Dell 5150 Dual Core 2.8GHz inc 19" LCD Monitor & Free Printer £429 (merged)

Jane.tweedynn

Previous Dell 5150 now £399 with 1GB - D04516a

Bunni_boy

Hi,

I am going to get one of these systems today.

Is it worth upgrading to the Ultrasharp 19" monitor for an extra £47. It has a higher contrast (700:1), USB hub and is hight adjustable.

Thanks,
Bunni_boy

biglugs

Depends what you want and what you're prepared to pay for. I have the ordinary E196FP and it's fine for day to day usage, and I play online games with no problems.
I assume the ultra sharp has better definition and appears clearer, but £47 seems a bit steep to upgrade in comparison to the cost of the system.

Bunni_boy

Thanks biglugs,

I forgot to add you also get a DVI input. It is the same resolution but higher contrast.

I will probably stick to the ordinary monitor.

Bunni_boy

scottgreenwood

As previously stated I purchased one of these - it arrived a day late because the courier "forgot" to deliver. Dell (after 3 phone calls) gave me £30 refund.

If you sell the dell screen (I did for £170) and get the refund (£30) you can buy a much better TFT

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10287358&pid=45&tid=2

I am bias seen as I already had a new screen before buying a computer, I used the 200 pound for a new graphics card (7900gt).

biglugs

I am bias seen as I already had a new screen before buying a computer, I used the 200 pound for a new graphics card (7900gt).

Did you have any problems getting enough power to this card in a Dell 5100? Quite tempted but a bit worried that the power supply may not have enough juice. And is it noisy and hot too?

planetf1

biglugs wrote:

Depends what you want and what you're prepared to pay for. I have the ordinary E196FP and it's fine for day to day usage, and I play online games with no problems.
I assume the ultra sharp has better definition and appears clearer, but £47 seems a bit steep to upgrade in comparison to the cost of the system.

I went for one of these packages (with the 2005fpw), but seem to remember when checking monitor specs that some at least of the E196FP use the same panel as the 1907fp, making the only difference
a) USB ports
b) DVI

I would still say b) is worth the extra, for me though I got "persuaded" by the 20.1" widescreen, and I'm delighted.

Been using it for real work today alongside my work laptop (using "synergy" - interesting application to share mouse/keyboard between machines, works excellently). I now realise my laptop is slow and the screen is very dull in comparison

scottgreenwood

biglugs wrote:

Did you have any problems getting enough power to this card in a Dell 5100? Quite tempted but a bit worried that the power supply may not have enough juice. And is it noisy and hot too?

The card is slightly noisy - about the same as a normal PC. I have bought a vf-900 zalman fan to fit which is very, very quiet and adjustable speed- costs about £22 (it also allows for hugh overclocks)

The PSU does have enough juice IF you plug in the accessory power supply cabel provided with the card. You may also need y-splitters to syphon power from the dvd player.

I would also sell the dvd for £10 on ebay and purchase a £25 sony dvd-rewiter from lowest on the web - much quieter than the one by dell.

Please bare in mind I already had a samsung 913n screen from last year which is better than the dell screen (which is pretty basic).

I am able to max out all games at the moment. You should consider buying 1gb more ram though to play games like oblivion and fear - about £70

So:

Original system £399
Dell refund for late delivery - £30
Selling screen on ebay - £170
Selling dvd player on ebay - £10
7900gt - £200
Fan - £22
Dvd rewriter - £20

Total system cost = £431
This will play games for a good 2-3 years in the future at high spec

(I also sold a archos av500 player (£230 on ebay) I didnn't use much - my pc broke and this was a replacement - total cost for me was £200)

biglugs

Have to admit that's a pretty good price for a base machine upgrade with that much graphics power!
I was clearing some papers out the other day and found the receipts for our original PC - a Tiny Pentium 166MMX believe it or not. Total cost - £1,200!!!!!! I SPENT HOW MUCH!??? And that was back in about 1993.

Ditto

Does anyone know what the specs are for the standard 19" monitor ie contrast ratio, response time?