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BETTER PROCESSOR OR MORE RAM?

stickfig13stickfig13 Posts: 1,532
edited July 2009 in All Encompassing Trip
So I'm buying a new Dell computer and wanted to know whether I should pay extra for the better processor or more RAM?

Which is a better upgrade when buying a new computer?

I maily use my computer for Internet, Music and Pictures.
Sacramento 10-30-00, Bridge School 10-20 and 10-21-01, Bridge School 10-25 and 10-26-01, Irvine 06-02-03, Irvine 06-03-03, San Diego 06-05-03, San Diego 07-07-06, Los Angeles 07-09-06, Santa Barbara 07-13-06, London UK 06-18-07, San Diego 10-9-09, San Diego 2013, LA 1 2013
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  • smg97791smg97791 Posts: 151
    edited July 2009
    Get the better processor now. It will be VERY easy to upgrade ram in the future. But be wary of incremental processor upgrades (of the same chipset) at a very high cost. Small differences in Ghz will yield even smaller performance differences but usually at a very high cost.
    Post edited by smg97791 on
  • Glorified2030Glorified2030 Posts: 138
    processor and for the same reason listed above
  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    Neither. Dells are shit and it's going to fall apart no matter which you get ;)
  • CJMST3KCJMST3K Posts: 9,722
    If you're buying a dell, google Dell Coupons. Got a better deal than their regular deals.
    ADD 5,200 to the post count you see, thank you. :)
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  • mfc2006mfc2006 HTOWN Posts: 37,484
    soulsinging wrote:
    Neither. Dells are shit and it's going to fall apart no matter which you get ;)

    true. i bought one years ago & it died within a month. they shipped a replacement & that one died a couple of weeks later. i asked for & received a refund.
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  • CJMST3KCJMST3K Posts: 9,722
    soulsinging wrote:
    Neither. Dells are shit and it's going to fall apart no matter which you get ;)


    So... what's a good, relatively reasonable brand to get, and where?
    ADD 5,200 to the post count you see, thank you. :)
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  • stickfig13stickfig13 Posts: 1,532
    Thanks for the responses....

    I heard nothing but good things about Dell. Why the bad feelings? Is this an isolated incident? Anyone else have any problems?
    Sacramento 10-30-00, Bridge School 10-20 and 10-21-01, Bridge School 10-25 and 10-26-01, Irvine 06-02-03, Irvine 06-03-03, San Diego 06-05-03, San Diego 07-07-06, Los Angeles 07-09-06, Santa Barbara 07-13-06, London UK 06-18-07, San Diego 10-9-09, San Diego 2013, LA 1 2013
  • dimitrispearljamdimitrispearljam Posts: 139,721
    smg97791 wrote:
    Get the better processor now. It will be VERY easy to upgrade ram in the future. But be wary of incremental processor upgrades (of the same chipset) at a very high cost. Small differences in Ghz will yield even smaller performance differences but usually at a very high cost.
    +1
    "...Dimitri...He talks to me...'.."The Ghost of Greece..".
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  • mfc2006mfc2006 HTOWN Posts: 37,484
    stickfig13 wrote:
    Thanks for the responses....

    I heard nothing but good things about Dell. Why the bad feelings? Is this an isolated incident? Anyone else have any problems?

    I know that I don't speak for every Dell owner, but I know that my experience with these computers wasn't that great at all. I also know that both my Mom & sister have Dells & they've had issues as well. If you like Dell, then go with them. I was just giving my opinion.
    CJMST3K wrote:
    So... what's a good, relatively reasonable brand to get, and where?

    Honestly, I am really happy with Mac. I'm not an elitist Mac guy, so don't bash me. But I switched after that 2nd Dell crashed & burned and I've been more than happy ever since. I started with an iBook and that thing was indestructible. It had a nice, long run & I finally upgraded to a new MacBook about a year ago. But I was able to sell a lot of the iBook's old parts & save the HD to use as an extra external drive.
    I LOVE MUSIC.
    www.cluthelee.com
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  • CJMST3KCJMST3K Posts: 9,722
    I have a fairly budget line Dell that runs pretty well for the last 1.5 years. It's got a dual monitor. I run the newest Adobe design package, and it works fine, as well as other specialty programs.

    My brother in law was a Mac guy for a long time. Bought the extended warranty and everything just in case. The DVD drive stopped working, and they wouldn't fix it. Same with some plug input, they wouldn't fix it. It would cost him like $900 to get it fixed, when $1,100 would buy a new laptop. That same week his Ipod died.

    He's now an anti-Mac person (which, he's the first I've met).


    Is there a better alternative to Dell?
    ADD 5,200 to the post count you see, thank you. :)
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    *Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
    *Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
    *Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
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    *Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
  • stickfig13stickfig13 Posts: 1,532
    mfc2006 wrote:
    stickfig13 wrote:
    Thanks for the responses....

    I heard nothing but good things about Dell. Why the bad feelings? Is this an isolated incident? Anyone else have any problems?

    I know that I don't speak for every Dell owner, but I know that my experience with these computers wasn't that great at all. I also know that both my Mom & sister have Dells & they've had issues as well. If you like Dell, then go with them. I was just giving my opinion.
    CJMST3K wrote:
    So... what's a good, relatively reasonable brand to get, and where?

    Honestly, I am really happy with Mac. I'm not an elitist Mac guy, so don't bash me. But I switched after that 2nd Dell crashed & burned and I've been more than happy ever since. I started with an iBook and that thing was indestructible. It had a nice, long run & I finally upgraded to a new MacBook about a year ago. But I was able to sell a lot of the iBook's old parts & save the HD to use as an extra external drive.


    I have never gotten more that 3-4 years out of any PC I've owned. I'm looking at buying the 3 year warantee knowing that in 3-4 years I will have to buy a new one.

    Macs are very intriguing. However, for the price of an entry level Mac, I can get a pretty kick ass PC.

    Decisions to make

    Thanks for the input
    Sacramento 10-30-00, Bridge School 10-20 and 10-21-01, Bridge School 10-25 and 10-26-01, Irvine 06-02-03, Irvine 06-03-03, San Diego 06-05-03, San Diego 07-07-06, Los Angeles 07-09-06, Santa Barbara 07-13-06, London UK 06-18-07, San Diego 10-9-09, San Diego 2013, LA 1 2013
  • Brisk.Brisk. Posts: 11,567
    BWAHAHAHA DELL LOLOLOLOL

    Okay sorry

    Processor > ALL.
  • mbangel10mbangel10 Posts: 548
    Definitely go with the processor over the RAM. However, if you're going to buy a crap Dell you may as well buy a crap Acer and save yourself some cash. The integrated main boards and the hard drives they throw into them are the same brands. I bought a crap Acer two years ago and it's still working the same as the day I bought it. However, I can't say the same for any of the Dell's that I've used at work.

    A crap mainboard is still a crap mainboard no matter what the brand name is on the PC. :)

    Trust me, I've built enough computers to know what's inside.
    Pitt 98, Pitt 00, Cleveland 03, Pitt 03, State College 03, Toledo 04, Toronto 05, Pitt 05, Cleveland 06, Pitt 06 & Chicago 07, Chicago 1&2 09, Philly 2,3,4 09, Cleveland 10, Columbus 10, Alpine Valley 1& 2 11
  • stickfig13stickfig13 Posts: 1,532
    mbangel10 wrote:
    Definitely go with the processor over the RAM. However, if you're going to buy a crap Dell you may as well buy a crap Acer and save yourself some cash. The integrated main boards and the hard drives they throw into them are the same brands. I bought a crap Acer two years ago and it's still working the same as the day I bought it. However, I can't say the same for any of the Dell's that I've used at work.

    A crap mainboard is still a crap mainboard no matter what the brand name is on the PC. :)

    Trust me, I've built enough computers to know what's inside.


    So what would you suggest? If not Dell then what?
    Sacramento 10-30-00, Bridge School 10-20 and 10-21-01, Bridge School 10-25 and 10-26-01, Irvine 06-02-03, Irvine 06-03-03, San Diego 06-05-03, San Diego 07-07-06, Los Angeles 07-09-06, Santa Barbara 07-13-06, London UK 06-18-07, San Diego 10-9-09, San Diego 2013, LA 1 2013
  • mbangel10mbangel10 Posts: 548
    stickfig13 wrote:
    mbangel10 wrote:
    Definitely go with the processor over the RAM. However, if you're going to buy a crap Dell you may as well buy a crap Acer and save yourself some cash. The integrated main boards and the hard drives they throw into them are the same brands. I bought a crap Acer two years ago and it's still working the same as the day I bought it. However, I can't say the same for any of the Dell's that I've used at work.

    A crap mainboard is still a crap mainboard no matter what the brand name is on the PC. :)

    Trust me, I've built enough computers to know what's inside.


    So what would you suggest? If not Dell then what?

    Are you talking PC or laptop? Dell makes decent laptops, I've never gotten angry at Dell over those. If you're talking PC... post the specs and I'll let you know if it's worth the cash. Honestly, it's the guts that count... and I can't tell what your looking at.
    Pitt 98, Pitt 00, Cleveland 03, Pitt 03, State College 03, Toledo 04, Toronto 05, Pitt 05, Cleveland 06, Pitt 06 & Chicago 07, Chicago 1&2 09, Philly 2,3,4 09, Cleveland 10, Columbus 10, Alpine Valley 1& 2 11
  • stickfig13stickfig13 Posts: 1,532
    mbangel10 wrote:
    stickfig13 wrote:
    mbangel10 wrote:
    Definitely go with the processor over the RAM. However, if you're going to buy a crap Dell you may as well buy a crap Acer and save yourself some cash. The integrated main boards and the hard drives they throw into them are the same brands. I bought a crap Acer two years ago and it's still working the same as the day I bought it. However, I can't say the same for any of the Dell's that I've used at work.

    A crap mainboard is still a crap mainboard no matter what the brand name is on the PC. :)

    Trust me, I've built enough computers to know what's inside.


    So what would you suggest? If not Dell then what?

    Are you talking PC or laptop? Dell makes decent laptops, I've never gotten angry at Dell over those. If you're talking PC... post the specs and I'll let you know if it's worth the cash. Honestly, it's the guts that count... and I can't tell what your looking at.


    DELL STUDIO XPS Desktop PC
    Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
    8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs
    1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
    ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB
    24" Dell S2409W Full HD Widescreen Monitor

    $1,415
    Sacramento 10-30-00, Bridge School 10-20 and 10-21-01, Bridge School 10-25 and 10-26-01, Irvine 06-02-03, Irvine 06-03-03, San Diego 06-05-03, San Diego 07-07-06, Los Angeles 07-09-06, Santa Barbara 07-13-06, London UK 06-18-07, San Diego 10-9-09, San Diego 2013, LA 1 2013
  • mca47mca47 Posts: 13,301
    I have a Dell laptop and it's worked perfect for 5 years.
  • mbangel10mbangel10 Posts: 548
    So what would you suggest? If not Dell then what?[/quote]

    Are you talking PC or laptop? Dell makes decent laptops, I've never gotten angry at Dell over those. If you're talking PC... post the specs and I'll let you know if it's worth the cash. Honestly, it's the guts that count... and I can't tell what your looking at.[/quote]


    DELL STUDIO XPS Desktop PC
    Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
    8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs
    1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
    ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB
    24" Dell S2409W Full HD Widescreen Monitor

    $1,415[/quote]

    I see you are a gamer. Go with an Asus, and buy the monitor separate or in a package like this one:
    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 42&count=1

    Why? Simply because with an Asus computer you get an asus motherboard, and that shit will last forever. A hard drive can be backed up and replaced, but the mainboard is the brain of the entire system. Asus is the best at mainboards.
    Pitt 98, Pitt 00, Cleveland 03, Pitt 03, State College 03, Toledo 04, Toronto 05, Pitt 05, Cleveland 06, Pitt 06 & Chicago 07, Chicago 1&2 09, Philly 2,3,4 09, Cleveland 10, Columbus 10, Alpine Valley 1& 2 11
  • stickfig13stickfig13 Posts: 1,532
    mbangel10 wrote:
    So what would you suggest? If not Dell then what?

    Are you talking PC or laptop? Dell makes decent laptops, I've never gotten angry at Dell over those. If you're talking PC... post the specs and I'll let you know if it's worth the cash. Honestly, it's the guts that count... and I can't tell what your looking at.[/quote]


    DELL STUDIO XPS Desktop PC
    Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
    8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs
    1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
    ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB
    24" Dell S2409W Full HD Widescreen Monitor

    $1,415[/quote]

    I see you are a gamer. Go with an Asus, and buy the monitor separate or in a package like this one:
    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 42&count=1

    Why? Simply because with an Asus computer you get an asus motherboard, and that shit will last forever. A hard drive can be backed up and replaced, but the mainboard is the brain of the entire system. Asus is the best at mainboards.[/quote]


    Not really a gamer...Would you suggest I go with a significantly lower level computer?

    I guess I was going with the Tim Allen "tool time" approach. The more unecessary power the better.

    Maybe the wrong approach for my pocketbook.
    Sacramento 10-30-00, Bridge School 10-20 and 10-21-01, Bridge School 10-25 and 10-26-01, Irvine 06-02-03, Irvine 06-03-03, San Diego 06-05-03, San Diego 07-07-06, Los Angeles 07-09-06, Santa Barbara 07-13-06, London UK 06-18-07, San Diego 10-9-09, San Diego 2013, LA 1 2013
  • mbangel10mbangel10 Posts: 548
    I see you are a gamer. Go with an Asus, and buy the monitor separate or in a package like this one:
    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 42&count=1

    Why? Simply because with an Asus computer you get an asus motherboard, and that shit will last forever. A hard drive can be backed up and replaced, but the mainboard is the brain of the entire system. Asus is the best at mainboards.[/quote]


    Not really a gamer...Would you suggest I go with a significantly lower level computer?

    I guess I was going with the Tim Allen "tool time" approach. The more unecessary power the better.

    Maybe the wrong approach for my pocketbook.[/quote]

    If you're primary use is going to be email, internet, and online games... yes, it's a bit much. You can get yourself a solid home PC for less than $700 that will more than likely meet all of your needs. Why spend that much if you're not going to really use all of that? The internet does not need g-force video and 8 or 9 gigs of RAM. The 1TB hard drive however, is always useful if you bootleg a ton of music and movies (I mean, if you REALLY like itunes). :)
    Pitt 98, Pitt 00, Cleveland 03, Pitt 03, State College 03, Toledo 04, Toronto 05, Pitt 05, Cleveland 06, Pitt 06 & Chicago 07, Chicago 1&2 09, Philly 2,3,4 09, Cleveland 10, Columbus 10, Alpine Valley 1& 2 11
  • stickfig13stickfig13 Posts: 1,532
    mbangel10 wrote:
    I see you are a gamer. Go with an Asus, and buy the monitor separate or in a package like this one:
    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 42&count=1

    Why? Simply because with an Asus computer you get an asus motherboard, and that shit will last forever. A hard drive can be backed up and replaced, but the mainboard is the brain of the entire system. Asus is the best at mainboards.


    Not really a gamer...Would you suggest I go with a significantly lower level computer?

    I guess I was going with the Tim Allen "tool time" approach. The more unecessary power the better.

    Maybe the wrong approach for my pocketbook.[/quote]

    If you're primary use is going to be email, internet, and online games... yes, it's a bit much. You can get yourself a solid home PC for less than $700 that will more than likely meet all of your needs. Why spend that much if you're not going to really use all of that? The internet does not need g-force video and 8 or 9 gigs of RAM. The 1TB hard drive however, is always useful if you bootleg a ton of music and movies (I mean, if you REALLY like itunes). :)[/quote]


    Cool...Thanks for the advice. I think you have just saved me a ton of cash!

    Bootleg music? No way man....That's illegal ;)
    Sacramento 10-30-00, Bridge School 10-20 and 10-21-01, Bridge School 10-25 and 10-26-01, Irvine 06-02-03, Irvine 06-03-03, San Diego 06-05-03, San Diego 07-07-06, Los Angeles 07-09-06, Santa Barbara 07-13-06, London UK 06-18-07, San Diego 10-9-09, San Diego 2013, LA 1 2013
  • mbangel10mbangel10 Posts: 548
    No problem. Think of it as more cash you can spend on Pearl Jam. :) If you find something else and you're not sure, just post it... I'm always here. :)
    Pitt 98, Pitt 00, Cleveland 03, Pitt 03, State College 03, Toledo 04, Toronto 05, Pitt 05, Cleveland 06, Pitt 06 & Chicago 07, Chicago 1&2 09, Philly 2,3,4 09, Cleveland 10, Columbus 10, Alpine Valley 1& 2 11
  • stickfig13stickfig13 Posts: 1,532
    mbangel10 wrote:
    No problem. Think of it as more cash you can spend on Pearl Jam. :) If you find something else and you're not sure, just post it... I'm always here. :)


    cheers!

    Thanks
    Sacramento 10-30-00, Bridge School 10-20 and 10-21-01, Bridge School 10-25 and 10-26-01, Irvine 06-02-03, Irvine 06-03-03, San Diego 06-05-03, San Diego 07-07-06, Los Angeles 07-09-06, Santa Barbara 07-13-06, London UK 06-18-07, San Diego 10-9-09, San Diego 2013, LA 1 2013
  • RygarRygar Posts: 8,689
    stickfig13 wrote:
    mbangel10 wrote:

    Are you talking PC or laptop? Dell makes decent laptops, I've never gotten angry at Dell over those. If you're talking PC... post the specs and I'll let you know if it's worth the cash. Honestly, it's the guts that count... and I can't tell what your looking at.


    DELL STUDIO XPS Desktop PC
    Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
    8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs
    1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
    ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB
    24" Dell S2409W Full HD Widescreen Monitor

    $1,415
    Upgrade to the Radeon HD 4870 x2 2Gig and it's go time ;)
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