Looking for some desktop PC advise (new purchase)

PittSpeed Automotive PittSpeed Off Topic
1

It is time that I update my home PC. I am pretty PC savvy, but not really a Computer Guru. Currently I have a Dell Optiplex GX260 desktop that has the following specs:

Pentium 4 2.80 GHz
2.79GHz, 512MB of RAM
40 Gig hard drive
running XP Professional Ver 2002 Service Pack 2
19" Planar flat panel monitor

The current system has some issues & is performing like a turd. I know if I upgraded the hard drive, RAM, and did a fresh install of XP that it would correct some of the issues, but I think it is time for an upgrade. I may reformat this Dell & install my kid’s games to set it up as his PC. I would probably network it to my main PC if internet is needed at anytime. With the small HD, this would probably work for a long time this way.

My main issue is I don’t want to get away from XP, but I’m wondering how much longer it will be supported. I haven’t really spent much time with Vista (the company I work for does not support it currently with any of our s/w packages, so all of my customers have XP). My work laptop has XP, and my personal Laptop has XP. Plus I have a few applications that only work on XP (bootleg copy of Paint Shop Pro - not sure if it supports Vista). Also Windows 7 is being introduced. Is it much different from Vista?

I’m looking for a tower type system with DVD/CD burner (possibly 2 separate drives), many USB ports (currently I have 8 used always, but use more than 15 USB items - 2 camera’s, 3 ipod’s, printer, scanner/printer, mouse & keyboard, GPS, cell phone, Video camera, portable hard drive, thumb drive, smart card reader, etc. I guess I could get a USB hub, but I’m hoping to have some easily accessible USB ports to plug into from time to time. My Planar monitor has a 4 port hub included with it currently. The Dell has 4 ports on the back & 2 on the front.

My main focus for this PC would be:

Internet - currently use Mozilla Firefox
email - currently Outlook Express, but I want to switch over to Outlook to get the Calendar & such (was going to but ran out of HD space when converting the file)
Office - excel, word, & powerpoint (I currently have Office 97 - not sure if it will work properly on a new PC)
itunes/ipods - have 3 ipods in the household
would like to be able to get video’s from my DVD camcorder to upload/edit (I understand that I need firewire???)
Multiple users
lot’s of storage (I’m guessing 250 gig or more) 40 gig ain’t cutting it - even with my 160 gig external HD, which I bought primarily for backup.

machine will run 24/7 - I only log off of windows but keep the PC on at all times
temperature issues - I would like to move it to the lower cabinet in my desk instead of on the desk, under the monitor (my Dell is a small desktop unit). My old PC used to overheat when the door was closed in my desk. It was an old PIII 400MHz that ran great, but had other issues. I guess I could cut holes in the desk, but it is a very expensive Oak desk & I really don’t want to cut it up. I do like the smaller Mini Towers, and do not have to have 2 CD/DVD drives.

I plan to look at Dell’s site to see what they offer. I just wanted some input from the Guru’s on this site. I am open to building something, but I want reliaility more than anything. I don’t want a system that has conflicts or issues from using different components. I am not unhappy with Dell products, but I don’t have to purchase a Dell.

Just looking for some input

2

I love using windows 7.

a better pricing option you may want to consider is dell’s outlet. they sell “scratch and dent” that are hardly either at a reduced price.

3

newegg.com has some great deals

4

Tod if you wanted to look into building a system, I could help you out, it’s pretty straightforward and you have good mechanical skills it shouldn’t be a problem for you.

When I built mine in 06 I bought a barebones kit from TigerDirect and then have been adding on since then. I bought a motherboard that had plenty of options for upgrading and I’ve been going from there.

Mine runs 24/7 and I have a pretty big fan/heatsink for my CPU (no water cooling), 2 case fans, 2 hard drive fan/heatsinks and it’s always running nice and cool.

For video, yes you use Firewire for video transfer. I think pretty much any new motherboard out now has onboard Firewire (ports on the back).

Dell’s are nice computers for the money, but they don’t tend to handle upgrades as well, a lot of their stuff is Dell Proprietary. Hard drives and Optical drives not so much, but memory and motherboards.

As far as Windows XP is concerned, I can’t really see an issue with it not being supported for quite sometime. It’s been in use for so long and so many computers use it, it would be silly to axe support for it any time soon.

If you wanna discuss more or have any other questions shoot me a PM.

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I hear a lot of good things about Windows 7, if you can wait a few weeks.

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x2

new egg normally has some very well pre-builds, good internals.

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I know where I can buy a PC, I’m looking for some advice on what I should be looking for.

What processor
what memory
etc

8

you never asked that in the orig post :stuck_out_tongue:

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If you are looking at Dell’s consider another Optiplex. I have been ordering a bunch of Optiplex 960 MT’s at work. So far, no problems at all. Generally I always get the best processor and 4gb for the memory. Anymore, the price gap is pretty negligible between the base options and the better spec machines. Also, if you would end up getting one of these or something similar I have a pretty decent video card that I have never used.

Do not get one of these or any other machine with a form factor (small) chassis. Sure they could fit better, but they overheat badly and i see you already have that problem. I have had many of them and I’d say there is about a 90% failure rate on the mainboard. Too hot and the caps blow.

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Dell’s suck ass IMHO…mainly because they are slow and there is no upgrade path…proprietary motherboard, case, power supply, etc…prevents you from easily upgrading.

Last three I built here at work I used the following components:
AMD Athlon II X2 240 / 2.8 GHZ CPU: $60
Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P System Board: $85
Kingston ValueRam 1GB DDR3 1066MHZ PC3 8500 - X2: $50

Not state of the art by any means, but less than $200 to upgrade a slow ass PC to an absolutely screaming machine is always worth it in my book.

Stay away from Dell, HP, etc…get a plain bare-bones white-box PC so you will be able to upgrade cheaply in the future.

11

I say build one yourself. you can build one better than dell for possibly less.

As far as components I’d go with
O/S: Atleast Vista Home Premium. (I didn’t think Basic did much and 7 will have bugs for a while)
Processor: Core 2 duo or core 2 quad (I like Intel stuff better, but thats my taste)
Memory: Atleast 2gb. 1gb is really pushing it for vista.
Hard Drive: 250 and up. I’d go 500 to be safe, files will take up more and more after time.
Drive: Dvd writer/reader?

That’s personally what I’d do. But whatever you go with is your choice. Let us know what you do!

12

WTF mtparker - those chicken shit stats are about 3 years old and that machine would be out dated in a year. Don’t waste your money.

Stick with:

Processor: >=QuadCore
Memory: >= 4GB (recommend 8GB) I think 4GB of RAM can be bought for about $40 on newegg.
Hard Drive >= 500GB Check out the WD Caviar Black…very fast and good price.

13

Just buy a Mac.

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That thought has crossed my mind.

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I was looking at it on more of a budget basis.

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I didn’t even think you could buy a computer with 1GB of RAM anymore

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my pos systems only come with 512mb of ram. No need for more than that.

18

I see computers being sold with 512mb all the time.

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I don’t see anywhere in my original post about a budget basis. Although I’m not looking to spend unlimited funds, I’m not going to be cheap either. That is why I have the turd that I want to replace. It was cheap (free) from work. It has lasted me 3-4 years though.

What are the differences between the different processors - AMD/Intel/Core/Core 2 etc?

20

:rofl: