[pchelpers] Re: Dell Dimension 1100
- From: Scott McNay <wizard@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Gerald Gollinger <pchelpers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 20:21:06 -0500
Hi Gerald,
Thursday, June 15, 2006, 5:52:09 PM, you wrote:
GG> I do not have heavy duty PC work. I saw an ad on Yahoo for the
GG> above subject PC, and I visited the Dell website. It is something
GG> within my price range. I am wondering if Dell ships an empty box
GG> with separte components that have to be installed by the user.
GG> Please take a look at this link. I do not know if this is what is
GG> factory installed or user installed: http://tinyurl.com/fnnco
$299 is for:
Intel Celery 2.53 GHz CPU w/ 533Mhz FSB
Windows XP Home SP2
17" CRT
256MB DDR400 SDRAM (but it's only running at 333 Mhz, not 400)
(32 to 64 MB of this are used for on-board video)
80 GB HD
48X CD-RW combo (meaning it can read DVDs but not write them)
keyboard
2-button scroll mouse w/ball (not optical)
Wordperfect
QuickBooks trial
one-year on-site support
Motherboard:
6 USB 2.0 ports
1 serial port
1 parallel port
1 PS/2 mouse port
1 PS/2 keyboard port
10/100 network port
3 PCI slots
I'd recommend paying the extra $10 for the reinstallation CD.
I'd strongly recommend 512 MB memory. (they charge an extra $50 for
the extra 256 MB). You can get good-quality 256MB online for $20 plus
tax & shipping, but there's a possibility that it may not work well
with the memory that you have already.
If you do video, you may want a bigger hard drive; they charge
an extra $50 for a 160GB.
I'd recommend a DVD writer; they want an extra $40 for that.
They want $30 for a floppy drive; you can buy USB floppy drives for
$20 + S&H, and they have the advantage that they can be used on other
computers.
You can definitely get USB memory "keys" cheaper elsewhere online.
They want $29 for a 128 MB, and you can buy a high-quality 512 MB (4
times bigger) elsewhere for $15 + S&H. They want $59 for a 512 MB. I
kinda suspect that they use the word "key" to make people think that
it's needed.
If you need a modem, that's an extra $20. If you have a PCI modem in
the old computer, you can move it over.
You will need to provide the anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall.
It does NOT come with speakers unless you ask for them or they make a
booboo.
I recommend removing trial software immediately, before you do
anything else. If you try to use it, it will install fully. You should
also uninstall Acrobat Reader 6 before using it; it's an obsolete
version and has been so for over a year now; the current version is
7.0.8, which just came out last week.
You may need to upgrade other software as well; you should update
Windows the very first thing before doing anything else online, and
upgrade any other software immediately after that.
On-site service is in their judgement and at their convenience. In
other words, don't expect it to happen unless you can convince them
that you're dangerous with a screwdriver.
Try coupon sites such as www.couponmountain.com to see if you can get
it even cheaper; note that you generally can't combine coupon codes
with other offers. The $50 instant savings will probably count as
"other offers".
The computer described above is almost certainly an old one; they're
probably trying to clear out old stock. It probably does not support
Serial ATA (SATA) and almost certainly does not have any PCI-Express.
Many/most new models do not have a serial port or parallel port.
They don't say anything (that I noticed) about the motherboard, but
since they are using a Celeron CPU, the motherboard almost certainly
has an SIS chipset, which has a reputation for being on the slow side.
You will not need to open the case when you get it, unless you're
adding something that they didn't provide or you just want to see what
it looks like. Any internal stuff that you buy comes properly
installed.
All of them nickels and dimes will nickel and dime you to death, as
the saying goes.
--
Scott.
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