Hello hyram,
The system below is what I have chosen for you. I have written in
brackets at several options the reason I picked a certain component to
specifically meet your needs as listed above. I have also suggested
some possible upgrades (and downgrades) you might want to make and
these would cause the price to fluctuate some. To get this price you
would pretty much need to order today, but Dell might have a new
promotion program tomorrow that would make the price pretty much the
same (or cheaper). I haven't seen Dell without a promotion of some
sort for quite some time. If you can wait, it might be a good idea to
wait through a few waves of promotions to get one that works for you.
First, my reason for choosing Dell is because of the excellent
24x7x356 customer service they have. If you have a problem, you can
phone them up on a toll-free number and they will point you in the
right direction. When your computer breaks down, they have the best
diagnostic cd available that will automatically find out exactly what
is wrong with your hardware, and then they will ship you the parts and
help you install them yourself over the phone if you do not want to
return the system by mail. Furthermore, they have decent prices
(compared to other major brands) and although they don't have the
greatest selection of components, the ones they have WILL work
together because they have been properly tested. There will be no
hardware conflicts and no hardware that doesn't work. And if you
happen to run into a problem? It will get fixed fast.
Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.80GHz w/533MHz front side bus/ 512K L2
Cache (this is the baby I have housed in a nice stylish black case,
definately the best computer I have ever had).
Memory: Save $80! (savings included in price) 1GB PC1066 RDRAM
(promotion ends today but you wanted 1GB of fast RAM so here it is...
I am not sure why you need 1GB of RAM, I would say 512MB is plenty for
now and you could always increase this in the future by removing one
of the two 256MB RAM stick and replacing it with a 768MB stick so you
have 1GB of RAM. If you expect that you will need 1GB, you could go
for it now).
Keyboard: Logitech® Wireless Keyboard and Optical Mouse Desktop
Solution (use this myself, its wonderful not to need a mousepad
(optical mouse so you can use it on any surface and nothing to clean)
and having both of them wireless gives you more freedom. If you don't
think you will need wireless, save the money).
Monitors: Video Ready w/o Monitor (I do not recommend you get a
monitor from Dell. I believe strongly that you should visit your
nearest computer store and find a monitor that you like. The video
card that comes with your computer is able to display very high
resolutions, but you need a large monitor to make this worthwile. I
personally prefer Viewsonic CRT monitors. LCD monitors are too
expensive for my taste and not worth it because of the smaller
viewspace. Some people swear by them, but I recommend you visit your
local Best Buy and shop around for a monitor you like.)
The monitors I am currently using are:
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/crt_gs790.htm (costs around $290)
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/crt_g810.htm (costs around $500)
OK, let's be reasonable... if you are not sitting in front of your
computer for most of the day, you do not need a g810 unless you really
want it. I currently have both of these monitors hooked up to my
computer (borrowing the g810 from a friend.. wish it was mine) and the
desktop real estate is great. Again, I must stress that you do not
order monitors from the internet unless you check them out in a retail
store first. Different people want different monitors and depending on
your needs you should get what works for you. Make sure you do not pay
a store for extra warrenty if you buy a Viewsonic CRT monitor because
you get three year parts, CRT and labor. If you do buy an LCD you
should get extra warrenty because they generally have less warrenty
and are a more expensive investment.
Video Cards: New 128mb DDR ATI Radeon™ 9700 TX Graphics Card with
TV-Out and DVI (I picked this one to try and stay in your price range,
but go for the PRO version of this card if you can. Benchmarks prove
that it is the BEST video card out right now and it will last for
years to come. Supports two monitors or tv and a monitor. Frame rates
at high resolutions when gaming is simply astounding. Again if you
don't live next to your computer, the Pro card might not be worth the
extra $200 or so above the TX card... but if you want the best gaming
performance, go for it).
Check out some benchmarks here:
http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20020819/radeon9700-07.html
The really have to play some of the latest graphic intensive games
with this card to believe what it is capable of... Of course the
Geforce FX will be coming out one of these days and NVidea is
promising it will surpass the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro Card, (read more
about this here: http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Previews/geforcefx/
) but the price and benchmarks are not out there. I can also not
envision anyone needing more than an ATI RADEON 9700 Pro card.
Hard Drives: New 120GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive (7200 RPM) (Go for
the 200GB hard drive if you need it, but I would fill up this one
first and then add in a second one if you need it... 120GB is more
space than most people need unless you plan on doing a lot of video
editing etc. How much space was on your last computer? Did you ever
fill it? Get double this space and you should be fine... remember this
computer is always upgradeable).
Floppy Drive: 3.5 in Floppy Drive (standard)
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition (You probably
don't need the Pro edition of Windows XP but you can check out the
differences between the two here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.asp This
operating system is better than any other in my opinion, and yes I do
use an ibook with Mac OSx for the portability, style and extended
battery life, but prefer Windows XP anyday. By the way, you will
easily be able to share an internet connection between Mac OSx and
Windows XP... setting up a home network is a bit more tricky but
doable)
Mouse: Mouse already included in Logitech Wireless Package (Gotta
love this wireless optical mouse... Logitech makes the best mice and
keyboards in my opinion. You might want to just get the cheaper one
though and pick one in a store if you want something like a Microsoft
Natural Keyboard. This mouse includes a scroller and two buttons and
will work just as well on a couch (or bed!) as it will on a mousepad).
Keyboard includes media buttons that can be assigned to certain
applications, internet buttons and volume buttons. Really nice if you
want to do some surfing or gaming on your large TV screen... and
because it's all wireless, again you get portability.)
Network Interface: Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 Ethernet (standard).
Modem: 56K Telephony Modem for Windows (kind of sad that you cannot
disable this.. unless you use a 56k modem you shouldn't need to get
this.)
CD or DVD Drive: 16 Max DVD-ROM Drive (especially if you don't
already have a DVD player.. get this DVD drive as they are now pretty
much standard. I don't really see the point of getting a faster CD-ROM
because once something is installed.. it's installed but some people
would recommend you get a faster drive... not me).
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 Digital Sound Card (picked this
to try and stay in your price range... Good sound card but Turtle
Beach is better for gaming. If you plan on using a lot of media on
your computer you might want to upgrade... but this should be enough
for most people).
Speakers: Harman Kardon® HK-395 Speakers with Subwoofer
Software Bundles: Microsoft® Works Suite 2002 with Money Standard
(includes Microsoft Word and a bunch of other applications (OEM
Version... support will be through Dell not Microsoft... if you do not
already have Office XP and need it, you can get it by upgrading here.
If you want something different than Microsoft Works, you could go
with the Corel package... but either one should be fine.)
Security Software: Dell SecurityCenter by McAfee, 90-day
introductory offer (90-day free security subscription... don't buy
this unless you think you need it after trying it for 90 days. You pay
for it every year and you might be better off buying a software
version in the store, or if you are a careful person you can get along
with free virus scans online... although this is not generally
recommended).
Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCH (You can uninstall
this if you don't like it when your PC arrives... no extra cost).
Digital Photography: Dell Picture Studio,Image Expert Standard (same
as above)
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: Rebate-$50 Off! 3Yr
Ltd Warranty plus 3 (I recommend you get three years of warrenty...
if you really want to get 4 years go for it... but you probably won't
need it).
CompleteCare Accidental Damage Protection: Add CompleteCare
Accidental Damage Protection to 3Yr Lim Warranty (Probably not
necessary but if you REALLY want this investment to go for three-four
years, if you accidently destroy your computer (by spilling coffee
over it etc.) this will be insurance. You have to think though that
you are probably unlikely to destroy your computer by accident and
even if you destroy your keyboard and mouse, it would have to happen
two times to cover this cost... again completely up to you.)
Internet Access Services: 6 Months of America Online Membership
Included (You have a choice between three dial up internet service
providers.. get one of them and use it when your main connection goes
down. Just be sure to cancel it after 6 months because when you
register you need your credit card information and during the 7th
month you will get billed).
Secondary CD or DVD Drive: FREE Upgrade! 40x/10x/40x Max CD-RW Drive
(This is a good CD-RW Drive... probably as fast as you will need it. I
do not see the point is getting a faster one.. you can burn a CD in
minutes with this. Unless you have to burn more than 10 a day.. don't
get anything better.. please).
Printer Bundle: Lexmark X85 Mulitfunction Printer Bundle (OK,
Honestly... I prefer Epson Scanners and HP DeskJet Printers (two
seperate components) and a seperate fax machine NOT connected to my
computer... but have used several Lexmark Multifunction machines and
they work great. If you need something better disable this and take a
look at some sample print outs and scans at a retail store near you..
I don't really know what you need this for. This would more than cover
most users however. I generally do not recommend that a printer,
scanner or fax machine is purchased over the internet unless you have
seen the quality of the scans/printouts etc.)
So basically we are at: Price: $3,001.00 WITHOUT a Monitor, and this
price will differ depending on which changes you make above. This
price will only work today, and tomorrow there might be a different
promotion. If you don't need this computer right away, you can wait to
see if prices go down (they probably will in the new year). I do not
recommend you buy a Dell Computer on EBAY or secondhand... even if you
find the exact configuration you want. Getting it direct from Dell
will save you headaches if you happen to run into problems.
Remember... if you buy from Dell and you want to know how something
works, you can always phone them up and ask... this will be great
especially because this is your first PC.
As for a Multi-Format Camera Memory reader... I really cannot
recommend one to you except from what I have read about them. My Digi
Cam plugs directly into my computer via a serial port. I generally
trust PC World with hardware I am nto too familiar with and would like
to point out this article for you:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,77444,00.asp
Here is another one that has had good reviews and is less pricey:
http://www.dazzle.com/products/sixinone.htm
Especially if you get yourself a great monitor and the ATI Pro Video
card (which you will fall in love with if you are a gamer!!) this
computer will meet your needs for years to come, will provide
excellent stability, customer service and support, financing (if you
need it). Sure you could get this system for less if you built it
yourself, but after having built my last two computers, I am happy
that I have a system very similar to the one above. It's no fun if the
manufacturer of your video card goes out of business or if you have to
deal with 6 different companies when trying to fix a problem. I wish
you the absolute best and want to welcome you to the PC world... but
don't completely abandon the Mac World... I would use my ibook anyday
over any dell notebook for portability.
I know there are many people out there with different opinions and
some may completely disagree with everything I have written here. If
you can wait some, subscribe to (or pick up the latest issue on the
newstand):
PC World http://www.pcworld.com/ (2 risk free issues)
PC Magazine http://www.pcmag.com/
Smart Computing http://www.smartcomputing.com/
Maximum PC http://www.maximumpc.com/
If you need any clarifications regarding this answer let me know and I
will do my best to assist you further as best as I can.
tisme-ga
Search Strategy:
Used various websites directly, searched for "radeon pro benchmarks"
and "geforce fx benchmarks" on google. |
