Home › Forums › Archives › Computer Support › Computer Support Discussion › Choosing a new computer
- This topic has 9 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 10 months ago by Philip.
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May 21, 2007 at 2:13 pm #27054yeraloMember
Hi,
I am looking for Desktop. By the time of surfing I get one desktop – Dell Dimension E521 – at Direct2Deal.com. I want to buy desktop for gaming and general purpose. My budget is $500.
Here is configuration:
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3600+
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
19 inch SP1908FP Silver Flat Panel Monitor w/TrueLife™ (Glossy Screen)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
48X CD-RW/ DVD Combo Drive
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Price: $553What is your suggestion about this computer? Does it need Any Upgrade?
May 21, 2007 at 3:26 pm #161558AnnaParticipantyeralo;219123 wrote:Hi,I am looking for Desktop. By the time of surfing I get one desktop – Dell Dimension E521 – at Direct2Deal.com. I want to buy desktop for gaming and general purpose. My budget is $500.
Here is configuration:
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3600+
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
19 inch SP1908FP Silver Flat Panel Monitor w/TrueLife™ (Glossy Screen)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
48X CD-RW/ DVD Combo Drive
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Price: $553What is your suggestion about this computer? Does it need Any Upgrade?
Sounds a little too good to be true. Makes me wonder if the website is legit…
May 21, 2007 at 8:31 pm #161559DavidParticipant@Anna 219125 wrote:
Sounds a little too good to be true. Makes me wonder if the website is legit…
I disagree, that sounds about right.
yeralo: That graphics card might not be enough depending on what kind of gaming you wish to do.
June 10, 2007 at 1:42 am #161562Real WorldMemberI will also increase the RAM to 2GB.
June 10, 2007 at 5:52 am #161564PhilipModeratorI’ve never liked Dell because a lot of their hardware components are proprietary, meaning that for example if the power supply conks out, you’d have to go back to Dell and get a Dell power supply. And they’re going to charge you big time for it.
I’d prefer getting a clone (i.e. not branded) computer, where you can tailor all the hardware and software components to your own specs and budgets. If you have a friend who can do that for you, buy him/her a 6-pack and it’d work out better in the long run.
June 10, 2007 at 8:39 am #161560DavidParticipantDell’s have been using name-brand motherboards (some ASUS) for a while now, and none of the components are proprietary. When was the last time you had a Dell standard form factor that had a PSU that wasn’t standard? I haven’t seen that in at least 5 years. Perhaps Dell says you can only use Dell parts, or that any others will void your warranty–that I don’t think thats the case.
June 10, 2007 at 9:07 am #161565PhilipModeratorDave, I just serviced a client’s Dell Dimension 8400, whose power supply had conked out. Several of my techie friends here have cautioned me about replacing it with a normal PSU, saying that one or both of the following could happen:
- The computer would fail to function
- Or even worse, the motherboard could get fried.
Needless to say, I didn’t want to take a risk, especially with a client’s computer. So I ordered a Dell PSU. It cost a whopping US$103!! A normal PSU costs only US$11 here. Fortunately my client agreed to pay for it.
Here is an informative article about the above, in case you’re interested.
June 13, 2007 at 3:07 am #161563DrBroccoliParticipantBack when I was replacing my PSU (I have a Dell machine), I contacted Dell support and they said you could buy any standard PSU and it would work, it would fit and it wouldn’t void my warranty… it’s just a PSU. Dell hasn’t used non-ATX cases forever.
June 13, 2007 at 3:45 am #161561DavidParticipantYeah. Philip, that article is from 2001, it’s no longer accurate.
June 13, 2007 at 7:45 am #161566PhilipModeratorOK. Thanks, Dave and Shadow, for the info.
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