Halo 1 & 2 for PC
This topic has moved here: Poll [8 votes]: Is a Dell XPS Gen 4 worth the money?(forgive my ignorance)
  • Poll [8 votes]: Is a Dell XPS Gen 4 worth the money?(forgive my ignorance)
Subject: Buying a Dell XPS
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Poll: Is a Dell XPS Gen 4 worth the money?(forgive my ignorance)  [closed]
Yes:  12%
(1 Votes)
Hell yes!!!:  38%
(3 Votes)
Make a custom rig:  38%
(3 Votes)
Get some other brand:  12%
(1 Votes)
Total Votes: 8

Hey what do you guys think,is this machine worth it? I`m getting a Dell XPS Gen 4(gen 5 way too expensive),it seems to be a great PC and i hear it`s reliable,stabile and above all kickasss

  • 05.28.2005 6:53 AM PDT
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specs?



my opninion: never trust dell

  • 05.28.2005 7:43 AM PDT
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wo, wo, wo let's net go all dell-bashing here, i don't know about you but in my experiance Dell makes good computers that the casual and even experianced computer user can appreciate, oh and trust me i've been eyeing the Dell XPSs for a while now, even though I'm probably going to custom-build my next comp. and I tell you if u can afford it then go right ahead and get some of that sweetness, here's some of the specs., though I'm not sure about Gen 4 so that might even have BETTER specs.

ok here's the actual specs. after looking for a bit (note: this is the value model, NOT the superior model)

Dimension XPS Gen 4
Value Model $1,9491

Processor/Display
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology 640 (3.20GHz, 800MHz FSB, 2MB Cache)
Processor/Display

Operating System
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Operating System

Memory
FREE Upgrade to 1GB Memory from 512MB - $200 Value
Memory

Hard Drive
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ Native Command Queuing
Hard Drive

CD or DVD Drive
Single Drive: 48x CD-RW Drive
CD or DVD Drive

Hardware Support Services
1 Yr Ltd. Warranty, 1 Yr In-Home/On-Site Service, 24x7 Phone Tech Support

plus this thing: 256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) nVidia GeForce 6800

or for $300 (Canadian) more u can get a: 256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon™ X850 XT PE

oh and it seems they’re offering a free 5.1 surround system with the online purchase :)

[Edited on 5/28/2005]

  • 05.28.2005 8:05 AM PDT
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don't go dell bashing. for us who have parents who refuse to buy us individual parts, dell makes great, affordable computers. they are reliable, and for the few times they are not, their 24-hr tech support is awesome (can't get that on a home built computer)
ok, so they do cost more than buying all the parts yourself and biulding your own computer. but suprisingly enough, the profit margin is not that much.

the XPS is awsome. enough said. of course, there are many upgrades you can make for it, but it's great for a gaming computer.

ooh, forgot, specks:

processor and chipset:
Intel® Pentium® 4 Express Processor with Hyper-Threading technology - 600 Sequence, up to 660 (3.60GHz, 800MHz FSB, 2MB Cache)

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology at 3.73GHz Extreme Edition (1066MHz FSB, 2MB cache).

Intel® 925XE Express chipset

OS:
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional

Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition

memory:
512 MB Dual channel DDR2-533MHz SDRAM standard, upgradable to 4 GB1.

4 DIMM slots. Memory installed in pairs for dual channel
slots:
4 PCI slots

1 PCIe x 1 slot

1 PCIe x16 (graphics) slot

power:
Output Wattage: 460 Watts

Input Voltage (auto-sending): 90 - 135V at 50/60 Hz; or 180 - 265 V at 50/60 Hz

Heat Dissipation: 931.2 BTU/hour (fully loaded computer without monitor)

Backup Battery: 3.0 V CR2032 coin cell
graphics:
256MB PCI ExpressTM x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) NVIDIA® GeForceTM 6800

Optional: 256MB PCI ExpressTM x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI RadeonTM 850 XT Platinum Edition

Optional: 256MB PCI ExpressTM x16 (DVI (dual)/VGA) NVIDIA® GeForceTM 6800 GTO

Hard drives
Up to 400 GB1 SATA internal storage (single drive) or up to 800GB1 (2 drives x 400 GB) internal RAID storage.

RAID options: RAID 1 (mirroring) or RAID 0 (striping) configurations.
removable drives:
Removable Media 3.5" 1.44 MB diskette drive

Optional: 64MB2 or 128MB2 USB memory key


DVD-ROM 16x DVD-ROM (DVD read 16x, CD read 24x)


CD-RW and DVD+RW with CD-RW Optional: 48x/32x/48x CD-RW

Optional: 48x/32x/48x CD-RW / 16x DVD-ROM Combo Drive

Optional: 16x max DVD+/-RW Drive3 with CD-RW
ok, i'll stop there

[Edited on 5/28/2005]

  • 05.28.2005 8:18 AM PDT
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^^^^^^hmmm i think that's the superior model specs.^^^^^^^ though i think some stuff got repeated as Dell made it hard to copy its specs. off the site without getting specs. from the other 2 models, oh well, none the less if ure willing to pay the price then go right ahead and buy this comp...it's solid.

  • 05.28.2005 8:32 AM PDT
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I love my Dell took me forever to get the money for it around 4 grand pluss all its little extras.


mmmmmm Dell


to lazy to post specs so dont bother asking lol

  • 05.28.2005 9:09 AM PDT
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Well, not to bash them...but that is outrageously overpriced for what you get. Not even joking, he can save $400 or more, at the very least. I was going to get a Dell once, would've cost me $2400. I got this pc, which runs faster and has much better specs and such, for $1300. I kid you not, a Dell with X850XT, a 3.6GHz P4, 1GB RAM, etc.

I'm just saying, if price is ever an issue build one from scratch. You'll know exactly what goes into it.

Again, not to hate too much, but they do choose cheaper parts. They put the cheapest value RAM and hard drives they can into the pc's. Not to mention the BIOS is so restrictive.

At least for me, I can never live with a prebuilt again. Custom means all the best parts that you choose, putting it together, overclocking, modding...

  • 05.28.2005 9:40 AM PDT
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If you don't want to make your own PC Dell is a great place to get one. I would price everything out though. See how much you can get the video card you want for and then see how much you can save by getting the lesser one from dell and then buying the one you want yourself.

  • 05.28.2005 9:42 AM PDT
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I bought a dell dimension 8400. They didn't offer any good video cards with it so I got the cheapest one I could get because I was going to replace it anyway. As soon as I got it I switched the graphics card out for an X800 Radeon. I've been happy with it. With Dell you can pick your specs so one 8400 might be a lot better than another. As the models go the XPS is a step above so as long as you choose good specs for it you'll be alright.

The specs for my 8400 are:
3.4 GHz HT
1GB DDR2 Ram 533 MHz SDRAM
80GB Hard Drive 7200 RPM
X800 Radeon Video Card

With that I can run halo CE with a 60Hz refresh rate at 1280 x 1024. Probably more but I have a LCD display that doesn't work well on higher refresh and doesn't have higher resolution. I know it can go up to 75 Hz. Just remember if your making a cut in components for price you will be well rewarded for not making the cut in your video card. Money spent on a video card out performs money spent on CPU as long as you keep your CPU reasonable. 2.8 GHz is plenty for Halo I have a 3.4 HT for other applications.

Edit:

On what sexy legs davis said about custom rigs he is right. You can cut price by building on your own. You can save a lot of money that way. You do get great service with Dell but you pay for it when you buy the computer. When I decided to buy a computer I didn't feel like putting worrying about parts being compatible or having to trouble shoot and find out what component was wrong if one of them ended up being dead on arrival. Davis has put out some good guides that can be used to making your own rig and a google search can pull up some other good guides.

[Edited on 5/28/2005]

  • 05.28.2005 10:15 AM PDT
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Forget Dell XPS.
Get a evesham Decimator.
Link

  • 05.28.2005 10:55 AM PDT
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That's not overpriced like Alienware at all XD

Seems way too much for a 500 series P4. My pc that runs faster than a 500 series cost about, what, like 700 pounds or less ($1300).

  • 05.28.2005 11:04 AM PDT
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if money is not an object, then alienware makes the best (but they are EXTREMELY overpriced, so if you are on ANY budget at all... alienware isnt worth it)

  • 05.28.2005 11:48 AM PDT
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Wow, you spent $4,000 on that Dell? And yes, Alienware is far overpriced. If you want a windows, the best option is to build it, so long as you know what you're doing.

If you want a mac, you can get the best one for I think about $3,000. Its Specs are...

Dual 2.7GHz PowerPC G5 (*drool*)

1.35GHz frontside
bus/processor

512K L2 cache/processor

512MB DDR400 SDRAM

Expandable to 8GB SDRAM

250GB Serial ATA 16x SuperDrive (double-layer)

Three PCI-E Slots

PCI-E ATI Radeon 9650

256MB DDR video memory

The unfortunate thing about macs is that people refuse to make software for it (damn you M$!). you can get M$ office, the Adobe CS, Any blizzard game, and any game converted by Macsoft for Mac. They're virtually virus proof (because no one bothers to make them for them), and are easy to learn/use.

Anyway, if you're going to make a windows, you should build it. The difficutly with macs is that they're virtually impossible to build, so you pretty much have to buy a prefab one.

--Yout

  • 05.28.2005 12:05 PM PDT
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Hey, Warcraft 3 is a pretty good reason to get a Mac ;)

Besides, the FSB and the dual processors on the G5 towers is nice. My workstation in video yearbook is a dual G5. Great, much faster for media work and video/2D than a pc.

  • 05.28.2005 12:34 PM PDT
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Warcraft 3... I remember that. I made a few maps. Battle cards as I remember. Didn't finish it though.

  • 05.28.2005 12:52 PM PDT
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xps gen 5 is out now? I haven't been up to date then. I have an 8400, and it's fine for the price. Just try to get a better grafx card than the x300se with it.

  • 05.28.2005 3:41 PM PDT
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Get the alien ware LXD that is unbeleivable, dual 512 mb nVidia graphics cards, (f**k me) Water cooling, really silent, great sound and last but not least, its quiet. And also looks nice. Ive got a Dell XPS, ITS GREAT! But the noise like other latest computers, its got a bad noise.

  • 05.28.2005 4:16 PM PDT
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I am 99.99% sure that only ATi has a 512mb card. I bet you could build that yourself for less than half you would pay through alienware.

  • 05.28.2005 6:41 PM PDT
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If you don't know how to make a gaming rig, buy one like the Dell or Alienware computers. But if you know how to build yourself a computer, then go for it since you'll learn something new everyday from it. Its like driving a delorean, you wanna drive a car thats already made or you want to have fun modding stuff. Of course this is only comparison and my 2 cent IMO.

  • 05.28.2005 8:15 PM PDT
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Hehe, I am actually thiking about getting a DeLorean, one is going for about $9,000 around here, pretty cheap and in good condition. I've been needing to get a car for a bit.

Back to reality, when I built my first pc I didn't know a whole lot, but it was an adventure. I learned a lot. I think that by building a pc you can learn a whole lot more than just getting a prebuilt. It's like learning about biology in a classroom and then going out snorkeling and spending time on the beach - experience over regurgitation...

  • 05.28.2005 8:23 PM PDT
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Well Davis my current rig is an assebled heap of crud i managed to get my hands on based on my fonds and that time,learned a lot as the years went by.And what have i learned? I learned that no custom rig will have a smaller amount or errors or bugs or number of reinstalations of windows then a PC made by a manufacturer like Dell,HP and so on cause those guys time tested their components to hell and back and they are reliable and way more stabile.

Anyway thanks for all your input guys.

@chewy,dude 5000$ for an Alienware? i`d need to be high or nuts.Simply not worth it even if i had that kind of cash.

  • 05.30.2005 11:21 AM PDT
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Yeah, even if I were rich I wouldn't pay that much.

Agreed, a custom, unless you're very proficient with pc's and software/hardware, you'll have problems. I've only installed everything once on mine, though, never have reformatted the HDD [probably about that time]. I suppose it depends whether the things are new or not and whether there are software and driver conflicts.

Then again, buying a custom you don't have to shop around and investigate for 100+ hours...I spent probably more than that getting everything for my pc.

  • 05.30.2005 12:21 PM PDT
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I didn't say get an alienware. I said you could make the same machine for half the price.

  • 05.30.2005 12:45 PM PDT
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sorry chewy i ment to post that not to PM you.Would you be so kind as to post the PM here? i don`t feel like writing all of that again.Thanks

  • 05.31.2005 5:57 AM PDT