Buying a New 'Puter...

[Bondo]

I'm ready to take the Plunge.....<br />At this point I'm Thinking I'm going to buy a Dell.... Good Deals,+ I've Heard, Good Service....<br />The 1 I've Spec'ed out is like this;<br />Dell Dimension 2400 Micro-tower<br />Pentium 4 @ 2.53ghz<br />533mhz FSB<br />256mb SDRAM<br />40gb Hard Drive (7200rpms)<br />Modem<br />48X CD-ROM<br />4X DVD+RW/+R with CD-RW<br />Keyboard<br />Mouse<br />All For $453.00<br /><br />What do Ya'll Think ??? Good Deal ???<br /><br />Does Anybody know What the Higher rpms of the hard drive will do for me ????? Most of the others available are 4500rpm drives......<br /><br />Thanks.. Bondo...

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

very happy with my new gateway. i believe gateway and dell have the market, and you can't go wrong with either. i'd upgrade to 512 ram and a 60 gig hard drive. also, that price probably doesn't include a long warranty. i'd pay the $125 more and extend to 3 years. good luck and enjoy-

 

[tylerin]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Bondo, I use the E-machines w/ the AMD as opposed to the pentium. I'm extremely happy

 

[jsfinn]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Higher RPM hard drive means that the computer will be faster! It gets data off of the hard drive and to the processor/memory faster. I would get the faster hard drive.. also, bump up the memory to at least 512MB - it shouldn't cost that much more.<br /><br />40GB is big. What are you going to do with it? If you're going to be downloading tons of MP3s and storing tons of photos and things like that on your computer, you might want bigger - if not, 40 GB is a ton of space.<br /><br />I'm the network administrator for my company and we only buy Dell. The have the absolute best service and support.<br /><br />It's a good deal - you'll be happy with it.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Bondo,<br /><br />It's an excellent deal and Dell makes a great machine.<br /><br />Consider upgrading to a flat panel LCD display now while you can do it cheaply. It makes an enormous difference in eye strain, takes up a lot less desk space and no generated heat.<br /><br />Also consider upgrading the keyboard to their MM version. It has more features and is just better quality.<br /><br />Also consider upgrading to an optical mouse if they are offering it. No more dirty balls and skipping<br /><br />like has been said, the faster the HDD platter spins, the faster the data transfer. HDD speed is one of the major bottlenecks in computer speed.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

PS - according to the latest flyer I got, that deal on the 2400 ends 1/31 then they start putting the 2.4 GHz Celeron in for the P4 aagin...

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Bondo, at least get an 80 gb hard drive. 40 is way too small. If Dell won't do it for you, partition your drive into thirds when you get it. Do it before you, hook up any devices, add any drivers or other programs. That way you can keep your C: drive relatively clean and make it easier to reload the operating system should the need arise. Keep all of your data and programs, that don't need to be in the root directory, on your D: and E: drives. It makes it quicker to run Defrag and Scan Disk as well.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Well Guys, <br />Thanks for the insight so far......<br />I Just took the Plunge........<br />It Should be here in less than a week.....<br />$453.00, To My Door... Free Shipping till Jan, 29th....<br />Just got the confirmation....<br />jsfinn, That's what I "Figured" with the hard drive speeds... It was $10. more for the 7200rpm over the 5400rpm unit..... Soo, I Bought it...<br />I Agree on the 40g hard drive being Way Big... This 1(present 'puter) is a 10g,+ Even if you Include the .5g that had to be partitioned off due to a virus, I'm Still only using 1g of This 1..+ I've had it 4 years.....<br />But, This was the Smallest 7200rpm drive listed in the inventory list..... Next Choice was 80g !! <br />On the SDRAM, I can pop another stick into it Myself, Much Cheaper than I could find in the options list.... If there's an unused slot on the motherboard,+ it'll support it, I'll drop a 512 on top of the 256 that's in it.....<br />Ralph,<br />I agree a Flat Screen is Nice....<br />But, I'm starring at a 21" monitor Now... I'm Not going Smaller... Space, I've got,+ Besides up here in the North Country, Every Little Bit of Extra Heat is a Good Thing... Brrrr.. Supposed to get Up Just Above 0* today, Noon now,+ Still Below 0*......<br />I Just Started Playing with these things at the Turn of the Century, so the Added keyboard features are Beyond My Comprehendsion.... <br />I'm looking at the "Illuminx" keyboard... Typing with the lights Off appeals to me, And the prices have started to come down abit.....<br />The optical mouse I've Had for along time now.....<br />I got the Microsoft Opti-mouse, with the 4 button control,+ Scroll Wheel... I Really like it....<br /><br />Thanx for the Oppinions,+ Info on the HDs....<br />I'm going over to the Front Window,+ Watch for the UPS Driver....

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

I saw that deal the other day too and about fell out of my chair! You wont be sorry you did it!<br /><br />I built my own last year only because I wanted to learn about computers more and know what I had when I was done! Ive got lights and an aluminum case and all, (ya I know, but I like it) Its cool to see it glowing in the office at night!<br /><br />Something you might want to check is how many fans it has when you get it, It may only have the power supply fan and one case fan, Plus CPU fan! You may want to add one more if there is a place for it! I feel you cant have too many fans! Heat is the worst killer and the 2000 Plus machines really get hot!!<br /><br />Congrats on the new Comp!!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Boomyal, ya posted under me while I was typing.... the 1 finger Wizard... <br />You'll see on my post below yours, I Don't Need a Big HD....<br />After the 1st sentence, You're Talking Latin to Me....

 

[Bondo]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

LubeDude,<br />I looked into putting 1 together, But by the time you piece it together, you Can't Beat the price of a "Built" unit.....<br />I Waste Enough Money Building My Own Boats....<br />Ya Know... <br />Cheap Boat...<br />Let's Fix it Up....<br />Spend 3X More than you'll Ever get out of it....<br />But, It IS Fun..!!!....

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

I hear ya, been there done that! I have close to $1000.00 in just the box! I have all the latest stuff though and wont have to upgrade for awhile, at least a month! The only thing that will be weak in your new computer is, like what was mentioned, and the video and sound cards! If you are not into Gaming youll be fine with what you got!! I do a lot of Didgital stuff so ! need the extra!! A really good vieo card can set you back $400.00! I want a 20-21" LCD screen now, Have to save for that!

 

[Ryoken]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

hey bondo, just another word about building vs buying for the next time. something to keep in mind is that Dell, Gateway, etc use proprietary hardware, making upgrades very difficult.. i learned that the hard way with my first Gateway system. basically you get stuck buying a new system every time. some people upgrade so infrequently they might not mind that. <br /><br />when my gateway became too dinosauric for modern games last spring i decided to build my own after they said i couldn't upgrade. spent about 1200, a comparible Gateway was around 1800 without the nice case, lights, fan controller and LCD display. plus it will always be upgradable in the future without all that proprietary stuff...<br /><br />it's fun too, like building a little hotrod, without the dirty factor. <br /><br />

 

[bh357]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Bondo,<br /><br />DUDE... YOU'RE GETTING A DELL!<br /><br />Congrats on your new computer purchase. We've had our Dell for 1 1/2 years now, and it's run basically flawlessly for us. If you get into a lot of downloading, you'll eat up a lot of that space.<br />I have a 21" monitor at work, and I love it. But space constraints limited us to 17" at home (couldn't justify the $$$ for a flat panel, especially larger than 17")<br /><br />What is your old computer? Ours was a 486 Talk about a huge speed increase.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Present Box is a little HP Pavilian 500m....<br />Ya, New 1's 5 Times Faster..!!<br />It's Way More 'Puter than I need... I'm Not a Gamer... Don't download Music...<br />Don't Need the Big Hard Drive....<br />The Lights,+ All Look Good Ryoken, But I'd rather Stuff the box under the desk,+ Look at the Monitor...I'd rather HotRod a Boat than a 'Puter....<br />This All Started when I bought a Disc with All the Ford Shop Manuals on it(Ford Diesel Pick-up).... Turns out it's a DVD... Duh, My box won't play DVDs, just CDs... So I buy a combination player to install in my box..... Not..<br />I paid Too Much for this 1 when I bought it because I didn't Know AnyThing about 'Puters At All then.....'Course, Now I Know Just Enough to get Into Trouble.....<br />With what I've spent on DVD players,+ RAM,+ Etc. in the last year, I Should have bought the Dell Then......<br /><br />I'll Never Use Most of What I Bought.....<br />But, I Can ....

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Dell, Gateway, etc use proprietary hardware, making upgrades very difficult..

Sorry but that just isn't true. They use standard open architecture and there isn't a single thing that can't be upgraded - memory, video, HDD sound.... even CPU. I don;t know what you had for a Gateway but it certainly isn't the case today.<br /><br />The only truly propitiatory PC (exc MACs) I can think of was the original IBM PS/2. It was a major failure and cost IBM their dominant position in the PC market. But that was many, many moons ago.<br /><br />PS - There is a great article in PCMag this month about upgrading that helps you determine if and when it makes sense to upgrade vs Buy new and what gives you the most bang for the buck.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Ralph,<br />I'm Sure you are Right on that.....<br />I Know this Dell is Way more 'Puter than I Need.....<br />But, Have you any Idea what they run for a Motherboard ??? How Much SDRAM will it support ???<br />Need to Start the List for Next Years Improvements...

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

I think the 2400 you just bought uses an Intel MB. If you go to Dell's web site, once you get your machine, with the service tag you can find out exactly which make and model. Just click on support and put your service tag number in and you will get all the tech specs and the configuration as shipped. It should support at least 1Gb of memory but that assumes that you populate the slots with the max density simms. Based on what you bought, you will not likely be adding any memory unless you start doing some gaming, heavy CAD or video editing.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

Hey Bondo, look at this EL keyboard on eBay -<br /><br /> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2783396680&category=33965

 

[Ryoken]

Re: Buying a New 'Puter...

well Ralph, i was told by Gateway that my Gateway P3 550 mgz had a proprietary case, mobo, and power supply... as i've heard Dells had too...<br /><br />meaning i couldn't just go to newegg and get a new mobo. i HAD to go thru Gateway... now that may have changed, but i'm not certain, that system was 4 yrs old..<br /><br />i'll stick with my Lian Li...