Is This a Good Deal from Dell? Need Advice

[TheHans]

Hi,

I was bargaining with a gentleman at Dell. I'm insecure, because we're getting two computers and it's a big cash outlay. I think I negotiated a relatively good deal. Take into account that we are not gamers and don't download music, so a 40 gig hard drive is *plenty*. It will include the free speakers for each system and will include two of those free printers that they're offering this week. One will not have a modem, though the one below does. Also, the price includes Office 2003 for Teachers & Students. So, the cost comes to $1,865.04 including tax, which also includes the $10 shipping for each computer. Any comments would *really* be appreciated...


The Hans


Base Unit / Unité de base:
Dimension 3000 Series, Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 2.8GHz with 1MB cache (221-6495)

Memory / Mémoire:
512MB DDR SDRAM at 400MHz (311-4259)

Keyboard / Clavier:
Dell Quiet Key Keyboard (310-1582)

Monitor / Moniteur:
17 in (17 in viewable) E173FPBFlat Panel Display (463-7884)

Video Card / Carte graphique:
Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 (320-2870)

Hard Drive / Disque dur:
40GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive (7200RPM) (340-9049)

Floppy Disk Drive / Lecteur de disquette:
No Floppy Drive Requested (340-8688)

Operating System / Système d'exploitation:
Image Restore (412-0688)

Operating System / Système d'exploitation:
Dimension Dell Support (412-0721)

Operating System / Système d'exploitation:
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition,Service Pack 2,English (420-4834)

Operating System / Système d'exploitation:
Windows Media Player 10 (420-4927)

Operating System / Système d'exploitation:
Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access (463-2282)

Mouse / Souris:
Dell USB Optical Mouse (310-4037)

NIC / Carte réseau intégrée:
Intel Pro 100M Integrated PCI NIC Card (430-0412)

Modem / Modem:
56K PCI Data Fax Modem (313-2279)

Tape Backup Unit / système de secours sur bande:
Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 (412-0705)

CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive / Lecteur CD-ROM ou DVD-ROM:
48X Max CD-RW Drive (313-2237)

Sound Card / Carte de son:
Integrated Audio (313-2758)

Speakers / Haut-parleurs:
No Speaker Requested (313-4514)

Bundled Software / Logiciels empaquetés:
AOL 9.0 - Canada (412-0674)

Bundled Software / Logiciels empaquetés:
Word Perfect Productivity Pack (412-0701)

Factory Installed Software / Logiciels installés à l'usine:
Norton Internet Security 2005 90 Day Trial,OEM (412-0757)

Option 1 / Première option:
Music Match 9.0 Basic 7 day OnDemand (412-0741)

Option 2 / Deuxième option:
Paint Shop Photo Album 5.1 Standard (412-0744)

Service / Garantie:
Type 3 Contract - Next Business Day Parts and Labor On-Site Response,Initial Year (930-1320)

Service / Garantie:
No Warranty, Year 2 and 3 (950-9797)

Shipping & Handling / les frais d'expédition et de manutention:
Pay $10 Shipping and Handling (009-9942)

[poedua]

Some other readers may wish to add comments as I'm not up on Dell specs.

But, i think the 3000 runs on a different motherboard than the Dell 4700 for example - it may have an impact on future upgrades - perhaps readers can comment.

How much does each computer cost b/4 tax ?

Teacher Office Edition - this is availalbe for $199 from most PC shops ....what are Dell charging you ? - and keep in mind you can have up to 3 licences / PC's with one copy of Teacher edition purchased ( assume you're buying only one copy ? )

Printer - with a price match from Office Depot to Staples , you can get a HP PSC 1315 printer that Prints, Scans and Copies from Staples for $ 77 ( b/4 tx ) until may 27th - the 1315 got good reviews but ink costs are so/so - again, readers who know Dell printers may wish to comment if the Dell is a better value.

Speakers ...you can get from Staples on PM ( i.e Logitech ) may also have a bit more punch than Dell's.

[JimG]

There's generally not much barganing room on their low end systems at all. When I bought my Inspiron Notebook they were practically flogging me with freebies and very willing to be flexible, when I went looking for a Dimension 3000 they flat out told me no deals. I guess since you're buying two you've got a bit more power. The 3000s don't have an AGP slot, so your options for upgrading video are virtually nil, but like you said, you're not a gamer. You also apparently need some kind of bracket to install a floppy drive, so that might be hard to get from them after your order, or you can try rigging something yourself.

Jim

[Amourek]

$1,865.04??? Are you kidding me? Go to Dell.ca and configure the same computer - should be much less (though I don't know how much the Office license is worth).

[poppa]

Do a search for a Dell Dimension 3000 or 2400 and you'll see that there are occasional deals for under $400 plus tax for a basic unit without monitor. If you can wait, there will be one someday.

I'd also recommend switching to a Celeron CPU since there's no need for a higher end cpu. It would save some $$$.

Btw, I'd get rid of AOL 9.0 and opt for 3 months of Rogers/Bell. But the funny thing is, they still send you those damn AOL cd's!

So it's $1,865.04 for two units right?

[JimG]

From his post, I'm sure it's $1865.04 for two systems. Which isn't really a deal at all. Two equivalent systems with double the disk space can be had for $5 less right now without the Office software.

Jim

[TheHans]

Hi,

The computers are $719 and $759 before taxes. One has a modem and one doesn't. The Office is $158 before taxes. At PC places it runs about $180-200. The price of this software is significant. Keep in mind that it also has the 17-inch flat-panel upgrades and the $10 shipping even though both systems run under the $799 for this week's deals.

TheHans

[TheHans]

You also apparently need some kind of bracket to install a floppy drive, so that might be hard to get from them after your order, or you can try rigging something yourself.

Jim

Hi,

Can you explain what you mean by this? Or what's missing on the system we're buying? Because we're planning to put in a floppy and thought it had a slot for it.

TheHans

[JimG]

Hi,

Can you explain what you mean by this? Or what's missing on the system we're buying? Because we're planning to put in a floppy and thought it had a slot for it.

TheHans

It does have a slot for it, but from what I've heard, Dell uses special mounting brackets/rails which need to be attached to the diskette drive before it will fit into the bay. If you don't order a floppy with the system, they don't give you the the brackets, or the face plate. I'll let you know when my order arrives today whether or not there are brackets.

Jim

[TheHans]

It does have a slot for it, but from what I've heard, Dell uses special mounting brackets/rails which need to be attached to the diskette drive before it will fit into the bay. If you don't order a floppy with the system, they don't give you the the brackets, or the face plate. I'll let you know when my order arrives today whether or not there are brackets.

Jim

Hi,

Yes, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know. We'll be ordering the systems tomorrow. We have two other floppies (floppys?) with two normal brackets, but if these don't fit...

We tried to negotiate for a floppy in exchange for one of the free printers, but he wouldn't budge on that. If what you're suggesting is true, we might have to take their floppy after all...

TheHans

[JimG]

Hi,

Yes, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know. We'll be ordering the systems tomorrow. We have two other floppies (floppys?) with two normal brackets, but if these don't fit...

We tried to negotiate for a floppy in exchange for one of the free printers, but he wouldn't budge on that. If what you're suggesting is true, we might have to take their floppy after all...

TheHans

Take a look at Dell's own community forums if you haven't already, a lot of potential problems are identified there. After looking into it some more, I'm pretty sure you don't get the brackets if you don't order a floppy, this also means you won't be able to install a second harddrive, I'm assuming the 5" drives also require special brackets.

Jim

[poedua]

Hi,

The computers are $719 and $759 before taxes. One has a modem and one doesn't. The Office is $158 before taxes. At PC places it runs about $180-200. The price of this software is significant. Keep in mind that it also has the 17-inch flat-panel upgrades and the $10 shipping even though both systems run under the $799 for this week's deals.

TheHans

In case you want to see how the Dell's stack up against a custom build, the system below is on the net for $548 - mind you, it still needs xp s/w, crt, Office etc. - but, it is on a 775 socket, not sure what socket the 3000 runs on ( 478 ? )

Comparing this to the Dell, the Dell still looks like a good deal.

$ 549

Intel P4-2.8G (775)
ASRock (ASUS OEM) Mainboard
512MB PC3200 DDR RAM
80GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
ATI Radeon9250 128MB W/TV-out
6 Channel Stereo Sound
LG 16x DVD+RW, Dual Layer
10/100 LAN On Board
400W ATX Mid Tower Case
Windows Keyboard
Wheel Mouse
Standard Speakers

P4-3.0G J (1MB) $569
P4-3.2G J (1MB) $629
Macron 400W Power Add: $35

[TheHans]

Take a look at Dell's own community forums if you haven't already, a lot of potential problems are identified there. After looking into it some more, I'm pretty sure you don't get the brackets if you don't order a floppy, this also means you won't be able to install a second harddrive, I'm assuming the 5" drives also require special brackets.

Jim

Hi,

Thanks for mentioning the forums. I didn't know about them. It appears to be true that the brackets are not included for the floppy. It's something that many people are complaining about on the forums. We have brackets from our two other older computers and we were just going to remove the floppy from one of those computers along with the bracket. But to read the forums, it seems to be some kind of special bracket.

This complicates things marginally, as we were expecting to install both our own floppy and our own DVD or CD-Rom drive. Now I'll have to find something else to bargain with. It's actually a bit frustrating that it isn't possible to exchange those useless "free" colour printers (aka the bookends) for *anything*. This would solve our problem of course...

Does anyone happen to know if one can at least add generic RAM to a Dimension 3000 without some weird proprietary thing going on? We've currently got 512 MBs of RAM included for each computer. But everyone knows Dell RAM is overpriced. I was thinking of reducing the RAM to 256 MBs for each computer then buying two sticks of 256 MBs, one for each computer, from NCIX. This, of course, would be less expensive (if the Dell guy would agree without taking off our $10 shipping.) Then we could get dual drives and a floppy from Dell to make up the difference. But I worry that there might be a reason generic RAM cannot be properly installed. For example, I looked all over the Dell site and couldn't find any mention of how many pins the RAM has, only that it's DDR SDRAM at 400MHz.

Has anyone actually installed generic RAM on a Dimension 3000?

TheHans

[JimG]

RAM shouldn't be a problem. I got my dimension today and, as I expected, nothing to mount the floppy onto. I might try rigging something when I've got some time.

Jim

[coomar]

I'm put generic ram into the 2 dell computers, hasn't been a problem, just run memtest after installing

[Spent]

You got taken

You would have been better off dealing with a reputable local dealer
You should have got a DVD burner
512mb RAM is the MINIMUM you should be getting for XP
NOBODY should be getting a 40gb HD
I'm surprised they're still manufacturing them
The fact you listed AOL says it all
:lol:
You should have asked about the purchase BEFORE not AFTER

[TheHans]

I'm put generic ram into the 2 dell computers, hasn't been a problem, just run memtest after installing

Thanks!

TheHans

[TheHans]

You got taken

You would have been better off dealing with a reputable local dealer
You should have got a DVD burner
512mb RAM is the MINIMUM you should be getting for XP
NOBODY should be getting a 40gb HD
I'm surprised they're still manufacturing them
The fact you listed AOL says it all
:lol:
You should have asked about the purchase BEFORE not AFTER

Hi,

First, we haven't bought the computers yet. Second, we don't need a DVD burner at all. Third the computers *do* have 512 mbs of RAM and fourth, since we write and don't download pictures, music, anything of any size really, a 40gb HD is plenty big enough. Fifth, AOL was listed by Dell because they know we have Telus and refused to give us Telus, so they just defaulted to AOL.

By the way, since I saw on another thread that you also hate Word, at least I think it was you, I want to mention that you forgot to say something obnoxious about the Office for Students and Teachers.

At least if you're going to be rude, you could read the posts a bit better before making your comments.

TheHans

[Spent]

Okay, fine
DO NOT BUY DELL

Like I said find some reputable dealer close to you and deal with him.
It's called planning ahead
It's not that much extra to buy a DVD burner and regardless
of your limited knowledge of computers you WILL FIND
give it time that you wish you had a DVD burner.
Buying a 40 gb HD is STUPID regardless of whether or not you realize it.
I KNOW you're getting 512 ram- I SAID that's the minimum you should get
Like someone else told you the MB doesn't even have a AGP slot
That tells you what a piece of crap the mb is.

Actually from the sounds of it you probably shouldn't even be buying a new computer .
Buy a decent 19 inch monitor and pick up a used mid system from
your local dealer.

[TheHans]

Okay, fine
DO NOT BUY DELL

It's not that much extra to buy a DVD burner and regardless
of your limited knowledge of computers you WILL FIND
give it time that you wish you had a DVD burner.
Buying a 40 gb HD is STUPID regardless of whether or not you realize it.
Actually from the sounds of it you probably shouldn't even be buying a new computer .
Buy a decent 19 inch monitor and pick up a used mid system from
your local dealer.

Hi,

Well, thanks for your amazingly wise advice oh great oracle of the RFD forums. If I ever have any other questions regarding what I will need -- because you obviously know way better than I do -- I know where to find you. Thanks again.

TheHans

[poedua]

Okay, fine
DO NOT BUY DELL

Like I said find some reputable dealer close to you and deal with him.
It's called planning ahead
It's not that much extra to buy a DVD burner and regardless
of your limited knowledge of computers you WILL FIND
give it time that you wish you had a DVD burner.
Buying a 40 gb HD is STUPID regardless of whether or not you realize it.
I KNOW you're getting 512 ram- I SAID that's the minimum you should get
Like someone else told you the MB doesn't even have a AGP slot
That tells you what a piece of crap the mb is.

Actually from the sounds of it you probably shouldn't even be buying a new computer .
Buy a decent 19 inch monitor and pick up a used mid system from
your local dealer.

I agree that going with a custom build is a strong option and best option - given the quality of the parts, flexibility to upgrade etc.,... but pre-builts like Dell / HP serve a purpose and a niche market of "general users"...so they have their role ..and may provide Hans the comfort level he's looking for.

However, i agree with you, some pre-planning or comparisons even among the pre-builds like Dell/HP/etc. is time well spent.

I quickly looked at CNET ( below ) to see how the Dell 3000 was reviewed
and it seemed "OK" from both the editor and users ( 6/10 ) but below other machines in terms of performance specs they chart - they cite the emachines T 3092 as one alternative to the Dell 3000.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_Dimension_3000_Desktop_Computer_for_Business/4505-3118_7-31200976-2.html?tag=top


By comparison, the T 3092 CNET review ( below ) got stellar editorial and user reviews ( 8/10 ) and also seemed to address the AGP issue you cited.

http://reviews.cnet.com/eMachines_T3092/4505-3118_7-30994545-2.html

Actually , Future Shop has a refurbished T 3092 for $549 with a lot of the same software as the 3000 ( excluding the Teacher Edition s/w )- grab a used Dell 19" CRT for $150 and you're at the $700 mark. Prices seem close to the Dell.

I'm not saying emachines are any better than Dell's - assuming most pre-builds are 'crap' compared to a custom build - but within their immediate competition, their specs, quality and bundling value are in the same ballpark.

Perhaps it's of value to first identify those competitors ( i.e emachines/ HP ) and the PC models ( specs ) they each have positioned to compete against the 3000. On that basis, the e-machine may have the edge over the 3000.

Either way, let's hope Hans enjoys the 3000 for what it is - an OK budget PC - seems that's all he was looking for in the first place.

[TheHans]

I quickly looked at CNET ( below ) to see how the Dell 3000 was reviewed
and it seemed "OK" from both the editor and users ( 6/10 ) but below other machines in terms of performance specs they chart - they cite the emachines T 3092 as one alternative.

By comparison, the T 3092 CNET review ( below ) got stellar editorial and user reviews ( 8/10 ) and also seemed to address the AGP issue you cited.

http://reviews.cnet.com/eMachines_T3092/4505-3118_7-30994545-2.html

Perhaps it's of value to first identify those competitors ( i.e emachines/ HP ) and the PC models ( specs ) they each have positioned to compete against the 3000. On that basis, the e-machine may have the edge over the 3000.

Either way, let's hope Hans enjoys the 3000 for what it is - an OK budget PC - seems that's all he was looking for in the first place.

Hi,

I appreciate what you wrote here and the postings of some of the other people as well. You definitely see what type of computers we're looking for and we believe that Dell does address our needs. The eMachine you pointed out does get a bit of a stronger review, it's true. And we appreciate your including the link so we could read about it. I guess ultimately the Dimension 3000 does address our needs a bit better, particularly when you take into account the Office for Teachers & Students as well, which isn't something we can do without in this case. Also, we feel that for the price -- considering the computers are P4s with 17-inch flat panel monitors, not just CRTs -- it's hard not to be swayed...at least for us. :-)

For example (although I'm sure many would find this hard to believe) I currently have a 40 gig HD in my computer and I don't even use half of it. Additionally,the AGP issue is currently a non-issue. I know it's something I might wish we had in the future, but by then we'll probably be buying new computers anyway. It's weird, because in the past we've spent more on computers, less on computers, gotten custom made ones, and even *cheap* ones (like one from IPC). By the time we realize there's something we need, we generally need a bunch of stuff and then it's time to upgrade overall anyway it seems.

The one issue that *is* a real issue, which was also addressed in the review, was the incapability of adding one's own floppy. I'm glad this came out on this thread and I will address it with the Dell salesman today. Hopefully he'll be willing to throw in the brackets.

Thanks again.

TheHans

[poedua]

Hi,

I appreciate what you wrote here and the postings of some of the other people as well. You definitely see what type of computers we're looking for and we believe that Dell does address our needs. The eMachine you pointed out does get a bit of a stronger review, it's true. And we appreciate your including the link so we could read about it. I guess ultimately the Dimension 3000 does address our needs a bit better, particularly when you take into account the Office for Teachers & Students as well, which isn't something we can do without in this case. Also, we feel that for the price -- considering the computers are P4s with 17-inch flat panel monitors, not just CRTs -- it's hard not to be swayed...at least for us. :-)

For example (although I'm sure many would find this hard to believe) I currently have a 40 gig HD in my computer and I don't even use half of it. Additionally,the AGP issue is currently a non-issue. I know it's something I might wish we had in the future, but by then we'll probably be buying new computers anyway. It's weird, because in the past we've spent more on computers, less on computers, gotten custom made ones, and even *cheap* ones (like one from IPC). By the time we realize there's something we need, we generally need a bunch of stuff and then it's time to upgrade overall anyway it seems.

The one issue that *is* a real issue, which was also addressed in the review, was the incapability of adding one's own floppy. I'm glad this came out on this thread and I will address it with the Dell salesman today. Hopefully he'll be willing to throw in the brackets.

Thanks again.

TheHans

Just a couple of last thoughts;

The floppy - it gets down to how often you'll be using this and whether info on DVD's is a way to go, either way, to have a floppy even put on a custom build is $15, and for Dell I think it's a $30 upgrade - for an xtra $15 have Dell put it on OR go without it and get an external USB unit for only occational use - why negotiate over brackets for a mere $15 ?

CPU- if you're a low-end user as you claim , perhaps the earlier suggestion to go with a Celeron CPU down from a Pentium is the way to go - with your user profile, the difference may be immaterial to you and you can save some $ ( if downgrading is possible ) along the way to invest elsewhere.

Hard Drive - Virtually 90% of what i've read suggests going with a 80gb drive- even for student PC's, 40gB is always cited as the absolute bare minimum, if at all , so I'd go mid level with an 80GB if at all possible This may be the only change i'd give some serious consideration to .

Apart from that, if your needs are modest and expectations realistic of what the 3000 delivers, you should be quite at home with the 3000 - overall Dell provides good value for non - hardcore users ( not the 10% of the population represented by hard core or informed users that would even consider any upgrades to a Dell ). For the remaining 90% of us - Dells fit the bill just fine.

Best of luck.

[TheHans]

Just a couple of last thoughts;

The floppy - it gets down to how often you'll be using this and whether info on DVD's is a way to go, either way, to have a floppy even put on a custom build is $15, and for Dell I think it's a $30 upgrade - for an xtra $15 have Dell put it on OR go without it and get an external USB unit for only occational use - why negotiate over brackets for a mere $15 ?

The external drive is a good idea - I'll think about that before we call.


CPU- if you're a low-end user as you claim , perhaps the earlier suggestion to go with a Celeron CPU down from a Pentium is the way to go - with your user profile, the difference may be immaterial to you and you can save some $ ( if downgrading is possible ) along the way to invest elsewhere.

I thought of that, as we don't need both computers to be P4s. But, as it was, the salesman was still agreeing to the $10 shipping even though each of the computers was under $799. He said we'd have to pay the shipping on the one that we turned into a Celeron. So for the difference of the $69 we'd have to pay for shipping over having the P4, we stayed with the P4.


Hard Drive - Virtually 90% of what i've read suggests going with a 80gb drive- even for student PC's, 40gB is always cited as the absolute bare minimum, if at all , so I'd go mid level with an 80GB if at all possible This may be the only change i'd give some serious consideration to .?

It's hard for us to relate to this hard drive thing, needing the 80GB I mean, since we use so little of what we have. We've been doing the same work for years and have never needed close to 40GB even. But, on the good side, *each* computer will have a 40GB, so we'll have 80GB overall. :-)

Thanks again.

TheHans

[TheHans]

OR go without it and get an external USB unit for only occational use - why negotiate over brackets for a mere $15 ?


Hi,

So, I checked around for the external drives and that's definitely the ticket. I *so* didn't think of that, so thanks again. We can just get one if we need one then.

TheHans

[poedua]

Hi,

So, I checked around for the external drives and that's definitely the ticket. I *so* didn't think of that, so thanks again. We can just get one if we need one then.

TheHans

I agree, external floppy sounds like a good idea - found one that also includes a 6 in 1 media reader for $31 , same price as a Dell upgrade for the inboard floppy

http://www.fcswarehouse.com/fd-mit-7in1-u2-bk.html

[jed]

The one bad thing about these types of computers is that if the motherboard fails on you, when you replace the motherboard, you also get to buy a new copy of XP. That is if you can get a replacement, and don't end up also having to buy a new case and power supply too.

From a repair standpoint, they are not very versatile with being able to use off the shelf parts.

Not saying they are the ones to buy or not. Just know what you're buying.

[synaptech]

Although I agree that building your own is best and more easily repaired. I think Dell is a good choice too, especially when you consider the support options.

Given my own recent experience with Dell I would check their website for any deals there first and then call a rep. I called 3 times, I got 3 different prices for the same system and very different levels of bargaining.

- One guy was good,
- one guy was extremely good, but then had some creative math and charges,
- one guy was a prick and actually increased the price when I asked to remove an item.

I called the 1st one back and worked from there.

I haven't looked at your specs very closely, but the prices seem the be average for what you're getting. However, if it were me, I'd go for one of their basic systems and buy the LCD, speakers, and memory elsewhere.

I know you said you won't burn DVDs, but given the price of a DVDRW vs a CDRW I would also pick up a DVD burner in the near future. Backups are a good thing. :D

[poedua]

Although I agree that building your own is best and more easily repaired. I think Dell is a good choice too, especially when you consider the support options.

Given my own recent experience with Dell I would check their website for any deals there first and then call a rep. I called 3 times, I got 3 different prices for the same system and very different levels of bargaining.

- One guy was good,
- one guy was extremely good, but then had some creative math and charges,
- one guy was a prick and actually increased the price when I asked to remove an item.

I called the 1st one back and worked from there.

I haven't looked at your specs very closely, but the prices seem the be average for what you're getting. However, if it were me, I'd go for one of their basic systems and buy the LCD, speakers, and memory elsewhere.

I know you said you won't burn DVDs, but given the price of a DVDRW vs a CDRW I would also pick up a DVD burner in the near future. Backups are a good thing. :D

Most of the people I know have simply ordered Dell machines on-line based on advertised packages w/o direct discussions with a sales rep - perhaps that's not the best way to go when ordering after reading these threads

is there a lot of "wiggle room' price wise if ordered via a Dell rep on the phone ( the 1-800 number ? ) - i.e cheaper than a direct on-line order placement ?

are these reps based in north america or part of the Dell call-centre off shore ?

welcome thoughts

[synaptech]

Well the voice quality is pretty bad (VOIP?) sometimes, but in my thee calls two people had an accent and one did not. No idea if I'm calling withing North America or offshore.

As for wiggle room, there appears to be some when you call, but others have reported that it depends on the price and most likely the commision. You won't get any less if it's a rock bottom (~299) deal online, but there may be room for negotiation if it's a more expensive system (~1999). The thing you have to watch is if it really is cheaper to call the rep! Like I said above, one rep was actually charging me more for less stuff and another was giving me fantastic discounts, but then became creative with the prices at the end which made it more expensive than online. Also, the person I finally bought from had to be reminded several times of the discount he agreed to.

[TheHans]

I haven't looked at your specs very closely, but the prices seem the be average for what you're getting. However, if it were me, I'd go for one of their basic systems and buy the LCD, speakers, and memory elsewhere.


Hi,

I *so* agree about their memory, but the rep. wouldn't take more off the computer and still give us the $10 shipping. The computers were supposed to be $799 (minimum) to get that shipping instead of the $79 and he'd already agreed to keep the $10 shipping for both even though I'd already negotiated one down to $719 and one to $759. I think I've seen the phrase "the shipping killed it" more than once on these forums with relation to Dell. We thought about getting a more "basic" 3000 without any bells and whistles, as you suggested, but by the time you add the shipping, add the shipping on where ever we might buy LCD monitors, memory and yes, even a DVD drive *and* Office, it worked out to *more* than what we would pay. At least by what I could figure. So, considering the shipping was $20 (total) I'm pretty satisfied from that point of view.

Also, since we *need* to have Office and this was significant, having him give us Office for $158 was something we had to take into account overall. We don't have the option of getting Office at a university where it sells for peanuts, so the $158 was extremely cheap. For example, Tigerdirect.ca sells Office for $169 (I think it is), but you also have to pay shipping for it.

But having gone on and on here I have to say...you're *so* right about the price of Dell's memory. It's overpriced.

On another note, we ordered our systems at about 4:30PM Pacific Time yesterday and the Office arrived at 8:30AM this morning. That seems pretty fast, I must admit. Too bad the Purolator guy woke us up :-)

TheHans

[synaptech]

Yeah I agree that if they were going to up the shipping then you did the right thing. Besides, you have complete packages now and they were delivered pretty freakin quick.

[poedua]

Hi,

I *so* agree about their memory, but the rep. wouldn't take more off the computer and still give us the $10 shipping. The computers were supposed to be $799 (minimum) to get that shipping instead of the $79 and he'd already agreed to keep the $10 shipping for both even though I'd already negotiated one down to $719 and one to $759. I think I've seen the phrase "the shipping killed it" more than once on these forums with relation to Dell. We thought about getting a more "basic" 3000 without any bells and whistles, as you suggested, but by the time you add the shipping, add the shipping on where ever we might buy LCD monitors, memory and yes, even a DVD drive *and* Office, it worked out to *more* than what we would pay. At least by what I could figure. So, considering the shipping was $20 (total) I'm pretty satisfied from that point of view.

Also, since we *need* to have Office and this was significant, having him give us Office for $158 was something we had to take into account overall. We don't have the option of getting Office at a university where it sells for peanuts, so the $158 was extremely cheap. For example, Tigerdirect.ca sells Office for $169 (I think it is), but you also have to pay shipping for it.

But having gone on and on here I have to say...you're *so* right about the price of Dell's memory. It's overpriced.

On another note, we ordered our systems at about 4:30PM Pacific Time yesterday and the Office arrived at 8:30AM this morning. That seems pretty fast, I must admit. Too bad the Purolator guy woke us up :-)

TheHans


In the event it helps, a March 2005 article ( below ) ranked the Dell 3000 a " Best Buy " - and it's not even a Pentium like yours, but a Celeron.

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,119494,00.asp

Good Choice