Would I be getting my bang for the buck? (Dell PC Xps Gen5)

[Coola]

so yea...

note - i don't pc game, i just want a reliable workstation for running apps smoothly, multitasking and porn downloading.

though should i wait for dual core cpu's?

--------------------------------------
Dimension XPS Gen 5
Pentium® 4 Processor 640 with HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800 FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition


Module Description Show Details

DIMENSION XPS GEN 5 Pentium® 4 Processor 640 with HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800 FSB)

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Memory 512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (2x256M)- 2 DIMMs
Keyboard Dell USB Keyboard

Monitor FREE UPGRADE! 19 inch E193FP Analog Flat Panel

Video Cards 256MB PCI Expressâ„¢ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800

Hard Drive 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ Native Command Queuing

Floppy Drive and Media Reader 3.5 in Floppy Drive

Mouse Dell® 2-button USB mouse

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0

CD or DVD Drive Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 48x CD-RW Drive

Sound Cards Sound Blaster Audigyâ„¢ 2 ZS (D) Card w/Dolby 5.1, IEEE 1394 capability

Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) WordPerfect®, Powerful Word Processing

Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 90 Day Warranty, 90 Day At-Home Service, and 1Yr Technical Support

XPS Specialized Support Dimension XPS, Specialized Support

Miscellaneous Award Winning Service and Support

Dell 720 Color Printer
--------------------------------------

TOTAL:$1,629.00

 

[_xxx_]

You can put a much better system together for that money. Or one like it for much less money.

 

[Coola]

yea i had someone put a newegg one together but all that was upgraded was a bit more ram and a slightly better vid card

 

[_xxx_]

yea i had someone put a newegg one together but all that was upgraded was a bit more ram and a slightly better vid card

Well isn't that, like, better?

 

[Coola]

yea i had someone put a newegg one together but all that was upgraded was a bit more ram and a slightly better vid card

Well isn't that, like, better?

considering i would have to fill out all the warranties myself, troubleshoot problems myself and assemble it together myself... meh it's pretty hard to decide

 

[Guden Oden]

Dell systems are pretty nice, I've had two of 'em. I've found their service and customer support to be good too (imagine that! ), but some aspects about Dell still suck though. You'll have to decide yourself if it bothers you personally or if it's something you just don't care about.

1: poor, if any hardware monitoring features in their systems. This costs like nothing to include, yet they don't do it. At least in desktops, laptops might be a different story.

2: bog-standard integrated AC97 audio in their newer systems, rather than intel HD audio.

3: NO overclocking features whatsoever. Even intel retail boards generally feature some minor tweaking options, but with dell... Nada.

4: Case, power supply and mobo still custom to some extent, preventing 3rd party options from being used instead.

 

[Coola]

Dell systems are pretty nice, I've had two of 'em. I've found their service and customer support to be good too (imagine that! ), but some aspects about Dell still suck though. You'll have to decide yourself if it bothers you personally or if it's something you just don't care about.

1: poor, if any hardware monitoring features in their systems. This costs like nothing to include, yet they don't do it. At least in desktops, laptops might be a different story.

2: bog-standard integrated AC97 audio in their newer systems, rather than intel HD audio.

3: NO overclocking features whatsoever. Even intel retail boards generally feature some minor tweaking options, but with dell... Nada.

4: Case, power supply and mobo still custom to some extent, preventing 3rd party options from being used instead.

I thought the gps had overcloking via the bios?

audio not to worried about, overclocking not worried about... i would like the option to upgrade slightly, maybe not the cpu because the cpu looks to be good enough for several years, vid card not sure if i would need anything more than what is already present seeing i don't pc game.

just want a good mult-tasking, app running workstation - then again im trying to see if i should wait for longhorn?

 

[Guden Oden]

I thought the gps had overcloking via the bios?

Nopes, sorry! No crossing the boundaries of the law with a dell system! (Though they're nice, solidly built boxes. The case designs are pretty uber in most respects actually.)

i would like the option to upgrade slightly, maybe not the cpu

You should be able to replace that, probably with a dual-core chip even since it's an XPS. I don't think my box even accepts a single-core 64-bit P4, but I'm not sure about that...

just want a good mult-tasking, app running workstation

Then this should serve you eminently - though if gaming isn't your thing, do you REEALLY need an XPS? THIS seems cheaper to me, yet still just as capable to perform the tasks you need.

The 9100 is also a BTX system unlike the XPS, and veeery quiet. It seems to have the exact same guts as my Dimension 5000, and it is very silent. Or was, before I upgraded it with several more fans and harddrives! Heh. Now it's 'only' rather quiet, but hey, it's not easy to totally silence three HDDs and six fans of various sizes...

 

[Coola]

I thought the gps had overcloking via the bios?

Nopes, sorry! No crossing the boundaries of the law with a dell system! (Though they're nice, solidly built boxes. The case designs are pretty uber in most respects actually.)

i would like the option to upgrade slightly, maybe not the cpu

You should be able to replace that, probably with a dual-core chip even since it's an XPS. I don't think my box even accepts a single-core 64-bit P4, but I'm not sure about that...

just want a good mult-tasking, app running workstation

Then this should serve you eminently - though if gaming isn't your thing, do you REEALLY need an XPS? THIS seems cheaper to me, yet still just as capable to perform the tasks you need.

The 9100 is also a BTX system unlike the XPS, and veeery quiet. It seems to have the exact same guts as my Dimension 5000, and it is very silent. Or was, before I upgraded it with several more fans and harddrives! Heh. Now it's 'only' rather quiet, but hey, it's not easy to totally silence three HDDs and six fans of various sizes...

this was from the review they have listed on dell.com by extreme tech

"Meanwhile, even Dell is dipping its toes into the overclocking waters. No, you can't buy anything from the Dell web site at higher-than-rated clock speeds. But the company is adding BIOS settings for clock speeds in its dual-core XPS enthusiast systems. Dell is adding this capability only to systems using the dual-core Pentium Extreme Edition 840 processor, and changing the clock speed won't void your warranty."

I'll check out the link you provided, i just assumed that a good vid card was necessary for fast app loading.

 

[{Sniping}Waste]

Dell systems are pretty nice, I've had two of 'em. I've found their service and customer support to be good too (imagine that! ), but some aspects about Dell still suck though. You'll have to decide yourself if it bothers you personally or if it's something you just don't care about.

1: poor, if any hardware monitoring features in their systems. This costs like nothing to include, yet they don't do it. At least in desktops, laptops might be a different story.

2: bog-standard integrated AC97 audio in their newer systems, rather than intel HD audio.

3: NO overclocking features whatsoever. Even intel retail boards generally feature some minor tweaking options, but with dell... Nada.

4: Case, power supply and mobo still custom to some extent, preventing 3rd party options from being used instead.

I thought the gps had overcloking via the bios?

audio not to worried about, overclocking not worried about... i would like the option to upgrade slightly, maybe not the cpu because the cpu looks to be good enough for several years, vid card not sure if i would need anything more than what is already present seeing i don't pc game.

just want a good mult-tasking, app running workstation - then again im trying to see if i should wait for longhorn?

If your looking at longhorn then go with a AMD Athlon 64 setup then. IT is ready for longhorn now and the Intel setups are not. For the OS please go with Windows XP pro and not XP home. Home is a cut down ver of pro.

 

[Coola]

Dell systems are pretty nice, I've had two of 'em. I've found their service and customer support to be good too (imagine that! ), but some aspects about Dell still suck though. You'll have to decide yourself if it bothers you personally or if it's something you just don't care about.

1: poor, if any hardware monitoring features in their systems. This costs like nothing to include, yet they don't do it. At least in desktops, laptops might be a different story.

2: bog-standard integrated AC97 audio in their newer systems, rather than intel HD audio.

3: NO overclocking features whatsoever. Even intel retail boards generally feature some minor tweaking options, but with dell... Nada.

4: Case, power supply and mobo still custom to some extent, preventing 3rd party options from being used instead.

I thought the gps had overcloking via the bios?

audio not to worried about, overclocking not worried about... i would like the option to upgrade slightly, maybe not the cpu because the cpu looks to be good enough for several years, vid card not sure if i would need anything more than what is already present seeing i don't pc game.

just want a good mult-tasking, app running workstation - then again im trying to see if i should wait for longhorn?

If your looking at longhorn then go with a AMD Athlon 64 setup then. IT is ready for longhorn now and the Intel setups are not. For the OS please go with Windows XP pro and not XP home. Home is a cut down ver of pro.

What exactly are the advantages of Pro? I saw tech tv (the old school one) a long time ago where Leo had said it wasn't worth the price to upgrade to pro.

 

[ninelven]

erased

 

[mangrove]

Re: Would I be getting my bang for the buck? (Dell PC Xps Ge

note - i don't pc game, i just want a reliable workstation for running apps smoothly, multitasking and porn downloading.

Just a totally unrelated note (well, it's related to Dell) -- if you can live with lower graphics/sound performance and upgradability, take a serious look at the Optiplex SX280. It's a small form factor machine, with an external passively cooled power brick and totally custom design (I think). In a very small package, they have squeezed in a normal P4, and a full sized (3.5") SATA drive. It's quiet, veeery small and has the performance of a real desktop.

I buy lots of Dells, and that machine is seriously nice.

Dell 720 Color Printer

It's a rebadged Lexmark. AVOID. If you get it for free, refuse. If they offer a rebate on the system if you take it, just accept the higher price. It will give you warts

 

[Guden Oden]

I'll check out the link you provided, i just assumed that a good vid card was necessary for fast app loading.

Nah, vidcard performance has nothing to do with app loading speed... If you need fast app loading, you need lots of RAM primarily, and secondary, two good harddrives - one for windows and apps, the other for swap and scraps. If the swapfile resides on the same drive as windows and applications, you'll get lots of unneccessary seeks back and forth over the disks which slow things down tremendously.

 

[ANova]

3: NO overclocking features whatsoever. Even intel retail boards generally feature some minor tweaking options, but with dell... Nada.

The new XPS gen 5 does support overclocking and can even come pre-overclocked from Dell.

 

[Pete]

If you don't game, why are you wasting money on a Dell XPS and *any* 3D card with 256MB? If you'll be multitasking, why are you wasting money on a P4 6xx?

$1600 sounds like way too much money for a PC for your requirements, but maybe if you offered up some specifics on the apps you'd be multitasking....

And an analog 19" LCD? No. IMO, you should be looking at DVI only for LCDs. For $1600, you should be able to put together a faster system with a bigger LCD (Dell 2001FP and 2005FPW still going for $400-500?).

I'd give some though to a system based on the Pentium D 820. If not, I'd look toward a 90nm, Venice-core Athlon 64. Multitasking means more memory is more better, so look to 1GB at a minimum.

And just buy a Canon Pixma 3000 or something ($45AR @ NewEgg, separate and relatively cheap ink cartridges) rather than any Dell printer (you can only buy from Dell, and then only online--so, plan ahead).

I don't see any speakers there. If you're not going to hook this PC up to a nice stereo or nice PC speakers, I'd ditch the Audigy, too. Or at least look for better *sound* cards. The Audigy is your only choice as a *gaming* sound card, but there are lots and (I've read) better options for good signal quality.

If you want to stick with Dell, wait for them to offer a Pentium D system, and look to BensBargains.net or FatWallet.com or one of those deal sites to buy it when the coupons and special offers align.

 

[Guden Oden]

Prescott single core P4s are actually pretty good multitaskers, Pete. Check some multitasking reviews... They generally beat out single-core A64s by a decent to substantial margin.

I notice on my box that even though I am playing world of warcraft, folding@home is still getting the roughly 17% of idle cycles I've awarded it, showing there's quite a few pipeline bubbles during single-threaded program execution; enough for folding@home to squeeze in and get some work done. All with no visible impact on gameplay either mind you.

 

[Coola]

Again i assumed a vid card was needed for app loading or when i visit websites that have a whole bunch of things going on and then open a new window to another site that has a whole nother set of things going on.

As for the CPU - i wanted something that will last me a good while. The Dell 2500 Celeron i own now blows big time even though i have 700 some Ram, the cely bottlenecks it.

the printer comes free with it, i already have an all in one lexmark, im not concerned about printers.

speakers i just thought i would pick up from a store.

From what people are telling me, Go with Intel for workstation and AMD for pc gaming.

And just for the convience I decided to just opt for a Dell computer since im not comfortable with my ability to put together a pc and troubleshoot if issues arise, i'd rather call tech support and yell at them.

If possible, I would like to get a Dell that is targeted for multitasking, app loading performance. Powerful CPU, Lots of Ram and one of those fancy lcd monitors. Perhaps a customized Dell 9100 series is good?

Edit* what about this new setup i got from customizing the 9100

Module Description Show Details
Dell Dimension 9100 Pentium® 4 Processor 630 with HT Technology (3GHz, 800FSB)
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Memory 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
Keyboard Dell USB Keyboard
Monitors FREE UPGRADE! 17 inch E173FP Analog Flat Panel
Video Cards 128MB PCI Expressâ„¢ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeonâ„¢ X300 SE
Hard Drives 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cacheâ„¢
Floppy Drive and Media Reader No Floppy Drive Included
Mouse Dell® 2-button USB mouse
Modem 56K PCI Data Fax Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
CD or DVD Drive Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 48x CD-RW Drive
Sound Card Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Speakers No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) No Productivity Suite - Corel WordPerfect® word processor only
Security Software No Security Subscription
Digital Music Musicmatch® Jukebox Basic
Digital Photography Photo Albumâ„¢ SE Basic
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options No Extended Service, Support or Ltd Warranty
Internet Access Service 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Miscellaneous Award Winning Service and Support
Financial Software (Preinstalled) No QuickBooks package selected- Includes limited use trial


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dell 720 Color Printer Qty 1
Free Dell Color Printer 720 Unit Price $0.00
Catalog Number: 29
Module Description Show Details
Dell Color Printer 720 Free Dell Color Printer 720
Hardware Support Services 1Yr Ltd. Warranty- Advance Exchange

TOTAL:$929.00

 

[Pete]

Guden, that's probably true, but I'd still prefer 2x2.8 vs. 1x3.2.

CompUSA is advertising an HP with a P-D 820 for ~$1000. 1GB RAM, 250GB HD, TV tuner, WinMCE. Only a 15" LCD with the sale that starts next week, though, so maybe look around to price it with a bigger monitor elsewhere. Costco sells 'em, and they have a great return policy, if not sales as good as the big stores.

Dell also sells Pentium Ds in some systems, like the 9100. See if this $1278 config comes up for you (E-Value Code 6V659 - d91sap): P-D 820, WinMCE, 512MB, 160GB, DVD+/-RW, 9-in-1, 17" E173FP. If you want more RAM (you might not need it), either pay Dell's exhorbitant prices ($130 for an extra 512?!) or buy and install some yourself. And you're best off just keeping the included 17" LCD (only $50) and buying a 19+" one with DVI for much less when one of Dell's sales comes around. Plus, you end up with dual-monitors. Or just sell the 17" to a friend. Same with the HD--if you want more space, keep the default 160GB and just add another internal or external drive yourself.

The XPS doesn't look like a smart buy for you, as the 6800 is the minimum video card, and it'll be wasted.

Honestly, though, it doesn't sound like you need much power at all. You might consider pairing the A64 eMachine (I think it dipped below $500AR during some previous sales--I seem to recall $3xx a few weeks ago) with a really nice LCD and a cheap video card with DVI. It's got a great CPU that sips a lot less power than either Pentium, and I think it uses the MSI RS480 motherboard, meaning socket 939 (you can literally drop in a dual-core Athlon64-X2 and a more powerful power supply in a year or two for much faster performance with minimal hassle) with a full PCIe x16 slot (you can easily upgrade to any video card you want, from low- to high-end). Yeah, the eMachine name doesn't have as much cachet as Dell, but their recent desktops seem to offer some good hardware at very reasonable prices.

If you want more than 512MB and you buy at CompUSA/BestBuy/CircuitCity at the same time they have a stick of 512MB PC3200 on sale for close to $30AR, they'll probably install it for you for free, so you won't have to touch anything past the power button.

 

[_xxx_]

Monitors FREE UPGRADE! 17 inch E173FP Analog Flat Panel

Get at least a 19", you'll very soon regret getting a 17" if you're about to do any serious work with that machine. I'd actually go for a used 21", should be easy to find a cheap one.

(Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)

You have to love America!