To Dell or not to Dell...

[philbar71]

Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory Model F3-16000CL9D-4GBRH - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - OCZ Agility Series OCZSSD2-1AGT30G 2.5" 30GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Solid State Disks Use for OS only

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives data, programs drive

total: $745
then use the vid card form old build and PSU and dvd drive as long as it is a good psu. and reuse old case.

Dell=Not worth it.

 

[Trotter]

Philbar beat me to it (sort of). One drive for your OS, a second drive for programs and data - that's a fast(er) setup. If not a SSD then another WD Black drive.

 

[regeisle]

philbar71, couple questions...

Why not put apps on the SSD (is there a benefit of keeping them on the data drive)?

Why the motherboard swap? Does that one have better features to justify the $30 diff?

Thanks for the input - looks like the Dell option is off the table, now just need to firm up my parts.

 

[philbar71]

the mobo i picked out has 2 pci-e x16 lanes that are split in to two x8 lanes when in crossifre/sli mode, where the board you picked out has 2 pci-e slots but one is at x4 speed which will hurt any graphics card in crossfire mode. the board you picked out does not support sli too.

with a SSD it's best not to fill them up or keep them full. which is why i recommended to use the SSD for OS only which will only take about 20GB or so.

 

[memory]

I don't see what everybody has against Dell. My experience with them has been pretty good.

Before I really got into computers and realized that building is always better, I owned nothing but Dell's, which was only 2. And for the most part, I did not have any trouble with their products. And the one time I had to use their customer service for warranty work, I did not have any trouble. They even sent a guy to my house to fix the problem instead of shipping stuff back and forth.

The way I see it a Dell computer or any other name brand would be good for someone who just wants a computer for office stuff that does not know much about does not plan on upgrading anything.

 

[Nubbleet]

Nothing against Dell. But building your own computer gives you much more options, saves you money, also the best part is that you don't void warranty by opening up the case . Also if a part goes bad you don't have to send in the entire computer.

 

[meat_helmet]

I don't see what everybody has against Dell. My experience with them has been pretty good.

Before I really got into computers and realized that building is always better, I owned nothing but Dell's, which was only 2. And for the most part, I did not have any trouble with their products. And the one time I had to use their customer service for warranty work, I did not have any trouble. They even sent a guy to my house to fix the problem instead of shipping stuff back and forth.

The way I see it a Dell computer or any other name brand would be good for someone who just wants a computer for office stuff that does not know much about does not plan on upgrading anything.

The thing with Dell is they dont have the best customer service, can have long repair times and while they are cheap, there are better companies to use such as HP if you dont want to build yourself.

I used to do a survey with IT managers (around 40 per week) and overwhelmingly the two favorite companies were HP and IBM. Dell was always their last choice, but many of them actually used dell simply because they were told to by management (because they are cheap)...

 

[dirkpitt45]

I had a lower end dell for 3 years and it was fine for everything but gaming. Never had any problems, still works today. Completely useless for games but its perfect for my mom now. Long as you stay away from "high-end" pre-builts the cheaper ones aren't too bad for their cost.

 

[oldskool]

I have nothing against Dell either, except they do build things in a proprietry way some times. I mean, they aren't the only company to ever do that but its just that Dell to me has been a bigger part of that than some other companies. Other than that, I have never had a problem (ever) with a Dell that wasn't probably traced back to software or user error.

 

[Trotter]

Dell now uses off-the-shelf parts for almost all of their desktops. Small form factors are still iffy, but the rest are good to go.