Please rate this system I put together - good deal?

[kidpokeher]

I saw a 1-day deal on Techbargains advertising $399 Dell Vostro systems for small business so I put a computer together for my aunt's business. Vostro sounded appealing because they claim they don't install trialware crap. She needs XP Pro for some app that won't work on XP Home (weird). Plus I don't want her calling me up every day with Vista problems. She also needs Word & Excel. Finally she needs a 3.5" floppy. Those 12-1 media cards don't include floppy, right? Unfortunately Dell only allows one or the other for this mini tower.

Outside of this I doubt she'll need anything special (right now she uses an ancient laptop that runs Windows 3.1).


PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E4300 (1.80GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800FSB) (-$70 for E2140, +70 for E6320, +$190 for E6600)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Professional
MONITOR Dell 20 inch 2007FP UltraSharp™ Digital Flat Panel Display (-$100 for 19")
MEMORY 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz - 2DIMMs (+$130 for 2GB)
HARD DRIVE 80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ (+$40 for 160GB but she prob won't use 80GB)
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 16X DVD+/-RW Drive edit
VIDEO CARD 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8300GS (-$50 for Intel std 3100)
FLOPPY OR MEDIA READER 3.5 Floppy Drive edit
MODEM No Modem Option edit
SOUND Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit
My Accessories
BUILD A BUNDLE Logitech MX 3200 Laser Cordless Desktop Bundle (+$59 - she likes idea of wireless)
BUILD A BUNDLE APC Back-UPS ES 725 VA w/ Phone & COAX Protection (+$85)
SPEAKERS Dell WL6000 5.1 Wireless Rear Speakers (-$130 for 2.0 or -$110 for 2.1 spkrs)
KEYBOARD Dell USB Keyboard edit
MOUSE Dell Scroll Mouse edit
My Software
PRODUCTIVITY Microsoft® Office Basic 2007 Edition (Word, Excel, Outlook) (add +$150)
SECURITY No Pre-installed Anti-Virus/Security Software (Norton & McAfee are crap IMO)
ADOBE SOFTWARE Adobe Acrobat Reader edit
My Services & Warranties
WARRANTY & SERVICE 1 Year Limited Hardware-Next Business Day On-Site Service (+$39 for "North American based tech support", hahaha!)
DELL DATASAFE™ ONLINE BACKUP 10GB for 1yr Online Backup by Dell Datasafe (free 1yr)


By the time I got done, the $399 computer turned into $1312. I did add some goodies like a UPS and her eyes lit up at the speakers. I'm not sure how the video cards compare. Can she get by with just the Intel if she doesn't play games but may watch a DVD or streaming video? Other than this I don't see much that's overkill. Notably missing was any mention of a NIC. I hope that's standard.

$1312 doesn't seem like much of a deal. I was expecting ~$1K. Your thoughts?

[funkyworms]

You can save some money by using OpenOffice instead of MS Office.

She probably won't need a video card unless the integrated card doesn't support a 2nd monitor.

That speaker setup will be very annoying in an office environment.

[Shoe Lace]

$1312 is pretty much the opposite of a good deal.

Look for a different system all together IMO.

[psionic storm]

[ QUOTE ]
By the time I got done, the $399 computer turned into $1312.

[/ QUOTE ]
LOL

[funkyworms]

Sorry, i thought this was a laptop for some reason. This deal is crap. Though there is some nonstandard hardware added that inflates the price.

[Shoe Lace]

I think now is a bad time to buy any computer through a large retailer unless you happen to find a sick sick deal (which do come up from time to time).

With the recent price cuts on C2Ds and the already rock bottom prices on ram/disk space you can put together a really solid office machine for a crazy low price.

If you don't want to build it yourself just goto www.mwave.com and add about $80 to your cost. They will custom build the parts you choose, test it, and ship it.

[kidpokeher]

C2D's? What are those?

Yeah, some of the items are non-standard I realize but price isn't a huge issue as much as getting a computer she'll like using. Still, like others said, it seems rather high. You can get a decent laptop for the price. What other places are good for customizing?

One question - I put together a slightly better system on Dell for the same price except a Core2 E6600 and 2GB memory this time. Only problem is they force the widescreen monitors. Playing poker, I only use the standard size. Is a widescreen going to stretch everything sideways? I read a review on TomsHardware and they say they don't even display DVD's very well. Anyone use or have opinions on the 20" or 22" widescreens?

[Beavis68]

C2D is Core 2 Duo. Intels processor.

What is the system you are looking at on Dell?

[Shoe Lace]

[ QUOTE ]
I put together a slightly better system on Dell for the same price except a Core2 E6600 and 2GB memory this time. Only problem is they force the widescreen monitors

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you attempt putting one together at mwave? I'd estimate you could put one together for about $300 less than dell ($400 less if you drop the UPS) with a better cpu than an e6600, a much better video card, all high quality pieces, and still have a 1 year warranty on the hardware.

Plus you could choose any monitor you want (my guessed price figures you'll get a 20" non-widescreen monitor capable of doing 1600x1200).

Btw a wide screen won't stretch your desktop. It just offers more horizontal pixels in comparison to vertical pixels. Only problem is that until you hit 24" wide screens you are going to be stuck with a 1680x1050 resolution.

It's not horrible but on most poker sites you won't be able to fit 4 tables without overlap unless you resize them.

[kidpokeher]

Initially I was going to purchase the Vostro system in the OP, mainly because they hooked me in with a cheap initial setup and they say they don't install add'l crap. I went back to see how it compared to other systems and found I could get an Inspiron or Dimension (I forget exactly, whatever model that doesn't require Vista) for the same price but with better specs.