is there a big diff between 2.6GHz P4 & 2.8GHz P4?

ConsultClifford

is there a big diff between 2.6GHz P4 & 2.8GHz P4?

rabbitinlights

About 200Mhz..............

Only messing, i doubt there would be much difference in everyday use but gaming may show where your money went. what would make a difference would be the FSB, 800Mhz is the daddy at the moment and it really shows, this is the bandwidth from your CPU (correct me if im wrong). So make sure your Mobo Supports it and go for a 800Mhz FSB P4:

CPU:
https://www.komplett.ie/k/k.asp?ck=1&r=1&action=info&s=kom&p=34367&AvdID=1

MOBO:
https://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?action=info&p=34602&t=&l=&AvdID=1&CatID=&GrpID=&s=sr

Or if thats a bit steep go for a 533Mhz FSB P4 still a big improvment on previous models!

Are you building your own?


Rabbit

ConsultClifford

Nope- Im buying through Dell!
Cheers think ill go for the 2.8 then

Dcully

I highly reccomend a system from elara.ie if your not gonna build yourself.
I went from a P4 1.5,384 mb sdram,gf4 ti 4200 Win me
to P4 2.8gig 800 mhz FSB,512 ddr 3200 ram,geforce 4 ti 4200 8X AGP,Win XP .
The difference is amazing ,im running Battlefield and desert Combat at 100 +FPS now where as before about 35 FPS.
Ive also increased all gfx effects to the max.
Its a stunning improvement.
A m8 has a P4 2.66gig, 512 ddr,Radeon 9500 machine from Dell and mine wees on it from a height.
Elara worked out cheaper too.

Creamy Goodness

avoid dell if you can becos in a years time u might wanna add more ram, upgrade etc. but they're cases aren't built for all types of motherboard and therefore limiting you in the long run also they never say how much ram you motherboard can take so upgrading ram is risky. they never tell you who makes their boards so you cant get bios updates.

and this is all from past experience from dell go elara.ie or if you feel confident enough buy the parts at komplett.ie and build yourself and tbh if something goes wrong when you build yourself you dont feel as cheated as you do when you get a dell and it break down.

ColinM

Originally posted by Cr3m0
avoid dell if you can becos in a years time u might wanna add more ram, upgrade etc. but they're cases aren't built for all types of motherboard and therefore limiting you in the long run also they never say how much ram you motherboard can take so upgrading ram is risky. they never tell you who makes their boards so you cant get bios updates.

and this is all from past experience from dell go elara.ie or if you feel confident enough buy the parts at komplett.ie and build yourself and tbh if something goes wrong when you build yourself you dont feel as cheated as you do when you get a dell and it break down.

There are plenty of reasons to bash Dell, but bad hardware isn't one of them. All the specs for your model are available for you on their website, including technical system specs and so on. The specs will tell you exactly the kind of ram and how much is supported by the board in your model. Dell are quite good about bringing out BIOS updates for their systems - have a look on their website for these too. Just rememember not to go looking on AMI's website for BIOS updates - get the ones specifically written for the motherboard on the Dell website. Intel make all Dell PC motherboards and the cases are designed to fit standard ATX or micro-ATX boards.
However there are some proprietary things that you should be aware of if you are thinking of upgrading the motherboard. Dell use a different pin-out scheme on their PSUs and the power socket pins on the motherboard are also rearranged to match this. I don't honestly know why they do this (but it may be that their modification to the standard ATX pinout reduces the possibility of blowing the motherboard if the machine is switched on with the PSU set to the incorrect input voltage - 110 versus 220). However, if you replace the motherboard without also replacing the PSU with a standard ATX PSU you will blow the motherboard and maybe the CPU too. Some of their models use riser boards for PCI cards too, which may or may not be an issue for you if you change the motherboard. The cable to the front panel power button, reset switch, and indicator leds is proprietary too, but you could figure out what pins go where and make yourself a converter cable for your new board.
As for them breaking down - they're not going to break down any more often than a PC made by anyone else. Dell sell more desktop PCs than anyone else so if you have heard that alot of them break down it's just because there's vastly more of them out there than any other brand. The standard warranty on Dell's consumer desktops is a one year collect and return, which is pretty basic, but I know that alot of other manufacturers would expect you to return the machine to them for repair. In the event that you do have a hardware fault, you also have the advantage that they can't blame anyone else and pass you on to them.
I'm actually not a big fan of Dell, although you might not think it from the above. I'm just trying to be fair to them.

ozt9vdujny3srf

I am still very happy aboiut the dell system i have, i just amn't happy about the amount i paid for it!.

DELL tech support is excellent for those who don't know there way around pc's and in my experience, their macjhines are very stable.

still, i will never buy a del again

Mac daddy

I have a dell, don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with the comp, but i would never buy one again.
Example say for instance in a few months you might want to try out a bit of overclocking that is going to very unlikely. because most of the Bios version that dell install canno't be changed, like your FSB changing volts for Cpu, changing memory timings, you then have the choice of changing your motherboard if you want to do something like that.
But if it is for home use only for browsing internet and playing games go with dell there support isn't that bad either.
Would you not consider building one your self more fun doing that and you will learn alot from doing that?:D

Mac daddy

Have a look at this systems from elara they are worth a look

http://www.elara.ie/evolutionp.asp

Venom

Dont buy a Dell.

Dell pc while being good quality use non standard components so you will find it very hard to upgrade. Mobo and Ram being the main one's but case as well.

I only had 256mb rambus ram in my Dell and to add an extra 512mb to it would have cost me €500.

Post the amount you are spending on the Dell and the specs and let the folks her show you how to get a better deal.

po0k

Originally posted by Mac daddy
I have a dell, don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with the comp, but i would never buy one again.
Example say for instance in a few months you might want to try out a bit of overclocking that is going to very unlikely. because most of the Bios version that dell install canno't be changed, like your FSB changing volts for Cpu, changing memory timings, you then have the choice of changing your motherboard if you want to do something like that.
But if it is for home use only for browsing internet and playing games go with dell there support isn't that bad either.
Would you not consider building one your self more fun doing that and you will learn alot from doing that?:D

If you can't spec and build a PC yourself, you really shouldn't be trying to overclock stuff.

Venom

Originally posted by Mac daddy
Have a look at this systems from elara they are worth a look

http://www.elara.ie/evolutionp.asp

That dosent seem like a great deal. €1800 for 512mb, an outdated gfx card (9600) and a 533mhz chip?

shopping around or building one yourself would get a much better system for the same or maybe a little more cash.

ColinM

Dell pc while being good quality use non standard components so you will find it very hard to upgrade. Mobo and Ram being the main one's but case as well.

Dell use standard RAM types!
I would guess that your model was probably a Dimension XPS B-system which had 2 RIMM slots. If you had 256MB then you had 2x128MB, as RIMMS need to be added in pairs. To upgrade to 512MB you would need to take these out to replace with 2x256MB. RIMMS are more expensive than DIMMS, but this cost to you was not because Dell use non-standard memory types. RDRAM RIMMS are not Dell proprietary technology. They are a higher performance (although people will probably debate that) memory technology than DDR DIMMS, hence the extra price. Your model featured this memory type because the XPS B-system was a higher end model. You were unlucky that you had to replace all your memory modules.

Venom

I didnt have an XPS based system. It was a Dimension 8200 and used 1066 rambus. The reasion it is so expensive to upgrade the ram is due to the fact that DDR is so much cheeper and in alot of cases now better, that no one is using rambus chips anymore and the prices is insane.

ConsultClifford

dell price + specs below...
also whats overclocking??

---

Dell Products - The Dell Store

Basket Summary downloaded on 25/06/03

---

Prices are valid only to the end of the business day on the day that this
basket summary was downloaded.

---

-* (J85) Dimension 8300 2.4GHzIncludes Double Memory + Free Hard Drive Upgrade + Money Off ! *-
=======================================================================================================
Quantity : 1
Total excl.VAT : EUR 1,189.66
Total incl.VAT : EUR 1,439.48


Standard Features
=================
Intel 875P chipset with support for Intel® Pentium ® 4 processors with 800MHz system bus
Dual Channel DDR Memory
Midnight grey mini-tower with 8 USB 2.0 ports, 4 PCI slots and AGP 8x slot
Intergrated 10/100 Pro Ethernet Network Card
Norton AntiVirus 2003 (with 90 days free virus updates)
No Floppy Drive as standard
.

Online Discount - Money Off!
============================
Money Off Included!

Axim X5 Pocket PC
=================
Not Included

Enhanced Support Packs
======================
1 Year Collect and Return Service (-EUR - EUR 141.55)

Processor Upgrade
=================
Intel Pentium 4 Processor 2.80GHz (+ EUR EUR 123.50)

Online Memory Promotion!
========================
512MB Dual Channel DDR 400 (2x256MB) (Includes 256MB FREE)

Floppy Drive & Additional Storage Devices
=========================================
3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive (+ EUR EUR 14.25)

Free Hard Drive Upgrade Promotion
=================================
120GB IDE Hard Drive (7200 rpm) (Includes FREE Upgrade from 60GB)

Monitor
=======
Dell 17" (17.0" VIS) Analogue Flat Panel Monitor (+ EUR EUR 285.00)

2nd Monitor
===========
Not Included

DVI to VGA Port Adapter
=======================
Not Included

Home Installation
=================
Not Included

Video Card
==========
64MB nVidia GeForce4 MX420 Graphics Card (TV OUT)

CD ROM, DVD, Read-Write Drives & Zip Drives
===========================================
48x/24x/48x/16x CDRW/DVD-ROM Combo Drive

ZIP Drives
==========
Not Included

Sound Card
==========
Integrated 5.1 audio

Speakers
========
Stereo Speakers

Operating System
================
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition (Why not upgrade to Windows® XP Professional?)

Modem
=====
Dell 56k Data/Fax/Voice Modem

Video Editing
=============
Not Included

Digital Photography
===================
Dell Picture Studio Standard Edition (note: contains a 21 use trial version of Paint Shop Pro)

Software
========
Microsoft Works 7.0

Wireless Connectivity
=====================
Not Included

Keyboard
========
Dell enhanced multimedia keyboard (+ EUR EUR 9.50)

Mouse
=====
Microsoft PS/2 Intelli Mouse

---

SUMMARY OF PRICING

Total Price of System
=============================================================
Price excl.VAT : EUR 1,189.66
VAT Rate : 21%
Price incl.VAT : EUR 1,439.48

Total Delivery Charge
=====================
Price excl.VAT : EUR 0.00
VAT Rate : 21%
Price incl.VAT : EUR 0.00


===============================================================


Price to pay excl. VAT : EUR 1,189.66

Price to pay incl. VAT : EUR 1,439.48

===============================================================

Venom

Not really specs that make me go wow to be honest. Again I really suggest not buying a Dell due to the component issue thats been mentioned above. Also only a 17" monitor? Go for a 19" at least, your eyes will love you.

How much is your budget?
Do you know anyone who can build a PC for you or can you do it yourself?

Overclocking is when you make the a chip run faster than it current speed to get better performance, like overclocking a 2.4 chip to run at 2.8. You will normaly need to get better cooling on the chip when you do this.

ConsultClifford

Ive never built a PC? Im not big into hardware. Im in software development and web design.
How hard is it to build a pc?
- nope dont think i have anyone to build one for me.

ConsultClifford

Is this an easy affair to put more hd into a dell?

Venom

Putting a bigger HD or an extra one into a Dell is fine. Tho I did have problems with one HD that worked fine in my current pc not working in the Dell but it was a very old HD.

Building a pc is not very hard but it can be a little tricky. Depending where you live you may be able to find a boards.ie person to build it for you. Took me about 3 hours max to assemble my current pc and I was very out of practice.

ColinM

Originally posted by Venom
I didnt have an XPS based system. It was a Dimension 8200 and used 1066 rambus. The reasion it is so expensive to upgrade the ram is due to the fact that DDR is so much cheeper and in alot of cases now better, that no one is using rambus chips anymore and the prices is insane.

Ok, but the same point applies for that model. You chose a model with RDRAM. You could have chosen another Dell model with DDR RAM if you wanted DDR RAM.

ConsultClifford

So ColinM are you saying that if your pc has Dual Channel DDR Memory then it would be easier to upgrade RAM say from 500 to 1000???

Matt Simis

I concur, it would make no sense for Dell to invent a new type of ram just for their machines. Dell pride themselves on letting others pay for expensive inventions. There is nothing "non-standard" about RAMBUS. Far from it actually, for several years it was the Intel backed standard.

For some people they are simply better off buying a Dell and not worring about the things they will miss out on... for most people upgrading motherboards and tweaking the system simply arent important.


Saying that, If you want someone to build you a PC, PM (personal mail, link on this post) me and Ill give you a quote!



Matt

Matt Simis

Originally posted by ConsultClifford
So ColinM are you saying that if your pc has Dual Channel DDR Memory then it would be easier to upgrade RAM say from 500 to 1000???

There should be no problem either way regarding upgrading, only the price differs.

Most Dual Channel motherboards have 4 DIMM slots, most likely Dell populate 2 (2x 256= 512MB), meaning it should be pretty simple to add more RAM (as you have free slots). Unless of course the Dell motherboard has only 2 slots in total.



Matt

Col_Loki

I take it all the ram slots would support Pc3200 ram ? Suppose it would be pointless otherwise since its 800FSB board - Just that the AMD boards ive used only 2 slots support Pc2700 & Pc3200 ram, other 2 for Lower speed.

Venom

Just to clarify, I never ment to imply that Dell usued non standard ram, but ment that the type they used was rather expensive to buy off both them and other vendors.

I never had the option of DDR ram when buying my Dell pc.

If the mobo is 800fsb compatible then it should accespt DDR 3200 ram.

astrofool

saying that rdram cost more due to being higher performance is just wrong. wrong, wrong, wrong

Venom

That was the original reasion why rdram cost so much. Nows its the fact that no one uses it

ozt9vdujny3srf

dual ddr3200 ram outperforms rambus so blah!