To Dell or to Build

[Barbrich]

Hi all,
My son needs a new computer. I have checked the Dell site and can't decide if it would be better to just build. I have read a little and know that I want the Core 2 Duo processor. I will need suggestions on the RAM, Case, Power supply, which graphics card, hard drive and MB. I have had good luck with the ASUS MB that I ordered a few years ago. He has a nice monitor, keyboard and mouse. All help will be appreciated. I would like to say around $1000 or less if possible.

[shadowpr]

If you feel comfortable with it, I would suggest build one. If you already have a monitor, mouse and keyboard, you should be able to get a nice system for around $1000.

What will be the primary function of this computer?

Do you already have an OS?

Any parts you want to re-use?

[Barbrich]

He uses it for internet and listening to music. We will probable go with Vista, but he is using XP Pro. right now.

[Barbrich]

No, there are not any other parts usable. His current system is about 7 years old

[shadowpr]

For starters:

P5K

E6750

2 gb Corsair Ram

8600GT (if he would want to game)

Seagate 500gb HD

Corsair 520

Windows Vista

Plus case of your choice.

That comes to about $850 plus case, plus shipping before rebates.

EDIT: Forgot an Optical drive: Lite-On Drive Retail. Add another $38

[ArtBest]

It's fun to build them, and it might be fun to do it with him.

But if you decide to go Dell, be sure to check on www.techbargains.com. They generally list a lot of ongoing Dell promotions (and Dell has promotions constantly - most only run a few days or a week). For example right now they have $350 off Inspirons listing for $999 or more:

"$350 off Select Inspiron Desktops $999+
Dell Coupon Code: 4J1M7748R2RRV6 Exp 11/15/07 5:55am CT or after 4000 uses"

I recently used the same type of $350 promotion that I received directly in a Dell email and with the $350 off got my wife an Inspiron 530 with an E6550, 1333FSB, 2GB of DDR2-800, Radeon 2400PR0, 320g HD, DVDRW, and Vista Ultimate (no monitor) delivered for $690.

I think I could probably build a comparable machine for about that price, but not for any less. And unless you're doing gaming, that's a pretty complete machine for a very good price.

On the other hand, for myself I plan on building my own both because it's fun, and so I can get exactly the parts I want.

[Barbrich]

OK, thanks for the quick replies. I have changed out hard drives, CD-DVD players, power supplies, installed graphics cards, Sound cards, memory sticks, but I am a little concerned about the processor. That is the one thing that worries me a little. Is it that hard to get right? I haven't actually done that yet. But, with a little encouragement, I would be willing to try.

[shadowpr]

It's easy to install the processor. The only hard part is the heat sink.

Here is a helpful guide: http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/


http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles...15&cid=19&pg=6

[flanzig1]

The CPU is basiclly drop into the socket and latch it in. The tricky bit is mounting the heatsink.
Can view Intel's instruction video here: http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/rese...eng/241215.htm

[Barbrich]

OK, the heatsink is the scary part. Did I understand that the compound is already on the heatsink?

[shadowpr]

It is if it's a retail cpu that you bought. The one I linked to earlier comes ready to install.

[Barbrich]

Then that's the one that I would want. OK, I guess I will look and see what parts I would need and see what kind of price I come up with. Thanks for the help. I will have lots more questions if this is the way I decide to go.

[shadowpr]

Any questions, just ask.

You can get any processor, as long as it's retail it'll come with the heatsink and that will have the thermal pad on it already.

[glc]

The way the new Intel heatsinks are shipping, it's now a piece of cake to install. Drop it over the CPU, line up the 4 holes, and press each pin straight down till it clicks in a "X" pattern. You need to hold the board in your hand so there's air space on the backside or the pins won't go through the holes.

[Barbrich]

Alright, I think my confidence is going up already. A couple more questions,
He plays music through his stereo receiver from his computer. Do I need the more expensive sound card? Also, I have had really good service with my old P4PE MB from Asus. I want something as reliable as that and I want one that we can upgrade later. Which one now?
I know, more questions, thanks for the help.

[glc]

Onboard sound is plenty good - all onboard sound has line-out and some even have S/PDIF. Look at the P5K-E.

[ArtBest]

It depends on the MB. The older AC97 spec provided for only 48 kHz/20-bit audio. The new Intel HD audio provides up to 192 kHz/32-bit 7.1 channel audio and supports Dolby Digital and the like. It even has a digital optical audio connector which would provide the best audio if your son has a Dolby Digital receiver with digital optical inputs.

It's included on on some Intel MBs like the DP35DP. I don't know if Asus or others have comparable onboard audio.

[Katreat]

Generally, if you are not gaming then buying a Dell will probably leave you money ahead. Building is fun and you get to pick every part but that tends to lead to a bit higher cost. Dells are reliable and generally come with decent parts for a fair price but you have limited options. Still, it is hard to beat Dell for an everyday family computer setup.

However, if your son does a bit of gaming also then Dells looks less attractive. They are too limited on their choices of what is going in the case and generally you can get a lot more bang for your buck by building yourself.

So, if you just want a general computer to browse the internet and do a little office work then go for Dell. But if you want a little more, and the fun of building it yourself, then build it! And even though it is a bit scary at first, it is a lot of fun, even when thiings dont go exactly right. You also learn alot more about what is inside which makes it much easier to upgrade and work on.

Kat

[Barbrich]

That reminds me, I was in Best Buy with my husband the other day and was talking to a nice young man about maybe building this next one. And do you know what he said? "That really surprises me, usually a woman your age doesn't even know how to turn a computer on." What????? Now I know that I am finally getting old.

[shadowpr]

Wow. People have forgotten what respect and tact are.

[Barbrich]

I don't think he meant it the way it came out....Anyway, I think that I can do this.
Now, About the MB. Should I check on ASUS or Intel?

[shadowpr]

I stand by my recommendations in Post 5.

I think that would be a good starting point unless you want something paticular that's not on that list.

[Barbrich]

Thanks...I'm checking list

[Karnevil9]

If you decide to go with Dell, check out Staples if you have one near-by. They had a pretty good deal on a Dell with a 19 inch monitor for less than 800 dollars.

[Barbrich]

Hey Still trying to decide. About the video card. My son wants the ability to record from TV. I would need a video card with at line-in input....Right? Which card would be a really good one?
Thanks
Would I need to just get a TV tuner card?

[Barbrich]

Here's the Dell . Can I build this computer at a comparable price. He wants a black case
& I don't know what type MB is in this system. Sure need some help with this decision. Price is around $1497 with I think $350 off
Thanks

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6550 (4MB L2 Cache,2.33GHz,1333 FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate edit
MONITOR No Monitor edit
MEMORY 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2DIMMs edit
HARD DRIVE 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Dual Drives: 48X CDRW/DVD COMBO Drive + 16X DVD+/-RW Drive edit
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT-DDR3 edit
SOUND Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeGamer (D) Sound Card edit
TV TUNER AND REMOTE ATI Theater 650 PRO Combo Analog/Digital TV Tuner with Remote Control edit
KEYBOARD & MOUSE Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse edit
FLOPPY & MEDIA READER 3.5in Floppy Drive edit
MODEM & WIRELESS 56K PCI Data Fax Modem edit
My Software & Accessories
SPEAKERS Dell A225 2.0 Speakers edit
ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE Trend Micro Internet Security 36-months edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD edit

[shadowpr]

You can definately beat that. Especially since that price doesn't include a monitor.

[ArtBest]

My questions would be:

1) Why Ultimate? I made that mistake on my wife's recent purchase from Dell without looking into it enough, and have since concluded that it would be rare for a home user to need the functions that Ultimate has over Home Premium. They are basically the enterprise functions from Vista Business. Picking Home Prem will save you about $100.

2) Do you need two optical drives? One DRDRW will do everything.

3) Do you need new speakers? Even if you do, I'd buy what I want on sale at Best Buy, a computer store, Amazon or the like rather than buying basic ones from Dell.

4) On things like the sound card and TV tuner card, since you are comfortable with modding your pc, you should check whether you can buy it and put it in yourself for less than Dell charges for those additions. Sometimes their additions are good deals (such as on the Microsoft keyboard and mouse bundles), and sometimes they are way over what you could pay elsewhere. You need to check. On the sound card, you should consider whether you need it at all.

The other significant decision with Dell is how long a warranty would you like? You can pick 1,2,3or 4 years. Going from one to three will cost in the neighborhood of $150 on that system I think.

Looks like the same Inspiron 530 I bought for my wife recently (same processor, memory, HD, different video (she got the Radeon 2400) and she got no sound card, TV tuner or 2nd optical drive.) It seems like a pretty good machine, although she doesn't tax it very much.

In case you don't have it, here is Dell's current $350 off Inspirons coupon number, good through 11/29. They have had these continuously for the past couple of months. There will likely (but not definitely) be another one when this one expires. Without the coupon you could build an equivalent system for less. With the coupon it's a much closer call.

“$350 off Select Inspiron Desktops $999+
Dell Coupon Code: 4J1M7748R2RRV6 Exp 11/29/07 5:55am CT or after 4000 uses”

By the way, Inspirons have silver cases, and I don't think you can get near that after-coupon price on a Vostro or Optiplex (which are black or dark grey).

One final thought, the other thing to look at is the Dell Outlet. I got a good deal on an Optiplex there once and it was perfectly fine, and came with a 3 year warranty.

[ArtBest]

Originally Posted by shadowpr You can definately beat that. Especially since that price doesn't include a monitor.

Are you sure? Her system after coupon will be around $1150.

Working from your proposed system in this thread, in order to make them equivalient, you'd have to add to your $850 proposed cost two optical drives ($75), the sound card ($80), the TV Tuner card ($75), a case (at least $50), keyboard and mouse ($40), speakers ($20), floppy drive ($20), modem ($20). None of those things were on your list but are part of the system she listed. Adding those would raise your system cost up to about $1200. All those little items add up. Plus, in that $1150 she is paying for some things that she may not need like 3 yrs of Trend Micro virus software, and Vista Ultimate rather than Home Premium which if she wants them would add another nearly $200 to your system, or could cut the cost of the Dell by $200 by being eliminated. And she gets a system warranty and some software like MS Works that may or may not have any value to her.

The only things your proposed system has that hers doesn't is an E6750 rather than E6550 (which is pretty insignificant) and a 500 rather than 320 HD. If she needs storage she can add another 250G SATA drive for $60 any time.

There are other good reasons to build your own system, like choosing your own, presumably higher quality, components, and the ease of upgrading or replacing standard components without worrying about "will a standard item fit". But with the $350 off promotion, I don't think it can be said that it is definitely cheaper to build than to buy.

[Katreat]

I think he was referring to “beat that” in the sense of more bang for your buck, not match Dells price item for item.

Two-thirds of the items you list as additions are not required. They add to the price, but if they are not useful they don’t add to the value. Is a computer with a floppy more valuable than one without if a floppy is never used? Does having a sound card add value if it does not sound better than the on-board sound? What is the value of a modem if you don’t use dial-up? If vista home premium has everything you need then does vista ultimate add value?

You are correct, all those little items add up, but do they add to improved value?

On the other hand, an E6750 is a nice step up from an E6550, the speed increase will improve performance every day and add value. 500 gb is bigger then 320 gb, the size does add value. When you are comparing apples to apples, throwing an few oranges into the mix does not add value if the buyer does not need oranges!

Your compairson would be more valid if you called up Dell and asked them to give you a price for the system without all those added features. I doubt they would do that for you because they would have to quote you a price that was essentually the same as it is now. They are trowing all that stuff in to "dress up" the system, not because they add value.

I agree that you can not say building is always cheaper than buying, but once you leave the realm of the budget box and get more into performance I think the advantages of building really start to shine. They are more upgradable. They do have better components. And most importantly, they have only what you need, not a lot of useless items that add lots to price but little to value. They are also fun to build

Kat