My gaming machine is a 3.5 year old Dell dimension desktop that has treated me very well. No problems. Between now and the end of this year, I want to get a new one.
I have two options, get the Dell (XPS) or have my hardware guy here at work build me one. With an intel P4 3.4 chip, he would be using an Asus P5AD2-E Premium motherboard or a P5AD2 Deluxe motherboard with a Antec Sonata 380 watt case.
Does anyone have an opinion on Dell's XPS machines? Any opinions on the Asus motherboards/Antec case?
Another area I'm no longer experienced in is video cards: which is better, the ATI radeon 9800 pro or the Nvidia 6600 series?
Finally, is it worth waiting later this year?
Quality and reliability is top priority.
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Opinions Needed
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Rip
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Re: Opinions Needed
The Sonata Cases rock and ASUS motherboards are above average. Dell XPS are ok, but when I have a drive go out after slightly over a year I can't RMA it. When I build a machine my drives have a 3yr warranty.Torfish wrote:My gaming machine is a 3.5 year old Dell dimension desktop that has treated me very well. No problems. Between now and the end of this year, I want to get a new one.
I have two options, get the Dell (XPS) or have my hardware guy here at work build me one. With an intel P4 3.4 chip, he would be using an Asus P5AD2-E Premium motherboard or a P5AD2 Deluxe motherboard with a Antec Sonata 380 watt case.
Does anyone have an opinion on Dell's XPS machines? Any opinions on the Asus motherboards/Antec case?
Another area I'm no longer experienced in is video cards: which is better, the ATI radeon 9800 pro or the Nvidia 6600 series?
Finally, is it worth waiting later this year?
Quality and reliability is top priority.
The 9800 is better in my book. Waiting is difficult to gauge depends more on your need.
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Enough
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He might have a better warranty on the hard drives and he might not. I've recently learned that buying OEM vs. retail versions can make a difference also for length of warranty and the surprising part is that the OEM ones were longer (3 years vs. 1). I think iirc it was for Maxtor drives I saw this on. So I guess the moral of the story is buy OEM for your hds.
I was dead set against getting a Dell and was planning on building my computer using the very same Sonata case. I ended up buying a Dell when I was able to buy it with a strong 4 year warranty for less than I would spend to just buy the parts on NewEgg needed to build the same thing (prior to xmas I found a 40% off coupon that was stackable with Dell's website deals, let's just say I got an amazing deal). I am very pleased with my XPS overall. It's really a fast machine, but if I were building a PC I would go AMD over Intel easily. They are faster, use less energy and now even dissipate less heat. What's not to love? Or does your friend at work have a spare PIV cpu laying around or something?
Just a few points from my XPS experience... The computer your friend will build you will likely be quite a bit quieter than the XPS, primarily due to the amazing Sonata case. So if noise is a primary issue don't go with the Dell. Mine stays plenty cool, but it should with all the freakin' fans in the case LOL. Dell uses quality components and if you can get it for cheap you could also add a solid warranty. For e.g. on the replacement plan that came with my Dell I could accidentally drop my case in the parking lot on my way to a lan party, shatter the PC into zillions of pieces and Dell would actually cover my negligence and happily replace my destroyed PC for free. I've already taken advantage of this when I spilled a complete can of pop on my brand spankin' new wireless keyboard. One call to Dell (XPS customers have a special US tech support line we get to use with very little wait and no out-sourced newbs) and I had a new keyboard on the way. Try RMAing a hard drive that you destroyed through your own stupidity. Sure it can be done if you don't mind lying occasionally, but I would say for a lot of people the upper-end Dell warranty is a good deal.
On reliability I would think the Dell might edge out a custom build. If the teh Meal were here he would chime in and say how tough Dell's standards are for their manufacturing partners like Maxtor. Dell demands that the HDs Maxtor makes for Dell have a very low failure rate, etc. They also carefully check all the hardware that goes into your box to make sure it plays together nicely. Then if you can either find a good Dell coupon or splurge for their stronger warranty you can rest assured that if anything happens you can make Dell fix it for free for four years.
On the video card I agree that the 9800 is better probably but... how much can you spend on a video card? There might be a better choice, especially if you are getting a PCI Express based system.
I was dead set against getting a Dell and was planning on building my computer using the very same Sonata case. I ended up buying a Dell when I was able to buy it with a strong 4 year warranty for less than I would spend to just buy the parts on NewEgg needed to build the same thing (prior to xmas I found a 40% off coupon that was stackable with Dell's website deals, let's just say I got an amazing deal). I am very pleased with my XPS overall. It's really a fast machine, but if I were building a PC I would go AMD over Intel easily. They are faster, use less energy and now even dissipate less heat. What's not to love? Or does your friend at work have a spare PIV cpu laying around or something?
Just a few points from my XPS experience... The computer your friend will build you will likely be quite a bit quieter than the XPS, primarily due to the amazing Sonata case. So if noise is a primary issue don't go with the Dell. Mine stays plenty cool, but it should with all the freakin' fans in the case LOL. Dell uses quality components and if you can get it for cheap you could also add a solid warranty. For e.g. on the replacement plan that came with my Dell I could accidentally drop my case in the parking lot on my way to a lan party, shatter the PC into zillions of pieces and Dell would actually cover my negligence and happily replace my destroyed PC for free. I've already taken advantage of this when I spilled a complete can of pop on my brand spankin' new wireless keyboard. One call to Dell (XPS customers have a special US tech support line we get to use with very little wait and no out-sourced newbs) and I had a new keyboard on the way. Try RMAing a hard drive that you destroyed through your own stupidity. Sure it can be done if you don't mind lying occasionally, but I would say for a lot of people the upper-end Dell warranty is a good deal.
On reliability I would think the Dell might edge out a custom build. If the teh Meal were here he would chime in and say how tough Dell's standards are for their manufacturing partners like Maxtor. Dell demands that the HDs Maxtor makes for Dell have a very low failure rate, etc. They also carefully check all the hardware that goes into your box to make sure it plays together nicely. Then if you can either find a good Dell coupon or splurge for their stronger warranty you can rest assured that if anything happens you can make Dell fix it for free for four years.
On the video card I agree that the 9800 is better probably but... how much can you spend on a video card? There might be a better choice, especially if you are getting a PCI Express based system.
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Depends really do you know enough that calling Dell support would be about the last thing you would ever do? If so I would say have the guy just build it for you as long as you know he knows what he's doing.
I've always built my computers because I love that I know that I can swap out almost anything without worrying about something not being able to be upgraded. I'm not sure how Dell or (maybe it was Gateway?) is now but I recall reading that they used special power supplies that wouldn't work with anything but a Dell mobo.
If you haven't upgraded in three years though I would think that you fall into the when it gets old replace the whole boat class. I just upgrade parts as they get old and it's doesn't end up costing me much.
Mobo 120 bucks, cpu 200-300 bucks new memory 100-200 bucks and I'm done. Everything else stays. Around 600 bucks and I have a killer new rig.
I'm rambling really it depends on what you want. If you want to update it every year I would go with the homebrew computer. If you don't plan on upgrading again for three years the warrenty and stuff make it a better fit to go with Dell.
Hopefully that makes sense I really wander from point to point too much.
I've always built my computers because I love that I know that I can swap out almost anything without worrying about something not being able to be upgraded. I'm not sure how Dell or (maybe it was Gateway?) is now but I recall reading that they used special power supplies that wouldn't work with anything but a Dell mobo.
If you haven't upgraded in three years though I would think that you fall into the when it gets old replace the whole boat class. I just upgrade parts as they get old and it's doesn't end up costing me much.
Mobo 120 bucks, cpu 200-300 bucks new memory 100-200 bucks and I'm done. Everything else stays. Around 600 bucks and I have a killer new rig.
I'm rambling really it depends on what you want. If you want to update it every year I would go with the homebrew computer. If you don't plan on upgrading again for three years the warrenty and stuff make it a better fit to go with Dell.
Hopefully that makes sense I really wander from point to point too much.
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EvilHomer3k
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The nVidia 6600 series covers a lot of video cards. The 6600 GT is a great card and is faster than the 9800 in most games.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2277&p=5
The 6600 is not as fast as the 9800.
Also, if you're building new, I'd go with PCI-Express over AGP. Better upgrade path.
I'd also recommend AMD over Intel in the DIY pc. Cheaper, faster, less heat, and less power consumption. About the only time I'd recommend intel is if you're going to be doing a very large amount of multitasking and video encoding. This is from someone who owns a P4 3.0c. Oh, and go nForce 4/socket 939 if you build. It allows you to updrade to another 6600 GT SLI pretty easily for a nice performance boost down the road.
The sonata case is very quiet and is a great case. I've got one and I highly recommend it. Actually, I'd recommend the Antec Super Lanboy, ANtec 3700 BQE, or the Sonata. They're all great cases.
I haven't got any direct experience with Dell's XPS system but I'd guess it is just as solid as the other dell desktop offerings. Personally, my preference is build but if you can get the dell for a similar price it would serve you well.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2277&p=5
The 6600 is not as fast as the 9800.
Also, if you're building new, I'd go with PCI-Express over AGP. Better upgrade path.
I'd also recommend AMD over Intel in the DIY pc. Cheaper, faster, less heat, and less power consumption. About the only time I'd recommend intel is if you're going to be doing a very large amount of multitasking and video encoding. This is from someone who owns a P4 3.0c. Oh, and go nForce 4/socket 939 if you build. It allows you to updrade to another 6600 GT SLI pretty easily for a nice performance boost down the road.
The sonata case is very quiet and is a great case. I've got one and I highly recommend it. Actually, I'd recommend the Antec Super Lanboy, ANtec 3700 BQE, or the Sonata. They're all great cases.
I haven't got any direct experience with Dell's XPS system but I'd guess it is just as solid as the other dell desktop offerings. Personally, my preference is build but if you can get the dell for a similar price it would serve you well.