-=PCTechTalk=- Specs for Dell 8300 and Justification Of Same
- From: "Kathy Ferrell" <fnkdf@xxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 20:57:18 -0900
OK, gang, here is the info I sent to Jean regarding an 8300 configuration
and reasons why I chose what I did. I'm positive other folks will think of
things I may have forgotten so the help will be appreciated, I'm sure, if
you want to chime in.
____________________________________________________
The specs are as follows:
Dell Dimension 8300 Series: PentiumR 4 Processor at 2.80GHz w/800MHz front
side bus/ HT Technology
Operating System: MicrosoftR WindowsR XP Home Edition
Mail-In Rebate Offer: Save $150 with mail-in rebate. Price shown before
rebate.
Memory: 512MB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz (2x256M)
Hard Drive: 80GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
2nd Hard Drive: 80GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices: 3.5 in Floppy Drive
CD orDVD Drive: 16 Max DVD-ROM Drive
CD or DVD Burner for 2nd Bay: FREE UPGRADE! 48x CD-RW Drive with Sonic
RecordNow
Keyboard: Dell R Quietkey R Keyboard
Mouse: DellR 2-button scroll mouse
Software Bundles: MicrosoftR Office Small Business 2003 with MoneyR
Security Software: Dell SecurityCenter by McAfee, 90-day introductory offer
Monitors: 17 in (16 in viewable,.27dp) E773c CRT Monitor E773
Dual Monitor Support: DVI-VGA Adapter to connect 2 CRT Monitors to dual
capable Video Card
Video Card: New 128MB DDR GeForce FX 5200 Graphics Card with TV-Out and DVI
128FX52
Sound Card: Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio IS
Dell Media ExperienceT: Dell Media ExperienceT
Speakers: Harman KardonR HK-395 Speakers with Subwoofer
Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCH
Digital Media Readers: 6-in-1 USB Digital Media Reader
Digital Photography: Dell Picture Studio, Paint Shop Pro Trial, Photo Album
Starter Edition DPS
Multi-Media Players: RealOneT Player, with 14 day SuperPass trial
Modem: 56K PCI Data/Fax Modem
Network Interface: Integrated IntelR PRO 10/100 Ethernet IN [430-0412] 13
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 3 Year Limited Warranty plus
3 Year At-Home Service
Surge Protectors - Protect Your Investment: Belkin SurgeMaster 7-Outlet
___________________________________________________________
The price was around 1900 bucks.
___________________________________________________________
Hi Jean, I buy nothing but Dell's for my labs at the University of Alaska
Fairbanks. They have gone to outsourced tech support for home users to
India and sometimes it's a bit hard to understand the dialect but,
thankfully, I don't have very much trouble with the machines. I like the 3
year warranty because that's about the time I replace them anyway and we can
work on whatever they need at that point. The local guys can probably build
you something cheaper but, Dell, Gateway, etc, pay big bucks in Research and
Design and they know darned positively that what they put together, as far
as hardware goes, works together. That's not always the case with the
homegrown geek guys down the block. They may warranty it but they may not
always know the problems and you end up having it more in the shop than out.
I'm not saying all homegrown computer guys are that way but it can be the
case, especially since any 18 year old these days thinks they can build a
computer (yep, they can but the end result is sometimes very frustrating).
Since you are wanting to do graphics stuff and those files are usually huge,
I would suggest a second hard drive. You can always use the one's from your
old machine as well or instead if you want. If you choose to do that, you
could have your local computer guys add a Promise controller card so you
could feasibly have all four hard drives inside that puppy and run amuck
with photos and music files.
512 MB of ram is the minimum I would ever get these days. That'll run any
Photoshop stuff you want without a hitch.
I added Office 2003 but you could really get away without it if you download
the open source Abiword or Open Office. Both will do anything Office will
do and will also open any Office files. So, you could get away with free on
that one if you desire.
The XP Home edition is fine for what you're doing. If you intend to network
a bunch of machines together, then go with Pro version. Otherwise, save
your money.
The video card in this one will do two CRT monitors easily and I added one
17" CRT monitor to go with your other one. You could also forget the
DVI-VGA adapter and go with a flat panel if you prefer and both monitors
will still work just fine.
I'm not sure if you listen to lots of music on your computer or not. If you
do and like great sound, then switch the integrated audio for the
SoundBlaster and maybe go for some 5.1 speakers.
I left out a DVD burner since the standard is not settled on that yet and I,
myself, wouldn't want a Betamax machine when the standard falls on the VHS
side down the road. Let them wrestle it out and decide if it's going to be
DVD+, DVD-, DVD Ram or whatever before biting into this one. The machine
has a DVD reader and a CD burner so you can easily copy one cd to another on
the fly. If you want to add a DVD burner later, it's a trivial piece of
work to switch one out for a new one. Two screws, two plugs and you're off.
The processor is the slowest of the Pentium 4's that you could choose from
so if you want to spend a bigger wad of bucks, bump that up to a faster
processor.
And that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Give me a holler if you have
any other questions I can help with.
I also sent her a message about the digital media reader that tells her it
will read 6 kinds of media so she'll be covered for any event for cameras,
PDA's etc.
I also told her if she had more bucks to spend that I would up the processor
to the top of the line rather than the one listed here which is the bottom
of the line for this model from Dell.
Kat
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