Just place an order for an XPS 420

[ShaneR]

Anyone have an opinion of the 420? (Should have asked this before I hit the confirm button )

I selected:

Q6600 Quad-core
4GB Memory
nVidia 8800 GT
640gb hard drive (two 320s in Raid 0)
24 inch Ultrasharp 2408WFP monitor.

Price, with taxes, was $1867. There was a $400 discount going on (according to dell), plus I received a 12% discount for an employee program my employer has set up.

I think this will do me very well

[J.R. Nelson]

It's a bit pricey, but it'll serve you well, I'm sure. Make sure you get a 64-bit copy of Vista, though, so you can take advantage of all of that memory.

[sszero]

Originally Posted by ShaneR

Anyone have an opinion of the 420? (Should have asked this before I hit the confirm button )

I selected:

Q6600 Quad-core
4GB Memory
nVidia 8800 GT
640gb hard drive (two 320s in Raid 0)
24 inch Ultrasharp 2408WFP monitor.

Price, with taxes, was $1867. There was a $400 discount going on (according to dell), plus I received a 12% discount for an employee program my employer has set up.

I think this will do me very well

Please tell me youre joking....J.R...am I missing something? That WAY overpriced IMHO.

[yuio]

? I have almost the same unit(spec's wise)

1100 for a HP m8125x (Q6600, 400GB, 2GB Ge7300
I then upgraded the GPU and power supply to 8800GT $300 (total)
then my HDD failed I installed a single 640GB $80
so after my upgrades and say 40 for 2GB more ram...
~1520 and that was exactly 1 year and 2 weeks ago.

my final spec's are...
Q6600
New 500W power supply
8800GT
2GB ram
640GB HDD 1 year ago(except the HDD which I got last week.)

I payed 1500 CAD 1 year ago...

[ShaneR]

Well, I think you may be forgetting the Monitor, perhaps? That's $600 CAD alone...

So, without taxes and monitor included, the price would have been about $1000 CAD.

[sszero]

Ok, well, of the monitor was $600, that does make it a bit better...even though im not sure the monitor is worth $600.

Check this DIY:
Case: Antec 900 - 110-40 = 70+FS
CPU : Q6600 - 189 =189+FS
Mobo: EP45-DS3R - 135 =135+10
Ram : OCZPlat1066 - 110-15 =95
PSU : PCP&C 750W - 140-30 =110+FS
DVD : LiteOn/Pio - 100 =100
HDD : SB 250GB - 60 =60+FS
GPU : SaphHD 4850 - 175 =175+FS
Cool: Xigmatek - 50 =50
Case: Fans&Lights - 25 =25
Total: =$1020

I am willing to bet that the mobo, psu, ram, and aftermarket cooler are all of better quality, not to mention the HD 4850 >> 8800GT. Also, is that $1000 before shipping and taxes? The build above includes shipping and taxes ( and MIR ). You did get good discounts, and considering you bought pre-built, I guess thats not bad, I just think you couldve done better. But hey, this is just my opinion.

[J.R. Nelson]

Okay, like I said, it's a bit pricey. That monitor is, too, though, and Dell's larger panels are pretty good. So I'm going to cut that some slack.

Also, one thing people forget on this board: it's not limited to people who are willing and able or even want to build their own desktops. So before everyone jumps on someone for buying a pre-built desktop, please keep this in mind.

[sszero]

Well I know the Dell Ultrasharps are actually good quality but I dont think its worth $600 when you can find something about the equivalent for less.

To me its not the fact that the OP bought a pre-built, but how much paid for one and what he got, and judging by his discounts, some people couldve done MUCH worse, which is why i suggest DIY.

[ShaneR]

Yep. I'm fully aware I could have saved some money by building, but I have too many other things to do and didn't want to be "bothered"

As for the Monitor, I do photography and was looking for anything other than a TN panel. Not wanting to break the bank for $2000 "pro" IPS panel, I was basically left with either the Samsung 245T or this Dell. They both have the same PVA panel (I believe Samsung supplies Dell), so I went with the Dell. Yes, I could have went cheaper on the Monitor, but it would not have suited my needs.

The monitor, actually, was the main consideration for me. But, I do a little gaming as well so I wanted a system that could handle that and provide me with some future-proofing as well.

[J.R. Nelson]

Dell has some nice monitors going on. I really like the idea of that 3007WFP-HC, though. Great value.