Dell Dimension 5150C...Good buy?

mark_steps

My work are offering deals on PC's and i thought it would be a great idea to go for the above PC. This is the dearest one avail to us and the highest processor. Spec are as follows :

Processor - Intel Pentium 4 processor 660 3.6Ghz
O/S - Windows XP Home Edition SP2
Memory - 1024 MB
Hard Disk - 250GB
Media Drive- 16 x max DVD+R+R/W & 16X IDE DVD ROM
Monitor - 17" TFT (flat screen)
Software - Microsoft Works 7.0

Also with 3 year warranty and 3 yr Norton security.

All for £746.97

Oh and what is microsoft works when at home?

rogerramjet

Does appear to somewhat of a good price

Microsoft works is a cut down version of microsoft word.

Mr_Skint_2

rogerramjet wrote:

Does appear to somewhat of a good price

Microsoft works is a cut down version of microsoft word.

Not exactly just that but more of a cut down version of Microsoft Office
its the basics really, Has Excel, Word, well have a look here http://www.microsoft.com/products/works/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=001
also make sure what version of Works they bung in.

rogerramjet

Another thing to remember with works (forgot its the full suite) is the file extensions are not the same, for exapmle excell has the file extension .xls whereas the works version is .xlm so when you try to open something saved in the works suite default extensions the office suite software cannot open it. Had this recently with someone who'd saved a pile of documents using works and couldn't understand why they couldn't open them in word.

monsterpc

Reasonable deal I would say considering a processor like that alone is around £300ish
What sort of graphics has it got? no point having all that and an intergrated graphics card,if you are playing latest games you will need a seperate graphics card. and do you really need all that power, a processor of that spec will need good cooling and ventilation

Mr_Skint_2

Not forgetting you can save a Word (Office) file as a Works Word file.

But the PC seems quite a good deal.

Seamus

I bought a similar system for my nephew about 6 months ago. Virtually identical except it had a 19inch LCD screen. It was approx. £500 delivered inc. VAT.

My experience of these offers from employes using that new government scheme is that they are always overpriced.

Do yourself a favour a monitor this website and dells for good offers. Wait until they have a free double memory + free delivery plus money off and you will get a bargain.

I got a Dell 3000 with 512mb memory, 17inch LCD , CD writer for £297 about 4 months ago.

Number_6_3

Worth checking about upgradabilty...some Dells are somewhat limited if you want to add any extras later.

R

n_earnshaw

Sounds like a similar kind of offer that's been given to our company. Is it a Dell brochure? If it is, I did some checking on their website and found that I could get slightly better deals if I wanted, just ordering through their website. E.g. They were offering double memory taking it to 2048mb.

mark_steps

Sorry not looked at this post in ages! I have received a letter saying i will get the PC next monday! yayyy

Now what i need to know is, what do i need to install on it? Norton will be on but AVG the free version is that ok or should i buy it from a shop...anything else?? Then i gotta install my Telewest Broadband...Dunno how easy that is gonna be, gotta set my email up on it...im pretty thick when it comes to Computers you see...

Then i gotta transfer my songs n stuff (fave web sites- copy n paste to me hotmail sounds gd) from the old PC to the new one...

odowdchr

I took the Norton trial stuff off straight away, got an instant speed increase on the computer. Remember to turn the Windows firewall on if you remove Norton, before you connect to the internet.
AVG is fine for home use.
Download Spybot Search and Destroy and 'immunize' your new pc against most current spyware/adware.

Telewest will work when you plug it in, nothing to set up. For your emails, you need to know your Blueyonder username and password, then follow the relevant set up guide in "selfcare" on the blueyonder website. Might be an idea to go there now and print out what you need.

You can backup your IE or Firefox favourites then restore them to the new machine.
Music and stuff...if you haven't got a huge amount it might be easiest to stick them on a CD or DVD.

I normally.....make up a CD with all my backups and new software.....switch on new machine....remove any Dell junk and Norton, install new antivirus software, firewall, before connecting to the internet, spend a few days checking that everything works as it should....then set a System Restore point and you're away.