# Shopping For Desktops



## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Opinions?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5539307&CatId=4929

I'm after something with some expansion slots. Don't really care about the GigaBit LAN since I don't have anything else capable. Would be nice if it had a DVI output though. Why are the power supplies so small? This one at 350W is the biggest I've seen so far. Not needed anymore?

Most people may not think much of Systemax, but I like the idea of not be loaded with tons of crapware and trialware like most retail boxes. I believe all they include is the O/S.

Not sure what they mean by this though:



> Operating Systems:
> Windows XP Pro
> Windows 7 Professional
> 
> Startup Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Pro





> And When You Are ready...
> Systemax has licensed this unit with Windows® 7 Professional, and downgraded it to Windows® XP Pro. Integrate this unit into an existing XP environment, and when the time comes, use the innovative technology of Windows 7 Professional!


Also looking at a few barebones kits or bundles.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

I just built one from Tiger...
ASUS m3 motherboard with DVI and VGA, ATI HD video, HD Audio, SATA and IDE ports, 5.1 channel audio.
AMD 3GHz AM2+ CPU
CPU cooler
PowerUp Case w/450w PS
2 GB Crucial memory stick. 

Cost was about $240. Put my old DVD recorder from my burnt up eMachines in it on the IDE port, used a 500GB boot drive, and a pair of 2TB WD20EADS storage drives (all SATA) in it. Hooked it up to my 1gbit ethernet switch, and use it as a server (running on Windows XP). Its solid as a rock, runs cool, and its fast as hell. You will need a DVI to HDMI cable if you want to hook it to a TV, or a DVI to DVI cable if you want to hook it to a digital computer monitor. I just hooked mine up VGA to an old 15" CRT monitor since I dont really need to mess with it once its booted up.

Built another one, almost identical, except just has a single 1TB drive, and added a eVGA dual DVI 1GB PCIe Nvidia Video Card in it for my friend, who is a gamer, and he hasnt had a single complaint. Says he never lags, and the video is outstanding. Cost was higher than mine, since he had to have the 1TB drive and video card ($99 and $69 respectively), but saved a little on his MoBo, as I got him the Asus board exactly like mine, without the gigabit lan (it had a 10/100 port).


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc..._Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav= for the same price if you have a costco membership or this one for $100 more http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...Desc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC5-Cat84&topnav=


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

If you order from Dell Business side, they don't load all the bloatware on the computer. You just need to specify a business name when you register with the site.

- Merg


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## digital223 (Dec 19, 2002)

Shades228 said:


> http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc..._Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav= for the same price if you have a costco membership or this one for $100 more http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...Desc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC5-Cat84&topnav=


Unless your requirements are for a large hdd and loads of ram as those above.
Costco has an HP P6270z with a Athlon llx4 640 and a better IGP. 
ATI Radeon 4200
4 gb ddr3 1066
500gb sATA hdd
Win 7 Home Premium
Mobo made by Foxconn
$499.00


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## Tim Godsil (Dec 4, 2007)

SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model TS-H663B/UOAH - OEM $22.99

APEX TX-381-C Black Steel Micro ATX Tower Computer Case - Retail 24.99

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 84.99

GIGABYTE GA-M61PME-S2P AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail 47.99


Sunbeam PSU-BKS-480-US 480W ATX12V Power Supply - OEM 14.99

Kingston ValueRAM 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Desktop Memory Model KVR533D2/1GR - Retail x4 91.96

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX6000IAA6CZ - OEM 53.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
104.99

Grand Total: (w/shipping)	$474.96


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Opinions?

Gateway DX4822-01 Desktop PC - Pentium Dual Core E5300 2.6 GHz, 6GB DDR2, 1TB HDD, SuperMulti DVD-RW, Windows 7 Premium 64-bit

Other than being a Gateway and having WildTangent installed, what am I missing?

This is another one I'm looking at, but it only has half the RAM and less than half the HDD, but it has Win7Pro which I might need from running some older programs.

Systemax Venture VXP3 Desktop PC - Intel Pentium Dual Core E5400 2.7GHz, genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64 Bit, 3GB DDR2, 320GB, DVDRW, Customized w/ XPP Downgrade

Both have the same expansion slots and GigaBit LAN, but the Gateway has an HDMI output.

Would it be worth it to get something with Win7HomePremium and upgrade to Win7Pro later if I found I needed it?


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## NorfolkBruh (Jun 9, 2007)

Why would one want a 64 bit vs a 32 bit? I'm looking for a media server only... Linksys WRT310N, couple of gigabit switches. I want an HDMI output and MIGHT use it for gaming but not sure so massive RAM!


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

The Gateway appears to be the only one with a Firewire port if you need that. I would. I have an older Systemax with a Pentium D processor that came with a Firewire port on front and back. I find that very convenient for my audio and video "stuff".


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## Mustang Dave (Oct 13, 2006)

For me personally I am done with the build-your-owns and buying whiteboxes from ABC123 company. Ship me my Dell preloaded and preconfigured with all the right drivers. Open the box, power up, done.


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## kevinwmsn (Aug 19, 2006)

If you want to see all 4Gigs of RAM or higher you'll need 64bit edition of windows.


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## CJTE (Sep 18, 2007)

SayWhat? said:


> Quote:
> Operating Systems:
> Windows XP Pro
> Windows 7 Professional
> ...


The system comes with an OEM copy of Windows 7 (not installed). It also comes with a Vendor License of Windows XP (is installed). If the system fails, or you want to do a fresh install, you're installing Windows 7.


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## NorfolkBruh (Jun 9, 2007)

kevinwmsn said:


> If you want to see all 4Gigs of RAM or higher you'll need 64bit edition of windows.


*Thank you!*


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## satgeek550 (May 30, 2008)

Buy a Mac!


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

How would that help?


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

Mustang Dave said:


> For me personally I am done with the build-your-owns and buying whiteboxes from ABC123 company. Ship me my Dell preloaded and preconfigured with all the right drivers. Open the box, power up, done.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What he said.
Dell has way more buying power than you do, and they have tested integrated components and designed a solid system. Add the benefits of a diagnostics partition, pre-installed drivers, and a restore partition, and there's really no reason to consider building your own system.

I'm considering trying one of their little Zino boxes soon.
I'm past the need to have a traditional tower.

Watch www.techbargains.com or go to dell.com/deals


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## Getteau (Dec 20, 2007)

Marlin Guy said:


> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> What he said.
> Dell has way more buying power than you do, and they have tested integrated components and designed a solid system. Add the benefits of a diagnostics partition, pre-installed drivers, and a restore partition, and there's really no reason to consider building your own system.
> ...


+2.
15 years ago I would build my own stuff. Now I just go out and buy $300-$500 OEM systems from Dell/HP/Gateway.
In the end, I got tired of having to go to a million different websites to find drivers/BIOS updates ...

Now I just go to Dell.com or hp.com and I can find all the drivers I need for my new and 6-7 year old systems.


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## Getteau (Dec 20, 2007)

SayWhat? said:


> Opinions?
> 
> http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5539307&CatId=4929
> 
> ...


My guess is so they can same money. 350W is probably the smallest you'll should go today. Also, if you plan to add lots of non powered USB devices or upgrade the video card in the future, you're going to need something larger. I just added a second video card to my Gateway and most of the new dual video cards are asking for 350W just for themselves.


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

Getteau said:


> 15 years ago I would build my own stuff. Now I just go out and buy $300-$500 OEM systems from Dell/HP/Gateway.


For a desktop, I still prefer to build my own box because of the customization that I do. However, if friends of mine ask me to build a desktop, unless it's for a specific need, I tend to go with the pre-built boxes.

As for laptops... sigh... you have to go with pre-built essentially. I have been looking at the ones at PacificGeek for some refurbished notebooks, but they seem to have the Intel graphics chipset.... grrrr....


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

I absolutely, positively will *NOT* be buying a Dell. I don't really like the idea of a Gateway, but that machine seems pretty good for the price.

I've had HPs and Compaqs. Some have worked fine, others had problems. My main issue with retail machines is the bloatware.

I guess I could swap out to a bigger PS after the warranty drops out.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

SayWhat? said:


> My main issue with retail machines is the bloatware.


You need to take another look. Things have changed.
You can buy the Dell Vostro line with little more than the OS.
No AV, No Office Ware, No Games, No AOL, etc.

Vostro is the business line, but there's no requirement for proof of any kind of a business. Just set up an account on that side and call it SayWhat's Gotta Have A PC, your address.
http://www.dell.com/vostro


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

Mustang Dave said:


> For me personally I am done with the build-your-owns and buying whiteboxes from ABC123 company. Ship me my Dell preloaded and preconfigured with all the right drivers. Open the box, power up, done.


+1000

I'm slightly partial to the HP/Compaqs rather than Dell, but my time is too valuable to waste on bulding PCs any more.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Marlin Guy said:


> You need to take another look. Things have changed.
> You can buy the Dell Vostro line with little more than the OS.
> No AV, No Office Ware, No Games, No AOL, etc.
> 
> ...


Yeah! Like I said... 

- Merg


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

SayWhat? said:


> I absolutely, positively will *NOT* be buying a Dell. I don't really like the idea of a Gateway, but that machine seems pretty good for the price.
> 
> I've had HPs and Compaqs. Some have worked fine, others had problems. My main issue with retail machines is the bloatware.
> 
> I guess I could swap out to a bigger PS after the warranty drops out.


A lot of the after market power supplies have fans in places where some cases don't have openings 

I have a HP with a pretty small PS, which I needed to consider when buying a new video card for it.

When I upgraded from Vista to Win 7, I did a complete install so all of the bloatware disappeared.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

The Merg said:


> Yeah! Like I said...
> 
> - Merg


Sorry. I missed that you had already led that horse to water.
Yet he still appears to be thirsty.


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