Advice on getting Dell PC, secret hints?

B

Brisketexan

1,000+ Posts
We need a new home PC, and I hate that. I hate spending money. But it must be done.

Our needs are simple -- we aren't game wizards or anything like that. We will use it for web and e-mail, basic family word processing, bookkeeping, etc., digital photo storage and MAYBE basic editing (but nothing complex), downloading music from CD and the web (my wife just got an ipod shuffle) and some early childhood games/apps for our YOUNG kids.

That's pretty much it. By my absolutely ignorant estimation, I don't think that processor speed is that big a deal (for our needs, what's the difference between 2.8 gig and 4 gig?), 512 RAM (upgradeable to 1024), 80 gb hard drive, and a CDRW drive (I don't understand the difference between all the 48x and that stuff -- I just want one that will play the software we need, and will burn CDs).

Do we need a DVD drive?
Do we need a fancy CDRW drive speed etc.?
Is my RAM and HD memory sufficient?

This computer just needs to get us through the next 4 yrs or so -- I figure after that, the kids will have started school, and we'll know exactly what we need (and will surely have to upgrade to get it).

Last, are there any hints, techniques, secrets etc. for getting the best deal at Dell or the Dell outlet online? I'd love to get out for less than $500.

Thanks for all advice, and don't worry, I won't be insulted at all if you talk down to me and think me an ignorant bastard. The truth is what it is.
 
I tend to think like you that many people are tricked into buying a lot more computer than they need.

One kind poster, I believe it was pchorn, gave me this link. The Link
 
When I have purchased Dell PC's in the past- I always start at the following sites for current deals/ coupons and commentary on the deals. There were some really good deals the last couple of weeks (esp. for laptops)- and the key is to figure out 'about' what you want- and then look for online coupons- if you are in the market for a new machine. If you're patient- you can save some serious money with the deals they run.

Link1
Link2
Link3
 
What about what Nick said? Are my system specs too much, too little, just right?

I'm not a sucker. I just don't know what the hell I'm doing, and that can be just as dangerous.
 
That's slightly more computer than what works perfectly well for my Jr. High kids. I don't particularly care for my kids using the computer for games. With the exception of the RAM, I could get by perfectly well with far less than what I just upgraded from. I got the kids' computer here. The Link If you will be patient, they update that "special" weekly and it goes down to $299 and sometimes $279.
 
A 2.8ghz should be fine for your needs. I don't believe u can buy 4.0 ghz chip yet. Ram looks good too.

Only thing a dvd drive is good for is watching movies and or reading dvd disks. It doesnt sound like u need one.

As far as cdrw 48x is fine. Basically thats the speed at which it burns cd's. A 48x drive will make a full cd in less than 5 minutes.
 
I've got a Pentium 4, 1.4 Ghz processor and a 40 gb hard drive (the computer is 3 years old) and it's plenty. I have high speed internet and can play most games reasonably well. I'm a graphic designer, so it's important I have enough speed to run intensive graphics programs and the above is plenty. Would I like to have more? Sure, but really it's only to play fancier games.

You don't need any more computer than what I've listed above. Trust me. The problem will be finding one like that. The Dell Dimension 3000 is on sale right now for $399. It's plenty big.

You can also find someone to build you a cheap computer. I'm sure there are those on the forum who could help you with that, but it's hard to beat Dell's prices.
 
you're telling me the newest version Photoshop CS, IllustratorCS wouldn't cripple your computer?
If so, that's amazing.
 
Okay, not sure if this deal will apply tomorrow, but if it does, and I can use the MASSIVE coupon that a friend will be getting tomorrow, I can get it for $711, plus tax. It's both a bit more $$ and a bit more system than I wanted, but I figure for the extra $200, we're getting a LOT of bang for the buck, and we won't have to upgrade for a LONG time:
Catalog Number: 29

Module Description Product Code Sku Id
Dell Dimension 4700 Series Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 540 w/HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800FSB) CP328H [221-5229] 1
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition WMCE [412-0721][412-0688][420-5101][463-2282][420-4920] 11
Memory 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz (2x512) 1GB4 [311-4532] 3
Keyboard Dell Multimedia USB Keyboard MMK [310-5870] 4
Monitor FREE UPGRADE! 19 inch E193FP Analog Flat Panel E193FRE [463-9920] 5
Video Cards 128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon™ X300 SE X300SE [320-3873] 6
Hard Drive 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) 250S [341-0885] 8
Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices 128MB Dell USB Memory Key only 128MK [340-8688][311-4288] 10
Mouse Dell Optical USB Mouse OM [310-4037] 12
Network Interface Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet IN [430-0412] 13
Modem 56K PCI Data Fax Modem DFAX [313-2279] 14
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0 AAREAD [412-0705] 15
CD or DVD Drive Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 48x CD-RW Drive DVDCDR [313-2438][420-5079] 16
Sound Card Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio IS [313-2758] 17
Speakers Dell AS500 PA 14W Flat Panel Stereo Speakers for E153,E173,E193 Flat Panels AS500PA [313-2201] 18
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) Microsoft Office Basic - Includes Outlook, Word, Excel BASICC [412-0449] 22
Security Software McAfee SecurityCenter with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 15-months MCAFE1Y [412-0739] 25
Digital Music Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software MMBASE [412-0741] 27
Digital Photography Photo Album™ SE Basic DPS [412-0744] 28
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 3Yr Ltd Warr,At-Home Service,and Tech Support plus Nights and Weekends SQ3OS [950-3339][412-0359][902-4502][902-5560][960-2800][950-5462] 29
Internet Access Services 6 Months of America Online Membership Included AOLDHS [412-0585][412-0625][420-3224][412-0687] 37
Enhanced Software for CD or DVD Burner RecordNow! Deluxe - Burn, Copy and Label CDs RNDLX [430-0949] 72
Miscellaneous Award Winning Service and Support D47F4 [463-5394] 82
Financial Software No QuickBooks package selected- Includes limited use trial QBSSP [420-5139] 83


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Btw, the basic childhood stuff, in my experience, includes some of the worst viruses you can give yourself. I haven't bought any in years, but that stuff was largely crap a few years ago.
 
Brisket,

That's a nice package. If you have to option to scale back on a few items listed, you'll save some money and not be any worse off for the trouble:

1. Get a smaller hard drive. 80GB should be fine for now. You can always add another drive later, and they're very easy to install.

2. If you'll be using a cable modem or DSL, drop the 56k modem.

3. Drop the McAfee software. You can get comparable if not better anti-virus, firewall, and anti-spyware products for free.
 
Wait, the games THEMSELVES are infected? Out of the box? That sounds odd.

Or are you just saying that they are so inane that they make you want to kill yourself? I could certainly buy that.

Somebody gave my daughter some sort of dinosaur CD Rom games, and she is pretty peeved that we don't have a system that will support them.

I'm not expecting anything special, but at least it will get her on the system -- she's 4. I figure that by the time she's 5, she'll know more than I do about PCs.
 
Thanks, Sherriff.

The Mcaffee and modem are free with the package.

Got the super-sized hard drive because I needed to add stuff on to get the system price over $1400 (the coupon is only for systems over $1400). Same reason I got the memory stick and the USB media keyboard -- I was just adding crap on to hit the target number.

We'll see if all the discounts and the coupon apply tomorrow.

STILL, it's more than I wanted to spend. Grumble grumble.

"I remember when we had an Apple IIe all in one box, and WE WUZ HAPPY!"
 
I'm not sure if it is an option but I would consider getting 2 smaller hard drives instead of one larger one. You could use one strictly for backup purposes. It doesn't sound like you need a 250 GB drive. Two 80 or 120 GB drives would probably do the trick.
 
First off they would look to see if I had at least windows 95. I was on 98 or 2000 or whatever and they would kick back and say that I needed to upgrade. Too stupid to recognize that mine was more computer than was needed. They were always freezing up the computer. Often very hard to delete, etc. More recently, they would take the liberty of sharing your info with all kinds of people and signing your kid up for all kinds of ****** sites. The educational software must have been drawing the most idiotic element of the software industry. They may be better now, but I just ended up shitcanning all the stuff I got for my kids who are now 12 and 14. The current viral stuff is the Disney music CD's. They are insidious and not allowed on any computer I own.
 
If you can get that system for $711, then you better jump all over it.

That is one hell of a deal...that computer will last you for awhile.
 
You might want to consider a DVD+/- RW. It's nice to be able to archive photos at the minimum. You mention you have a four year old and there are two things I use mine for that relates to that. With the burner and DVD Shrink, I back up all of those Disney movies, so they don't get damaged or lost. I also use it to put together movies with my DV camera. It's surprisingly easy.
 
Oh...

If you're going to edit video, use some of that extra money on a Soundblaster Audigy sound card. It has a firewire port on it, so you can hook up your video camera. For just a little more than a firewire PCI card, you can get a bad *** soundcard with a firewire port.
 
Did an experiment about a year ago at Dell.com. Figured the cost of two computers - exact same specs -- by going through the "Home and Home Office" portal and the "Small Business" portal.

The "Small Business" route produced a cheaper machine. Don't know if they have fixed that loop hole or not, but it is worth a try.
 
I don't think it's a loophole. I've always seen evenly configured PC's cost less on the Small Business side. Also, that side will often have different specials and incentives from the Home side. I first found this out when I was about to purchase my PC, and thought there was a catch whereas I needed credentials showing it would be a business purchase. So I called in the order rather than submitting it online, and everything was ok.

Brings up another point....once you've configured a PC online, call in the order and see if they will toss in any extras. The guy I talked to knew of an incentive that would take effect the next day. Worked out very nice.
 
That is a pretty decent price for that computer. I just got my 4700 with a 19" LCD last week for less than $600 after rebate. Basically you just need to wait till the end of their financial quarters like they are in right now. That is when they run the good deals.
As far as the different price configurations through home and small business, I really don't know if they worked that out either. I just always buy mine through the small business link cause I prefer the Latitude notebooks and they don't show up in the home section. For some reason, I feel like the small business link is easier to compare things.
The one thing that confuses me is that Dell always has that they recommened XP Professional for students etc. There really is no need for most people. My family has to have it because we run servers at my parents' and at my apartment and let the server apply all the updates to the computers. But generally, most people would never know the difference. Another little trick if you want XP Pro and know someone that has a Dell that came with it, you can use their XP CD to reload the computer. Dell system CDs can only be loaded on Dell's and don't have to be activated. So if you get a hold of a Dell XP Pro CD, you can load it on yours that came with XP Home. It might take you a little time to reload it, but a good way to save the $70. This is especially nice to know, regardless of whether you want XP home or XP pro, if you are reloading you computer. That way if your CD has Windows XP with SP1a, you can borrow someone's that came with SP2 and save some download time.
 
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