michelob78

I couldn't stand it anymore. Don't laugh guys but my current PC is a 600mhz IBM aptiva 512MB ram, Win98se, 17 CRT monitor. [:'(]

I was going to build a new PC but I chickened out, not that I couldn't do it, but all the research and tracking down parts, buying software..... just seemed like it would take years on my schedule.

So, I bought a Dell XPS 400. Not that excited about Dell I hear it has a ton of Bloatware, but I got a good deal I feel for what hardware I got. What do you guys think about specs? I am willing to upgrade when deemed necessary

Pentium D Dual core 3ghz, 800FSB
WinXP MCE 2005 (re-install CD)
1GB DDR2 533mhz RAM
20" UltraSharp Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
256MB GeForce 7300LE Turbocache
160GB "DataSafe" Hard Drive (Raid 1)
Dual Drive - 48x CD-RW, 16x DVD+/-RW dual layer
Soundblaster Audigy HD
Win Vista Capable



Any tips or suggestion? I don't know a heck of a lot about PC's just enough to be dangerous

Nathan9492

well u got a great deal.BUT IMO get a program that overclocks it. or if ur good enuff go into ur bios and overclock it.u should be able to get 3.8Ghz out of that 3 Ghz. Overclock ur Graphics aswell. and if u know enough about computer then RegEdit ur memory so it makes ur RAM run a bit faster , Sweet computer just peel the dell stickers off of it. Harawong

R/C fan-addict

ouch man you really should have waited till dell picked up conroe, the screen is sweet though same one I'm thinking of getting when I build a computer in like a year! lol yes I know that's reallly far off but I like to plan ahead on all my R/C and technology purchases! also if you are into gaming when vista comes out you'll want a new graphics card as the current DX9 cards won't be able to run the new vista games, also a DX10 card may need a lot more power so you'll need a new PS to supply the sap (what is the watt rating on the dell PS though, I doubt it will be adequate for a good DX10 card but the XPS700 has a 750 or 1000W PS so you never know). Also your ram may be a little slow and small for extreme graphics that will hopefully come with vista games. I don't know if you game so the above may or may not matter to you... I have the MCE on a Dell 8400 and it really is sweet! Great DVD player software in there though I don't use it for anything else like music or pictures probably just cause I'm used to other programs such as itunes and irfanview. Good move on the raid 1 drives, I've always been scared my dell HD will crap out on me cause I had one crap on me (cheapo computer for HW and internet stuff cost like $400 so I can't say the quality was great but I lost a lot of stuff cause some of it wasn;t backed up, it really sucked...) I'm also surprised that dell still sells the audigy cards as creative now sells the xfi series, still creative makes some really sweet sound cards so I doubt you'll have a problem with it. Tell me how the screen is, from the specs it looks great but it's always good to have a review to decide on!

michelob78

Talk about fast, I built the PC sunday night and is scheduled for delivery to my house wednesday.

I think I remember reading something about dell using a proprietary bios that will not allow you to overclock it in bios. I am not very familiar with overclocking, I did however manage to overclock this computer once, but had stability issues. I'll wait untill the luster wears off then mess with it.

The screen was probably what sold me on the deal, that and the discount and 0% interest. I might do some gaming, since I couldn't really with my old PC, the only ones I played are Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3. I did want to let some things go, so I can upgrade later like the ram and video card. I will let you know how that screen works.......Thanks for the info..... Does anyone have any recommendation on the bloatware? I guess I will just start un-installing unecessary programs and get into MsConfig to disable some start-up items. It has McAfee which I also have heard some negative things about.

q8murder

i know how to over clock my vga and procesor but how do you regedit ur memory?

Rare

never mind.

gerwen

Don't worry about overclocking and all that. It's just for benchmark junkies. Unless you're trying to squeeze every little bit of performance out of your rig for the latest 3D games, it's not worth the trouble. For anything else, adding RAM gives you a bigger performance kick.

As for bloatware, it's usually not much trouble to identify and remove it. Head to control panel-Add/remove programs. Remove anything that doesn't seem vital. With a new Dell you really don't have to worry much, since if you hose your system by accident, you just stick in the recovery cd, reload everything, and start again.

McAffee... don't use it personally (Norton here), but it's one of the big AV vendors, so it should be fairly trustworthy. Any AV program can cause problems.

Are you on a high-speed connection? My best security advice would be to pick up a DSL router, and put it in between your 'puter and your modem. (They work fine with cable too). They are a nice, cheap hardware firewall, that will severely limit your exposure to the internet. Relatively easy to configure too. Check your exposure at www.grc.com , find the Shields UP! test page.

If you haven't already, switch to the FireFox browser. You'll have a lot less trouble with web based malware. It's not necessarily more secure, just less preyed upon.

Dr.ArmoMaxx

How much you paid for that crap?

take out the cpu and the monitor, rest are meh

"buying software"

Dude what is wrong with you?

michelob78

How rude............[X(]



It was 1400 with taxes to my door. I honestly just was not in to piecing together a PC finding out what is compatable with what, tracking down prices and parts, buying os software, not having any warranty. I just am not pc savvy enough to do it in a reasonable time frame. I went for the RTR instead of the kit

Thanks Gerwen for the link, it was very interesting. My current PC is actually more secure than I thought. I do have a wireless router somewhere, I have not used it for awhile.

gerwen

Did you get a pass?

Your wireless router, used wired even, will get you a pass. At most it will let the ident port through (113 iirc), but that can be canned by forwarding it to a nonexistant ip on your network.

No kidding on the rude, nothing like raining on someone's parade. Dell makes fine pc's. They're not uber gaming rigs or anything, but fine for anyone who's not trying to squeeze every last fps out of Oblivion, or the latest first person shooter.

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

You ought to see what I was using before buying this e-Machines rig, an A Open first then a Compaq DeskPro. I'm still on a paper cup and string modem as I'm waiting for my new high-speed equipment to show up any day. I used to have a free second phone line then they started charging me for the line and extras that I didn't need so its going as soon as the box arrives. I'm on Almost On Line and they offered me a deal with Charter that was too good to pass up.
I don't do games as this site keeps me busy enough but would like to add a DVD burner to this one.

SpeedAddict

I'm on a windows 98. It's MASSIVE!!!!! 8 in wide, 16 in. tall, 15 in long. It's got 192 MB of RAM. It's got a Pentium III. I have a new 19 in. monitor, so I'm not doin' too bad. Time for a better one though.

The_Collector

The later Aptiva's weren't bad at all. I personally would throw on Win2k Pro, stick a 802.11 in the USB and use it as a spare machine.

Kemo

ugg... windows vista...

Next computer is going to run on linux. No microsoft OS has ever been coded well, and they are extremely buggy, and always have viruses.

How dumb is a company to tell the weakness of their OS? When a virus that attacks that weakness is created the very next day... wow, de de de.