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Dell: $298 delivered.
- Thread starter iGary
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and whats with the roll eyes? so what if the desktop is going for cheapiGary said:
very good
i'm sorry.. but thats awesome
for a lower income family who doesn't have a computer, that would be just fine for basic functions. maybe add MS Word and speakers if the kids want to play some games (i'm talking little kids games, not DOOM or something like that).
i know a family like this, looking for their first computer just for basic internet/ word processing use and kids games. this would be great for them.
i'm sorry.. but thats awesome
for a lower income family who doesn't have a computer, that would be just fine for basic functions. maybe add MS Word and speakers if the kids want to play some games (i'm talking little kids games, not DOOM or something like that).
i know a family like this, looking for their first computer just for basic internet/ word processing use and kids games. this would be great for them.
usually comes with MS works that should perfrom as good enough to replace MS word for a while. But in all I have to agree with you.qzak said:
qzak said:
Does said family realize that their computer will be rendered imobile on the Internet within about five minutes unless they buy virus, malware and spyware protection?
No backup abilities, no speakers, no iLife apps....
Still a crappy deal when stacked against a mini.
i said add speakers. windows comes with builtin firewall now, and yeah i would tell my friends family to add anti virus. i think that would be fine then. ilife apps, who cares.. all most people need is a word processor
No Productivity Suite - Corel WordPerfect® word processor only
and it comes with WordPerfect.
or u can add Word...
*
Microsoft Works Suite 2005 - Includes Word 2002, Streets & Trips 2005 [add $39 or $2/month2
still looks good to me, comes with a monitor and keyboard/mouse unlike the mini
No Productivity Suite - Corel WordPerfect® word processor only
and it comes with WordPerfect.
or u can add Word...
*
Microsoft Works Suite 2005 - Includes Word 2002, Streets & Trips 2005 [add $39 or $2/month2
still looks good to me, comes with a monitor and keyboard/mouse unlike the mini
iGary said:
If you go through and add all of the "DELL RECOMENDED" items, this 2.4GHz Celeron machine costs $1300.
qzak said:
Norton's 2005 AV software was actually advertised by Staples this weekend with $50 in rebates. $20 is if your upgrading, but still, if you're not upgrading the AV software only costs you like $20.
I would up the memory to 512Mb, but I wouldn't do it through Dell. I'd just buy a 256 MB stick from Newegg.com for $20 and slap it in there. Speakers are dirt cheap.
And at least the system comes with a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Mac mini doesn't include those.
calyxman said:
The deal is, to be a real computer that real people could actually be productive with, you'd have to add about 250.00 to the price. And then, you'd still have a POS.
With a cable for the printer, virus software, MS Works, speakers, 512 MB of RAM, a CD burner....
$537.00
What a deal.
$537.00
What a deal.
iGary said:
I don't know about that argument. Even if you buy a mac mini you still have to add RAM, a monitor, keyboard, etc. And as long as it has a G4 processor its still a POS.
Anyway in case anyone is thinking about that deal, I found this one is actually better - $498 including 17inch LCD and a P4 not a celeron.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=2d30h3&s=bsd
Well what do you think the Mac mini is? You don't get a free monitor, mouse and keyboard with that system. 256Mb RAM stock. Go price a Mac mini with all the bells and whistles and slap on the extra warranty and you have a system for around $1000, without the monitor, and without a printer.
Deals like this are actually very common. eMachines offers very nice configurations with AMD chips. Sure some require a mail in rebate but you're still getting a kick ass deal. I'd personally would go AMD over Intel, especially when you're talking the Celeron chip--8K L1 Cache? Bleh!
Plus, any BTO system will have inflated prices for their upgrades (with some exceptions like TechDepot's offers). No one would pay $50 for a 256MB stick when you can buy it from newegg.com for under $20.
It gets even worse when you're pricing out notebook deals and comparing the bargains against what you pay for in a new Powerbook/iBook.
Deals like this are actually very common. eMachines offers very nice configurations with AMD chips. Sure some require a mail in rebate but you're still getting a kick ass deal. I'd personally would go AMD over Intel, especially when you're talking the Celeron chip--8K L1 Cache? Bleh!
Plus, any BTO system will have inflated prices for their upgrades (with some exceptions like TechDepot's offers). No one would pay $50 for a 256MB stick when you can buy it from newegg.com for under $20.
It gets even worse when you're pricing out notebook deals and comparing the bargains against what you pay for in a new Powerbook/iBook.
Here's a great system from eMachines that doesn't go cheap on its power-packed features:
http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_T6212
$579 after a mail-in rebate. Athlon 64 3200 2.0 GHZ, 512 Mb stock, 160 gig 7200 rpm drive, DVD +/- RW, ATI xpress 200m with 128 Mb dedicated memory, 7 usb 2.0 ports, 1 firewire, 8-1 digital media reader, keyboard, mouse. It could use gigabit ethernet, but hey what it has is fine enough.
http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_T6212
$579 after a mail-in rebate. Athlon 64 3200 2.0 GHZ, 512 Mb stock, 160 gig 7200 rpm drive, DVD +/- RW, ATI xpress 200m with 128 Mb dedicated memory, 7 usb 2.0 ports, 1 firewire, 8-1 digital media reader, keyboard, mouse. It could use gigabit ethernet, but hey what it has is fine enough.
iGary said:
Only if they bought it in 2005. Come on seriously, even fanboys know its well past its expiry date.
Ok, I think we should all have some group medatation here...
(hums in unison)
The Dell deal is great - come on, you can't deny it. If you add all the extras yeh, its a hell of a lot more expensive, but that is all too true of the mac mini too.
The software is why we're all on mac right? Just because somthing is a great price, it doesn't mean it's going to work like a dream - Especially if it's got windows behind it!!
The important thing here is that while we all love macs, this is an undeniably great price for what the package contains. It's like £200 in the UK!! I can't buy an external Hard drive for much less than that!
(hums in unison)
The Dell deal is great - come on, you can't deny it. If you add all the extras yeh, its a hell of a lot more expensive, but that is all too true of the mac mini too.
The software is why we're all on mac right? Just because somthing is a great price, it doesn't mean it's going to work like a dream - Especially if it's got windows behind it!!
The important thing here is that while we all love macs, this is an undeniably great price for what the package contains. It's like £200 in the UK!! I can't buy an external Hard drive for much less than that!
Bozola said:Hey now.. my 500mhz G3 iMac still rocks... at least IMHO...
Hey man no disrespect.
What I meant was if you bought a G4 when it was competitive then your equipment is now 'heritage' or 'classic'. Buying a new G4 in 2005 is a bit of a laugh surely.
the processor speed arguement is one that always annoys me, because half of the time it doesn't even matter. unless you're doing video editing or something like that, it really hardly makes a difference.
it's the ram that matters. try comparing a pbg4 with 1 gig ram to say a pm with 256mb ram.
im sure many people aren't going to turn around and say 'im not buying this laptop because it's a g4.' that's just silly. i use a pb and an imac g5 all the time, and in all honesty there's no massive difference.
oh, and lastly, whenever pc users ask me what pc to buy, i always say hp. to me, they're machines seem good. with dell, as soon as you make the system even usable (cd-rw, extra ram, speakers, etc) the price has shot up. hp machines are cool - a great mix between value and quality imho.
it's the ram that matters. try comparing a pbg4 with 1 gig ram to say a pm with 256mb ram.
im sure many people aren't going to turn around and say 'im not buying this laptop because it's a g4.' that's just silly. i use a pb and an imac g5 all the time, and in all honesty there's no massive difference.
oh, and lastly, whenever pc users ask me what pc to buy, i always say hp. to me, they're machines seem good. with dell, as soon as you make the system even usable (cd-rw, extra ram, speakers, etc) the price has shot up. hp machines are cool - a great mix between value and quality imho.
Bigheadache said:
But a Dell with a 2.4 GHz Celeron isn't well past it's expiration date? A G4 running at 1.25GHz or better still has enough horsepower to get the job done for most consumers. A Mac mini is definitely a more capable computer than this $298 Dell system.
Of course, if you're one of those "my gigahertz is bigger than yours" types, then there are machines like that out there for you (for a considerably higher cost) from both Dell and Apple as well. But to say a G4 is a "POS" and totally outdated is rather silly...
At least this cheap Dell doesn't require any rebates. I shopped for a similar eMachines box a few weeks ago and discovered that the $300 computer requires the purchase of a monitor and printer. The price out the door is closer to $700. Then you mail in and wait for as many as five, separate rebates. If by chance you really want to buy just the computer, the rebates are fewer, but the final price is actually higher. We walked out without buying anything.