what do you think? a little help needed here

Ashish's picture

They have: 85 posts

Joined: Jul 2004

hi all,

hopefully this is the right place to post this...

i am planning to sell of my old system and thinking of buying a new one...

so far i have found out that dell is the cheapest.....

this is what i am planning to buy....

8400 Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 530 with HT Technology 3.0GHz, 1 MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)
Intel® 925X Chipset
Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
1Yr Limited Warranty with Next Business Day Onsite Service
1GB(2x512) NECC Dual Channel DDR2 533Mhz SDRAM Memory
128MB PCIe™ x16 ATI Radeon™ X300 SE w/TV-Out & DVI (i think they mean the 9800XT series, is it any better then the 9600SE one??)
Dell™ Wireless Keyboard and Optical Mouse
17" Flat Panel LCD Monitor
160GB SATA (7200RPM) Hard Drive
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional (English)
DVD+RW/+R With CDRW Combo Drive
Sound Blaster® AudigyTM 2 Sound Card
Dell™ A425 stereo speakers with subwoofer (Australia)
56K PCI Data/Fax Modem
+ some other software and dial up connection package and standard warranties.....

they are ready to throw in the 5.1 surround, floppy drive and a extra optical drive for a discounted price as well...

now here is what i am asking your opinions on:

what do you guys think.. is this alright??? do i need to add anything else in there? i am already way past my budget and can spare another 50-100 dollars...

are dell systems any good... ?i do not wish to spend lots of money and then find out that i might have been ripped off Sad. really really confused about this....

has anyone had any experience with them? particularly dell australia??

Cheers,
Ashish

Ashish's picture

They have: 85 posts

Joined: Jul 2004

hi,

thanks for the reply.... just wanted to make a small update... instead of going for the X300 series.. i am opting for the X800 one (i think that is the 9800 series)... dell is giving me a pretty good deal on it... and i am also opting for the ultra sharp 17"in instead of the normal one.. and plannig to buy a corded keyboard and mouse instead of the wireless one Smiling

Cheers,
Ashish

teammatt3's picture

He has: 2,102 posts

Joined: Sep 2003

Quote: Dell is very good. The best IMO

I guess you have never seen an ABS PC run Wink

He has: 1,380 posts

Joined: Feb 2002

The best PC is one that you build. Always.

You are the tech support and customer service. No outsourcing. Wink

They have: 17 posts

Joined: Oct 2004

Dell has a customer satisfaction rating around 4 out of 10. Seriously the best PC you get by building your own. I don't want to do a shameless plug here for my company which also custom builds computers so let me just say look around for a custom computer builder in your area you will probably end up paying lot less.

C-Infinity Custom Computers: http://www.cinfinitysolutions.com

mairving's picture

They have: 2,256 posts

Joined: Feb 2001

cinfinity wrote: Dell has a customer satisfaction rating around 4 out of 10. Seriously the best PC you get by building your own. I don't want to do a shameless plug here for my company which also custom builds computers so let me just say look around for a custom computer builder in your area you will probably end up paying lot less.

Actually it is more like 8.5 out of ten. I am not crazy at all about Dell's consumer line, Dimension Desktops and Inspiron Notebooks. Their Optiplex and Lattitude lines are really solid units. I have about 10 Lattitudes at work and have never had problems with any except for one. I have 3 Inspirions and they have been nothing but trouble.

While the best PC might be one that you can build some people don't have the time or the aptitude to build their own. It is also difficult sometimes to find reputable local dealers. If you don't buy from reputable people, you won't find them when you need support and oftentimes will have unlicensed software installed. I prefer building my own since I can generally do it a bit cheaper and can have more say about the parts that are on them.

Now about Dell. Where Dell makes their money is by addons. For instance, a base system might have only 256M of RAM. Well upgrading your RAM with Dell will cost you 2-3 times what it would if you bought and installed it yourself.

Keep in mind too that I am speaking from experience in America. I have no idea how Dell does in Australia.

Mark Irving
I have a mind like a steel trap; it is rusty and illegal in 47 states

They have: 17 posts

Joined: Oct 2004

go to reseller ratings: http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1867.html
Dell has life time reseller rating of 4.49 and six month rating of 3.44 out of 10. If you think waiting for an hour to talk to customer service person in India is fun by all means get a Dell...

C-Infinity Custom Computers: http://www.cinfinitysolutions.com

Ashish's picture

They have: 85 posts

Joined: Jul 2004

hi cinfinity,

FYI i have already bought the PC and am very happy with it, mailed dell about a technical issue and got the really good reply back within a hour.. and i think that it was from a outsourced centre Smiling so yeah i am not complaining Smiling

Cheers,
Ashish

SearchBliss's picture

He has: 267 posts

Joined: Feb 2005

I own a Dell portable PC I purchased about 7 years ago (pentium III), and it runs perfectly without a hitch.

He has: 57 posts

Joined: Apr 2005

It seems better to just build one. After doing a little research last year, I found parts to a computer in total it was $300. Dell is ok. I have had some trouble with them in the past. The only reason I would buy a computer from them is if I wanted the support.

JeevesBond's picture

He has: 3,956 posts

Joined: Jun 2002

I think this is more a case of what your requirements and ability is, personally I would always build my own because I have special requirements, know exactly what the machine' applications will be and can therefore buy less cutting-edge parts that are not required for those applications. But then, as said, not everyone has the time or ability to build their own PC.

If you're happy with what you've got, then you're happy and that's all that matters we can argue the merits of Dell Vs building your own Vs local dealers for days - all of which is moot, the requirements have been fulfilled. Smiling

a Padded Cell our articles site!

Want to join the discussion? Create an account or log in if you already have one. Joining is fast, free and painless! We’ll even whisk you back here when you’ve finished.