256 Ram 1.5ghz, 40gb, what else could you ask for...
Written: Sep 08 '01
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Pros: Sleek Looking, Fast, Quick Shipping, easy setup, WIN XP Upgrade, P4 Process.
Cons: Somewhat pricey but worth it. Freezes up occaisonally.
The Bottom Line: Awesome system. After heavy research this is the best value, and will last a long time.
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| drew6652's Full Review: Dell Dimension 8100 Series |
I have had my dell for a few days now and it is just incredible. I will start with the begining of getting this computer:
I ordered it online, which fairly easy. At first i was disapointed becasue i was told by e-mail confirmation it wont ship until the 18th of september, and i had ordered it the 31st of august, so i was expecting to wait a long time, but then i get a message the 4th saying, your order has been shipped, and i got it the 6th, even with standard UPS ground shipping. I was able to get tracking #'s from dell so that was usefull. Shipping is pricey, $95.00 but worth it considering you dont want anything to get destroyed during transit, and everything arrived in perfect condition.
After about 20 minutes of having the package delivered to my door i had the computer up and running and already on the internet. I must say even with 56k modem, there was a great improvement on download speed, compared to my last computer from 1998, 333mhz, 128 ram. Before i would download at 3 to 4 kb/s on a good day, but now i easily am downloading at 5-6kb/s, which is still exteremly slow compared to DSL and cable, but overall i'm happy with the speed. Also, web browsing speed increased greatly Booting up the computer is very quick, desktop loads very fast.
The only cons is that the system is pricey, if you want to get a great system that wont be outdated in a month. At 1.5ghz, P4 processor, 256 ram, 40gb hard drive, i should be fine for a while, overall i think the finall price with shipping was close to 1500. I did get extra's and add better options, a 17'' (16.9'' viewable monitor (+$70) surround speakers with subwoofer +$60, SB Live digital sound card,$20 extra, 12e8mb ram +$100, DVD, $60 extra, TV-OUT, $20 extra, and there were some more but those are the basics.
Also, when i am getting ready to burn a cd, and adding files, the system will freeze up and i have to restart, it does this about 1-4 times i burn a cd, but it can get annoying after a while, and my friend also has a dell and it does the same thing, i never experinced that with my old computer.
The speakers are great. Harmon Kardon surround sound speakers with sub-woofer. They ate high tech looking, and truley offer awesome sound quality. The subwoofer isnt as loud and powerful as i thought it would be but overall the sound package is a great system.
Another con is there is no permanent virus protection. They give you a 90 day norton anti virus trial, but then you have the buy/register it for I think $60, with other systems there is a set virus protection that you dont have to pay extra for, but within 5 years of having a computer and internet, i have never had a single virus.
The system is very sleek looking. It looks high tech and advanced. I was thinking about the Compaq Presario 5000T, a good value and the color options, but thje dell 8100 is much better, and a much better name.
Dell customer support and sales people are very friendly and know what they are doing. I did have to stay on hold for a little bit but that is expected.
There are 4 USB ports, so i dont have to crawl behind the computer, to switch USB cords, but there are none in front, which Compaq offered, and would be nice, but 4 is enough and you shouldnt have to crawl behid to switch USB plugs often.
You also get to Upgrade to windows XP, you do have to pay a small price, but from what i hear XP is 100x better than ME in every way.
Overall, this is a great system, very easy to use, nothing complicated, comes with a bunch of software, even if you dont purchase any additonal software, Works Suite comes with a bundle of stuff, Encarta 2001, music/video players, photo shops, word processors: MS WORD , MS Works everything, and if you build it right, it will last you a long time.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1500
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40
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Epinions.com ID:
drew6652
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Reviews written: 22
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