akahmed

I don't want a laptop because it doesn't give you the most performance value for your money, and mobility is not an issue for me, I am a premed, and will be taking mostly technical classes, so typing notes is not really a good idea. Also, if in the rare case I need a computer at my disposal in the middle of the campus, the University is scattered with libraries.

So I have decided on getting a Dell Desktop and am looking at an 800 - 950 budget. The problem is, most of these customize desktops come with Windows Vista (Home Premium), which after reading many review, is not that appealing. Will I have speed and stability problems if my PC is built for Vista?

Also, tell me if I am getting a good deal, I don't regularly buy comps

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E4500 (2MB L2 Cache,2.20GHz,800 FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
MONITOR 22 inch E228WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
MEMORY 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2DIMMs
HARD DRIVE 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
OPTICAL DRIVE Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM)
VIDEO CARD ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB
SOUND Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
KEYBOARD & MOUSE Keyboard included in Dell Bluetooth Package
BLUETOOTH OPTIONS Dell Bluetooth Wireless Media Hub + Keyboard/Mouse
FLOPPY & MEDIA READER Dell Media Card Reader included in Dell Bluetooth Package
MODEM No Modem Option
WIRELESS Internal PCI 802.11g Wireless Network Card

All for $ 914

I approached buying a computer with the idea that I don't buy these things often, so I want the latest tech that will last, (although you don't see a Quad here)

Thanks

Chipmoney

Vista will work fine on it. I have Vista running on my six year old computer with a Pentium 4 2.5 GHz processor, and a GeForce 6200 video card. That set up would run Vista more then fine.

akahmed

So, vista is not as unstable as people claim? I would think ready build comps for Vista are stable. I would much rather have XP on this system.

bokken

Vista is just as unstable as people claim. Microsoft recognizes it and has extended the help time on XP until 2010. The computer itself is decent but have no hope of upgrading any of it besides the monitor or unless it is around the monitor. Dell makes it very hard to upgrade. Check out some Newegg prebuilt rigs and you should be able to find something good. Or if you won't upgrade and just buy a new computer in a few years, this will work. I hate Dell's myself. Wait, 128 MB graphics...at least get 256. 128 is horrible. 512 is becoming standard. My laptop has 512.

Chipmoney

If you're up to it I would suggest building you're own computer. I could buy the parts for a computer that is at least as good as that for about $600

Logos

You could buy a similar laptop for that much.

Dabu

Unless you really need it, I would take off the blue-ray drive and use the money saved to upgrade the processor. A 128MB graphics card is perfectly fine unless you are doing graphically-intensive applications, like modern gaming, 3D-Modeling, CAD, etc. Dell's are no harder to upgrade than any other machine, so I do not know where Bokken got that idea. Also, I would suggest getting the lowest amount of RAM possible, then purchasing 4GB of RAM off of Newegg ($100 or less) and installing it yourself. It is VERY easy to do and will be the single biggest thing you can do to increase performance outside of a faster processor.

As far as Vista goes, you will notice that it is slower than XP on equal systems., However, on a good system it runs just fine without any stability problems. The problems people are facing are with driver incompatibility with older hardware. Obviously this will not be a problem with a new machine.

Also, im not sure if the price you list is taking it into consideration or not, but as a student you qualify for Dell's EPP discount, in which you can get up to an additional 12% discount above and beyond and other specials going on. You can locate the site at Your Member Purchase Program.

akahmed

Thanks for the information guys.

I think I will hold off on the blu ray and get a 512 mb card instead. I don't really know how to build a barebone kit, and the thing I worry most about is compatibility with each other (the parts that is), but my friend know how to build one.

Also, if I am a premed and a poli sci major, I really don't need a laptop do I? I don't think I would need the mobility.

skatj

One note about laptops that someone's mentioned before on these boards. If you do alot of group projects it may be helpful to be able to bring in your laptop to the study rooms to do work or whatever. It's just more convenient overall, you never know when you might need it. (esp considering a similar laptop won't be that much more)

Coopjust

OK, I don't get the Vista hating, I built two machines with it (I just finished the second one, I've had the first for a while). Zero issues, really. It works better with newer hardware- new computers are great, upgrades from XP are dog slow. Vista uses 2GB idle, but RAM is dirt cheap- I bought 8GB (4 X 2GB) for $120. The 64-bit edition IS better though (more stable, as. Buy Retail if you want to buy a new mobo at some point. The OEM one mobo only copy is half price and is eligible for free hardware at localpcbuilder.com, a PC mover software (kinda useless), a "gaming" router (it's a great router though), a pocket router (handy for hotels or when you're on the go), an epson printer, and something else if you get ultimate (~$160 at Newegg.com).

End of Life for has ONLY been extended until 2010 for budget ultraportables (like the EEE PC I'm typing this on) and ONLY XP Home. MS may continue offering XP via "downgrade" rights in Vista Business/Ultimate Licenses. They get to put the sale down as a copy of Vista, Microsoft gets to please stockholders, buyer gets XP.

Really, build vs. Buy is up to you, build isn't difficult at all with a barebones. Laptops are really convenient though, and for about $100 you can buy accidental damage protection through dell. Drops, spills, etc. are all covered. And the ease of troubleshooting (Dell troubleshoots and repairs everything) may be worth it for you.

srunni

Vista is pretty bad, IMHO. It came on my new laptop, with 3GB RAM, 2 Ghz Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS (256 MB graphics RAM) and it lagged like no other, even once I did a clean install. With XP though, it flies.

1of42

Coopust, RAM is only dirt cheap if you're buying crappy RAM. Anything of even decent quality for performance machines will cost you.

Coopjust

Hey, I'm running high performance DDR2-800 GEIL RAM with a lifetime warranty. I guess that's crap, right? Please, I didn't buy bottom of the bucket RAM. Dell charges a ton for RAM upgrades because it's easy money...

srunni

That's not true at all. Newegg sells very cheap high quality RAM. A year ago, I got 1 GB DDR2 from there for $30, and it's been working great.