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Please talk me out of this!!!

I

illumin8

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 20, 2003
427
0
East Coast, US
I, like everyone here, am desperately waiting for the new 970s to hit the market. In the meantime, I am desperately trying to avoid being tempted by the new Wintel machines that are just begging me to buy them:

Get this:

* Dell Dimension 8300, 2.6 Ghz. PIV with Hyperthreading
* 800 Mhz. FSB!!!
* 256 MB PC3200 (DDR 400 Dual Channel!) SDRAM
* 30GB HD
* 64MB ATI All-In-Wonder 9000 Pro

For a total price of $669 after shipping and tax!

The nice thing about this is that it's the new Intel chipset which has two banks of two DDR400 slots, to give you a full 800 mhz. of memory bandwidth...

So tell me please, why should I wait until June 23rd when the 970s might or might not be ready, then plonk down 2 g's, when I can get the same memory bandwidth that the new 970s theoretically have, and about twice as many gigahertz for only $669?

Apple better do something quick or they will lose the last 3% of their market share...
 
Ah, it all depends on what you're going to do with it and what software you're using. If its such a good machine (the Dell) and you want your 30 gig drive, go buy it.

I'm waiting - all my software runs on a mac anyway.

D
 
Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Ah, it all depends on what you're going to do with it and what software you're using. If its such a good machine (the Dell) and you want your 30 gig drive, go buy it.
D
Click to expand...

Well, for the special price it's pretty much assumed that you just buy an after-market 120GB 8MB cache hard drive and upgrade it yourself.

I really want to switch from a mostly PC based (Linux and Windows) environment to Mac OS X, but it's getting really hard to justify the premium price just for a nice OS... Sure Winblows is fugly, but if you spend most of your time in one application the OS itself doesn't seem to make too much of a difference... But I did just buy an iPod and it's working it's switcher mojo on me... :D

I think I will just buy the Dell workstation and a new 970 PowerMac and have them sitting side by side with a KVM switch.

No Softwindows for me please, I'll just have the best of both worlds! ;)
 
where did you find this price? i can't find it anywhere on dell's site. it seems pretty good, and i was lookin to get my brother a cheap pc (he only needs it for email, aim, and word processing, but i'd like to get him something that'll last).
 
Originally posted by beez7777
where did you find this price? i can't find it anywhere on dell's site. it seems pretty good, and i was lookin to get my brother a cheap pc.
Click to expand...
Go to Hot Deals, then scroll about halfway down the page; there is a link. Follow the instructions on that site.

In order to get the deal you have to purchase a Dimension 8300 configured at $899 or higher. You put in a $100 off coupon code, then there is a $200 mail-in rebate.

Even with all the jumping through hoops it seems like a sweet deal.
 
Originally posted by beez7777
seems pretty decent, only there's no cd burner or moniter, which my brother would need. :(
Click to expand...
You can add that stuff on if you want to, but it jacks the price up. The idea is to buy the computer for cheap, then upgrade it with generic parts later. That way you save a lot of money... You can upgrade to a Dell brand CD burner and monitor if you want, but you'll end up with a pretty expensive system quick... Far better just to use Pricewatch to buy your components after the fact.

Edited to state the obvious: I didn't really intend for this thread to be a tutorial on how to buy a cheap PC, I just wanted to highlight the fact that Apple really needs to catch up fast before they are doomed to irrelevance, just like the great Amiga and SGI workstations of the past.
 
Since when does the 2.6 P4 have hyperthreading?

I was pretty sure (unless they re-released the 2.6 P4) that they don't have hyperthreading.

I am probably wrong tho.

BTW, your never going to get the mail-in rebate, I read a report that they have such an absurdly long list of things you need to do to apply for the rebate and then wait... and wait... and wait...

Think about it this way, by June 23ed Intel might have released the 3.6 GHZ P4, and it is in the works.

edit: remember make sure the 2.6 has the '2.6c ' with it because according to, ----, that has the hyperthreadiung.
 
Originally posted by MrMacman
Since when does the 2.6 P4 have hyperthreading?

edit: remember make sure the 2.6 has the '2.6c ' with it because according to, ----, that has the hyperthreadiung.
Click to expand...
Aah.. I did check the specs listed on Dells site and it says:

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.60, 2.80 or 3GHz with Hyper-Threading Technology and 800MHz front side bus

Intel® 875P chipset

Sounds like the latest and greatest. Sure the 3.6 might be out soon... I could have gotten the 3.0, but you always pay a premium for the top of the line, and I can't imagine wanting to pay an additional $270 just for 400 more mhz... 2.6 is plenty.
 
Originally posted by illumin8
Aah.. I did check the specs listed on Dells site and it says:

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.60, 2.80 or 3GHz with Hyper-Threading Technology and 800MHz front side bus

Intel® 875P chipset

Sounds like the latest and greatest. Sure the 3.6 might be out soon... I could have gotten the 3.0, but you always pay a premium for the top of the line, and I can't imagine wanting to pay an additional $270 just for 400 more mhz... 2.6 is plenty.
Click to expand...

You might be able to afford th 3.0 Ghz model by then... ;)
 
so... the 2.6 Ghz model does not have the 800 mhz fsb or hyperthreading? The ad reads like those things only apply to the last item in the list, the 3.0 Ghz machine.

Or did they mean all of them have the bus and hyperthreading, and just word it ambiguously?
 
Build your own

Build your own frickin PC. Thats not so great of a deal. I built a P4 2.66GHz (533MHz Bus) with 1GB RAM, Radeon 9500 Pro, 80GB HD, CDRW/DVD, for like 650 dollars.

And this was a while ago. You can get better technology for the same price now. And, are you sure the graphics card is not soldered on teh mobo.
 
Re: Build your own

Originally posted by MacAztec
And, are you sure the graphics card is not soldered on teh mobo.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this sounds like too good a deal to have a replacable graphics card.

Look into it further before buying. If yu aren't playing games, though... it does seem like a decent deal.

MacAztec: He may want a warranty on his machine. I would have liked one when the motherboard failed on my Athlon 700 that I built myself. The mother board was under warranty, but the company wouldn't do anything because they said my power supply had done it. The haadn't even seen the motherboard and were somehow able to determine this :rolleyes:

Had I bought a system prebuilt I wouldn't have had the problem.
 
Back to the main topic. For one thing, that ad was worded carefully, as hyperthreading is only possible once you get up to 3GHz. Wait for the Mac. OS X is much nicer. It's more stable, it has iTunes, it looks nicer, more convinient layout. And when it comes to the speed...unless you're doing serious video rendering, even most G4s will run faster overall than that Pentium. You could just wait for the 970, then buy a G4 for real cheap.
 
Re: Build your own

Originally posted by MacAztec
Build your own frickin PC.
Click to expand...

No, uh, don't.
One thing about Dell... three years worth of warrantee and on site for the first year (if I'm not mistaken).
Homebuilt PC's?
Bah.
Get the Dell. We don't have time to tinker (then call 5 companies if some widget fails)... we got work to do.
 
Buy yourself a bunch of big Steven the Dell Dork posters, and plaster them all over your walls.

If that doesn't cure you of this cheap POS Dell envy, then it looks like illumin8's Getting a Dell.

---

Oops it's not cheap, it's only cheap if you even get a rebate check to cash -- so it looks like illumin8's getting screwed out of a Dell... Rebate.
 
Re: Build your own

Originally posted by MacAztec
Build your own frickin PC. Thats not so great of a deal. I built a P4 2.66GHz (533MHz Bus) with 1GB RAM, Radeon 9500 Pro, 80GB HD, CDRW/DVD, for like 650 dollars.

And this was a while ago. You can get better technology for the same price now. And, are you sure the graphics card is not soldered on teh mobo.
Click to expand...

dude didn't you built that like a month ago? that's not very long
 
Originally posted by XnavxeMiyyep
Back to the main topic. For one thing, that ad was worded carefully, as hyperthreading is only possible once you get up to 3GHz. Wait for the Mac. OS X is much nicer. It's more stable, it has iTunes, it looks nicer, more convinient layout. And when it comes to the speed...unless you're doing serious video rendering, even most G4s will run faster overall than that Pentium. You could just wait for the 970, then buy a G4 for real cheap.
Click to expand...

what rhymes with beelit? starts with a Z? hint? Zealot. Don't act like one, its quite unappealing.
 
hey im finally fed up. i say if the pc can keep up with your work flow and the mac cant. then DUMP the F***ing mac. today is IT. my next system WILL be a junky clunky PC with POWER. im tired of the mac not keeping up with the work flow. TIRED. now its reflecting on me. AE's wondering what the hell is taking so long to get the job done. its the damn mac. im constantly waiting for it to catch up with me.
 
Originally posted by QCassidy352
so... the 2.6 Ghz model does not have the 800 mhz fsb or hyperthreading? The ad reads like those things only apply to the last item in the list, the 3.0 Ghz machine.
Click to expand...
I checked, all the processors that sell with that model, whether they are 2.6, 2.8, or 3.0 have both Hyperthreading and 800 mhz. FSB.
 
Re: Build your own

Originally posted by MacAztec
Build your own frickin PC. Thats not so great of a deal. I built a P4 2.66GHz (533MHz Bus) with 1GB RAM, Radeon 9500 Pro, 80GB HD, CDRW/DVD, for like 650 dollars.

And this was a while ago. You can get better technology for the same price now. And, are you sure the graphics card is not soldered on teh mobo.
Click to expand...
The graphics card it comes with in that configuration is an ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder 9000 with 64 MB of RAM. Not bad for such a cheap box. Also, the MB supports AGP 8x.
 
Dude, I'm getting a Dell...

I decided to go for it... The offer expired tonight so I took the plunge.

Hell, for $669 I can get one now and still afford the 970 when it is released.... One of the benefits of living in the sticks, making a big city salary, being single, and having a lot of expendable income.

I have been dying to get rid of the AMD Athlon XP 1700 leaf-blower that is slowly making me go deaf due to all of the fans I had to place in it to keep it cool.

In case anyone is interested, this is the final config I ended up with:

* PIV 2.6ghz. w/ Hyperthreading
* Intel 875P chipset with 800mhz. FSB
* 256MB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
* 30GB Ultra ATA/100 7200rpm Hard Drive
* 128MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 Graphics card with DVI, TV, and VGA out (upgraded this for only $110!)
* 16x DVD-ROM (upgraded this for $30)

Total price with shipping and tax is $989.00 - $200 MIR = $789.

Also went to Newegg.com and ordered:

* 120GB 7200 RPM Hitachi/IBM Hard Drive w/ 8MB cache and 8.5 ms seek time (to replace the small 30GB with) - $112
* 2 sticks of 512MB DDR SDRAM at 400MHz (to bring the total up to 1280MB) - $138 (2 x $69)

Total upgrades - $250 + $10 shipping for $260

Total system price: $1049 shipped, plus about a half hour of my time to put in the new hard drive and upgrade the memory.

I think the upgrade to the ATI 9800 card was definitely worth it for only $110... I also already have a Firewire card (for my iPod) I'll throw in there and I have a Firewire DVD burner so the CD/DVD burning is taken care of...

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I can't wait to have this box sitting side-by-side with a new PowerMac 970 and a 23" Cinema Display... :D

MacAztec: I checked the "build it yourself" route, but if you price it out with one of the new 800mhz. FSB boards and the 800mhz. FSB processor it is more expensive. Besides, every system I've built on my own seems to have some type of nasty hardware conflicts that give me grief and my time and sanity is worth much more than that.

Beatle88: Patience, young grashopper... :) The Intel based PCs might be priced at the sweet spot right now due mostly to the failing tech economy and our ever insatiable need to keep following Moore's law, but Apple will once again regain their crown. When that day comes I'm definitely going to buy a Mac.
 
Originally posted by QCassidy352
so... the 2.6 Ghz model does not have the 800 mhz fsb or hyperthreading? The ad reads like those things only apply to the last item in the list, the 3.0 Ghz machine.

Or did they mean all of them have the bus and hyperthreading, and just word it ambiguously?
Click to expand...

The new 800MHz FSB procs (which start at 2.6GHz) all have hyper threading, its the old 533MHz FSB procs that had it ONLY on the 3.06GHz part
 
Originally posted by tazo
what rhymes with beelit? starts with a Z? hint? Zealot. Don't act like one, its quite unappealing.
Click to expand...

Whoa, hold on a second... How exactly are you pronouncing this new "beelit" word of yours?
 
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