Dell xps 8500 $699?

frcabot

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Jun 12, 2012
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Good deal? Dell has a student special on the following computer (Dell XPS 8500 model) for $899 which includes a $200 gift certificate (and an additional 5% off I think though the Dell Advantage program but not positive about this). Also includes free two-day shipping and 1 year ADP. So effectively for $699 I would get:


Desktop - XPS 8500
Dell KB213 Wired Multimedia Keyboard/ Dell Laser Mouse
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3770 processor 3.40 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.90 GHz
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz - 2 DIMMs
1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 6.0 Gb/s
AMD Radeon™ HD 7570 1GB GDDR5
16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW), write to CD/DVD

Seems like a pretty good deal to me? Since the memory is 4 GB x 2 and there are 4 DIMMs, I could easily upgrade to 16GB for about $40 just by plopping in the memory I think (versus the $150 extra that Dell wanted to charge for 16GB).
Was also thinking of upgrading the video card, but not sure what the power supply can handle. I believe the Power Supply is 460W. I could have upgraded to a 2GB 7770HD GDDR5 for another $150 but after reading the reviews figured I should go and buy my own? No clue what the power supply can handle though as I have never upgraded / built my own computer (I'm a student and I've always had laptops). And I have no clue how to add in my own separate power supply either.

I think the chassis also supports mSATA SSD drives.

Suggestions? Good deal or not? Should I spring for the 7770 video card or upgrade it myself? If the latter, with what? Please help.
 

Patflute

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Feb 29, 2012
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Since you seem like you really don't want to build one because you don't know how I suggest getting the computer. $200 off makes it a good deal. You will definitely need to get a better graphics card and might need to get a better power supply, as Dell might of cheaped out on the power. Do not upgrade your RAM.

If you need to change the power just look for some guides or ask on this forum.

Graphics card suggestions:
Released: Radeon 7770 and 7850
Not Out: Geforce GTX 660 and 660ti
 

frcabot

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Why not upgrate the RAM? Is it worth getting the Dell direct upgrade for an extra $150 for the 2GB 7770 or buying my own? The power supply is 460 and so I don't think that is sufficient to put in a 560 ti or 7850 without upgrading the power supply to at least 550 W or so.

And yes I don't have the time or inclination to build my own from scratch. I don't mind substituting one or two parts or plopping in more RAM, but I'm not going to bother with building a whole new system piecemeal
 

Patflute

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"Why not upgrade the RAM?" 8gb is more than enough and putting in more is an epic waste of money.

Since you're lazy (no offence) get the one with the 7770. Technically if you get the 7570 on and get the 7770 you could sell the 7570 and it would be a little cheaper.

Ya if you're going to put a 7850/560ti+ you would need a better power supply.
 

frcabot

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Dell says it can support up to a 225W power card. It's only 460W but apparently the Dell PSUs are pretty reliable. Plus the components are relatively power efficient compared to older models.
Might give it a shot with a 6870 and scrap the RAM upgrade.
 

Patflute

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frcabot

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Yes think I will go ahead and get it. I costed out the components on NewEgg and it came out to just about the same.
-i7 3770: $319
-Motherboard: ~$100
-7750 (although I will be scrapping it for the 6870): $100
-8GB Ram (4GB x 2 DIMM 1600 Mhz): $50
-1TB 7200 SATA 3 HD: ~$100
-PSU 460W: ~$80
-Chassis: ?
-Labor & Assembly: ?
-Keyboard and Mice. plus incidentals (i.e. McAfee 15 months, etc.): ?
-1 year warranty + accidental damage protection:
-Not having to waste my time building this: ?
TOTAL: Just including the parts I priced out on NewEgg, that's $749 and it doesn't even include the Chassis, so like I said seems like pretty good value. Might be able to sell the 7570 on the backend (even though it's OEM).

I did look at the 7850 and thought it over quite a bit, but the difference in power consumption is marginal at best and for my purposes the performance shouldn't make a difference. So it really comes down to whether it's worth an extra $80 for me, and I don't think it is. I would rather spend the $80 towards getting an SSD or mSATA and have faster Windows loading times.
 

frcabot

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Oh and I also get an extra 5% back through the DellAdvantage program and an extra 2% through my credit card (which I guess I'd get anyways so that's not fair to include that). But the 5% off takes off another $40 or so dollars that I can apply towards a nice Dell monitor along with the $200 ecard.
 

frcabot

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After sleeping on it I am going with the HIS IceQ 7850. $90 more than the $149 XFX Double D 6870 (for a total of $240) but the performance is really very impressive especially when one considers that it uses a little less W than the 6870.
 

Kellfi

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Jun 13, 2012
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Since you're lazy (no offence) get the one with the 7770. Technically if you get the 7570 on and get the 7770 you could sell the 7570 and it would be a little cheaper.
g.gif
 

frcabot

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I decided to buy a Sandisk Extreme 240 GB SSD ($220) to use as my primary, and I will move the 1TB HDD to one of the SATA 2 ports. I've somehow turned a $899 into $1350 and am way over budget, but this should be a pretty capable machine, especially for that price point and including a 23 inch 1080p monitor.