Dell XPS 700 or Build My Own?

DobieMan · 10 Jun 2006 at 13:17

I am going to buy a Dell XPS 700 has I really like the case with the following spec:

Pentium® D Extreme Edition Processor 965 (3.73GHz, 1066MHz fsb, 2x2MB cache)
2048MB DDR2 667 [2*1024]
1 TB Serial ATA RAID 0 Stripe [2x500GB 7200rpm drives with DataBurst™ cache]
500GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
512MB ATI™ Radeon™ X1900 XTX graphics card
128MB Ageia™ PhysX™ PCI Card
Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music card,PCI w/Dolby Digital,7.1 speaker surround and THX certification

I really like the new XPS 700 case and will all the spec comes at around £3,850.

Is that a good decent system that would last around 3-4 years? Obviously I would upgrade the grahics card after 2 years.

I want a system that will be able to play upcomming games like Crysis, and operating system Vista although dell has already confirmed this new system is Vista Ready.

For the same rough price of £3,800 or £3,900 is it possible to build a better system myself and if so what parts would you use? I really am looking for a cool looking case that is easy to access the HDD for example. Also HDD space is important at first I am looking for around 1.5 - 2.0tb hard drive space.

I don't need a new LCD or speakers have I brought some just a couple of months ago. I would like a new wireless keyboard and mouse in my new setup.

Beansprout · 10 Jun 2006 at 13:20

It's using RAID0 so after you've put on all your important data it will go bust.

Such a large RAID0 array with no other disks is stupid. If you must have fast disks, get two smaller RAID0 disks for speed and another larger disk for backups :eek:

DobieMan · 10 Jun 2006 at 13:25

I forgot to mention I already use external drives for backups.

Mikey1280 · 10 Jun 2006 at 13:30

Please dont buy that xps, you should be able to get something much better for your money if you build yourself. So the budget is £3,800 without a monitor right? What will the pc be used for?

Definitely wait for conroe, dont buy anything yet

Efour · 10 Jun 2006 at 13:33

Please I love PC gaming but nealry 4k is too much.

IF you are seriously going to spend towards that much build it yourself and save maybe a grand to spend on a really nice monitor or HD Tv.

Elitejungalist · 10 Jun 2006 at 13:34

Don't buy that dell machine, for that kind of money you could build something
awesome.

DobieMan · 10 Jun 2006 at 13:57

The reason I was going to get it is because I really like the lights on the front and the case in kinda cool.

I need a system ASAP as my current system is on it's last legs. I don't mind the idea of building one myself I have built a PC once before but a long time ago.

I always worry that I will pick the wrong parts to go together. Is there a suggestions on a system spec?

BTW it will be used for gaming, internet, and watching hd programming that I have downloaded plus divx, that type of stuff and all round general PC. I don't mind upgrading it later on for things like Conroe, BlueRay or HDDVD depending which one takes off.

squiffy · 10 Jun 2006 at 14:15

Please don't buy a Dell unless you have good lawyers.

Send me a cheque for £4000 and I can build up a good gaming machine, you don't need that sort of spec, especially the Aegia card. Might as well use £200 to light cuban cigars.

Just browse sites and build a machine up, come back here and ask "will these fit" Alternatively look at my sig but go up, ie fastest 939 Dual core, get a X1900XT master, get several SATA HD's etc.

Ok I've built a suitable PC...cost no object. I think out of SATA ports with that many HD's so probably need another PCI SATA controller, another couple of hundred quid. Also swop the two 24" for the Dell 30"'s

MO-009-DE Dell Ultrasharp 2407WFP 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Midnight Grey (MO-009-DE) x 2
£649.95 £1,299.90
KB-076-LG Logitech diNovo Laser Media Desktop - Retail (KB-076-LG)
£102.50 £102.50
UP-014-AP APC Back-UPS RS 1500VA USB/Serial 230V (UP-014-AP)
£202.95 £202.95
MB-131-AS Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe Crossfire (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-131-AS)
£109.95 £109.95
CP-146-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core FX60 (Socket 939) - Retail (ADAFX60DAA6CDBOX) (CP-146-AM)
£569.95 £569.95
HD-077-SE Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB ST3750640AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-077-SE) x 8
£250.95 £2,007.60
CD-041-PO Pioneer DVR-111BK 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) OEM (CD-041-PO) x 4
£22.95 £91.80
SC-031-CL Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro - Retail (SC-031-CL)
£163.95 £163.95
BU-001-WD Western Digital Raptor 150GB 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache RAID Bundle (BU-001-WD)
HD-069-WD Western Digital Raptor 150GB WD1500ADFD 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-069-WD) 2
£313.00 £313.00
OA-002-AK Akasa AK FC-03 Fan Controller Pro (OA-002-AK)
£24.95 £24.95
CA-024-EN Enermax Liberty 620W ELT620AWT ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CA-024-EN)
£84.95 £84.95
GX-113-SP Sapphire ATI Radeon X1900 XT-X 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-113-SP)
£289.95 £289.95
CA-061-CM Coolermaster Stacker 4in3 Device Module (CA-061-CM)
£9.95 £19.90
CA-096-CM CoolerMaster Stacker RC-810 - Silver Trim (No PSU) (CA-096-CM)
£89.95 £89.95
GX-045-CO ATI Radeon X1900 ***Crossfire Edition*** 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-045-CO)
£249.95 £249.95
WC-041-VP WaterChill Xtreme CPU/VGA/Chipset Cooling Kit - Triple 120mm Radiator/6 Fans (03-L-1319) (WC-041-VP)
MY-093-CS Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3500LL Pro TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2 (MY-093-CS)
£165.95 £165.95
CC-016-HP Highpoint RocketRAID 2220 8-Port SATA II Host Adaptor (CC-016-HP)
£163.80 £163.80
Subtotal £6,224.95
VAT £1,089.37
Total £7,314.32

Probably fit another PSU, (older Stacker) or perhaps get a large hard disc cabinet just for the Hard drives, and link them somehow.

pcknight · 10 Jun 2006 at 14:55

Build one yourself mate. You will get a much better PC that is 100% suited to what you need it for. There are some cracking cases to be had if you shop around. Don't rush into buying a Dell. Shop around.

crashuk · 10 Jun 2006 at 15:14

HD-077-MD Maxtor Maxline Pro 500 500GB 7H500F0 SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-077-MD) 3
£177.95 £533.85
CP-168-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ 2.20GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail (CP-168-AM) 1
£215.95 £215.95
MB-069-MS MSI K9N Platinum nForce 570 SLi (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-069-MS) 1
£99.95 £99.95
MY-005-PA Patriot 2GB (2x1GB) PC7200 900MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (PDC22G7200ELK) (MY-005-PA) 1
£214.95 £214.95
GX-112-SP Sapphire ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-112-SP) 1
£225.95 £225.95
CD-033-PL Plextor PX-755A 16x16 Dual Layer DVD±RW ReWriter (Beige/Black) - Retail (CD-033-PL) 1
£38.95 £38.95
HD-000-OK OcUK Value Floppy Drive - Beige (HD-000-OK) 1
£4.50 £4.50
CA-009-TT Thermaltake VA7000SWA Shark Aluminium Full Tower - Silver (CA-009-TT) 1
£69.95 £69.95
CA-005-HP Hiper HPU-4K580-MK Type R 580W Modular ATX2.2 PSU - Black UV (CA-005-HP) 1
£54.95 £54.95
KB-015-SK Saitek PZ30AU Eclipse Illuminated Keyboard - Blue (KB-015-SK) 1
£24.95 £24.95
GS-002-IC Icemat - Blue 2nd Edition (GS-002-IC) 1
£20.60 £20.60
KB-013-RA Razer Diamondback Plasma 1600dpi Gaming Mouse Limited Edition - Retail (KB-013-RA) 1
£29.95 £29.95
UP-010-AP APC Back-UPS ES BF500UK 500VA 350W (UP-010-AP) 1
£54.95 £54.95
MO-009-DE Dell Ultrasharp 2407WFP 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Midnight Grey (MO-009-DE) 1
£649.95 £649.95
CD-018-AS Asus DVD-E616P1 DVD-ROM (Black) - Retail (CD-018-AS) 1
£12.50 £12.50
Subtotal £2,251.90
VAT £394.09
Total £2,645.99

Mikey1280 · 10 Jun 2006 at 15:17

Quite a few things I wouldnt have in my £3,800 pc crashuk. namely the maxtors, hiper psu and TT shark. Apart from that its not bad.

crashuk · 10 Jun 2006 at 15:22

its just what you can get, better building it your self forgot to add speakers 7.1s and ss card. ive found maxtors have never let me down (touch wood

)

NarChaDBaueR · 10 Jun 2006 at 16:33

If i had 3,800 pound to spend on a PC this is the spec i would go for its got two of the best graphics cards, 2gb ram, only socket 939 so maybe going AM2 could be an option but there wouldnt be much difference and 1.9tb storage...
You said you liked the lights and flashy bits on the dell case so i put in a lian li case cos i dont know what case you would get... I also didnt put any peripherals in cos i guessed you would probably already have them.

CP-146-AM AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core FX60 (Socket 939) - Retail (ADAFX60DAA6CDBOX) (CP-146-AM) 1
£569.95 £569.95
HD-087-WD Western Digital Raptor 74GB WD740ADFD 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-087-WD) 2
£103.95 £207.90
MB-118-AS Asus A8N32-SLi Deluxe nForce4 SLi X16 (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-118-AS) 1
£105.95 £105.95
GX-085-XF XFX GeForce 7950 GX2 XXX Edition 1024MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (PVT71U-ZDD9) (GX-085-XF) 2
£448.95 £897.90
MY-057-OC OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Series EL-DDR CAS2 (OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K) (MY-057-OC) 1
£139.95 £139.95
CD-052-SO Sony DRU-820A 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter - Retail (CD-052-SO) 1
£31.95 £31.95
CA-031-LL Lian-Li PC V1100 PLUS Black Aluminium Midi-Tower (No PSU) (CA-031-LL) 1
£129.95 £129.95
CA-011-TG Tagan TG900-U95 900W ATX2.01 Turbojet Quad SLi Silent PSU (CA-011-TG) 1
£139.95 £139.95
SC-034-CL Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - Retail (SC-034-CL) 1
£66.95 £66.95
HD-075-WD Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 5000KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-075-WD) 3
£142.95 £428.85
Subtotal £2,719.30
Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £24.95
VAT £480.25
Total £3,224.50

It comes in under budget so you change a few things and add others into it... Also an idea might be having a look at the ultima systems made by overclockers becasue they have got simialr specs to the dell ones for a lot less.
Jack

johneva · 10 Jun 2006 at 20:17

If your spending that kinda money do buy a Dell whatever you do, Dell are ok for a cheap computer package but not high quality jobbies. Even then they are designed so they are not very good for upgrading and they also lock the BIOS.

I got a cheap Dell not that long ago and although dont get me wrong I did get a good deal for what I paid, I am left with a computer that is usless to me now as it is not possiable to upgrade it without replacing every componet of the system. So I am halfway though doing a new build now and I am gonna just keep the Dell system as a backup. I need a backup anyways as I make my living using my computer.

I would say build your own if you have the ability to do so as you will get a better deal in doing this.

But even if you dont want to build your owen take a look at the premade jobbies from OcUK they do some really good rigs at good prices supprise supprise.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Full_Systems.html#afs_2d004_2doc

Explicit · 10 Jun 2006 at 20:29

DobieMan said:
I really like the new XPS 700 case and will all the spec comes at around £3,850.

That's for a base unit only? They're really shafting you from behind. Build your own rig and save some money.

NarChaDBaueR · 10 Jun 2006 at 20:50

From the link above this system would be tem times better than the DELL
"Ultima Extreme SLi 7950 GX2" AMD Athlon 64 FX62 Dual DDR2 Silent PhysX Enabled System (FS-025-OK)
That is the fastest computer that money can buy at the moment so if your spending that sorta money you want the best and that ^^ gives it to ya....
Jack

DobieMan · 10 Jun 2006 at 21:11

Thanks for all the feedback so far very useful I have had a first attempt at putting together a spec after borrowing some ideas for specs posted in this thread would this work and is there anywhere it could be improved:

CA-009-TT Thermaltake VA7000SWA Shark Aluminium Full Tower - Silver

(CA-009-TT) - £69.95

Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-8500C5 TwinX (2x1GB) (MY-109-CS) - £354.79

SC-034-CL Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - Retail (SC-034-CL) - £66.95

Logitech MX 5000 Laser Cordless Bluetooth 2.0 Desktop Combination -

Retail (KB-075-LG) - £93.94

CA-011-TG Tagan TG900-U95 900W ATX2.01 Turbojet Quad SLi Silent PSU

(CA-011-TG) - £139.95

Sapphire TOXIC Radeon X1900XTX 512MB, PCI-Express, Mini Tide Water

Cooler - : £437.01

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB SATA2 16MB 7200RPM at £275.01 X 3 =

£825.03.

AMD Athlon 64 FX-62 2.8GHz Socket AM2, 2MB, BOXED w/fan - £795.01

Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe Crossfire (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-131-AS) - £129.19

Silverstone FP54 Silver Aluminium VFD Display (BB-000-SV - Price: - 56.34

Booner! · 10 Jun 2006 at 21:19

wrong motherboard for that CPU , you need an AM2 motherboard

Mikey1280 · 10 Jun 2006 at 22:44

I wouldnt buy anything yet, wait till conroe comes out, you'll probably want one of those instead. If you dont then other prices will drop anyway.

Explicit · 10 Jun 2006 at 23:37

You won't need a 900W PSU for an X1900XTX. They're also very noisy according to posts on this forum. 600W should be more than enough.