Opinions Dell XPS 8300

I am planning to get a myself a new PC. Basically the PC will be used for some home movies -video editing, photo editing & for programming with ASP.NET & WPF.
I am not into gaming of any sorts.

Currently I have a Dell Dimension & have been very happy with Dell desktop. I added internal hard drives & memory without any problems. I am looking at something that can last me for anther 4-5 years. The price of $999 fits my pocket.

1. Will Dell XPS 8300 be a good fit for me or is there any other brands of Dell /other manufacturer that will better suit my needs.
2. Does Dell have any deals on XPS? Or free shipping etc?
3. Has any experienced any problems with XPS series?

Could you post the specs of the Dell XPS 8300? If we know what it is, there's a better chance that you'll get good advice. Also, have you looked on Dell's website, or gone to Buy.com or Amazon.com (or PCMall.com, or whatever), to see if there are any deals for it?

you do not want to build yourself.?
ever thought about a barebones kit and upgraded/completed it.?
there are even Dell XPS 8300 kits..

I have thought about it. I am capable of it! BUT, would not want to spend time in getting the various peripherals etc. I don't even knowwhere to start. I am not even sure if I will save anything after all! Another issue I am worried about is the compatibility with various parts. Is there a site for beginners?

I recommend if you build a new system you do at least a weeks worth of research read all the guides Hastibe posted, make a forum post in the new build section for help with choosing parts then read the guides on how to put them together and troubleshoot them. If you aren't willing to put in this much effort then buying a DELL would be a better choice.

benefits of building:

1. Cheaper
2. more balanced
3. learn
4. more upgradeable

Yes I plan to use Photoshop. Also since I was planning to use this PC for WPF developement, I do pefer a powerful video card. I am not sure if I can buy this PC without the extra Video card or if 5750 is an available option. I will look into that.
I do plan to get a 2nd Hardrive no doubt. Maybe at a latter time. I am a Hard drive hogger anyways. I usually partition the drive & keep the OS on a smaller partition.

you do what you feel is best for you.
if you need any assistance I will gladly help anyway I can.
I'm a Dell guy and worked for them for years (and didn't go madd...!)
I know what they can do and do more when modded correctly or nicely upgraded. they can be upgraded to a certain extent..
you just have more upgrade ability and better future proofing with a self-build.
the 8300 model is big enough for a dual slotted video card and I recommend nVidia if doing Photoshop and CS4.
the power supply is strong enough and has the adapters to run a GTS450 with ease.
that's just my opinion for your video card upgrade. any card ATi/AMD will run in that unit of course..
I also believe that Dell pairs better with nVidia and more so for the Intel units.

with all that being said, I'd still investigate other options.
I understand if you feel building isn't for you.

joelmartinez - you should edit your signature, I told you before AMD does SLI..
there are AM2, AM2+ and now AM3 boards that run SLI, dedicated SLI and not boards that run both SLI and Crossfire.
every-time I see you on a thread I'm going to comment until you stop the false advertising......
I say it with a little humor but seriously, your wrong.

no native and who knows it will ever be....
I'm just being messy...........

" I know that If nvidia enabled SLi on AMD's chipsets then nvidia chipset business will die unless they make something really serious with their chipsets...
This wasn't the situation in days of nForce 500 and before were nVidia was the best in AMD's business, starting from nForce 600, AMD developed their chipsets ( after the had them from ATi ) and they become the best choice, except for SLI'ers "

look at this board:
http://www.bjorn3d.com/articles/AS [...] /1983.html

smart-ass...

There ya go malmental

@OP I'm sorry for wasting posts with this discussion between malmental and me. I will continue to help you if more help is needed.

Congrats on reaching expert malmental!

@OP decided to go for build your own yet?

Just wondering how you fared.....

Also 0% interest for 18 months was a no-brainer.

is that what you have now, a Dell XPS.?

no problem bio, no problem.
two quick questions, I take it all the hardware you speak of carrying over are sata and not ide or combo of the two.?
where are you located as in what country.?

I know this post is a couple months old. But thing I tend to do is look for a PC that has an upgrade factor specifically the CPU. I use to build my own PC but got tired of doing so much research and finding the best compatible parts and technology changes so fast these days it's hard to keep up. So i'm pretty lazy when it comes to building my own. So I look for the best PC I can get for my small budget and one that can give me a huge upgrade later (plus I have dell credit card 0% financing for 6 months) I looked at the XPS 8300 and found it to be the perfect match for my needs for under $1,000. And this is what I got:

XPS 8300 Intel Core i5-2400 processor(6MB Cache, 3.1GHz) (which I will upgrade to the i7 for future upgrade as they drop in price)
4GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz-4X1GB (upgrade later)
ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB DDR3 (I'm not a big gamer but his can be upgraded easily)
1TB Serial ATA 2 Hard Drive 7200 RPM (gonna add my larger HD)

The rest is pretty stock standard. But all this was only $867.71 with tax and shipping.

The sweet thing about this PC is that it uses the latest second gen Intel Sandy Bridge set with socket LGA1155 which can be upgrade to the i72600k (which is the overclocking version) in the future. Great room for a good video card(even for a gamer). My only concern would be maybe having to replace the power supply later(which is cheap to replace). But with this PC I can afford it right now and make it better later since i'm on a budget.. Yes I know I could have built one cheaper for maybe $250 less but this was easy and right now I'm lazy. Just my 2 cents.

my two cents is that you forget about upping to the i7-2600K and up it to the i5-2500K instead.
toss the 4X1GB of RAM and go 2X2GB instead.
yes the HD 5450 sux... I would have told them to NOT install gfx card and I would have purchased separately if not a decent card from Dell.

with that being said and to comment on your laziness and not building because of research,,
then you make a thread on Toms' and have some very good techs spec the system out for you.
then all you have to do is purchase and assemble.

I use to work for Dell and still like them somewhat..
so next time I suggest you drink a red bull and do it yourself..