pc desktop?

[Mr.A]

Hi, I am looking to get a pc desktop and have been looking at the inspiron 546. I was just wondering if this setup below looked good for editing pictures and possibly some games, dvds, etc. I will also be upgrading most of the options but I cannot attach a link with it customized. What would you guys recommend I upgrade on this? Thanks!

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DDCWTA3&s=dhs

[basroil]

Base thing is fine, but you can get much more by going with home built or other dell products. Wait two weeks first, the new i5 chips are cheap and much more powerful.

As for games, unless you are going to be playing four year old games, you need to look at better systems (at least phenom II, core 2 quad or i5/i7 is much better)

[Mr.A]

Would the vostro 430 i5 or i7 be better?

[basroil]

i5/i7 will be between 20% and 80% faster than the best phenom, 50% to 100% faster than a high end athlon.

EDIT: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-desktop-cpu-charts/Adobe-Photoshop-CS-4,1387.html

[StudioBin]

basroil, Do you know what's the deal with 6 cores and when they will start rolling out to the public?

[basroil]

basroil, Do you know what's the deal with 6 cores and when they will start rolling out to the public?

Has nothing to do with this thread, but not a clue. Engineering samples are out and about, so you should have seen them released with the i3/i5/i7 refresh. Maybe they are waiting for AMD to release their refreshed phenoms before coming out with the chip that will push amd to the dark ages once again.

[Mr.A]

So, I have been looking at the Dell Studio XPS 9000. Is this computer good for photo-editing? Also, what monitors would you guys suggest I look at? Thanks

[basroil]

So, I have been looking at the Dell Studio XPS 9000. Is this computer good for photo-editing? Also, what monitors would you guys suggest I look at? Thanks

I have the little brother, the 435MT (9000 is technically called the 435T), and I can tell you it's fast, blazing fast. However, unless you plan on upgrading it yourself, or want to do heavy gaming, go with the Studio XPS 8000 with the i7 860. In either case, it's likely cheaper to get the minimum amount of ram and buy it elsewhere (you can get 8gb for $200, 12gb for $300) and upgrade yourself, same with graphics card if you need it (unless you do heavy video editing, no need). Upgrading the HDD yourself (or just adding more) is easy and cheaper than going though them too.

Monitor wise, 2209WFP, 2408WFP, u2410, u2711. There are also 23" 1080p IPS panels from other manufacturers, but don't know much about those.

[Mr.A]

On Dell's website, they only have the XPS 9000 and XPS 8100. Is the 8100 pretty much the same as the 8000? Thanks

[basroil]

On Dell's website, they only have the XPS 9000 and XPS 8100. Is the 8100 pretty much the same as the 8000? Thanks

Yea, the 8100 is upgraded 8000 with a few extra options.

[Mr.A]

How is this set-up for photo-editing, casual gaming, basic schoolwork, etc?

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Intel® Core™ i7-920 processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007
2 Year Basic Service Plan
McAfee SecurityCenter, 36-Months
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 4 DIMMs
1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable
21.5 inch Dell S2209W Full HD Widescreen Monitor
ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
Dell Studio Optical Mouse
No Modem Option
Integrated 10/1000 Ethernet

My Accessories
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year

Also Includes
Studio XPS 9000
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language

[basroil]

i7 900 series is overkill for what you want, but it'll work. 4350 won't do any modern games, but fine for online games.

[Poe]

Staples has the Dell XPS 8000 with i5-750 for only $699 right now.

[basroil]

Staples has the Dell XPS 8000 with i5-750 for only $699 right now.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dxcwnn1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=studio-xps-8100
with i5 750 option, 698... dollar cheaper from dell, and newer motherboard.

[MT Stringer]

I'm not a PC pro but I have been rebuilding my box for years. Everything has been swapped out at least twice. Although I have been using the AMD processor, it runs pretty fast and the parts fit my budget. The latest upgrade was to put in a new graphics card (w/1gb memory) that can handle dual monitors. I can see the difference in the speed.

[Poe]

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dxcwnn1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=studio-xps-8100
with i5 750 option, 698... dollar cheaper from dell, and newer motherboard.

The staples option comes with 6GB ram and a 1TB drive. That upgrade costs an additional $300 at dell's site.

[In2Photos]

How is this set-up for photo-editing, casual gaming, basic schoolwork, etc?

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Intel® Core™ i7-920 processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007
2 Year Basic Service Plan
McAfee SecurityCenter, 36-Months
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 4 DIMMs
1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable
21.5 inch Dell S2209W Full HD Widescreen Monitor
ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
Dell Studio Optical Mouse
No Modem Option
Integrated 10/1000 Ethernet

My Accessories
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year

Also Includes
Studio XPS 9000
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language

The i7 920 mobos support tri channel memory. So you should really only get 6GB (3 DIMMs)or step up to 12 (overkill!). The monitor is a TN panel so better for games, not so good for photo editing.

[basroil]

The i7 920 mobos support tri channel memory. So you should really only get 6GB (3 DIMMs)or step up to 12 (overkill!). The monitor is a TN panel so better for games, not so good for photo editing.

Or just buy two sticks afterwards for $100 to get 12gb

[Mr.A]

So I have also been looking at the XPS 8100. The stats for the XPS 9000 I posted earlier total $1600 and that is with the 21" S2009W monitor and the Logitech illuminated keyboard.

Now here are the stats for the XPS 8100:

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English
Intel® Core™ i7-860 processor(8MB Cache, 2.80GHz)
Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007
2 Year Basic Service Plan
McAfee SecurityCenter, 36-Months
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 4 DIMMs
1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable
24" Dell ST2410 Full High Definition Monitor
nVidia GeForce GTS240 1024MB GDDR3
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Dell Studio Consumer Multimedia Keyboard
Dell Studio Optical Mouse
Dell 1525 WLAN PCIe card with11n mini-Card & external antenna

My Accessories
Dell Online Backup 5GB for 1 year

Also Includes
THX® TruStudio PC™
Studio XPS 8100
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language

This totals about $1500 and comes with the 24" ST2410 but not the Logitech keyboard which I will probably buy separately, so the two computers will probably end up totalling the same amount. Which of these would you go with based on the computer as well as the monitor choice? Thanks

[basroil]

If you don't plan on upgrading major components too much, get the 8100. If you plan on pimping it out when you have money, 9000. And unless it costs more to drop the wireless card, drop it, looks like you don;t need it based on the other build.