Disagree. I say, "Buy a Precison from Dell Outlet"... one of their "good deals". Last week, there was a T3500 w Xeon W3550 CPU (3.0Ghz) for $579. You ain't gonna beat that deal for price and quality ANYWHERE! Not only would you not have to "BIY" and deal with each component's separate warranty, it's likely MORE reliable than anything you can build... after all, Dell sells what, 100,000+ of virtually the same unit?... bugs and compatibility worked out better than "piecing it together yourself".
Yea right, and when Dell warranty runs out you can't even get any support or a spare part without paying another $500. They give you good deals but make you pay for add-ons later on which you figure out you need. Installing systems by yourself is also better as it won't contain the clutter they put on. Just saying i had my share of bad experiences with Dell laptops.
Should have bought Dell PRECISION laptops. But we were talking about desktops. All of Dell's components are"off the shelf standard/compatible" except mobo (Foxconn OEM) and case. Not different from any other maker. So... what do you do about the "clutter" that comes on a new machine? Wipe the drive immediately and install what you want. Who doesn't do this? Seems you "view" of Dell computers is from 15 years ago.
Maybe when I'm like 80, half blind with Parkinson I'll give up on building my own pc's Might also need a nurse to wipe my a** by then, ow well...
Well yeah maybe you're right. But my attitude doesn't change towards Dell because of their "extra costs" policy from back then, plus like some others i like building PCs myself. Also, if the mobo contains Dell drivers for a specific OS and then a new version of Windows comes along, it's likely that Dell will either charge you extra for the drivers for the new OS (included in their extended support bs) or there may simply be none to upgrade. Not sure how often that happens nowdays, but it did for my laptop when i wanted to upgrade it to Win7.
That's still the same. The Precision T3400 and T3500 with run on either XP or W7 because of the timing of the release of the OSs. I doubt Dell will bother to produce W8 drivers if the computer models have been discontinued beforehand. (Could be the T3500 will get W8 capability... just have to see about it when W8 becomes official.) I don't see that as an issue, really. By the time a new OS comes out, aren't you ready to upgrade to the newer hardware anyway? Not that you couldn't put W7 on a Pentium III, but who would do that? (Yeah, I know.. a FEW would...)
Thank you Baron. I do wish for those interested this thread you may find the information useful in the steps to build your own, and realize it is not difficult but rather easy and fun to accomplish. May the thread grow over time with new builds, and continued discussion to design the machine of your needs, new images ( post pic of that completed machine ) Sincere Thanks Baron, and all those who have shared their experience here to help others.
Congrats Tiki! This thread has received the pin-up status that it deserved! How's your new build (not so new now) working? I built my 2 boxes 2 years ago and they have been running well without any down time. Is it time to shop for new ones? Coronas I meant...
Thanks Boli for your valuable contributions here... no question has helped lots of folks out, and with the thread no longer becoming lost, many more people can benefit from these contributions and take on that build that seemed impossible and becomes a simple to - do reality. As far as the build it is running solid never an issue. Runs constantly and still quiet ! So glad went with a quiet build too. The antec 900 build I have is like a freaking helicopter landing close by ...lol When I an ready to add another machine I will definitely post it here. I do wish to see everyone interested to please enjoy the thread with its valuable contributions and continue the fun with new builds and great info ! Yes Boli .... Corona Time !
I build all my own systems for last 10 yrs or so, never regretted it nor the money saved. Actually it is pretty easy, there's only about 6 or 7 major steps or parts to place together. This thread makes the task even easier.