James_Kiang

about the Dell/APEX deals

I've seen some pretty nice looking systems on the Deals page that are really tempting me to upgrade my system (P3 1.0 GHz). I do have a couple of questions though that I hope you guys can help me with:

1 - Looking at the Dimension 8400 with the Intel 925X mobo. Is this a good mobo?

2 - I'd probably stick with 512 MB RAM for now, but is it worth the $30 to get the faster RAM?

3 - I'm a bit leery of the video card in the system - the Radeon X300 SE PCIe x16. I currently have a GeForce 5600 with 128 MB RAM. Is my current card much better than the Radeon?

I might come back with more...

Thanks in advance.

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Gabriel_Lam

1. Yes and no. Depends on what you're looking for. It's a solid and reliable motherboard. However, it doesn't overclock, and the memory timing settings are tuned for reliability, not all out speed.

2. It's a marginal difference, but I think it's worth it. Later on, you may upgrade to 1GB of memory (by adding two more 256MB sticks). You'll want to match the speed of all 4, so the extra speed is nice.

3. It's not a fast card. The x800 is a better choice. This being said, PCI-Express video cards are coming out now, and you can probably upgrade as you feel fit later.

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James_Kiang

Thanks Gabriel!

I try to stay abreast on what is going on with computer technology but I will say that I haven't heard of these PCI-Express cards before. I take it they do not use an AGP slot? Does this setup include an AGP slot in case I wanted to put in my GeForce card?

I liked the deal the other day where Dell was including Office for only $29. Does that happen often?

My DVD Collection - very outdated

Gabriel_Lam

PCIe is basically the "replacement" for AGP. It's a faster interface (a wider pipe, if you will), though the vast majority of graphics speed still comes down to the graphics card itself, not the interface. It's not pin compatible with AGP though.

Big discounts on Microsoft Office seem to show up about once or twice per quarter in my estimation.

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SethH

I recently built myself a new desktop. I didn't use an Intel board, but my board is built around the 925X chipset. I've got no complaints so far. There is RAID functionality built-in as well as great audio (as far as onboard audio goes). I have a PCIe video card and am very pleased, though I'm not a gamer so it's not a huge deal to me. As mentioned, PCIe and AGP are not compatible and I don't think any of the 925X boards come with AGP slots at all. I would personally pay the $30 for the RAM.