Dell XPS 8500 for $699 i7, 8GB, 1TB HD

[frcabot]

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.

 

[rolli59]

Upgrade the card yourself, it is a good deal. Lets see what PSU they give you but with 460watts you can easily go HD7850.

 

[WR2]

I think the chassis also supports mSATA SSD drives.

It's the motherboard that supports the mSATA SSDs for Intel Rapid Start Technology. You also can also have standard SSDs which are usually a better value.

Any chance you can get the i5 CPU instead of the i7-3770?

And double check the PSU. If you don't order a video card from Dell they might down-size the PSU. They can be sneaky that way.

 

[popatim]

Run. Its a trap.
Accidental Damage Replacement on a desktop? Really now...

While under warranty you will have
-phone support via technicians in India who will almost alsways have you reinstall the OS even if you just did. Plan on several hours worth of updates afterwards.
-2nd lvl tech support, also based in India thats not much better than the first; just ruder.

Lets see what you have after your Dell warranty runs out.
-Horrid support thats now billable becuase your out of warranty.
-very limited upgrade path
-a version of windows that you can't move to a new motherbd/cpu

Lastly, you do realize that back in February Dell announced they are dropping out of the Consumer PC market. Once they do drop PC's you can forget about any updates - ever.

 

[frcabot]

Don't really care about the tech support or ADP. But just pricing out the components seems like a good deal. Much cheaper than anything else comparatively.

Would this work for GPU? A little nervous as 500W is recommended minimum according to the manufacturer. But Dell says the computer can run any GPU up to 225W and this is much less. Btw is the 7850 worth the price leap from the 6850?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161405&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

 

[rolli59]

Yes it is http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7850_HD_7870/26.html

 

[frcabot]

Think I will try the 6870 instead. It is only $149 (plus 2 games) at NewEgg and about $80 less than the 7850. I realize it's not as good but for my purposes it should be more than fine. Might use the $80 savings towards an SSD.

 

[rolli59]

Think I will try the 6870 instead. It is only $149 (plus 2 games) at NewEgg and about $80 less than the 7850. I realize it's not as good but for my purposes it should be more than fine. Might use the $80 savings towards an SSD.

HD6870 is a good card and handles most everything well at 1080P.

 

[frcabot]

Do you think upgrading the PSU is necessary or should I be fine? Thanks for all your help btw.

 

[rolli59]

You will be fine if it is 460watts.

 

[popatim]

If you happen to kill the PSU, pull the GPU out before Dell shows up to fix it. Otherwise you might be charged for the repair.

 

[frcabot]

If you happen to kill the PSU, pull the GPU out before Dell shows up to fix it. Otherwise you might be charged for the repair.

Thank you. Although according to their own literature their PSU supports up to 225W graphics card so if it dies, then it's a case of misleading advertising on their part. That's not to say that I'll plug in a 200W card to test it out

 

[frcabot]

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.

 

[frcabot]

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.

 

[amuffin]

I was able to get a Lenovo K330 for $630 which had an i7-2600, 8gb ddr3, 1tb HDD, and a gt420. Sometimes, they do have great deals, this really is the one of the reasons to buy prebuilt over custom. Plus I get roughly 12000PPD in folding!!!

 

[frcabot]

That's a good deal. I shaved another $150 off by buying 2 $400 Dell gift cards, which came with $75 gift cards each. So I'm down to $899 - $200 GC - $150 GC - 5% of $899 ($45) + $50 tax = $554. Pretty good deal for the specs.

I also got the Sandisk Extreme 240 GB for a NewEgg deal at $180
And the 7850 for $235 or the 6870 for $140 (still deciding on that one, I keep flip-flopping whether it's worth the extra $95).

 

[frcabot]

Best answer selected by frcabot.

 

[jlynnwatts]

That's a good deal. I shaved another $150 off by buying 2 $400 Dell gift cards, which came with $75 gift cards each. So I'm down to $899 - $200 GC - $150 GC - 5% of $899 ($45) + $50 tax = $554. Pretty good deal for the specs.

I also got the Sandisk Extreme 240 GB for a NewEgg deal at $180
And the 7850 for $235 or the 6870 for $140 (still deciding on that one, I keep flip-flopping whether it's worth the extra $95).

-------------------
How is your 240 GB Sandisk Extreme working in the Dell 8500? Did you clone your original HD to the SSD? Is everything boot ok from the SSD? Thanks, JW (jwatts321@sbcglobal.net)