what should i know about P4's before i purchase this comp. need advice!

[af9148]

i made a post before about purchasing an Athlon XP 2800+ computer, but then i decided to wait till i a good deal comes along for a Pentium 4 comp. now i need everyones advice on which p4 to choose from, i basically have these choices (from dell),

price
349 - Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.66GHz with 533MHz
front side bus

Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.80GHz with 533MHz
front side bus (add $20)
(both dimension 2400)


480 - Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology 2.8GHz
w/800MHz FSB

Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology 3GHz
w/800MHz FSB (add $50)

Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology
3.06GHz w/533MHz FSB (extra $50)
(all 3 dimension 4600 except the tower for
the 3.06ghz is 20$ more)

i dont really know much about p4's FSB, i came across this deal yesterday but couldnt decide which tower or which p4 to choose from. this new comp is basically going to be for school work(programming) and just to have a 2nd comp around the house. can any explain the how the 800MHz FSB and the 533MHz FSB works? or which front side bus to choose from along with which GHz. since there is about a 150$ difference between a p4 and p4 HT, i need recommendations on whether to go with HT or not. im not looking to get a comp that has the fastest cpu, im basically looking for a computer that will last me a while speedwise and if there is a huge difference between a 2.66GHz and a 2.80. or the 2.8 HT and the 3.0 HT.

ive heard alot of good things about HT but wasnt sure if i needed a p4 HT since its a 100 something dollar difference. and im looking for something that'll last which i think intel would do. any suggestions, advice, dell users. help me decide!

 

[Wartorment]

Don't get a Dell, unless you don't like upgrades.

 

[mrzeeedler]

Dude it would be so much better to build one. Dells suck trust me all my friends have had problems and ended up sending them back. My friend ended up buying a 3500 dell xps didnt work right sent it back and built his own. Build your own its about 2000 dollars cheaper.

 

[af9148]

yea i know its better if i build it myself since i know what parts im putting in brandwise, but the price of it is more then a dell. im just looking for a comp thats fast, cpu wise plus it saves me the hassle of all these rebates for each part i buy.

so any suggestions from the list of p4's?

 

[mrzeeedler]

3ghz

 

[af9148]

hey zeeedler, how is your 2.8GHz HT i was thinking of getting that one. btw would you know the difference between the 800 FSB and the 533 FSB

 

[Wartorment]

Yes, you can tell.

 

[zero1424]

seriously you really need to consider building your own.. Research it if you don't know how.. if it does cost more than a dell(when using sites like pricewatch.com and pricegrabber), then it must be like 10x better.

Dell, like most brand name factory-made computers use shitty motherboards, shitty cooling(usually none. an emachines I had, athlon xp2200, didnt have a single fan.) And I hear bad things about dell all the time. My friend's hard drive fried, but he sent it in and got a new one. Then his sound wouldn't work and their website wouldn't help him.

 

[af9148]

from what im hearing about dell, everyones had hardware problems. does that mean the emachine im currently using is better then dell since it hasnt given me any hardware problems for about 4 years. lol

yeah i going to have to find out the total price if i were to do it myself when i have the time and the extra cash, but for 350, the p4 2.6 is good isnt it. aside from the problems im hoping it wont give me i doubt i can make a comp that cheap.

 

[zero1424]

which emachines do you have now? emachines usually has very good parts except for the motherboard/psu(It was a P.O.S. ECS Mini-ATX. and a 250w shitter)... I had a T2200. Baught an ASUS motherboard, new case, and some fans. Took the 100gb western digital(still use it today), the proc, the cd drives, and the floppy drive. saved me a shitload of money yet my system kicked ass.