looking for a new computer

[muck]

Originally Posted by robzilla

why not dell? bad experience?
i was so close to picking a dual core system but the weekly special was over and they wouldnt honour the price a few days later. this has kinda left a bad impression with me

There is nothing wrong with Dell itself. Like everyone else says the customer service is pretty good. The reason I chose not to go with them is because by building your own you can get exactly what you want in it. If you are somewhat of a computer nerd you could get yourself a way better system for the money. If you have trouble figuring out how to turn the computer off/on, Dell is the way to go.

[Matt]

It is difficult-to-impossible to assemble a computer from components and come close to the price that Dell can ship one to you. You may be able to get a nicer case, a mobo that can be overclocked, or a video card that kicks, but it won't be cheaper. Now, if you already have a case, keyboard, mouse, power supply, hard drive, and you're just looking to upgrade mobo, processor, & memory, then you can probably do that a bit cheaper than buying new. For example, a decent motherboard is $100 & up. A processor is running you $200 & up. Memory: $70 & up. Case & power supply: $50 & up. Windows XP: $150 & up. We're up to over $400 and we haven't really upgraded anything beyond "very basic".

Compare to: Dell, $250 + shipping ($79). (this is their most basic "1100" model on sale at the moment).

I don't necessarily advocate for Dell over other major brands, but you can't argue: they cost less than roll-your-own. You also get the benefit in a "brand" box of knowing that the components have been assembled in that configuration on that OS a million times.

[Chad]

Dell is actualy killing the PC market right now with their crazy low prices. The components they use are not top of the line by any stretch, and their buying power lets them get dirt cheap parts. Its just the way it is.

Dell is the way to go if you do not care about performance. Ie: Internet, email tasks etc. For gaming, I would not touch a Dell or any other major brand.

[robzilla]

i do play the odd game, but with work, the kids and hobbies, i don't seem to have as much time as before.
once you start looking at a system where you piece it together, how do you decide which motherboard to go with, they literally give you hundreds of choices that do the same thing......
same for the ram, video card....

[robzilla]

for the computer guys, what's your thoughts on this system from canada computers:

Motherboard Asus A8V Socket 939 with Athlon 64 X2 3800+
RAM KingMax 512MB DDR400 PC3200
Hard Drive WD 80GB 7200rpm 8MB Cache
ROM 16X Dual Layer DVD-Writer
Case Antec SLK2650BQE
Video Card ASUS V9520-X 128MB
Sound Card Onboard Sound
Keyboard Logitech Office Pro
Mouse Logitech Optical Mouse
Speakers Logitech S100 Speakers (Black)

is this mother board of decent quality? the system seems to be priced right, but is it of low quality?

thanks
rob

[midgetwaiter]

Via chipsets (the V in ths MB name) really suck. They can out perform others by small margins in certain situations but they tend to have odd incompatibilities and the windows drivers are junk. Try and find one with an Nvidia chipset (Asus A8N something).

The chipset is what runs the drives, slots, USB, memory and such. It is the most important component of the system.

That video card is pretty meh too. Because you have an AGP style video slot on that board rather than a PCI Express your upgrade options are currently limited and will completely disappear in the next 6 months. Not just a game issue either, the fancy interface in Windows Vista uses the video card a lot.

Ask them to change the motherboard to an ASUS A8N5X and get a Nvida GeForce 7300GS based video card. Should add somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 to the system price but will be a bit more future proof. You can balance the cost by dropping the processor down to a 3200+ or so. Chances are you would never notice the processor difference but you would cut $150 of cost. Why they stuck a higher end chip in that junk MB I don't understand.

Originally Posted by robzilla

Motherboard Asus A8V Socket 939 with Athlon 64 X2 3800+
RAM KingMax 512MB DDR400 PC3200
Hard Drive WD 80GB 7200rpm 8MB Cache
ROM 16X Dual Layer DVD-Writer
Case Antec SLK2650BQE
Video Card ASUS V9520-X 128MB
Sound Card Onboard Sound
Keyboard Logitech Office Pro
Mouse Logitech Optical Mouse
Speakers Logitech S100 Speakers (Black)

[Bryan]

If you are looking for a computer for e-mail and internet and your knowledge about computers is limited ,and you want plug and play out of the box then go for a Dell. I recommended Dell to my parents and a few computer slow friends and they all love the Dell. The price and service can not be beat.