Apr 28 2008
Another Dell in Production
I’ve currently got two Dell computers on my desk and I’m about to replace the older one with a new machine. I’ve built my own computers in the past, but I’ve been very happy with the two Dells that I’ve received and really don’t enjoy building my own. The odds of getting a component that is DOA is rather high, and I’m really not the patient type who wants to RMA things.
Anyway, the older dell that I have isn’t quite on its last leg, but I can’t imagine it lasting too much longer. The RAM (256MB) isn’t enough to do a whole lot with in a day where you need at least 1GB of RAM. Some of the applications I’ve been looking at require a minimum of 512MB and a decent processor. Well, this old thing just isn’t going to cut it anymore. And besides, it’s noticeably slow at times. Instead of upgrading the RAM, putting in a new HDD, and re-installing Windows, I’m just going to go with a new PC.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the machines I have and the one that I’ll be getting:
Dell Dimension B110 (Work Computer)
Intel Celeron 2.53GHz
256MB DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
80GB IDE HDD
Integrated Graphics
Windows XP
17″ CRT Monitor
Dell Inspiron 531 (File Server)
Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.60GHz
2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
500GB SATA HDD
Vista Home Basic
Integrated Graphics
20″ Dell LCD
Dell Vostro 400 (Work Computer)
Intel Core2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz
2GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz
250GB SATA HDD
Windows XP
Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB
20″ Dell LCD
The biggest difference among them is the video card. With the new Vostro 400, which should be shipping in 2-3 days, I’ll be able to run everything I need to [including games for IGN]. It’ll also be nice to get rid of the huge CRT. The weight of that thing has caused my plastic table to dip/bow in the middle and pens/pencils tend to roll towards the middle if I don’t have them in a little holder of some sort. I’m considering buying a new table since it would only set me back $20-$40 depending on where I bought it.
Sounds good. But, in an unrelated question, where did you get that cool “share with others” dealie? Dell doesn’t make a half-bad product. Though, I wasn’t impressed by some of the machines I saw when I used to be a technician. However, with that said, Dells seem to last forever. I have a notebook that I use at work that’s from April 2001 and it’s still kicking!
Oh, and speaking of that honking CRT you’re about to get rid of. I had a Sony Trinitron 19″, which was one awesome CRT monitor, but that thing did the same thing to my glass desk as yours did your plastic. The glass started bending in the middle. However, it went back to normal when I got rid of it 🙂 Nice thing about glass.
It’s a WordPress plugin called Sociable. You can find it at http://www.joostdevalk.nl/wordpress/sociable/
[…] received my new Dell yesterday. It’s my third one, and none of them have shipped with a piece of network cable. […]