Dell then ?

[Wild Weasel]

Hi,

I found these forums whilst contemplating a purchase of a MESH system - based on a review in the UK edition of Stuff magazine. Suffice to say, I have had my thinking realigned..

I want to replace my venerable Sony VAIO R305 - it's been a great machine, still going strong, and has lasted me for over 4 years with only an increase in RAM and a new graphics card along the way. But it's always been underpowered for gaming, and this is my primary interest (I partly bought the Sony as part
of a negotiation with my wife who liked the way it looked in exchange for being able to buy a machine at all).

I set my sights on the Vista launch as being the time for a complete forklift upgrade. I'm technically competent (I have numerous networking and information security qualifications) but I'm not at all specialised in PCs. So, ideally, I'd rather have an out of the box system than assemble components myself. I'd like to spend a fair amount (in the region of 2500 GBP) in order to get a system that will hopefully still be usable in another 4 years; probably a quad processor, probably an SLI-capable motherboard in case I need to go down that route in the future and a power ful graphics card; Massive HDD storage and high definition DVD writers are less important.

So, any suggestions on an alternative for the promised-much-for-little-money MESH system I was investigating ? I noticed in the MESH bashing threads Dell were mentioned a few times - a good alternative ? Or should I look for an independant supplier from such as Ebay ?

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks

WW.

 

[Anon_F]

Have a look Here
Dell are OK but sometime over priced for the spec.
But if you really want to go for a Dell, ring them and see if you get get the right spec for the price you want to pay.
Mesh well i'm sure you can make your own mind up over them.

 

[Newf]

I agree with feckit.
What you want to look out for when buying ANY complete system is where they choose to cut corners in order to meet a price goal.
Usually system vendors choose:
A marginal power supply with little or no reserve for upgrades.
A very low cost videocard. This is an important issue for you as a gamer.
A cheap case for the price of your system. This may not be an issue though.
Marginal cooling, components that cannot be overclocked and a BIOS that won't let you do so anyway.
A custom OS install with a "recovery" CD instead of the original OEM full version CD.

OK, so life is not so bad that buying a complete system is dumb. It just has it's place.
Dell is a great source for low cost systems. We cannot build the cheap ones for anywhere near what Dell can.
For gaming quality rigs, Dell can be OK but a little pricey. Just make sure you get a good enough videocard and enough ram to run the games you want.

 

[A 'Tuin]

Hi.

Interesting you mention Novatech as I was considering them as one option, having done much research on a replacement PC, although at a much more budget level - i.e. £5-600 without monitor. One thing I note now though is that a lot of new systems are shipping with Vista ( if you opt to have an O/S installed) but it is very new and there are bound to be compatibility issues with games, drivers etc. I would prefer to have an O/S installed and tested by the seller, but preferably XP Home or Media Centre for now. We don't seem to be given this option though.

 

[michael555]

I agree with feckit.
What you want to look out for when buying ANY complete system is where they choose to cut corners in order to meet a price goal.
Usually system vendors choose:
A marginal power supply with little or no reserve for upgrades.
A very low cost videocard. This is an important issue for you as a gamer.
A cheap case for the price of your system. This may not be an issue though.
Marginal cooling, components that cannot be overclocked and a BIOS that won't let you do so anyway.
A custom OS install with a "recovery" CD instead of the original OEM full version CD.

OK, so life is not so bad that buying a complete system is dumb. It just has it's place.
Dell is a great source for low cost systems. We cannot build the cheap ones for anywhere near what Dell can.
For gaming quality rigs, Dell can be OK but a little pricey. Just make sure you get a good enough videocard and enough ram to run the games you want.

I have a dell laptop so far everything is fine,yep they are over price abit.

Then again try sony well,well,well over price.