If I *do* get a Dell (5500), are they 100% compatible with off-the-shelf parts
for when I do eventually want to piece-upgrade it? Most importantly, do they
use standard ATX motherboards?
BTW, anyone know if their MB bios allow oc'ing? I'll likely get a a P4-2.4
and Dell use's MB's with the 845PE chipset.
Last, any idea who makes the MB??
Thanks for your assistance,
Dave
Probably not
Not likely
Doubt it. Even if they allow it - they wont be great performers and the CPU
cooling wont be up to much and the ram wont like it either.
You'll probably never know.
I couldnt ever advise anyone to buy a PC from a manufacturer like
dell/gateway/tiny etc etc - it doesnt make sense. Building a PC is very easy
( no really - it is - all the bits can just about go together in only one
way ) - Athlons offer a lot of bang per buck - and an nForce 2 motherboard
offerers upgrade paths thru to the Barton core and perform amazingly.
Something like an Athlon 2400+, 512mb Ram, Asus nForce 2 mobo, GF4 Ti4600,
80gb HDD blah blah - you'll have a lot more options for upgrading in the
future - and you'll be able to do it yourself.
Doug
Gerry
> > Are Dells upgradable?
> Yep, throw them in the nearest dustbin and purchase a new system. :)
With a dell - you get to keep the floppy drive, hard drive, keyboard and
mouse
Doug
> > > Are Dells upgradable?
> > Yep, throw them in the nearest dustbin and purchase a new system. :)
> Thats for a Mac silly.
- Dave
You can find answers to most of your Dell questions at alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
- Dave
> > > > Are Dells upgradable?
> > > Yep, throw them in the nearest dustbin and purchase a new system. :)
> > Thats for a Mac silly.
> I was lurking in a Mac group the other day and saw a post titled "I've
lost all
> my files!" LOL - I'd like to see that on one of their commercials ;P
Doug
Coming from a Unix background and being very impressed with the OS X interface I
have to admit that it's enticing to me. My 12 year old son has to use Mac's at
school though, and he hates them...
- Dave
> > If I *do* get a Dell (5500), are they 100% compatible with off-the-shelf
parts
> > for when I do eventually want to piece-upgrade it? Most importantly, do
they
> > use standard ATX motherboards?
> > BTW, anyone know if their MB bios allow oc'ing? I'll likely get a a
P4-2.4
> > and Dell use's MB's with the 845PE chipset.
> > Last, any idea who makes the MB??
> > Thanks for your assistance,
> > Dave
> You can find answers to most of your Dell questions at
Steve
Oh, btw, I meant model # 4550 (not 5500).
Believe me, I've done the build and upgrade route. About all that's
left of my original 386 is, well, the floppy drive. I've been
through 5 CPU's and MB's since. And I have checked on prices at
newegg, pricewatch, a local reseller with an excellent rep from who'm
I've bought before. Dell systems are quite competitive. About all
that they can shortcut on is the MB, so that's why I've been trying to
find out if they do indeed shortcut there.
And sometimes, it appears they may beat what you can get. Right now
they have the ATI 9700 (non-Pro) as a $140 upgrade on the crappy G4
MX420. Pricewatch has a best price of $250.
So, I thought instead of buying ump*** components from a bunch of
different resellers, and crossing my fingers (yet again) that all
works out, I'd consider trying a different approach. Not that Dell is
a sure thing.
Thanks to all for the feedback (and yes, it's in part to get back into
auto sims like F1/GTR 2002).
> > > Are Dells upgradable?
> > Yep, throw them in the nearest dustbin and purchase a new system. :)
> Thats for a Mac silly.
> With a dell - you get to keep the floppy drive, hard drive, keyboard and
> mouse
> Thanks for the input and wishes. And thanks to a previous poster for
> the Dell ng link.
> Oh, btw, I meant model # 4550 (not 5500).
> Believe me, I've done the build and upgrade route. About all that's
> left of my original 386 is, well, the floppy drive. I've been
> through 5 CPU's and MB's since. And I have checked on prices at
> newegg, pricewatch, a local reseller with an excellent rep from who'm
> I've bought before. Dell systems are quite competitive. About all
> that they can shortcut on is the MB, so that's why I've been trying to
> find out if they do indeed shortcut there.
> And sometimes, it appears they may beat what you can get. Right now
> they have the ATI 9700 (non-Pro) as a $140 upgrade on the crappy G4
> MX420. Pricewatch has a best price of $250.
> So, I thought instead of buying ump*** components from a bunch of
> different resellers, and crossing my fingers (yet again) that all
> works out, I'd consider trying a different approach. Not that Dell is
> a sure thing.
> Thanks to all for the feedback (and yes, it's in part to get back into
> auto sims like F1/GTR 2002).
I'm glad someone brought that little scam to my attention a while
back.
The fact is that the M/B and PS are essentially one unit (in that to
upgrade one you must do the other)
While I would slightly hesitate to say go Dell to my mother (at least
till I can stop being her tech support) I would say not for anyone in
this group who *CAN* build their own
Dell's way means that if you go their route a $100 MB will run you
$200 and is only available from them in their configuration (probably
the cheapest board Intel makes (if a P$)
If you are truly interested in a lifetime of ripple-upgrades, then you
really need to build your own machine from the start.
-Larry
