Pre-built computers

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RuNZ

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#56782 23-Jan-2010 17:45

Hey there, I have a friend who is wanting to purchase a desktop computer, and a third friend and I are capable of building a computer, but we are wondering if theres any companies that sell pre-built computers that arn't bad?

I've always thought (and have heard stories) of dell being utter crap, is that true?

The requirements are just general use, aswell as being able to run programs such as CAD and matlab etc.

Personally I reckon a 32 bit machine will be adequate, which means 3gb ram is the way to go? or not?

A decent graphics card, but nothing too amazing (for CAD, but no game requirements)

Guessing quad-core is about the standard now?

Basically looking at dell it's hard to see if what they're offering is crap because we don't know the harddrive write speed etc. and don't wanna be stuck with crap components. Also a reasonably compact enclosure would be great, don't need a big tower.

Cheers, Rupert

billgates

4705 posts

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#292526 23-Jan-2010 17:51

I have personally a 3 year old dell laptop and bought 2 dell desktops (4 years old) for a business running fine.

Do whatever you want to do man.

RuNZ

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#292537 23-Jan-2010 18:18

That doesn't surprise me, but it's hard to compare to what you could have got for the same money, also running fine doesn't mean much, I'd say it's pretty normal for any computer to last that long.

I've just heard about them doing things like offering a 32 bit machine with 4 gb ram and 2 gb graphics, which is just ridiculous (the computer would only be able to reference less that 2 gb of the ram, making the extra 2 pointless).

Niel

3267 posts

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#292538 23-Jan-2010 18:21

In the 90's a capacitor manufacturer who supplies to most PC manufacturers had a batch issue whereby they filled capacitors with too much electrolyte. After a couple of years the capacitors would pop open, loose electrolyte, and the PC would become unstable. Dell was one of the last manufacturers to do something about it and kept on putting bad product into the market. That is probably where Dell got their bad name from.

I've had 3 Dell PCs - GX110, GX270 and GX280. All 3 were great. The 270 I've bought for about $20 including a Win XP Pro licence and replaced the capacitors. Later it died only when a mouse got into it and wee'ed all over the motherboard. The 280 I've paid about $30 for with a Win XP Pro license and only had to replace the power supply capacitors. It is still working.

All 3 PCs always booted up faster than any home built PC I've ever had, and I've had a number of home built PCs (I'm an electronic engineer). I've found Dell PCs to be good value and "just works". Highly recommended.

My next PC will be home built though, because it will be a SolidWorks workstation which requires high spec parts. But my home PCs will likely all be brand name.

You can never have enough Volvos!