Note: As of this writing the link is down. Try later. Sorry.

Edited by - nietzsche on 9/24/2003 8:42:29 AM

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Dell Dimension 8300
P4 2.8GHz w/ 800 MHz front side bus & Hyper Threading
Intel 875P chipset
1 GB 400 MHz dual channel DDR SDRAM, upgradable to 2GB/4 DIMMs
120 GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA Hard Drive
16x Max DVD-ROM
Free 2nd Bay 48x/24x/48x Max CD-RW Drive
128MB DDR GeForce FX 5200 Graphics Card with TV-Out and DVI
17" (16" viewable 0.25mm dot pitch) flat CRT monitor
SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 Digital Sound Card
Harman Kardon® HK-395 Speakers with Subwoofer
56K PCI Telephony Modem
Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet
Keyboard & Optical Mouse
8 USB 2.0 ports (2 front/6 back)
Windows XP Home
Microsoft Works Suite 2003
10 outlet Belkin SurgeMaster Gold
4 Year on-site maintenance

$1947 after mail in rebates and free shipping

The price can vary greatly depending on whether you want to fly with only a 1 year warranty, if you prefer Windows XP Professional or a better office productivity software package, different monitor, or a different Dell model (8300 is their non-gaming flagship line). I've seen deals on lower-end Dells for as little as $400; you can't build it yourself for that.

- Saki [faqs]

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If your daughter also plans on using your computer for .NET programming you may go for the PC.

If not, then either choice is fine. make sure you calculate in the cost of software. And how much you're willing to spend.

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I don't have any particular beefs with Macs other than most of the software I'd like to run is on a Windows platform. I love Apple's industrial design capabilities...if manufacturer on the PC side could put that sense of style into a rock solid PC, then they would do quite well. Sony comes closest, but their machines are flimsy and overpriced.

- Saki [faqs]

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Not necessarily the cheapest on the market, but reliable workhorses that have been flawless for me.

DenverDon

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With the rebate sales for most of the items at best buy and circuit city, a fantastic pc doesnt need to ever go over $1000.

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I've been checking Dell all along; but I'm noticing their pricing structure is getting kind of high. The Sony is one step down in processing speed and lacks HT, but has a DVD +/- RW, the same number of USP 2 ports, plus a firewire port or two. And then there's the monitor. A 17" CRT is old technology. Add about 400 bucks for a 17" TFT active matrix, and the price goes close to 2,500.00! More for a WS format that I don't think Dell even sells. A lot of money for a 32 bit machine, if you ask me.

What I might do, is what you suggested. Buy a slower machine and add the other components.

Or maybe I'll just wait for 64 bit technology :)

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The Dell vs. Sony thing is not exactly apples to apples. The Sony only comes with a 1-year mail-in warranty vs. 4-years on site (you can save a couple hundred bucks if you only do a 1-year Dell warranty). There's twice as much RAM (faster RAM at that) in the Dell than the Sony. Ditto on the video RAM on the Radeon card. Serial ATA (150 MB/sec) vs. Ultra ATA/100 (100 MB/sec) on the hard drive. Other differences include the optical mouse, H/K speakers with subwoofer, a non-integrated sound card, and an integrated modem.

CRT vs. FP display also depends on what you're using it for. From an image quality and refresh standpoint, the standard flat screen CRT beats all but the best flat panels. But if asthetics and space savings is the priority, then maybe it doesn't matter. I use my CRT for photo editing and gaming, and I paid like $200 for it a couple of years ago. But my wife loves her 15" flat panel. I like flat panels too, but having used laptops for years, even though they're getting better all the time, they don't match the brightness, sharpness, and viewing angle of CRTs. Finally, there's a significant price difference between a DVI (digital) vs. analog flat panel monitor...

Personally, if I were to buy something in this price range, I'd either get a widescreen laptop or buy a stripped-down performance platform and then add the components I wanted (such as a monitor, more RAM, and a DVD-burner).

- Saki [faqs]

Edited by - saki on 9/25/2003 10:01:28 AM

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- Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 2.4Ghz (C-model) which can be maximum overclocked to 3.5Ghz (with water cooling) which beats the most powerful P4 3.2Ghz processor.

- ABIT IS7-E motherboard which is a great board, 800FSB, SATA, 10/100 MB LAN / Cable / DSL connection.

- 1 GB of Corsair XMS Memory (PC-3200C2PT), 2x512 sticks, Corsair XMS is the best PC memory maker, comes with lifetime support and warranty.

- Western Digital 200GB SATA at 7,200 RPM, great hard drive with a lot of space.

- Fortissimo III 7.1 sound card, a decent card that is inexpensive and has all the features that you need for supperb sound.

- Albatron GeForce FX 5200 AGP 8X video card, a decent video card for you which can play games with good quality, this card isnt the best one but I figured since you do mostly photo stuff then you dont need the top-notch 3D VPU.

- Samsung CDRW/DVD Combo Drive 52x24x52 CD-RW 16X, you can do both - watch the DVDs and burn the CDs with this all-in-one (except DVD-R) device.

- Kingwin (BLACK) All Aluminum 10-Bay Mid tower case (model K-11-BK-WM) which can be any Dell, Compaq, HP, or Gateway case.

- ENERMAX EG365P-VE(FCA) 350 Watt power supply unit, probably the best power supply unit that you can buy for a good price.

- Floppy Drive, any can work, I suggest the one by Mitsumi.

Optional Stuff:

- NEC/Mitsubishi 19" CRT VGA Monitor Model FE991SB-BK an 18" viewable monitor, great monitor.

- Ideazon Zboard Interchangable Keyboard, unique keyboard that lets you to change its buttons - you can buy the button sets later for programs such as Adobe Photoshop. The standard keayboard includes a keayboard with buttons for Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer. When I say buttons I mean the buttons that have shortcuts and commands written on then for a specific application.

- Logitech MX 310 Mouse, excellent and cheap mouse.

- Creative I-Trigue 2.1 3300 3-Piece Speaker, extreme speaker set that has extreme sound quality and doesnt takes a lot of space.

$750 is for neccessary components
$409 is for the optional stuff
$1159 is total price for both neccessary and optional component.

To put this stuff together and make it work all you need is a screwdriver, an operating system on a cd (Win 98 or Win XP, for any other OS than Win XP you need a floppy drive to startup). It will take you 3 hours the most to put it all to work.

I think that this choice is the best one because Dell/Gateway/Compaq/HP will definatly ask you to pay more than $1800 for similar kind of setting and they will put the most cheapest components that they can put into the computer. I just ordered $2,700 worth of components at NewEgg, I never assembled a computer before in my life but I am more than confident.

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A look at the Inspirion 8500 series, configured very well, is at the same price point.

Thanks for pointing this out!

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And then there are those infuriating waits on long distance, only to get a tech who can't help. :)

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Check out this thread: <iDream System </i

It's really easy, and, by having gone through the entire process, you become your own tech support - generally at a much higher competence level that you can find elsewhere.

In terms of purchasing off the rack - Micron and Dell are probably two of the better choices. Gateway has been using less well-specked parts (read: cheap) for a while now. Compaq/HP is fine for a buy-it/throw-it-away unit - no room for expansion or upgrade and a guarantee that you will shred your hands & fingers trying.

Sony has been putting together some really well-equipped multi-media boxes lately: Their DVD-burner inclusive boxes are worth a look.

~ GaySatyr

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Alex, good luck putting your box together, it was nerver wracking my first time, but after that its much easier and I wonder how I ever could have bought a premade machine before. Post your OC'ing result, and what methods you used. I'd be interested to read it.

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- Saki [faqs]

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