Dell Inspiron Quad Core for $499 ... is it worth it?

[Dan_Theman]

I was planning on getting a cheap/better PC for my son for an end-of-school-year present (he's gunning for his third consecutive year of straight A's), and I've already got a graphics card to stick in & an old monitor so I was thinking of a quickie prebuilt job.    I planned on waiting until June, when school lets out, but then I came across a couple of deals on Techbargains.com that made think it might be worth it to jump now.

Is the Dell Inspiron an absolutely awful machine?   The deal is expiring today. 

Inspiron 530
Q6600 Processor
3 GB RAM
500 GB HDD
Vista Home Premium
no monitor
$499

Still ... maybe the prices will fall again in a couple of months, or somebody will have an even better sale.  Any thoughts?

[Tokek]

Dells are pretty solid machines and that's not a bad price.

[Chaz]

I just got basically that same system.  It's been solid for the few weeks that I've had it.

Something you should be aware of is that upgrading options are very limited.  I had planned on putting my old HD in there, but there was neither a place to mount it nor a molex connector to power it.  In fact, there were no unused power connectors inside at all.  Still, since I got it because I got tired of computer tinkering, that's not a huge problem.

[Dan_Theman]

I just got basically that same system.  It's been solid for the few weeks that I've had it.

Something you should be aware of is that upgrading options are very limited.  I had planned on putting my old HD in there, but there was neither a place to mount it nor a molex connector to power it.  In fact, there were no unused power connectors inside at all.  Still, since I got it because I got tired of computer tinkering, that's not a huge problem.

Hmm ... so if I did need to expand, I'd be looking into a new PSU and possibly a new case?  Kinda irritating, but still not a deal breaker.  I guess the other question is whether I should get it for my son early or not ... I mean, the school year isn't over yet.  Hmm.  Well, thanks for the feedback (and I can still use more if anyone has any more comments) and now I've got a couple things to ponder.

[Graham]

I just got basically that same system.  It's been solid for the few weeks that I've had it.

Something you should be aware of is that upgrading options are very limited.  I had planned on putting my old HD in there, but there was neither a place to mount it nor a molex connector to power it.  In fact, there were no unused power connectors inside at all.  Still, since I got it because I got tired of computer tinkering, that's not a huge problem.

Hmm ... so if I did need to expand, I'd be looking into a new PSU and possibly a new case?  Kinda irritating, but still not a deal breaker.  I guess the other question is whether I should get it for my son early or not ... I mean, the school year isn't over yet.  Hmm.  Well, thanks for the feedback (and I can still use more if anyone has any more comments) and now I've got a couple things to ponder.

Dell might use proprietary motherboards in their systems, so if you got a new case you might not be able to put the Dell MB in there.  It might have changed, but it is something to think about.

[Dan_Theman]

Thanks for that - I don't think they do proprietary anymore, but I could certainly be wrong.  I once bought a used Dell a few years back and it had a typical retail board (albeit in a micro form factor).  If I make the purchase, I'll be sure to quiz the sales rep on that bit.

[Goldchamp]

Ive had that very PC one step from purchase about 3 times in the past week. My only caveat was wether or not i could use my 8800gt in it without having to replace the power supply. That system w/a 8800gt would kick some decent ass!

[Dan_Theman]

Ive had that very PC one step from purchase about 3 times in the past week. My only caveat was wether or not i could use my 8800gt in it without having to replace the power supply. That system w/a 8800gt would kick some decent ass!

Yep - we're in a very similar situation.  I'm thinking with the 300w PSU that it ships with, I'd hear it crying when I consider the load I'd place it under.  Hmm.  You know, I may just as well pass on this when I think about the chances of needing to spend another $100+ to get it up to snuff.  MAYBE I'll get him interested enough to build another with me.  Heh-heh ...

[B Dog]

I'm emerging from super-deep lurk mode to offer the following:

The Dell Outlet has scratch & dent and certified refurbished XPS 420s with very similar specs for starting at about the same price.  These systems come with a 375W power supply that should handle a 8800GT just fine (in fact, it's an option on a custom build of that system).  Also, the XPS 420s are designed to be much more upgrade friendly than the Inspirons, and have some other nice features (LCD display, built-in 1394, etc.).

By way of example, I just bought (as in Monday) a refurbed XPS 420 with Q6600, 3GB RAM, 320GB HD, etc. for $549 with free shipping.  I'm going to replace the ATI 2400 HD Pro that came with the system with a 9600GT, which according to several threads on the Dell community boards, runs fine with that power supply.

More food for thought.

[Dan_Theman]

I'm emerging from super-deep lurk mode to offer the following:

The Dell Outlet has scratch & dent and certified refurbished XPS 420s with very similar specs for starting at about the same price.  These systems come with a 375W power supply that should handle a 8800GT just fine (in fact, it's an option on a custom build of that system).  Also, the XPS 420s are designed to be much more upgrade friendly than the Inspirons, and have some other nice features (LCD display, built-in 1394, etc.).

By way of example, I just bought (as in Monday) a refurbed XPS 420 with Q6600, 3GB RAM, 320GB HD, etc. for $549 with free shipping.  I'm going to replace the ATI 2400 HD Pro that came with the system with a 9600GT, which according to several threads on the Dell community boards, runs fine with that power supply.

More food for thought.

VERY interesting - and thank you for breaking seuper-deep lurk mode.  Your contribution has been greatly appreciated. 

[helot2000]

Ive had that very PC one step from purchase about 3 times in the past week. My only caveat was wether or not i could use my 8800gt in it without having to replace the power supply. That system w/a 8800gt would kick some decent ass!

Yep - we're in a very similar situation.  I'm thinking with the 300w PSU that it ships with, I'd hear it crying when I consider the load I'd place it under.  Hmm.  You know, I may just as well pass on this when I think about the chances of needing to spend another $100+ to get it up to snuff.  MAYBE I'll get him interested enough to build another with me.  Heh-heh ...

Two weeks ago, I picked up the  Dell 530 with Quad 6600 and it came with a 350w PSU.  I was worried about this very issue but my browsing in the Dell gaming forum confirmed that the 530s with the Quad 6600s were shipping with the 350 rather than the 300.  The 350 PSU comes with the 6 pin power connector necessary to run the PCI-e card.  At first, I couldn't find it but it was tucked back in there.  The word is that Dell rates their PS units conservatively and I've had no problems with my 9600GT video card. 

[Chaz]

Well, that's interesting news, and definitely encouraging.  I think I'll run with the 8600GT that I got the machine with for a while, and maybe think about upgrading it in a year or so.  For right now, it's running everything I want to run well (except Crysis, which it runs well enough, but there's definitely room to improve, but apparently there will be room to improve for years to come), so no point in making an incremental upgrade now when for the same cost, I can make a more significant upgrade in a year or so's time.