First desktop in 10 years.

[uremodel 2005]

I started using Chief in 2001. I have always run it on laptops, but now im ready to goto a desktop. I figure my latest laptop will run the next version of chief and I want something new that will speed up my work. I run multiple applications at one time and get bogged down alot. Can anyone give me feedback on what I had specked from dell. Things have changed so much in the last few years, ive had a hard time getting my head around the specs.

Thanks,

Mike


224-8681 1 Dell Precision T3500 CMT,85 Percent Power Supply,C2
317-8067 1 Six Core Intel Xeon Processor W3670, 3.20GHz,12M L3, 4.8GT/s,FPWS T3500
317-0121 1 12GB, DDR3 ECC SDRAM Memory 1333MHz, 3X4GB Dell Precision T3500
331-1965 1 Dell USB Entry Keyboard,No Hot Keys,English,Precision Desktop
320-3316 1 Monitor Option-None
320-9305 1 2GB nVIDIA Quadro 4000,Dual Monitor,2DP and 1DVI,Dell Precision TX500
341-8663 1 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache, DellPrecision TX500
341-8562 1 C1 All SATA Hard Drives,Non-RAID for 1or 2 Hard Drive, Dell Precision T3500
341-8560 1 Internal USB Media Card Reader19:1, Dell Precision TX500
421-5607 1 Windows 7 Professional,No Media, 64-bit,Fixed Precision, English
330-6228 1 Windows 7 Label, Optiplex, Fixed Precision, Vostro Desktop
330-9458 1 Dell MS111 USB Optical Mouse,OptiPlex and Fixed Precision
311-7463 1 Mini-Tower Chassis Configuration, Dell Precision T1500 and T3500
313-7457 1 16X DVD+/-RW Data Only Dell Precision TX500
421-4370 1 Cyberlink Power DVD 9.5,No Media, Dell OptiPlex, Latitude and Precision Workstation
421-4539 1 Roxio Creator Starter,No Media,Dell OptiPlex, Latitude and Precision Workstation
313-3417 1 Internal Chassis Speaker Dell Precision
330-3156 1 Documentation,English,Dell Precision
330-3157 1 Power Cord,125V,2M,C13,Dell Precision
341-8581 1 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache, DellPrecision TX500
341-9289 1 Integrated Intel chipset SATA 3.0Gb/s controller,Dell Precision T3500 and T5500
330-3825 1 Energy Star 5.0 BIOS Label configuration, Dell Precision Workstation
330-4024 1 No Resource CD for Dell Precision T3500
330-4020 1 Quick Reference Guide,English Dell Precision T3500
330-3209 1 Shipping Material for System Dell Precision T3500
421-3950 1 Microsoft Office Starter 2010,OptiPlex,Precision and Latitude
421-3954 1 Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010,English,OptiPlex,Precision and Latitude
993-9008 1 Dell Hardware Limited Warranty Plus Onsite Service Extended Year(s)
993-9017 1 Dell Hardware Limited Warranty Plus Onsite Service Initial Year
992-9042 1 ProSupport : Next Business Day Parts and Labor Onsite Response 2 Year Extended
993-3140 1 ProSupport : Next Business Day Parts and Labor Onsite Response Initial Year
989-3449 1 Thank you choosing Dell ProSupport. For tech support, visit http://support.dell.com/ProSupport or call 1-866-516-3115

983-9162 1 ProSupport : 7x24 Technical Support , 2 Year Extended
984-5810 1 ProSupport : 7x24 Technical Support , Initial
330-4025 1 Resource DVD contains Diagnostics and Drivers,Dell Precision T3500
421-5682 1 Media Kit,Win 7 Professional 64bit,MUI,Dell OptiPlex, Precision and Latitude
* -DISCOUNT/COUPON APPL



Total: $4,569.00

[Allen Brown]

Looks to me like one smokin' fast machine, but that sure is a big price tag.

[Allen Brown]

I just looked it up, and if I was spending that kind of money, I would get a faster CPU. That's a good one, but accordin to this site, there are 18 faster cpu's and some of them are less money.

[lbuttery]

Mike:

$4,569

Do you really need a PC that expensive ???

a sub $2K PC should be fine for most chiefers....

Lew

[uremodel 2005]

Thanks for the response.

I take my laptop everywhere and use it in the field. Its also my home business computer. I end up spending about $2500-$3000 every 2-3 years for a new one. I am planning on getting a good enough desktop that will last for at least 4 years and be upgradible enough to handle the new software over that time. I dont want to spend that much, but im trying to buy forward on my computer purchases.

Mike

[lbuttery]

Mike:

I agree on the 4-5 year timeframe

I usually look at the top of the line and then back down a step or so

I still think you are about $2K+ too high

look at the specs for the $2K PC's and then customize the choices

In the past I have always spent $2000 - $2500 for my PC's

My last PC (2008) was $1300 (on sale) - It could use a little more beef

I don't do raytraces etc and don't build hugh models

$4k+ is probably overkill unless you really need an "elephant gun"

Lew

[uremodel 2005]

Thanks Lew.

I really appriciate your input. ordering a computer is getting to be pretty complicated. Even from 3 years ago.


Thanks again.


Mike

[Allen Brown]

Look at the link I posted above. When you click on any specific CPU in the chart, it will take you to a page that shows you the performance/price ratio of that CPU compared to others. The one you have listed ranks near the bottom in that aspect.

My opinion: The most important things for your computer, in order of importance are;
CPU
Video card
Amount of ram
Speed of hard drive.

And of course get the latest Windows 7, but only get the home version unless you will be running a network.

[HumbleChief]

That really is very expensive for a machine to run Chief.

A couple of things. Chief is not optimized for the Quadro card and may not perform as well as some of the lesser cards. Check video card threads. LOTS of cheaper, great performing vid cards.

There's only 2 500 gig hard drives for $4500? You can get a terabyte drive for $59.00 REALLY

I put one together for myself a couple years ago (see sig) and it cost me $1200 and runs Chief pretty good. That same config should cost much less today and for same $1200 you can buy a LOT more machine.

Not saying you should be building it yourself as I know that's not for everyone - just giving you another look and perspective.

[HumbleChief]

Here's a system I threw together in a couple minutes. There might be a specific item that's not perfect as I didn't spend too much time doing homework but this is a KILLER system - FAST CPU - (2) terabyte hard drives - 12 gigs of ram - NICE video card - Nice case - Windows 7 Home Premium (all you need).

And at this price you could almost get THREE systems for the price of the one you've described.

Of course someone has to put it together - again just for comparison purposes.



better pic? Weird when I 'print the cart it leaves off the memory. First price is more accurate.

[Chad Cardin]

Mike,

I was in your position back in 2007. I had been using my other dell for a long period of time and it was finally time to get a new one. I had the same exact logic that I wanted to use it for as long as possible. My final pricetag was closer to $3600 and included the 'bumper to bumper' four year warranty with at home service.

If I was to do it all over again, I wouldnt spend the money. First of all the more expensive machines are less reliable, according to the many dell techs that have come out to replace parts on my machine. Mine was top of the line back in 2007 and you could only get one thing more on it, which at the time was in the intercooler which I opted out of, which put the pricetag over $5,000. The techs say this is like a Ferrari that needs constant maintenance, which I wasnt told this when I bought it.

I originally wanted something more along the lines of a Toyota, not the most expensive but really reliable. I can say the only thing Im glad I got was the extended warranty with at home parts replacement. That has paid for itself twenty times over in the last five years. I went ahead and extended the extended warranty for one more year at $140, and that paid for itself with the part costing $750.

If I was to do it all over again, I would select the cheapest computer that can run chief but upgrade the video cards, hard drives etc and get the great warranty and like Lew said maybe spend $2k or less.

Also after spending almost $4,000, you never get your money back, so if you can pack your machine full of the good stuff, with the least expensive machine, that in my opinion is what I would do next time around.

Just my two cents, as I was in your same position a few years back. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[HumbleChief]

Wow, That's a bit of a horror story Chad. I'm guessing you still have the Dell?

I've had very reliable home built machines but usually do a lot of homework before putting the components together, with a good motherboard being the most important single item IMO.

Perhaps a local builder would be good option for the OP as well. Do your research on CPU's and video cards, get a decent service warranty and you're running Chief for thousands less.

I do have one question Chad - what part cost $750?

[Chad Cardin]

Hi Larry,

Yes, I love Dell, despite this one being a very high maintenance machine. All the other ones Ive had have lasted a long time without having one incident in up to seven years of ownership, this other one, which is pampered is a completely different story.

As for the $750 part, it was a myriad of things. Be patient with me as Im not a computer guy and the techs just told me what they were replacing. I guess the entire motherboard went out and caused a few other things to burn out as well. The Nvidia card, has burned out three times since the original and I dont even do any raytracing! Im glad Pat doesnt have this Dell!

Lets see what else... Ive never used the cd/dvd burner/reader and both drives burnt out... how they burnt out when Ive never used them to burn cd/dvds I have no clue. This was a brand new not refurbished, so its been an unpleasant ownership experience.

The one thing that I absolute love about it though and I know your going to laugh is everyone calls it my space ship computer because its in an all aluminum case with lights all over it both the front and back. So I get excited everytime I turn it on to switch out the colors to like 20 different choices. Its kind of like the chromatherapy thing thats popular now. It lights up my entire room with the color and creates a new feeling each day.

Although thats great, I dont think I can rationalize liking the lights and metal casing for $3600. Oh well Im trying to look at the bright side of my purchase.

[HumbleChief]

Thanks for the reply and info Chad and good to know that Dells have treated you well in the past - this one sure sounds like a lemon though. I've never had stuff burn out before so I'm knockin on wood - especially dc/dvd drives - weird.

Hadn't thought about the lights personally but maybe for my next one.

[Cliff Bunyea]

Mike,

I was in that situation a year ago. I made a commitment to take on the new X3 program. I needed to rid myself of XP. For what I wanted with Chief (video card, power, switch to W7, etc.), the price from "box stores were crazy. Some units offer this but extra for that. Some package deals I did not like.

I must have worked the Dell order 10 times online and deleted the thing near the end.

I have received great advice in the past from Chiefers like Gary Doski & Lew. They basically mentioned not to go overboard on cost because of becoming obsolete in a few years.

Anyway, I finally found a company that makes your PC, your way (like the fast food statement). I told Todd @CPU Solutions my price range and "we" built the machine with components that are name brands for the motherboard, video card,etc. I also got heavy duty fans and a custom case/tower.

All less then $1,300.00. Because I'm eat up with it on computers, I got the tech department twice in less than 30 seconds.

For want it's worth.