Please let me know......any good?

[lennydude]

Is this setup any good or should I look into building my own?

Thanks for your help

Lenny


Dimension E510 Qty 1

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 650 w/HT Technology (3.4GHz,800FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005

Unit Price $1,269.00
Save 40% off select Dimensions over $999
LIMITED TIME OFFER! - $507.60
Total $761.40 Shipped Free

Dell Dimension E510 Series Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 650 w/HT Technology (3.4GHz,800FSB)

Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005

Memory FREE UPGRADE!! 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (2x512M)

Keyboard Dell USB Keyboard

Monitor No Monitor

Video Card 256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X600 SE HyperMemory

Hard Drive 160GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ 8MB cache

Floppy Drive and Media Reader 13 in 1 Media Card Reader

Mouse Dell® 2-button USB mouse

Network Card Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet

Modem No Modem Requested

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0

CD or DVD Drive Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/dbl layer write capability

Sound Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

Speakers No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)

Office Software (not included in Windows XP) No Productivity Suite - Corel WordPerfect® word processor only

Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) No Security Subscription

Hardware Warranty 2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr HW Warranty Support

Dial - Up Internet Access 6 Months of America Online Membership Included

Operating System Re-Installation CD Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition re-installation CD

TV Tuners and Remote Controls Dual TV Tuner + Remote Control - watch one channel while recording another

Dell Digital Entertainment Starter Entertainment Pack -Basic digital Music, Photo, and Casual Gaming

Final price $761.40 shipped free.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Is this intended to be a gaming rig? Because if it is, I would either go AMD, or wait for Conroe.

 

[Newf]

The p4 650 costs about 1/3 of the system price ($274). It's pretty fast but runs very hot. This is not a CPU I would ever choose.
The Dell video sucks.
For $760 it's not a bad deal if you want an media-center/SOHO machine.
If you build your own rig you will probably spend more $ than a low-end Dell will cost you.
If you build your own mid-to-high-end system then you can match a Dell system part for part on cost.
Two questions:
1. Can you build your own system, or are you at least interested in learning how to build one?
2. What do you want to use it for?

 

[lennydude]

Yeah............I can build my own. I am using one that I built myself now.

My problem is this..............

My current system has a P4 2.4 OC to 3.2 with a Asus P4C800 Deluxe mobo and ATI 9800 128mb Pro and 512mb memory. I knew the memory was a problem so I invested in a Kingston 1GB dual channel kit [2 512mb sticks]. After installing the new ram................my OC failed and now I can only get the mobo to OC at 2.95.
Running benchmarks, the computer is barely faster with the new ram than it was with just the 512mb single stick

Just do not want to throw away any more hard cash "experimenting". Have asked a million questions and keep getting tons of helpfull answers that leave me flustered.....................LOL. AMD X2 or Opti................Intel D805 or wait for the newer Conroe?............................

When I built my current system, it did not seem there were that many choices???????????????

Lenny

 

[The_Prophecy]

If you're an AMD fan, go with AM2 for its upgradability, or if you're an Intel person, wait for Conroe.

 

[Newf]

Yeah............I can build my own. I am using one that I built myself now.

My problem is this..............

My current system has a P4 2.4 OC to 3.2 with a Asus P4C800 Deluxe mobo and ATI 9800 128mb Pro and 512mb memory. I knew the memory was a problem so I invested in a Kingston 1GB dual channel kit [2 512mb sticks]. After installing the new ram................my OC failed and now I can only get the mobo to OC at 2.95.
Running benchmarks, the computer is barely faster with the new ram than it was with just the 512mb single stick

Just do not want to throw away any more hard cash "experimenting". Have asked a million questions and keep getting tons of helpfull answers that leave me flustered.....................LOL. AMD X2 or Opti................Intel D805 or wait for the newer Conroe?............................

When I built my current system, it did not seem there were that many choices???????????????

Lenny

Sorry about the delay in my reply.
OK, first off, adding the RAM made your system run more smoothly but only faster to the degree disk/memory swaps decreased.

I just built myself a new system and gave my wife my old 2.4 Northwood after replacing fans, upgrading RAM to 2GB and the video to a fanless 6200. It is used for office work, internet surfing, DVD video and low-tech gaming. In this context I expect it to last a few more years and it works just great. It should run Vista/AeroGlass just fine when it comes out.

Without knowing what you use your system for, I cannot be much help. The skt478 CPU/mobo has limited upgrade options. One major one would be a 7800GS AGP videocard for about $300 IF you need more gaming speed. With a near 3GHz OC, your old box would still be a faster gaming system than the Dell you mentioned which only has X600 (maybe typo for X1600?) graphics.

As far as the many choices for building a new system, yes, times have changed from the days of "which Intel can I afford". Gamers have shunned Intel for some time now and skt939 has taken over. The new AMD socket AM2 is causing even more confusion, even though it's only a RAM change to DDR2 and is NOT any/much faster (see Tom's for an evaluation of this). Conroe is much hyped but not here yet. Intel D8xx and D9xx procs run hot, but recent price cuts have made them much more attractive on a price/performance basis. Confusing? You bet!
The answer to this all gets back to these questions:
*What do you want to do with your computer?
*How much $ do you want to spend?
*Do you prize silence over speed, Flashy bling or maybe solid but boring?

There are many here who will just recommend that you buy what they have, but some of us really try to look at your needs rather than our egos.
You need to tell us more...

 

[lennydude]

Thanks VERY much for the responses guys

I am looking forward to the new Vista release and want a machine that will handle that and also do a better job with gaming.

I realize that most current games do not need much in the way of CPU but can use the newer Video cards.

I guess I am a bit concerned about a new build. I have used Asus and now I read that it is not a favored board? I have used only Intel but it seems the way to go would be AMD 939? I used to be a nVidia fan but switched to ATI. Now it seems nVidia is tops?

I was looking at a AMD 64 X2 3800 with someones? 939 board and either a 7900 or X1900 video. I would rather not do any type of additional cooling and noise is not really an issue. Want 2gb ram.

I have found over clocking to be rather easy if kept within reason. So I am open to over clocking.

Some tell me to wait until Intel releases the new stuff and then upgrade?

Thanks for any help

Lenny

 

[Newf]

Let's start with what we DON'T know about:
Intel Conroe may be a significant price/performance boost, or not.
Vista dx10 may force videocard upgrades on die-hard gamers, or not.

The implications of these 2 issues is causing a lot of market uncertainty.
This I believe is why so many recommend waiting a few months to build a new system if you can.

What we do know about Vista is that the 3D component (Aeroglass) works with even modest gaming cards, and that 2GB of RAM will be enough for now.
We also know that unless you buy a $800+ CPU that AMD socket AM2 does not offer better performance than skt939 (see Tom's for this).
If you want to build a gaming rig, AMD wins hands down. For video editing and other tasks Intel works just fine. The D805 has been hyped as a great overclocker, (see Tom's again). Look at the heat/energy and fine tuning required and you will see that the low CPU price does not pay off.

To build a system today, I have no problem recommending an AMD X2 3800+ ($300 or so) using a skt939 mobo of your choice. A $150-200 videocard may be a good hedge against dx10. NVidia today seems to have the fastest $500 card, but who cares? Both companies make competitive midrange products. Asus offers high-quality boards and outstanding firmware upgrade support. That for me justifies a slightly higher price. Not everyone agrees with this, and favorite brands on a forum like this do change just like designer clothing fads.

My personal botton line is simple:
Since I don't live in Australia, the next 2 months of outdoor activities makes it easy for me to see what the IT market shake-out will bring.
Your mileage may vary.

 

[lennydude]

Hmmmmmmmmm

I really want to thank you Newf for the insight

Your comment on the next 2 months of outdoor activity is right on.................now that you mention it. If it wasn't for the day after day of rainy weather here in Maine, I probably would not be that concerned with the PC..........LOL.

I am going to wait. Your correct about not being on the PC as much during the summer months and the time will allow the newer stuff to come out and be tested by you smarter guys

Thanks much for all your help

Lenny

 

[angry_ducky]

Build your own. With the recent price drops on the AM2 CPUs, you can build a pretty nice system for about $600.