Which desktop would you buy? The Sony is acutally cheaper than the dell Dimension 8200, I like the way the sony looks the only thing i don't like about the sony is that it only comes with a 32mb Graphics card if i picked the 64mb card for a low end Processor which is what i want it siad that you can't get it also the sony dosen't say or not if it comes with USB 2.0 i would think all new computers would have that though right?

A Graphics card really dosen't matter if you don't play games right? I like the way the Dimension 8200 comes apart would make it easer to add ram if i needed to.

Any suggestion?

This summer, myself and some partners were hired by the Ontario Institute of Technology (opening 2003) to move pc's and etc.

The school was loaded with Dells and I must say, I LOVE EM! Like you said, the cases on those things are beyond belief! As for the actual computers, they ran very nice!!!

Sorry I don't know anything about the actual Dell you want info on, but I thought I toss in my 2 cents on the Dell vs. Sony thing :D

If DIY isnt an option, go with Dell.

With the dell i can get all of this

Dell Dimension 8200 Series
Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.40GHz with 533MHz system bus/ 512K L2
Cache

Qty: 1
SALE PRICE
Price: $1,138.00
[save $50.00]


Date: Thursday, September 05, 2002 3:56:57 PM CDT
Catalog Number: 29 19
Dell Dimension 8200 Series: Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.40GHz with 533MHz system bus/ 512K L2 Cache DS824BW [220-9714]
Memory: SAVE $70! (savings included in price) 512MB PC800 RDRAM 512M82P [461-5718]
Keyboard: Dell® Quietkey® Keyboard QK [310-1582]
Monitors: No Monitor N [320-3000]
Video Card: New 64MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4™ Ti 4200 Graphics Card with TV Out and DVI 64T4200 [320-0491]
Hard Drive: FREE Upgrade! 80GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive 80P [461-2885]
Floppy Drive: 3.5 in Floppy Drive 3 [340-1927]
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition WHXP [313-7222] [412-0189] [420-3079]
Mouse: Dell® 2-button scroll mouse SM [310-1871]
Network Card: 10/100 PCI Fast Ethernet NIC CNET [430-5353]
Modem: 56K PCI Telephony Modem 56KWSXP [313-1583]
CD or DVD Drive: 48x Max CD-ROM Drive CD48 [313-2561]
Sound Card: Integrated Audio with Soundblaster Pro/16 Compatibility IS [313-2758]
Speakers: Harman Kardon HK-395 Speakers with Subwoofer HK395 [313-7284]
Bundled Software: Microsoft® Works Suite 2002 w/Money Standard WORKS [412-0133]
Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MusicMatch MMBASE [412-0246]
Digital Photography: Dell Picture Studio, Image Expert Standard DPS [412-0271] [412-0273]
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year At-Home Service S111OS [950-1260] [950-3337] [950-9797]
Internet Access Options: 6 Months of America Online Membership Included AOLDHS [412-0258] [412-0279] [412-0287]
CD or DVD Burner for 2nd bay: 40x/10x/40x Max CD-RW Drive with Roxio's Easy CD Creator® 40CDRW2 [313-1131]

all for only $1,138.00 thats a good price don't you think? :)
That's without a montor though.


Hard to belive but the last computer i bought was 3,000 and all i got was a P3 at 500mhz and 384mb of ram and a dvd cd drive

Computers have really gotten cheaper!!

I've never used a sony, but there isn't a screw in a dell case, I've had three of them and never ONCE had a problem with hardware or software, except for when I broke the modem.

I don't use a modem any more :)

I say dell. My parents got Dell couple of months ago. It seems to be running good. I've used it like 10 times... my mom loves the computer. So go with the dell...the case is easy to open too I think.

Dell :) very cool machines ;).

my future father-in-law recently bought a $2500(US) Sony laptop and has fallen deeply in love with it. He rubs my nose in it every chance he gets and I'm jealous as hell over it.

Greg Moore

Acer - my favorite, but when it's not my money I go with Toshiba.

Now useing an Acer "aspire 1400" prices droped $550 AFTER I baught it - wonder what I think of that?????

Sony or Dell ?- tough choice but Acer always wins ;)

ACER? rofl! In my experience they make the worst computers.

But then again i've noticed how they have improved over the years, but for my money, they are a company i will avoid.

We are runnig 12 dells at my office now. They are very dependable. In three years I have only had to replace a power which was under warranty. It took about 5 minutes to unbox the power supply and replace. Very Slick!

As someone who has purchased about 5 dells in the past few years, here is my experience...

Hardware - Ive had more hardware issues with my dells than with any other computer I own.

Dell #2 - Modem has been replaced 3 times, motherboard 2, and then the whole computer replaced. This was a laptop.

Dell #3 Hard Drive failure after 5 months with WindowsXP, just replaced

Support has recently moved to india and similar countries with cheap labor. I have NEVER received adequate assistance when speaking with someone in a foreign country, they have no vested interest in solving the problem, only in getting you off the phone. Ive always have had to call back and home to get routed to a US agent. Telephone wait times has gone up quite a bit since our first dell 4 years ago. Ive spent hours waiting to speak with a tech.

Once it has been determined that a hardware item needs to be replaced, the service people have always come out within a week and fixed it.

I still buy Dells though, as I think they are one of the most reliable computers available on the market.

I have a Dell, bought it in early '99, buying a new one this week. I have had no problems at all with it. Everything has worked perfectly since the day I got it.

BTW, dell is currently offering a $200 mail-in rebate on Dimension 8200s.

I have a Dell Inspiron and it has been great so far! I actually accidently destroyed the keyboard one day and they came out and repalced the keyboard the following day! That's what I call service.

I just bought the 8200 you are talking about. The dell I have right now is going on 4 years old, and I've not had any problems with it. I can't say much about Sony computers... i've never owned one. Its a pretty good price on that dell tho. :spiny:

Originally posted by Dave22
Which desktop would you buy? The Sony is acutally cheaper than the dell Dimension 8200, I like the way the sony looks the only thing i don't like about the sony is that it only comes with a 32mb Graphics card if i picked the 64mb card for a low end Processor which is what i want it siad that you can't get it also the sony dosen't say or not if it comes with USB 2.0 i would think all new computers would have that though right?

A Graphics card really dosen't matter if you don't play games right? I like the way the Dimension 8200 comes apart would make it easer to add ram if i needed to.

Any suggestion?

I don't like either, but given a choice I would have to say Dell. Sony is the biggest piece of junk on the market. It is so proprietary that it isn't funny. Most people don't realize the inferior parts that Sony uses from skimping on the video card to poor cooling, hard drives that are known to fail, lack of expandability along with a host of other problems. Sure, they package it well but it's what's on the inside that counts. Go with a Dell instead.
I build my own , this way I can upgrade anything whenever I want and I am not locked into ordering proprietary parts from any particular company.

Go for the dell :)

Dell!
I manage about 500 Dell's for a company and they are VERY GOOD. We use OptiPlex, however.

OK, I'm surprised that no one already said it.
"Dude, you're gettin' a Dell (http://www.webdocta.net/pics/steven_dell.jpg)"

I got a Dell Dimension 4100 a couple years ago, only problem I had was with the HDD dying but they sent out a replacement promptly and fortunately the disk wasn't completely dead, so I could get most of the data off of it.

Custom-build, though, if you can.

I would go with Sony. I am working on it and satisfied with it.

I've just added a Dell Dimension 4500 (P4 2.53GHz) to the network, arrived yesterday... and all I can say is WOW! If I'm looking to buy a new PC or change one, I'll definitely recommend Dell. The system overall is very smooth, it's especially especially very quiet too, even though it's got dual fans at the back.

Alan

I manage a set of about 20 Dells - one of them had a power supply problem soon after it arrived but the others have been great.

For a PC, my choice is always Dell. But for a laptop Sony wins :)

I have lots of Dell systems and I must say, they are by far the best performance wise, support wise and they are built to last. I currently have a Dell - 120MHz, 333MHz, 400MHz, 1GHz, 1.7GHz and 2GHz and even the old 120MHz is still going after 7 years (I think). I mean Dell are simple quality to the extreme.

Originally posted by Marko_P
I say dell. My parents got Dell couple of months ago. It seems to be running good. I've used it like 10 times... my mom loves the computer. So go with the dell...the case is easy to open too I think.

Let me guess, the Dell Dude smiled at your parents and they opened their wallets right away :D

Originally posted by timechange


Let me guess, the Dell Dude smiled at your parents and they opened their wallets right away :D

THERE'S A DELL DUDE!?!?!??! :eek:

WHERE??? I WANNA SEE!!!!

Knock yourself out (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=Dell+Dude&sa=N&tab=wi)

Also: http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/topics/segtopic_steven_home.htm

I would suggest Dell

thanks for all the replys.

I will be getting the Dell soon! I see they have a $200 rebate now but a few days ago the system i made was 200 less lol but this week you get a free printer! Funny how they change prices every few days.

Isn't Intel coming out with a P4 at 3GHz this week? If they are i guess prices will go down again.

lol only 2 months or so ago i got a dell2ghz it was like almost top notch then now its already outdated bah lol.

anyhow i love my dell get a dell

I have a Dell and a Sony and I must say, my Sony had almost no problems after a year but my Dell's always up with something.
My dad's friend had a Dell too, but it didn't work at ALL. He sent it in to get it fixed and it still didn't work.
I don't know, I'm not a Dell guy anymore.