMMS-----+70
f. 3 gig 800MHz 4DIMMS-------+120
g 4 gig 800MHz 4DIMMS----------+180

here i'm thinking of B, but i don't know the difference between 667 and 800. what are MHz?

5. HARD DRIVE
a. 250 GB with Data Burst Cache
b. 250 GB with Secured Storage and Data Recovery Solution---+140

i'm thinking option A because of how much more option B costs. there will be financial records on this computer so it's important not to lose it, but we have routine back ups

6. OPTICAL DRIVE
a. 16x DVD+/- RW Drive
b. Dual Drives: 48X CDRW/DVD Combo Drive + 16X DVD +/=RW Drive--+40

i'm thinking A. is there any reason we'd need B?

7. VIDEO CARD
a. Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
b. nVidia GeForce 8300GS 128MB--------+60
c. nVidia GeForce 8600GT-DDR3 256 MB-------+150
d. ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro 128 MB-------+60
e. Radeon ATI HD 2600 XT 256 MB-------------+150

i could really use some help here. i believe warcraft has a minimum of 64MB video cards so maybe 128 is plenty?. but then what's the difference between ATI and nVidia?

8. SOUND
a. Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
b. Integrated Sound Blaster--------------+25
c. Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Sound Card------+100

i don't know much about this. thinking A.

9. KEYBOARD AND MOUSE
a. dell keyboard and optical mouse
b. dell keyboard and premium optical mouse---------+10
c. dell multimedia keyboard and optical mouse------------+25
d. dell multimedia keyboard and premium optical mouse-----+35
e. microsoft silver multimedia keyboard and optical mouse-----+50
f. logitech cordless desktop keyboard and mouse --------------+50

i'm leaning towards B. what is the difference between optical and premium optical? and what's a multimedia keyboard compared to a regular one?

10. BLUETOOTH OPTIONS
a. None
b. Dell Bluetooth Wireless Media Hub---------------------+40
c. Dell Bluetoth Wireless Media Hub+VOIP Stereo Headset------+90
d. b. Dell Bluetooth Wireless Media Hub +Keyboard/Mouse----------+100
e. c. Dell Bluetoth Wireless Media Hub+VOIP Stereo Headset +Keyboard/Mouse---+150

I don't know what a bluetooth media hub would do

11. MEDIA READER
a. None
b. Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Reader----+20
c. 3.5in Floppy Drive-------------------+3.5

i'm thinking A.

12. MODEM AND WIRELESS
a. Internal PCI 802.11g WIreless Network Card
b. Data/Fax Modem plus 802.11b/g wireless PCI card
c. Dell 1505 Wireless-N PCle Card-----------------------------+40

this is an area i'd really like help as well. he will be keeping the old computer so this would be the second computer in the house and probably not near a phone line. i'm not sure what the difference is between the options though.

13. OPTIONAL PORTS
a. None
b. IEEE 1394a Adapter------+30

does anyone know what that does?


it also comes with this list of software, accessories and service

no speakers
30 day virus protection
microsoft works (not word)
1 Year in-home service, Parts+Labor
3GB datasafe online backup for 1 year (i don't know what that is)
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet (don't know what that is either)

they are also offering to sell me
Netgear WGR61454 Mbps, Standard G, Firewall Wireless Router for $45. should i get it?

 

[worshipme]

You could get a lot more for your money if you built your own. It's not as hard as it sounds. Here's a guide: http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/
Order your parts off www.newegg.com/

 

[DefCon_!1!]

lets say he dosent want to hassle with the building, heres what my opinions are

1.)eather the E6650 or the Q6600 ( the Q is better though)
2.)eather HP or ultimate, watever your pirce range is
3.) eather the 19 or 20 inch
4.) 4 gigs FTW!
5.) if its for a buissness, get the data recov one
6.) single drive is just fine
7) 8600 is good for WOW
8.) intergrated is just fine
9.) watever is good for u
10.)i dont use blutooth alot ne way
11.) 19 in 1
12.) option b


i think i went over the price just a little bit...not sure

 

[Relmiw]

worshipme, defcon is right. i'd rather not have the hassel if it's just gonna save 90$. thanks for the replies so far

 

[wee493]

What kind of business apps will he be running. Applications like Word, outlook, ect. or something else thats more advanced?

Here is what i would do (assuming he is running word, outlook, ect.)

1) E6550
2) Home Premium
3) 19 Inch Flat with Truelife
4) 4 gig 667MHz 4DIMMS
5) 250 GB (Get an external HD and backup that way)
6) 16x DVD+/- RW Drive
7) 8600 for WOW
8) integrated
9) dell keyboard and optical mouse (doesn't matter)
10) None
11) None (u shouldest need one)
12) Data/Fax Modem plus 802.11b/g wireless PCI card
13) You dont need IEEE 1394a (Firewire 400)

EDIT: If I was you actually for only $50 more I would go for the Q6600 Processor

 

[Relmiw]

What kind of business apps will he be running. Applications like Word, outlook, ect. or something else thats more advanced?

Here is what i would do (assuming he is running word, outlook, ect.)

1) E6550
2) Home Premium
3) 19 Inch Flat with Truelife
4) 4 gig 667MHz 4DIMMS
5) 250 GB (Get an external HD and backup that way)
6) 16x DVD+/- RW Drive
7) 8600 for WOW
8) integrated
9) dell keyboard and optical mouse (doesn't matter)
10) None
11) None (u shouldest need one)
12) Data/Fax Modem plus 802.11b/g wireless PCI card
13) You dont need IEEE 1394a (Firewire 400)

EDIT: If I was you actually for only $50 more I would go for the Q6600 Processor

thanks wee. right now with the options i have it is already $825, around 150 over what he was looking to pay. the E6550 would shoot it up another 100, 150 more for the one you recommend. is there a great difference between them? what is the difference?

also, wee and defcon you both recommended the 19 inch monitor for an extra 50$. what makes it so much better than the 17?

defcon, you recommended 4 gig RAM, but the 667 or the 800?
wee, you recommended the 4 gig 667. what is the difference between that and the 800? if we went with 2 gigs, would the 667 or 880 be better?

both of you said "integrated" for sound option. is that entegrated channel audio or integrated sound blaster?

 

[worshipme]

1. The 6550 definitely. The extra 3MB of L2 cache and higher clock speeds will help a lot. However, it's unfortunate there's not an E4500 option.
2. I have Vista HP. I don't think all the extra features in Ultimate are worth it when there is other software that does the job better.
3. I think a 17" will be fine unless he works with spreadsheets etc.
4. 4GB 667MHz RAM, if you're not overclocking then the difference between 667MHz and 800MHz RAM is negligible.
5. Whatever size you need. I don't know how much space you require.
7. WOW doesn't need very much power at all. A 2400 PRO would run it fine.
A Q6600 isn't needed IMO.

 

[Relmiw]

1. The 6550 definitely. The extra 3MB of L2 cache and higher clock speeds will help a lot. However, it's unfortunate there's not an E4500 option.
2. I have Vista HP. I don't think all the extra features in Ultimate are worth it when there is other software that does the job better.
3. I think a 17" will be fine unless he works with spreadsheets etc.
4. 4GB 667MHz RAM, if you're not overclocking then the difference between 667MHz and 800MHz RAM is negligible.
5. Whatever size you need. I don't know how much space you require.
7. WOW doesn't need very much power at all. A 2400 PRO would run it fine.
A Q6600 isn't needed IMO.

thanks for the suggestions. you said it would be good to go with the 4GB RAM. for $150. if i got the 2GB RAM for $50, couldn't i just get 2 1GB chips to install a couple years from now for around $80?

he does not work with spreadsheets, most of the stuff is on MS DOS

 

[wee493]

I agree with all of worshipme's points. (+rep). When i upgraded from a 17" monitor to a 19" I noticed a huge difference. 2" doesn't sound like a big difference but try putting a piece of paper over 2" of your monitor and notice how much space you lose.

If you get 2 Gigs of RAM now and later get two more 1 Gig sticks you will end up with the same amount of RAM, because the motherboard only has two slots. so if you where to buy 2 Gigs now later you would have to buy 4Gigs.

 

[Relmiw]

I agree with all of worshipme's points. (+rep). When i upgraded from a 17" monitor to a 19" I noticed a huge difference. 2" doesn't sound like a big difference but try putting a piece of paper over 2" of your monitor and notice how much space you lose.

If you get 2 Gigs of RAM now and later get two more 1 Gig sticks you will end up with the same amount of RAM, because the motherboard only has two slots. so if you where to buy 2 Gigs now later you would have to buy 4Gigs.

my brother got a computer last year that came with 4 slots. 2 had 1 gig sticks in them and the other two were empty. do you need to specifically request that there are extra slots?