I wouldn't go this route. When the T1600 came out, it was kind of a dog. Looks the same for the T1650.... not just the difference between CPUs... with only 275W PSU... and the mobo... looks "very economy". Where makers can cheapen the price are usually in the mobo and the PSU. Most everything else is "off the shelf" just like every other maker uses. Most computer novices tend to believe "the CPU is the end-all". I disagree... if the CPU is the brain, then the mobo is the central nervous system. And "going cheap" on the PSU is penny wise and pound foolish.
lastly... keep in mind everyone is stating their preferences... so you need to gather the facts, compare to your requirements and decide based on needs and personality traits... I have built spec systems... as recent as december 2012... I needed to burn some cash for tech given I hadnt spent anything that year and went and purchased all the parts to build a system given I hadnt done that it a decade... I got all quality components and a 3770K given I wanted to overclock with water... I spent around $1500 for the system... and it is still sitting in my lab on the basement unfinished... I am at a level where while I like to tinker with things putting together a system is very low return on my time... I ended up spending more than if I would have gotten one already pre-built or bought a new HP 420/620 workstation refurbished... but the exercise was to see what a system running at 4.7GHz or better will get me for backtesting and stuff.. my point, if you know your requirements and budget, just draw from what we are all saying and arrive to a conclusion that will suit your needs.
I dont disagree with your statements, however... classifying a system as a "dog" or that something "looks economy" without offering factual data kind of takes the validity of your argument away... similar to the statement you made about the video card in a different thread and then just replied with lots of BSOD (which btw, contain kernel messages that will tell you factual reasons as to why there is a crash) and vague statements... the CPU is by no means the end all, as I have stated before... peripherals are the bottleneck for the most part depending on what one is doing... so in that we are in agreement... novices focus on that because it is sexy... kind of like wanting the fastest car, and not realizing you wont be able to drive it to the spec performance because our roads are crap... however, when it comes to the PSU, the wattage means little... it is merely an indication of what it will draw given the peripherals inside... it only makes a difference when you are adding more components and those are power hungry... that is not to say that a good PSU is not important, after all... it is the heart of the PC... but vendors will only put the size PSU that is required for the components they install and for whatever additional they believe you might add. I do the same thing with servers when creating the standards we purchase for data centers... just because I can have a 1200W PSU on a server doesnt mean I need to ... we calculate what might get installed given a function, and based on that we state what PSU should be used... the OP should go about it the same way... by its requirements..
to illustrate something I had stated before, in terms of being driven by best bang for the buck... hands down, I would pay the extra $10 for the E5.... Precision T1650 $859 Processor: Intel Core i7-3770 Processor (8M, 3.4GHz w/HD4000 Graphics) Genuine Windows 7 Professional Dell Outlet Precision Fixed Workstation T1650, Standard Base Tower 500GB 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache 4GB, DDR3 UDIMM Memory, 1600MHz, Non-ECC (2 DIMMs) 16X DVD ROM Drive 1GB nVIDIA Quadro 600,Dual Monitor,1DP and 1DVI Precision T3600 $869 Processor: Intel Xeon Four Core E5-1620 Processor (3.6GHz, 10M, Turbo) Genuine Windows 7 Professional Dell Outlet Precision Fixed Workstation T3600, 425W Tower 500GB 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache 4GB, DDR3 UDIMM Memory, 1600MHz, Non-ECC (2 DIMMs) 8X DVD ROM Drive 1 GB AMD FirePro V4900,3 Monitor
I don't have an ego to stroke about anything... but I must say, your disrespect of what I post is getting annoying! 1. The "dog T1600" comment was from reviews I'd read about it. Never had one to test myself. However, the mobo specs do appear to be on the "el-cheapo" side of things (number and types of PCIE slots), and the "275W" PSU is what's usually found in the cheapest or lesser-capable computers. I don't think of the T1600 as a quality machine just like OptiPlex. Both appear to be marketed as better than they really are... JMO. 2. Though I didn't mention it at the time, it was not "vague" in any fashion. The "BSOD" was specifically coded to the video card. In troubleshooting, swapped around every possible combination of 5, NVS 295 video cards in all of the PCIE slots (also NVS 290 and 300 video cards)... all of the cables... all of the DVI-DP adapters... even the PSU. Never dreamed initially that it could be a monitor causing the problems. Happy now? Sheesh!
disrespect? interesting... I gather you must not be used to having your arguments debated... show me how I disrespected you and I will gladly apologize, and I mean that... as to your reply below... 1) all generic statements still... and that is what I was referring to before... if I was you I would make sure to state that when you mention something it can be an opinion and it is based on reviews, assumptions, etc... the way you do it today it seems factual, which is why I ask for facts... think through it... how did you determine that it was on the "el-cheapo" side of things? what components did you reviewed within the board that gave you that impression? the statement of the 275W PSU found on the cheapest computers lack strength because that is not true at all.. W's have nothing to do with quality, but with draw of components... also, OptiPlex and Precision are geared to two different segments... comparing one to the other not remotely equivalent, but precision is "supposed" to be greater quality... I've had both... but then again, DELL isnt my first choice... has never been... and I've personally used and had it for years and also used it within enterprises.. (never in the server space because of reliability issues.. Cisco, HP, IBM would be my choices for serves, in that order) 2. BSOD is generic, and if the card caused it, it will be something that is not easily forgotten specially because it would have been due to drivers, firmware, or something the OS or app accessing the driver would have tried to due that generated the fault within the kernel... but then again, I am now stating what I would have paid attention to myself and what I would have said had I stated the video card or monitor setup was crashing the system... I asked you because I wanted to see what I could take away and try to replicate... we've been looking at the AMD pro series vs. Nvidia vs. MAtrox lately and wanted to see what I could find or test on the lab... lastly, lighten up... neither of us is after stroking egos... am pretty sure of that, so dont take me arguing with you as a personal thing... knowledge is best acquired via debate the way I see it... and a debate is not a fight, but merely a discussion between two individuals with differing points of views where both learn something from one another... am only here because today is a slow day and I am working from home... so utterly bored ....