dabe - In my opinion you could have got alot more bang for your buck had you built a system yourself.

A friend of mine bought a Dell from the Warehouse $999.00 (N.Z dollars)
they advertised "ready to play" don't quite know what they meant???
He got it home and tried some games on it (which would'nt play)
He asked me to look at it for him, so voiding the warranty i peeked inside
there was no A.G.P slot so it could'nt play the games he had bought.
so it only gets him on the internet and plays music on two channels so he has stereo
at least... ...oh and he has microsoft paint i guess.
nothing bad about your Dell you've got some mean specs. but his one is a paper wieght.
my advice is if you want a real computer build it yourself, if you can't build it yourself, find out how, most fun i ever had, the finding out

dabe - In my opinion you could have got alot more bang for your buck had you built a system yourself.

Kona, I know this. But, first of all, I'm not "techie" enough to do so comfortably. I'm a user, after all. Secondly, I've had Dell's in the past, and I've never had problems. I did some major shopping around for built systems, and for the money, I got a good screen with it. Lots of other systems do not include a screen in their prices, and they cost as much.

As for the $999 Dell, I think they suck you in with low prices for a basic machine. By the time you configure it, you're upwards of $2K. One thing going for me is I'm a federal employee, and they have a federal employee purchase program. I knocked just under $600 right off the top. That's what made it more affordable, so the system I got cost only (only11??) $2,000, including tax and free shipping. And, I know it will be the last system I'll buy for many years. Hell, I'm replacing an XPS T500, fer cryin' out loud. Major, major leap.

So Kona, don't go burstin' my bubbles.

So Kona, don't go burstin' my bubbles.

Sorry that was not my intent. I was just trying to point out you could have saved some bucks by doing it yourself. You don't need any schooling to learn how to put them together the motherboard manual shows you how.

Anyways enjoy your new Dell. Congrats on the choice. Dell is the best in the pre built systems.

Anyone have an opininon on a good Video Card. I've been looking for a Pci express and found a couple Sapphire 600x to 700x pros around 70-125 bucks. Are those pretty good cards and are they the equevalent to a radeon 9700-9800?

Any feedback would be most appreciated.

-MX-

If you ever get a computer , and it doesnt come with the stuff you want , you can always go to Newegg and get it for almost next to nothing. Im tired of dealing with stores like Frys and Best Buy , etc. I went into Frys once , so many people on the floor to supposedly help people , but in reality , unless you know what you want and what your looking for , they wont help otherwise.

Retail stores suck.

Retail stores suck.

I couldn't agree more, not only are the people not that helpful, the merchandise is expensive.

I've been to Newegg and seen some pretty good deals, but yeah, I'm not dealing with retail ever again.

-MX-

I've only had good experices from DELL, that's what we had at work. And most importantly, they have GREAT customer support. I've bought my own computers from little corner computer stores, and I've always regretted it. I've ALWAYS had problems with these computers, and I've ALWAYS had problems getting some good service after. They always tried to blame it on me. DELL never once even hinted that the problems were our fault.
Good purchase dabe, enjoy your new toy!

So far my compaq computer that I bought from Sams Club is really working nicely. '

Im happy for once. Screw Gateway. They did nothing but point the finger at me despite owning over 3 gateways , all breaking within 1 year

Thanks, paxx. I'm still waiting for it to arrive.

I also have Dell's, both at home and work. I did contemplate building one, I did contemplate another company, etc., but when it comes down to warranties and customer satisfaction, Dell is the best. That was truly a selling point for me. Yet again.

PCiE cards, go for a NVDIA 6600GT for around 230 or go for the exrtra pipelines and go for a BFG 6800 ($300) or 6800 GT (app. $400.00)
Good luck.
AMD 64 3200 (socket 754 )
Gigabyte K8XNS-pro
1 Gig PDP RAM
some old 80 GB HDD
4XDVD R+/R- (blah blah works well)
on Board 5.1 sound
BFG 6800GT OC video card

This one will play any game out there and do it well. Your present vid card is the only thing that is going to choke your framerate the most.

Ja, das ist sehr gut! Ich habe einen Komputer, er heisst Dell, und das ist prima - einfach fantastisch!

BoXXi loves his Dell......

Just my luck.

I got my new Dell, and it looks so beautiful. But, I cannot connect it to the internet. What good is a computer that won't connect? I tried for two days, and finally called Dell support this morning. We were on the phone for 2-1/2 hours, trying things I already tried, new things, shutting down and restarting over and over and over. But, to no avail.

I had already suspected it last night, but the techie also came to the same conclusion: I got a bum network card. As the card is integrated, I need a new mobo. Or, a new CPU box. I opted for the box. They have to build me a new machine, so I won't get it until next week. Patience, I keep telling myself. Patience. And, of course the warranty and support is why I opted for a Dell in the first place, so this it good.

But, overall, this sucks.

Told ya to build it yourself....