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Thinking of buying a Dell, how easy to tinker

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  • 03-06-2009 4:28pm
    #1
    blorg
    Registered Users Posts: 15,989 ✭✭✭✭


    Thinking of getting this for €349 inc VAT and delivery, although open to other suggestions in that price range:

    Dell Inspiron 546 (D064602)
    Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English
    AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core 5200+ (2.7GHz, 512Kx2)
    3072MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [3x1024]
    500GB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive
    512MB ATI® Radeon™ HD 4350 graphics card
    DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD)

    Looks reasonable for the price and will come fully built etc. which for me is a bit of a bonus, one less thing to do. In general in my experience with Dells they seem to work and are reasonably quiet; I don't need an _utterly_ silent machine but certainly the quieter the better.

    Use is just web, email, word processing, photo management, media server etc. No gaming. Current machine is an Shuttle SK41G Athlon XP2000+ which was fast enough for me.

    I have two 1920x1200 monitors that I plan to hook up, ideally both with DVI but I can live with one on VGA if necessary or upgrade the graphics card in the future.

    Having said all of that I do like to be able to tinker and in particular I could see myself replacing/adding hard disks in particular- probably immediately with 1 or 2x 1.5TB drives. This is where I am not sure as I seem to recall working on a Dell before where there were two 3.5" bays but it used a rail system and only came with rails for the 1 hard drive ordered.

    Dell tech support didn't have details other than that I had to buy a "compatible" hard disk, whatever that means- I could only gather this meant "from Dell" so that it would come with mounting hardware. Anyone know what the situation is with regard to adding hard disks to a Dell these days?

    Or should I just junk this Dell plan and buy something else or even try to build something- as given the choice I would go for a bigger hard disk and a graphics card with dual DVI. I could move WinXP from the Shuttle.


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    #2
    Effluo
    Registered Users Posts: 1,890 ✭✭✭Effluo


    From hardwareversand.de you can get the same specs and it built for you and delivered for abouts €20-€30 more expensive.

    However for another €28 you can get your larger 1Terrabyte hard-drive.

    The way i see it when buying pc's ready made is, that even though sometimes the lower end pc's might be cheaper than making the exact same machine yourself. The machine still won't be what you want and need.

    Although the Dell pc might seem like great value "which in fairness it's hard to beat that spec for price(including os)" but the fact is some of that spec might go to waste or be excess for what you'll use the pc for...

    In this case you have a dual core 2.7ghz processor.
    I don't think you need that much processing power for what you'll be doing on that pc.(correct me if i'm wrong please)
    2 gigs of ram would be plenty, you say you want to run your screens on dvi ports, this is all very possible with an even less expensive graphics card.

    And now essentially, you can put that money saved from downgrading some of the parts and put it towards those large hard-drives you want and need.

    Not to mention you won't have to worry about compatibility problems.

    Your pc will also be more upgradeable and thus saving money in the long run.


    Note: A point of note i just realised that i had included vista home basic in the price when i calculated you pc on hardwareversand.de....
    So in fact hardwareversand.de would be cheaper if you were to use xp from your old pc.


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    #3
    Solitaire
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 18,377 Mod ✭✭✭✭Solitaire


    Did you include the OS though? That and delivery really hurt any attempt to put together a basic machine :(

    I could make a comparable PC with a 1GB HDD a fair bit cheaper on HWVS but the OS then murders the budget :(
    Budget030609.png

    The graphics card is optional and is really just in case you want to play HD content at some point; otherwise with that 7050LE tucked away you can get away without it quite fine. And that CPU is probably a bit faster (and a lot cooler and quieter!) But see what the seperate OS does to the price?!


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    #4
    Effluo
    Registered Users Posts: 1,890 ✭✭✭Effluo


    Solitaire wrote: »
    Did you include the OS though? That and delivery really hurt any attempt to put together a basic machine :(

    I could make a comparable PC with a 1GB HDD a fair bit cheaper on HWVS but the OS then murders the budget :(
    Budget030609.png

    The graphics card is optional and is really just in case you want to play HD content at some point; otherwise with that 7050LE tucked away you can get away without it quite fine. And that CPU is probably a bit faster (and a lot cooler and quieter!) But see what the seperate OS does to the price?!

    I only realised half way through writing my post that he said he could use the xp from his old pc for the new one.

    hardwareversand.de is cheaper if he brings forward the os from his old machine.


    Before i realised he didn't need an os i was saying that if i were him i'd go ahead and get the pc from hardwareversand even if it was 30-40 euro more expensive.

    As then he'd know it was upgradable and he could choose his exact parts to suit his needs. Such as a graphics card with two dvi outs and a larger hard-drive.


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