OKAY, i need your input on the final decision

[triskit]

Well i think ive finally got all of the parts chosen for the computer that i might be building. I have, however found that a sililarly equipped Dell XPS 400 would only cost $50 more... Below i Have a list of the components for the Dell and the components for the computer that i would be building myself. I know everyone hates dells, but how much better would the computer that i might build really be than the dell?



Dell XPS 400

Processor Pentium® D Processor 830 with Dual Core Technology (3GHz, 800FSB)

Video Card
256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800

Sound Card
Sound Blaster® Audigy®2 ZS (D) Card w/Dolby 5.1, and IEEE 1394

Hard Drive
320GB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 160GB SATA HDDs)

Monitor
19 inch Ultrasharp™ 1907FP Digital Flat Panel

Memory
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs

Operating System
Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition

Keyboard / Mouse
Dell USB Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard / Dell Optical USB Mouse

Speakers
Dell 5650 5.1 100 Watt Surround Sound Speaker System with Subwoofer

3 in 1 Printer
Dell Photo All-in-One Printer 924

Optical Drive #1
48x CD-RW Drive

Optical Drive #2
16x DVD+/-RW w/ double layer write capable

Floppy Drive
3.5 in Floppy Drive

Price (shipped.taxed) $2020



Proposed Computer

Processor
AMD Opteron 165 Denmark 1000MHz HT 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor

Mother Board
DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard

Video Card
eVGA 256-P2-N389-AX Geforce 6800GS CO SE 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JB 320GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM

Power Supply
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, TUV, CB, FCC CLASS B, CUL

Monitor
ViewSonic VA902b Black 19" 8ms LCD Monitor 270 cd/m2 550:1 0.294mm Pixel Pitch

Memory
G.SKILL Value Series 2 x 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory

Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 w/Update Rollup Release 2 OEM 1 Pack

Case
Thermaltake SOPRANO VB1000BWS Black Steel/Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Keyboard / Mouse
Microsoft FA6-00010 Black 103 Normal Keys 13 Function Keys USB Wired Ergonomics Keyboard Mouse Included

Speakers
Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Speaker

3 in 1 Printer
HP PSC 1410(Q7290A) Up to 18 ppm 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi InkJet MFC/All-In-One Color Printer

Optical Drive #1
LITE-ON Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE 16X DVD±R DVD Burner

Optical Drive #2 LITE-ON Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM ATAPI/E-IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model SHD-16P1S

Floppy Drive SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Model SFD321B/LBL1 - OEM

price (shipped/taxed) $1964.37

also... if anyone notices anything that wouldnt be compatible or that i might want to reconsider... any advice would be appreciated... and i probably wont be getting this thing for another 1 1/2 months...

 

[Nitestick]

a few points 1) if you build the pc it will be better, 2) the Dell is more expensive 3) it should be easier to maintain a pc you build, 4) Dell are crap to upgrade.

so basically you would be paying more for something that doesn't work as well and would only cause you trouble.

also that dell is absolute **** in comparison. that 3.0ghz Pentium D doesn't even come close to the Opteron. the video card is only a 6800 vanilla and the GS you have chosen is better. basically all around you would be paying more for less.

 

[NathanM]

Several reasons why building your own is better...

• 
  Opteron 165 > Pentium D 830
  6800GS > 6800
  DFI LanParty > whatever other useless, proprietary p.o.s. Dell puts in their cases.
  G.Skill > Dell's proprietary RAM
  You have to go through Dell for most upgrades. They're often highly overpriced and everything's proprietary so upgrading a lot of the time isn't an option.
  Dell's customer support sucks. Build your own and you have tech-forums customer support .

Now for suggestions. Get a SATA HDD, you have an IDE one. Upgrade one step from value RAM to the next level that G.Skill has (the ones that are red I believe). It won't cost much.

 

[i.Angel]

Believe me when I say just build your own PC. I have a rich friend that only buys Dells and we have tried to upgrade them before... literally impossible. First, we tried to put a 7800GTX into his Dell XPS and it took us 30 minutes just to remove all the safety latches on the **** thing.

Another thing, the PSU that they put in there does not have any extra connectors and the PSU is hidden amongst the green plastic inside.

A big problem that I have is that the Dell motherboard BIOS does not have overclocking abilities... meaning if you want your computer to be faster then you need to buy another XPS!

 

[triskit]

interesting... haha i probably should have just known that that would be the response to the comparison and just gone straight to the second question... so everything looks like it would work together?

and what do you guys think of the memory choice

G.SKILL Value Series 2 x 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory

one of you guys recomended it to me, but i've heard that DDR2 is better...

 

[NathanM]

You cannot use DDR2 with AMD 939 CPUs. The only AMD CPUs that support DDR2 are the AM2 sockets, and they aren't even released yet. I suggest you stepping up above value RAM and get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231047

7 bucks .

 

[Nitestick]

for starters, no DDR2 is not better. it is merely a different platform....a platform that is currently not even compatable with AMD processors . personally i prefer OCZ memory but G. Skill is also high quality

edit: sorry if i sounded like a smart as5

 

[triskit]

good deal. taking your advice on the hard drive and the ram.

 

[NathanM]

There's nothing else to suggest really. Everything looks fine and about all the other hardware mostly comes down to preference. The only other thing is that if you wanted the best gaming performance, get a better video card like a 7900GT. But a 6800GS will play everything, just not on max.

And Nitestick, I don't see what you said that could make you sound like the best thermal compound ^^.

 

[Nitestick]

lol i'm just always worried about politeness. i just couldn't stand the thought that someone didn't like me . everything looks good.