Your opinions desired on this desktop pc

07/27/2007 12:11:33 AM · #1

I want to get your opinions on this Dell Inspiron 531 system. I'm not very computer savvy, and I'd like to know if I've got the essentials for digital photography and/or things I don't need. I will be running CS2. I have Office 2003 but don't know if its compatible with Vista. I have two perfectly good and fairly new monitors already, so I'm choosing the cheapest that comes with the system - by default I can't remove it from the quote. I have two 500GB WD external hds so I chose the smallest hd offered. I have Bose speakers.

PROCESSOR AMD Athlonâ�¢ 64 X2 Dual-Core 5600+ edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows VistaÂ® Home Premium edit
MONITOR Samsung 941BW Monitor edit
MEMORY Free Upgrade! 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs edit
HARD DRIVE 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cacheâ�¢ edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 16x DVD+/-RW Drive edit
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT-DDR3 edit
SOUND Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit
KEYBOARD & MOUSE Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse edit
FLOPPY & MEDIA READER No Floppy Drive Included edit
MODEM & WIRELESS Internal PCI 802.11g Wireless Network Card edit
My Software & Accessories
SPEAKERS No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system) edit
ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 36-months edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE MicrosoftÂ® Office Home and Student 2007 edit
BURN & DIGITAL EDITING SOFTWARE Yahoo! Music Jukebox - Music Player edit
My Service
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1 Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor - Next Business Day edit
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Free 3GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1 Year edit
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP requested edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Mouse Mouse included in Dell Wireless Package
Adobe Software AdobeÂ® AcrobatÂ® Reader 7.0
Network Interface Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
Labels Windows Vistaâ�¢ Premium
Miscellaneous Award Winning Service and Support
PHOTO AND MUSIC SOFTWARE No Entertainment software pre-installed

Overall cost - $1237 plus tax. Free shipping

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

07/27/2007 12:13:03 AM · #2

Originally posted by cogerox:

I will be running CS2. I have Office 2003 but don't know if its compatible with Vista.

they are compatible, i have tried that combination. but then, i'd rather have XP than vista home edition. just me though.

awpollard

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

07/27/2007 12:26:42 AM · #3

Nice, Very Nice... nVidia 8600 ddr3 (directX 10 ready), 2G's of RAM... Vista Home Premium (You'd be crazy to XP now (IMO))

Office 2003 is compatible with Vista...

I see Office 2007 on the list, very cool and more productive but there is a slight learning curve at first. Will need to save as Off 2003 files if you wish to view/edit between the two.

I know I loate Norton/Symantec Anti-Virus but am starting to think McAfee is almost as evil. I would run only the Anti-Virus the rest of the security suite renders machines useless; much like Norton.

Powerful Rig you got here...prolly in the future would be more RAM and another disk.

07/27/2007 12:48:20 AM · #4

Originally posted by awpollard:

Glad to hear you say that.

I was wondering about McAfee myself. What do you think of PC-cillin? I know it eats a lot of RAM, but is it worth it?

Since I have Office '03 and since it appears to be compatible I'll probably drop Office ,07.

07/27/2007 12:50:58 AM · #5

Originally posted by cogerox:

I was wondering about McAfee myself. What do you think of PC-cillin? I know it eats a lot of RAM, but is it worth it?

get AVG anti-virus... there's a freeware version available too. nifty.

07/27/2007 12:52:58 AM · #6

Originally posted by crayon:

Originally posted by cogerox:
I was wondering about McAfee myself. What do you think of PC-cillin? I know it eats a lot of RAM, but is it worth it?

get AVG anti-virus... there's a freeware version available too. nifty.

What about a firewall. Does AVG include one?

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

07/27/2007 12:55:37 AM · #7

Originally posted by cogerox:

Originally posted by crayon:

Originally posted by cogerox:
I was wondering about McAfee myself. What do you think of PC-cillin? I know it eats a lot of RAM, but is it worth it?

get AVG anti-virus... there's a freeware version available too. nifty.

What about a firewall. Does AVG include one?

yes in the pro version, but not in the freeware version.
although for firewall, i personally prefer zonealarm (another freeware)

SamDoe1

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

07/27/2007 01:05:42 AM · #8

Originally posted by cogerox:

No, but windows firewall will generally do a good job. AVG is 100x better than Norton and McAffee and costs you nothing. They update definitions daily and you can set schedules to auto update and auto scan. I would suggest you save your money and go with AVG. Also, if you already have monitor(s), you should be able to select "no monitor" from a list somewhere and save some cash there too. Other than that, it looks great!

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

07/27/2007 01:11:15 AM · #9

Ok, here's a similar Dell with an Intell processor instead of AMD. About $400 less. I'm curious how it compares with the first one. Less storage, I know. No monitor (which I don't need). I'm wondering if the processor and video cards are comparable to the others.

Dell Inspiron 530s IntelÂ® Coreâ�¢2 Duo Processor E6420 (4MB L2 Cache,2.13GHz,1066 FSB) edit
Operating System Genuine Windows VistaÂ® Home Premium edit
Monitor No Monitor edit
Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs edit
Hard Drives 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cacheâ�¢ edit
Optical Drive 16X DVD+/-RW Drive edit
Video Cards 256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro edit
Sound Cards Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit
TV Tuners & Remote Controls None edit
Keyboard and Mouse Bundles Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Premium Optical USB Mouse edit
Floppy Drive and Media Reader No Floppy Drive Included edit
Modem and Wireless 56K PCI Data Fax Modem edit
Optional Ports None edit

OTHER OPTIONS

Mouse Mouse included in Dell Wireless Package edit
Adobe Software AdobeÂ® AcrobatÂ® Reader 7.0 edit
Network Interface Integrated 10/100 Ethernet edit

ADD MY SOFTWARE & ACCESSORIES

Dell Printers None edit
Speakers No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system) edit
Security Software No Security Subscription (30-day trial) edit
Dell Recommends
Do not leave your PC unprotected! Upgrade to a 36-mo security subscription today.
Upgrade to McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 36-months [add $99 or $3/month1]

Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD edit
Dell Recommends
Need Excel, Word and Powerpoint? Upgrade to Microsoft Office H&S 2007 today.
Upgrade to MicrosoftÂ® Office Home and Student 2007 [add $149 or $5/month1]

Digital Media Editing Software Yahoo! Music Jukebox - Music Player edit
Top Selling Software None edit
Essentials Bundles None edit
Desktop Accessories None edit

PROTECT MY INVESTMENT

Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 1 Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor - Next Business Day edit
CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service None edit
Dell On Call None edit
DataSafe Online Backup Free 3GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1 Year edit
Automated PC TuneUp None edit
Installation Services None edit
Internet Access Service No ISP requested edit
Environmental Options None edit

Also included in this system

The following options are default selections included with your order

Windows Vistaâ�¢ Premium

Award Winning Service and Support

No Entertainment software pre-installed

awpollard

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

07/27/2007 01:41:42 AM · #10

Are you behind a NAT'd Router/Switch (linksys, netgear, d-link etc)?

If you are behind a Router (sits between your Cable/DSL modem and the pewter) you don't need all that BS that companies are trying to sell because of paranoia. Anti-Virus - Yes, Spyware/MalWare detect/killer - Yes. But all these extra firewalls people are throwing on their machines is killin em.

You can run AVG anti-virus and Lavasoft Adaware (home edition) or Spybot Search & Destroy for free.

Far too many times I work on a users home machine and find 3 firewalls running, and they sit behind a Router in their house. Machines barely (worthless IMO) run with Norton Security suite and Windows Firewall.

I got a machine on a bench at work right now that was rendered useless by a recent McAfee update... It is a Exec Admins home machine so I'm gonna put her on MS's LiveOne Care and be done with it... LiveOne Care (50 bucks a year covers 3 PCs) is Microsofts Anti-Virus (bought Giant Software a few years back), Anti-Spyware, Anti-Phishing, Defrags on a schedule, tells when to back-up an a bunch of other happy HS that users always avoid.

Bottom line is there is a segment in the industry that is preying on consumer paranoia and selling a bunch of stuff that we really don't need if we got a $60 dollar router in place.

ED: Verbaige

Message edited by author 2007-07-27 01:43:49.

07/27/2007 01:52:41 AM · #11

Originally posted by awpollard:

there is a segment in the industry that is preying on consumer paranoia and selling a bunch of stuff that we really don't need

you mean like a macintosh? ;)
(runs away and hide)

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

07/27/2007 01:54:10 AM · #12

Originally posted by awpollard:

My current (and only)connection is via a verizon phone card on my laptop. Unless I want to shell out lots of $ to change that, I'll still be connecting over a wireless account.

awpollard

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

07/27/2007 02:05:45 AM · #13

Originally posted by cogerox:

Originally posted by awpollard:
Are you behind a NAT'd Router/Switch (linksys, netgear, d-link etc)?

If you are behind a Router (sits between your Cable/DSL modem and the pewter) you don't need all that BS that companies are trying to sell because of paranoia. Anti-Virus - Yes, Spyware/MalWare detect/killer - Yes. But all these extra firewalls people are throwing on their machines is killin em.

You can run AVG anti-virus and Lavasoft Adaware (home edition) or Spybot Search & Destroy for free.

Far too many times I work on a users home machine and find 3 firewalls running, and they sit behind a Router in their house. Machines barely (worthless IMO) run with Norton Security suite and Windows Firewall.

I got a machine on a bench at work right now that was rendered useless by a recent McAfee update... It is a Exec Admins home machine so I'm gonna put her on MS's LiveOne Care and be done with it... LiveOne Care (50 bucks a year covers 3 PCs) is Microsofts Anti-Virus (bought Giant Software a few years back), Anti-Spyware, Anti-Phishing, Defrags on a schedule, tells when to back-up an a bunch of other happy HS that users always avoid.

Bottom line is there is a segment in the industry that is preying on consumer paranoia and selling a bunch of stuff that we really don't need if we got a $60 dollar router in place.

ED: Verbaige

My current (and only)connection is via a verizon phone card on my laptop. Unless I want to shell out lots of $ to change that, I'll still be connecting over a wireless account.

Ew... so how are you going to hook the desktop to the internet? That phonecard is a PCMCIA card isn't it? Are you going to run through the laptop using Windows ICS?

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

07/27/2007 02:14:11 AM · #14

Originally posted by awpollard:

Originally posted by cogerox:

Originally posted by awpollard:
Are you behind a NAT'd Router/Switch (linksys, netgear, d-link etc)?

If you are behind a Router (sits between your Cable/DSL modem and the pewter) you don't need all that BS that companies are trying to sell because of paranoia. Anti-Virus - Yes, Spyware/MalWare detect/killer - Yes. But all these extra firewalls people are throwing on their machines is killin em.

You can run AVG anti-virus and Lavasoft Adaware (home edition) or Spybot Search & Destroy for free.

Far too many times I work on a users home machine and find 3 firewalls running, and they sit behind a Router in their house. Machines barely (worthless IMO) run with Norton Security suite and Windows Firewall.

I got a machine on a bench at work right now that was rendered useless by a recent McAfee update... It is a Exec Admins home machine so I'm gonna put her on MS's LiveOne Care and be done with it... LiveOne Care (50 bucks a year covers 3 PCs) is Microsofts Anti-Virus (bought Giant Software a few years back), Anti-Spyware, Anti-Phishing, Defrags on a schedule, tells when to back-up an a bunch of other happy HS that users always avoid.

Bottom line is there is a segment in the industry that is preying on consumer paranoia and selling a bunch of stuff that we really don't need if we got a $60 dollar router in place.

ED: Verbaige

My current (and only)connection is via a verizon phone card on my laptop. Unless I want to shell out lots of $ to change that, I'll still be connecting over a wireless account.

Ew... so how are you going to hook the desktop to the internet? That phonecard is a PCMCIA card isn't it? Are you going to run through the laptop using Windows ICS?

verizon will let me update to a card that connects thru a USB port.

SamDoe1

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

07/27/2007 11:05:51 AM · #15

Originally posted by cogerox:

verizon will let me update to a card that connects thru a USB port.

Just out of curiousity, what's the connection speed on that thing? And aren't they very expensive on the monthly charges?