[Dell] Overwhelmed by choices

[quxote]

Hello everyone,

I have been visiting this site for some time now reading the reviews etc and it seems the more I read the more confused I get. Here is my situation, I am in the market for a new PC. I do NOT want to build my own (yes I know I could save some money, but I am really not interested in building one). My previous computer was an Alienware P4 3.4 (purchased in 2004, pre-dell buyout) The computer served me well and would still be using it but we had a house fire and it's literally toast.

Since I never had a problem with Dell i decided to check out the XPS, and have narrowed the selection down to a couple systems, I hope you hardware tech savoy people can help. My main uses for my computer are Web, internet, graphics editing in Photoshop CS4, Video Editing (Sony Vegas Pro 8), Buring Videos (AVI to DVD etc), Light gaming, I also Multitask a lot (3-4 programs open at one time).

Each system has Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write, 23" Dell ST2310 Full HD Widescreen Monitor, nVidia GeForce GTS 240 1024MB

Option 1 Price $1844
Studio XPS 9000
Intel® Core™ i7-920 processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
12GB Tri-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs
1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Soundblaster® X-Fi™ Xtreme Audio
AY410 2.1 Stereo Speakers with Subwoofer
Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
Dell 1525 Wireless-N PCIe Card

Option 2 Price $1398
Studio XPS 8100
Intel® Core™ i7-860 processor(8MB Cache, 2.80GHz)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs
750GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB
Dell Studio Consumer Multimedia Keyboard
Dell 1525 WLAN PCIe card with11n mini-Card & external antenna
Integrated Audio.

Option 3 Price $1659
Exact same system as Option 2 put upgrade processor to
Intel® Core™ i7-870 processor(8MB Cache, 2.93GHz)

Option 4 Price $1939
Exact same as Option 2 except upgrade RAM to
12GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs

I've read reviews that the i7-870 out performs the 920 in some areas, I also noticed that the XPS 8100 offers RAM at 1333MHz as opposed to the 9100m which the ram is 1066MHz.

This is sooo confusing....can someone offer some opinions?

P.S. I do NOT intend to overclock..to worried about warranties, cooling, etc.

Thanks so much

 

[jonpaul37]

Thanks for all the continued comments, it's helping a lot. As far as the gaming questions...I dont do a lot of gaming at all...The last game i played was America's Army.

I mainly use the computer for video capture, video editing, photoshop, virtualdub etc.


I know a lot of gamers and DIY builders hate Dell, and most other big manufacturers, but i never had a problem with dell. They have done warranty work quickly and honored pc recalls etc professionally.

I dont dispute the CyperpowerPC has great specs for the price....I think my main hangup is that i never dealt with them before. And all the choices on the web page when building a system is daunting to someone who has never built a system before. Altho I do really like the PC bundle with a free 10'' notebook lol

I have to say Cyberpower PC scares me. for two reasons, I havnt found a good review except from jonpaul. The other reason is the many different options when building a computer..I really dont know what to choose etc.

I basically listed the items you would want to choose (in comparison to the Dell options) Just follow the configurator and what i listed, it's not that hard.

If you want to spend more $$$ on a PC that will be less powerful than the Cyberpower PC, then join the rest of the clueless population (not saying you're clueless, you seem to know at least a little what you're doing), it'll only keep giving Dell more $$$ that they don't deserve.

 

[quxote]

jonpaul....thanks for the help, I admit I dont know as much about hardware anymore...I am mainly a software guy. To me writing a webpage or asp app is much easier then choosing the PC to do it LOL.

You seem to really dislike Dell..are you like that with all computer makers? I tend to find DIYers really dislike computer makers

 

[jonpaul37]

I am actually typing this email on a Dell machine that i HAVE to use at work, they won't even let me bring in one of my own machines. My company pays an arm and a leg for each PC they buy (and that is with a bulk discount) and could be saving a ton of $$$ on better options, but... the world keeps spinning. It's just that they charge way too much for the crap that they sell, let me ask you, would you buy a brand new KIA for $15,000 or a brand new BMW for less?

 

[theholylancer]

cyberpower is good, IF you know what to look for

they offer junk PSU that is marked at 1000w that can maybe pull 750 if ur lucky, they yet they offer Thermaltake 1200w right alone side that one (abit for 200 dollar more, but hey) and if you went with the thermaltake, you would be safe as that is a good PSU

then they offer things like the junk NZXT cases, alone side the Thermaltake Element-V and the Corsair Obsidian (both of which costs ~200 extra)

and they offer their shitty "water cooling" that is beat by the same CoolerMaster V8 or DarkKnight that they offer.....

It's how you configure the parts, and aside from not allowing specifically for XFX lifetime warrantied gfx, they are good for the parts

 

[Pro Llama]

I have used and worked on dells for a while and I really don’t like them. In my experience they use cheap components that are more prone to break. Yes I do build my own pcs but I do not hate all big pc companies. Honestly there are only two that I dislike Dell and Mac. There are many other companies out there that will give you a better more reliable pc for the same price or cheaper. Alienware was a great company yes they were overpriced but they use quality high performance parts; when dell bought them out it was a sad day. I would not buy an Alienware today because I know the quality has dropped. If you don’t like options feel free to come on here, tell us what you are looking at and we can make a few good setups for you.

If you must go with a dell I would buy option 3.

 

[quxote]

Prolima, I owned a Pre-Dell Alienware (2004) and it was the best system i ever had. Yes it was a bit over priced, but at the time i preferred to have it built and had the available funds. I would still be using the Alienware if it wasnt for a house fire that destroyed it...Which his why i am in the market for a new system.

I Posted a new thread asking for help coniguring a system. As theholylancer pointed out..it's configuring the parts that confusing me. I am not a "hardware" tech so I dont know the difference between cases, PSU etc etc.

THe Thread I posted is here.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/273969-28-cyberpower

Here is a short tidbit of what i am looking for, if you or anyone else is enterested in building a system and saving it for me

I have a $1800 budget for a PC, That must include a Monitor at least 23 inches, an all in one card reader and more then one firewire port. Extra USB ports (hopefully around 6-8). I would also like the Logitech g15 keyboard and the Logitech MX518 mouse and 1TB hard drive. and at least i7-920 CPU. and wireless N card

Earlier in this thread i said I had about 2100 to spend. 1800 is what is lef after i get a dual band router, NAS, ext HD and printer.

 

[theholylancer]

Prolima, I owned a Pre-Dell Alienware (2004) and it was the best system i ever had. Yes it was a bit over priced, but at the time i preferred to have it built and had the available funds. I would still be using the Alienware if it wasnt for a house fire that destroyed it...Which his why i am in the market for a new system.

I Posted a new thread asking for help coniguring a system. As theholylancer pointed out..it's configuring the parts that confusing me. I am not a "hardware" tech so I dont know the difference between cases, PSU etc etc.

THe Thread I posted is here.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/273969-28-cyberpower

Here is a short tidbit of what i am looking for, if you or anyone else is enterested in building a system and saving it for me

I have a $1800 budget for a PC, That must include a Monitor at least 23 inches, an all in one card reader and more then one firewire port. Extra USB ports (hopefully around 6-8). I would also like the Logitech g15 keyboard and the Logitech MX518 mouse and 1TB hard drive. and at least i7-920 CPU. and wireless N card

Earlier in this thread i said I had about 2100 to spend. 1800 is what is lef after i get a dual band router, NAS, ext HD and printer.

all that for 1800 is only possible if you got a very low end gfx, a 23 inch monitor ~$300 a mobo for 1366 ~$300 (this would have at least 6-8 ports USB, at least 1 firewire and at least 1 internal firewire connector for a front panel, making two total) a i7-920 ~$300 g15 ~100 MX518 ~60 and just those things you are looking at around 1000 dollars, and there is no HDD, no wireless N card, or card reader, nvm the ram, the psu, the case and etc...