Buying a new Computer Question?

[Richard_D]

Is this a good package and a good price? I surf the web , e-mail ,shop ,use it for my new digital camera. He also suggested I upgrade my graphics card from 128 to 256 in case I wanted to do more with pictures.

 

 

Item Number Quantity Item Description

 

 

223-5256

1 Inspiron 530 Intel Core2 processor Q6600 (2.40Ghz 1066FSB) w/Quad Core Technology and 8MB cache

311-7239

1 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz

310-9611

1 Dell USB Keyboard

310-7966

1 Dell Optical USB Mouse

320-5612

1 Dell 20in E207WFP Flat Panel Analog and Digital

320-5746

1 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8300GS

420-7439

1 Dell 948 Printer Driver

341-4811

1 500GB Serial ATA II Hard Drive(7200RPM)

341-5008

1 No Floppy Drive Requested

420-6540

1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English

420-5769

1 Internet Search and Portal

420-5924

1 Icon Consolidation Application

463-2282

1 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access

420-6436

1 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp

313-5582

1 Dell Resource DVD with Application Backup

420-7622

1 DELL SUPPORT CENTER 2.0

310-1966

1 Mouse included with Keyboard purchase

430-0412

1 Integrated NIC card

313-4593

1 56K PCI Data Fax Modem

420-7468

1 ADOBE ACROBAT READER 8.1 DIM/INSP

313-5270

1 16X DVD+/-RW Drive

420-6464

1 Roxio Creator Basic

313-2758

1 Integrated Audio

313-2198

1 No Speaker Requested

420-7701

1 Trend Micro PC-cillin InternetSecurity, English, 30-Days Subscription

412-0934

1 Earthlink

412-0933

1 AOL for Broadband

412-0912

1 MS WORKS 8.5

950-3337

1 1 Year Limited Warranty

987-6238

1 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3

960-3249

1 Banctec Service Agreement

983-3680

1 Warranty Support,Initial Year

983-8130

1 Type 3- Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year

987-3137

1 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year

466-8993 1 Thank you for choosing Dell

310-8626 1 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System

464-9572 1 No Entertainment software pre-installed

420-7091 1 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS

420-7092 1 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 1YR-FREE

987-4817 1 Insp Datasafe 3GB,1YR(Incl in price),DHS

988-0099 1 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online

330-0172 1 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Desktops

* -DISCOUNT/COUPON APPLIED

 

 

 

223-3185

1 Dell 948 All In One Printer

310-8688

1 DELL USB PRINTER CABLE - 10 FTBLACK

986-4807

1 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3

988-2097

1 Dell Hardware Warranty, Initial Year

983-9450

1 Type 11 Contract-Printer Advance Exchange 1Yr Limited Warranty.

960-2840

1 Warranty Support, initial year

 

 

 

 

Subtotal: $972.95

Shipping & Handling: $0.00

Tax: $63.27

Environmental Disposal Fee: $0.00

 

Total Price w/Discounts: $1,036.22

[Aluminum_Butt]

Prepare to get a lot of different opinions. Here's mine.

 

Generally, I think the package is in line with your needs. The pricing is what it is since it's a Dell. You can argue that something less expensive (e.g. Acer, e-Machine) is a better value, but you're (IMHO) buying into a better company.

 

You are paying a $90 premium (based on what I see today on Dell's website) for that processor. If I were doing what you are doing, I'd probably skip it and stick with the dual-core. I doubt you'll see that much performance difference.

 

You are paying $100 to go from 1GB to 2GB of RAM. Probably worth it.

 

You are paying $100 to go from 250GB to 500GB of disk space. Questionable, unless you think you're really going to store a lot of photos. Even with the 3MB jpegs that come out of my wife's 10MP camera, you're buying capacity to store another 80,000 pictures.

 

The upgrade to 256MB of video RAM from where you are is $90. You're going to have to do a LOT with your digital pictures to make that noticeable. I'd skip it, but I won't laugh at you if you buy it.

 

I'm not big on extended warranties, but at $90/year, Dell's isn't bad. Remember that it's onsite service, unlike most warranties.

 

Unless you really need the all-in-one functionality, I'd skip the Dell printer. From what I see it's $150. You can buy a much better printer for that kind of money. CNET is a good place to look for printer reviews.

[SHOman]

If you sign up at the following "deal" site and order through it, you can get 3% cash back on any DELL home purchase.

 

Interesting discussion going on about the Inspiron 530 too.

 

http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/807135

[DavidEBSmith]

If you're buying from Dell, check all the websites - Home, Small Business, Large Business. You can often find a better deal on essentially the same machine depending on which Dell site you buy from. Also check www.techbargains.com for coupon codes on Dells and to compare deals.

 

If you're not in a hurry, if you watch over the course of a month Dell will usually have some sale or coupon or deal that's worth waiting for. Just check techbargains every day.

[BFish]

You are paying $100 to go from 250GB to 500GB of disk space. Questionable, unless you think you're really going to store a lot of photos. Even with the 3MB jpegs that come out of my wife's 10MP camera, you're buying capacity to store another 80,000 pictures.

 

you haven't seen rich's porn collection. he needs to tap into the NASA system to store all the jpegs.

[Richard_D]

Why do I need porn Brian when your wife comes over to visit me?

[BFish]

she's camera shy tho.

[Matts_12GS]

Not especially so...

[BFish]

Not especially so...

 

i'll admit she takes to the camera. here is one of my fav's while on one of our camping trips last year.

 

 

rich..buy the freakin computer!

[Richard_D]

I bought it. It was giving me a headache.

[Richard_D]

 

This is what I ordered. I still have time to change things.

 

 

 

Item Number Quantity Item Description

 

223-5256 1 Inspiron 530 Intel Core2 processor Q6600 (2.40Ghz 1066FSB) w/Quad Core Technology and 8MB cache

311-7240 1 4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz

310-9611 1 Dell USB Keyboard

310-7966 1 Dell Optical USB Mouse

320-5490 1 22 in (22 in viewable) E228WFPWide Aspect Digital Flat Panel

320-5746 1 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8300GS

310-8474 1 Dell 926 Vista Printer Driver

341-4811 1 500GB Serial ATA II Hard Drive(7200RPM)

341-5008 1 No Floppy Drive Requested

420-6540 1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English

420-5769 1 Internet Search and Portal

420-5924 1 Icon Consolidation Application

463-2282 1 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access

420-6436 1 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp

313-5582 1 Dell Resource DVD with Application Backup

420-7622 1 DELL SUPPORT CENTER 2.0

310-1966 1 Mouse included with Keyboard purchase

430-0412 1 Integrated NIC card

313-4593 1 56K PCI Data Fax Modem

420-7468 1 ADOBE ACROBAT READER 8.1 DIM/INSP

313-5270 1 16X DVD+/-RW Drive

420-6464 1 Roxio Creator Basic

313-2758 1 Integrated Audio

313-2198 1 No Speaker Requested

420-7701 1 Trend Micro PC-cillin InternetSecurity, English, 30-Days Subscription

412-0148 1 No Internet Service Provider Requested

412-0912 1 MS WORKS 8.5

950-3337 1 1 Year Limited Warranty

987-6238 1 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3

960-3249 1 Banctec Service Agreement

983-3680 1 Warranty Support,Initial Year

983-8130 1 Type 3- Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year

987-3137 1 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year

466-8993 1 Thank you for choosing Dell

310-8626 1 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System

464-9572 1 No Entertainment software pre-installed

420-7091 1 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS

420-7092 1 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 1YR-FREE

987-4817 1 Insp Datasafe 3GB,1YR(Incl in price),DHS

988-0099 1 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online

464-8832 1 Special Offer - $10 off

330-0172 1 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Desktops

Subtotal: $949.00

Shipping and Handling: $0.00

 

Sales Tax: $61.71

Total: $1,010.71

 

 

 

 

 

 

Order Details

 

 

Order Number: 153044445 Estimated Ship Date: 02/14/2008

 

 

 

Item Number Quantity Item Description

 

222-5573 1 Dell Photo AIO Printer 926

310-8688 1 DELL USB PRINTER CABLE - 10 FTBLACK

960-2840 1 Warranty Support, initial year

985-2858 1 Dell Hardware Warranty, Initial Year

980-5760 1 Type 11 Contract-Printer Advance Exchange Limited Warranty, Initial Year

986-4807 1 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3

Subtotal: $49.00

Shipping and Handling: $0.00

 

Sales Tax: $3.19

Total: $52.19

[Twisties]

Possibly you have some photo editing software with your new camera. If not, I guess your going to want some, and it may be cheaper to get it with the machine.

 

Seems between your original post and the actual order you got rid of a pile of bloatware. Good!

 

I usually find monitors cheaper locally, but if this is a good deal and you need or want it, great. 22" is going to be mind blowing. I can't believe the difference my 19" made.

 

All in all, sounds to me like you'll love it.

[Richard_D]

Isn't the 128MB NVIDEA for photo editing?

[Twisties]

Thats a video card that runs your monitor and displays the picture, from whatever source for whatever purpose. It is hardware, although it does come with a driver (interface software between the card and the operating system). You need some sort of video card no matter what you are doing on the computer so long as you are using a monitor.

 

Photo editing software is another thing altogether. That's the software that allows you to work with your pictures (windows will display them, but not edit them). There are several kinds. Well, strictly speaking, photo editing is photo editing, but as with everything else lines begin to blur.

 

There are three primary things to think about:

 

Managing your photos

Editing your photos, and

Potentially making video from your photos.

 

I do not use photo management software, I find windows (I have XP) to have adequate file management utilities, but a lot of people like this stuff. Example: Adobe Photoshop Album

 

Photo editing software is software that allows you to post-process (crop, alter exposure, color, add special effects, alter resolution for various purposes) photos. Simple inexpensive software for most of us takes care of the basics. Example: Adobe Photoshop Elements

 

At greater levels of use there are photostitch programs for making panoramas (Elements will do some of this too), RAW file editors for more advanced image manipulation (if your camera will supply RAW), and professional level products Example: Adobe Photoshop CS3.

 

On the video front, I don't do that, but a lot of people like to, so I can only mention it.

 

So, to sum it up, you'll probably need Elements or a competitor, unless your camera came with something. The other items are more optional, but a basic editing program is pretty essential. I think Elements can be had standalone for about $60, but you might be able to get it with your new machine purchase for less.

 

Jan

[Richard_D]

Now I'm really confused. My camera is a cannon SD870is.

[Bob Palin]

Now I'm really confused. My camera is a cannon SD870is.

Huh? What does your camera have to do with it?

[Richard_D]

I told you I was confused. He said unless my camera came with something and I thought maybe he meant it was a feature of the camera. I'm new at all this.

[Bob Palin]

I told you I was confused. He said unless my camera came with something and I thought maybe he meant it was a feature of the camera. I'm new at all this.

He's talking about image editing software. Being a Canon your camera comes with at least ZoomBrowserEX software which is OK for some things but not ideal. If you are just starting out with digital pictures take a look at IrfanView (www.irfanview.com) a free editor that can do a lot of useful things easily. I used it for years to adjust the contrast, colour saturation, sharpness and size of my pictures. I now use Photoshop Elements which gives me more control.

[Richard_D]

Thanks Killer. I assume that means I don't need to add anything to my computer from Dell while they're building it. I doubt I'll really get fancy with the pictures.

[Bob Palin]

I wouldn't add software to it, start with the free stuff.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Speaking of free stuff, Picasa is a pretty nice combination photo organizing and editing program. It's chief virtue being simplicity of use. It is actually pretty flexible unless you need to clone out portions of a shot.

 

I'm currently using 4 different things for this stuff. Picasa2, The Gimp, Photoshop Elements and I just downloaded UFraw. Somewhat mixed results with my efforts so far, mostly cause you have to start with a good picture and there is a big learning curve for the more complex stuff.

 

In fact, the darn camera is complex enough. Nikon D40 with a bunch of expensive glass, soon to add a D80 body so I can keep 2 lenses in play without having to switch. I lust after a D300 or D3 but can't afford either at the moment.

[Matts_12GS]

Ed, I just got a D40x and I love it. It's worthy of consideration IMO to accompany the 40.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

To continue the hijack, I find the focusing and metering options on the D80 much more important. I might even go with a 40X as a companion just cause of the 10.2 mp sensor.

[Twisties]

Ed, I just got a D40x and I love it. It's worthy of consideration IMO to accompany the 40.

 

Did you get that two lense package at Costco? How is that?

[Skywagon]

not sure of the pricing..but this is important. Buy all the memory, processor, and storage you can afford. As OS's and other software programs such as virus control take up more and more memory, storage, and processor's over the years, you will be glad you did. The machine should easily last you 5 years. Just go look at the difference from Windows, xp, to Vista from an memory and storage requiremnt. Nex to processor speed, nothing helps speed more than memory. People generally end up buying new machines because they are out of one of the three items above and three years from now, you can't find the parts you need at a reasonable price...Everytime I buy a machine, I always think, well this time I have all I will ever need. Three years down the line, I wish I had more and usually buy a new machine every 5 years for that very reason. Just my .02

[Bob Palin]

Nex to processor speed, nothing helps speed more than memory.

In my experience, unless you are playing some high end game, memory is more important than processor speed for fast running of a PC. However, I won't be buying a machine without at least dual core CPU, I often find processes competing on my laptop when I'm doing photo related work. Particularly so for batch type things like converting from RAW to jpeg or making HDRs when I want to do something else while it chugs along. I recently upgraded the memory in Whip's home machine and turned it into a speed merchant then set up his quad core at the office - wow! The processor speed wasn't that high but a quad core with 4GB of memory is impressive, it loaded 60 smallish jpegs all at once into Photoshop without blinking, my laptop would still be trying a month later, if it hadn't crashed by then.

[Aluminum_Butt]

but this is important. Buy all the memory, processor, and storage you can afford. As OS's and other software programs such as virus control take up more and more memory, storage, and processor's over the years, you will be glad you did.

 

I completely disagree with this statement.

 

Unless your list of applications includes gaming, video editing, or some other intensive application, most users will never notice the difference in a few gigahertz of processor speed. Who cares if it takes Internet Explorer 0.5 seconds to load, versus 0.6 seconds. There is usually a "sweet spot" of performance versus price. If you draw a graph of processor power on the x-axis and price on the y-axis, you'll get a fairly horizontal line at first, but at some point it will take a steep incline. IMO, the point just before it starts that incline is the right place to buy.

 

It is true that applications are more memory-hungery. With Vista, I'd agree that 2GB is the right amount for typical users. But for most people, anything over 4GB is a waste. Most users will never upgrade the OS on a PC. Even if they do, you can still get compatible memory for a ten-year-old PC. And with a few exceptions, you'll pay less for it then than you will now. I think that's especially true with the dual channel stuff sold now.

 

 

The machine should easily last you 5 years.

 

I don't agree here, either. The moving parts (power supply, CPU fan, hard drive) aren't likely to last five trouble-free years. I replace my own, and it's small $$$ for me. But the typical user has to have it done. IMO, most users should shoot for 3 years. Economically speaking, I'd much rather have a $500 PC now, and a new $500 PC in 3 years, versus trying to make a $1000 PC last 5 years.

[Twisties]

I agree, the hardware market has been advancing much faster than increasing software demands for about 5 to 7 years now. Pretty much any machine out there will run the latest general purpose software with ease, and will run the latest software for several years to come.

 

On the other hand, in recognition of this, my workplace has gone from 2 year refresh, to 3 year refresh, to 5 year refresh for desktops (4 years for laptops). This suggests that their economic analysis suggests that machines are of value for these periods, all things considered. If they didn't buy from two year old specifications for their new machines, I might even agree with this policy. However, at present it has me locked into a 1.6 GHz single core laptop that is ok for word processing, but struggles with the large databases I work with.

 

At home, my last machine lasted 5 years. You are right, it could have been repaired, but I never even took it it in. I'd rather have a new machine. My "new" machine is coming on 2 years old, and showing no signs of age. But if it broke, I'd be hard pressed to repair it. It's a mid-range dual core. For $500 - $600 I can get a mid-range quad core with a much faster hard drive. Not that I need more speed, but figure a repair is $200, and I'm left with an older box that is likely to have future failures.

[Skywagon]

Aluminum...understand your point, but still disagree. How much time does it take to rebuild and move files, figure out new drivers etc. When clients order new machines, we allow 45 minutes for to an hour for installation. If we have to do user files we allow a minimum of 4 hours and time and materials after 4 hours. Sometimes we just can't get things to run on the new machines. I am the COO of a company that services 400,000 machines. We don't sell machines or have any connection with that, so not trying to sell hardware. The number one reason we end up replacing machines early is horsepower, memory, storage. I realize home use is different, but everytime I have to change machines I just cringe. Just transferring my AOL favorites is usually quite a nightmare, not counting the cookies with logon credentials I can't remotely remember. Can all those things be transferred to the new machine....yes, can the average user do it......no. The total cost difference from a basic machine to a high-powered machine might be $400. I appreciate your view, and certainly don't think it is wrong for those that like a new machine more often and certainly understand why, but there is no substitution for horsepower as discussed here often about bikes. I do disagree however you can not tell the difference in processing power and memory. A great little example is to go onto circuit city right now and run their demo of a high speed vs.s normal speed memory stick...

[Aluminum_Butt]

A great little example is to go onto circuit city right now and run their demo of a high speed vs.s normal speed memory stick...

 

I couldn't find that, but assuming it's talking about the difference in a Sony Memory Stick Pro/Duo versus the original Memory Stick...that's a 10X increase in transfer rate. You can't compare that to what's happening in the PC market.

 

there is no substitution for horsepower as discussed here often about bikes.

 

But on the high horsepower bike, I can feel the difference.

 

I appreciate your view

 

And I yours. We'll have to agree to disagree.

[NonComp]

I don't agree here, either. The moving parts (power supply, CPU fan, hard drive) aren't likely to last five trouble-free years, even in business applications.

I completely disagree with this statement. I see lots of computers lasting 5 to 10 years. I have box that started out in life as a 286, then a 386, then a 486, then a Pentium 300 -- all in the same original case. I eventually changed the fans in the power supply. That machine ran daily from 1991 through 2007.

 

On the other hand, I usually recommend that people choose a processor/model that is about 3 down from the top. That's where the best value seems to be.

 

The O/P has chosen a Cadillac system. He should be able to get a minimum of 5 years plus use out of it, as long as he doesn't upgrade to Microsoft's next operating system -- whatever that might be.

[Richard_D]

The computer I'm replacing is a dell dimension 4100. It's 8 years old with no problems. It's just time to upgrade for me.I hope I have as much luck with the new one.

[velomoto]

Sky - while I completely agree with your reaction to changing computers I disagree that the new PC's offer additional performance. We've made several recent "upgrades" from single processor notebooks (1.8 to 2 GHz) to the latest/greatest dual processor NB's and most of the users claim they hardly notice a difference in performance. Note that in both cases the OS (XP) and applications have remained constant.

 

Our assessment is that the current OS and software simply does NOT take advantage of multiple processors. I'm certain there are benchmarks which would show the new PC's to be light years ahead of the laptop which had been replaced - but these benchmarks never have the same tools and configuration of corporate bloat-ware which we use.

 

Bottom line - if the current PC works there is A LOT to be said for NOT buying a new PC!

[kooshbal]

A little hyjack, my norton's expires in a week, and I would like to replace it. It is slow and I will be moving to a new desk top later this year. Any recommendations. Thanks

[NonComp]

A little hyjack, my norton's expires in a week, and I would like to replace it. It is slow and I will be moving to a new desk top later this year. Any recommendations. Thanks

AVG from www.grisoft.com.

[Bob Palin]

I like ZoneAlarm www.zonealarm.com - been using it for years on multiple machines and no problems.

[NonComp]

The company I work for just received 3 used IBM IntelliStation M Pro workstations with Windows XP Pro licenses today. These machines are four years old and will be commissioned to replace older hardware. We are delighted to receive these 3.4 Ghz Pentium 4 boxes with high-end NVidia Quatro graphics cards. They cost us $700 for all three. These join the 4 NetVista stations we bought 6 months ago. All XP Pro.

 

We anticipate that we will run these machines until MS drops support for XP sometime around 2014.

[velomoto]

A little hyjack, my norton's expires in a week, and I would like to replace it. It is slow and I will be moving to a new desk top later this year. Any recommendations. Thanks

Yeah - get a Mac... Sure you pay more, but you also get more. It's the same reason I ride an RT!

[NonComp]

Yeah - get a Mac... Sure you pay more, but you also get more. It's the same reason I ride an RT!

We have a guy who works for us that is a self-confessed Mac enthusiast. He has a dozen of them. Just spent $6000 plus on a high-end 8 CPU workstation. He loves Macs, but...

 

Over the years, Macs have suffered from the same compatibility problems that PCs have -- maybe even more. Software that workes under system 6 may not work under system 7. Power PC software does not run on Panther. Etc. etc.

 

On a couple of occasions, I seriously considered buying a new MacBook Pro. But when it came right down to it, it was just too difficult to configure Boot Camp or some other Windows service to run all the software that I use.

 

It's a PC world. Even my Mac buddy has a couple of PCs to do things like USB development on, that he could not do on the Mac.

 

Another friend switched to a MacBook Pro and loves it, but he is largely using Linux applications and doesn't care about Windows.

 

Macs are great, but they may not viable business solutions.

[velomoto]

On a couple of occasions, I seriously considered buying a new MacBook Pro. But when it came right down to it, it was just too difficult to configure Boot Camp or some other Windows service to run all the software that I use.

I agree completely - in the end it is the software which is key. Parallels may be a better solution than Boot Camp to using Windows apps on a Mac, but fortunately I don't have this need on my Mac's.

 

I'm still working to get my work PC replaced with a Mac. IMO the Mac's Unix O/S would be a much better fit than Windows for our engineering environment but corporations are slow to change - hence our use of XP instead of Vista. For high performance laptops there is little difference in price between a Mac and PC - I recently priced out a Dell and MB Pro to be within $200.