Questions about buying from Dell

[yoyojam55]

I'm not sure if this is where this thread goes, sorry if it isn't.

I'm considering building or buying a computer fairly soon. Dell has a great deal on a vostro 220. I have a few questions about it.
1. Is there any reason that I shouldn't order from Dell's business section? That's the only place that has this deal.
2. The graphics cards from dell are overpriced and underpowered. I would just go with integrated and then get a graphics card from newegg. Would the dell have a PCIe x16 slot? Would the power supply in there have a PCIe connector?
3. Is there software that can overclock an OEM machine? It would be a shame to get an OEM with such a good overclocking processor (e7400) and not use its potential.
Thanks for the help,
Ethan

 

[xxcoop42xx]

no please dont fall into the dell trap!! back in september i bought a xps 630i and paid $1800 for it and the parts that were in it were no where near worth that much. it came with a q9300, a 650 sli mobo, 3gb ram and sli 9800gt. well not worth the cash. the only parts worth anything was the 750w psu and 320gb hdd. the mobo didnt fully support yorkfeild cpu's so absolutely no oc;ing of cpu, it was just a mess. i ended up putting a evga 780i sli mobo in it and 4gb of ocz sli ram (got suckered into that) and dual evga gtx 260-216 and that is closer to being worth or possibly more than $1800.

just build your own, you could build one that would crush any dell for so much cheaper. i learned the hard way. i have just recently built a gaming pc with a E8400, 6gb ram, xfx radeon hd 4850, asus p5q pro mobo and a 630w rosewill psu which im getting a 850w next month because i plan on tri-firing 4850's with a 4850 and a 4850x2 so i need a little more juice to be safe. and if i bench my 2 pc's against each other (turning off SLI in the dell of course) my newer pc gets better results in the crysis benchmark. and thats all highest settings and 4xaa/16af on 19 inch lcd with 1400x900 res. save yourself money and a headache go homebuilt. i will NEVER buy another pc from a company again.

and also if you build you will know exactly what the pc has and can do. good luck

 

[yoyojam55]

Normally I would agree with you that Dell offers bad value compared to building one, but look at what I'm getting.

Catalog Number: 4 BRCWAZP
Module Description Show Details
Vostro 220 Vostro 220 Mini-Tower
Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium, Service Pack 1
Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E7400 (2.8GHz, 3M, L2Cache, 1066FSB)
Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz - 2DIMMs
Keyboard Dell USB Keyboard
Monitors Dell 21.5 inch S2209W Full HD WidescreenFlat Panel Monitor
Video Card Integrated Video, Intel® GMA X4500HD
Primary Hard Drive 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Media Reader No Media Reader
Mouse Dell Optical USB Mouse
Network Interface Intergrated PCIE 10/100/1000
Modem and Wireless No Modem Option
Adobe Software Adobe Acrobat Reader
Optical Drive Single Drive: 16X (DVD+/-RW) Burner Drive
AUDIO Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio
Speakers No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Documentation and Power Management Vostro 220 Documents and 110 Volt Power setting
Productivity Software No Pre-installed Productivity Software
Security Software McAfee Total Protection for Small Business 30-day Subscription
Resource DVD Resource CD and DVD
Hardware Support Services CS 2.0 1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service
Installation Services No Onsite System Setup
Dell DataSafe Online Data Backup No Online Data Back Up Installed
Environmental Options Plant a Tree for Me - Offset a LCD Monitor (System Discount May Apply)
Labels Vista Premium Sticker
Quick Reference Guide Vostro System Quick Reference Guide
TOTAL: $501.00

Add on a 4850 from Newegg for 125 and you have a great PC for 125. I'm still not totally set on getting a dell. I would still like it if someone could answer my original questions.
-Ethan

 

[mactronix]

Dell are ok if they have a machine that will do what you want at a price you want to pay.
The main issue i have had with Dell in the past is that they use non standard parts which makes upgrading difficult or impossable.
Just check how many posts we get about what people can get that will actually fit in a dell.
So if you want a gaming machine forget it, build yourself one or find a good system builder through word of mouth/recomendations on forums etc.
If you want an office machine get a dell, if the price is right.

Mactronix

 

[Wolfshadw]

I agree with Mactronix.

Often times with pre-built systems (not just Dell), you're getting minimalist components. The motherboards/BIOS are custom designed so you cannot make any significant changes and the components are often lackluster.

Probably the most common problem with getting a pre-built to upgrade later is the power supply. A pre-built system will often come with a power supply just powerful enough to run the system as it's configured. Since you're wanting to add a discrete graphics card, more than likely, you will also have to upgrade the power supply in order to power the new graphics card; which, of course, increases the cost of the planned upgrade.

-Wolf sends

 

[yoyojam55]

Thanks for the help, I'm going to build the system myself. Any help would be appreciated in this thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261346-31-good-system

 

[xxcoop42xx]

Thanks for the help, I'm going to build the system myself. Any help would be appreciated in this thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261346-31-good-system

$500 bucks is great for all that but i would still go homebuilt. but your right that WAS a great deal.