New Purchase

[Soul-Haven]

Hey guys,

My grandfather is looking to purchase a new computer, and he wanted me to check which one of the two he's considering is the better buy. And, I thought, what better place to get opinions than here! :)

Anyway...

Here are the two choices:

Dell Dimension E310
Price $999
Features:
Intel Pentium 4 Processor 521 with HT Technology (2.80GHz)
Genuine Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
1GB Shared Dual-Channel DDR2 SDRAM
160GB Hard Drive
17'' Flat Panel Display (E176)
Intel Extreme Graphics 2
DVD-ROM Drive; CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) Drive (2nd Bay)
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio
Dell A525 Speakers with Subwoofer
Musicmatch Plus by Yahoo! Music
2 Year Limited Warranty, At-Home Service, Hardware Warranty Support

Next...

Dell Dimension E510
Price $999
Features Include:
Intel Pentium D Processor 820 with Dual-Core Technology (2.80GHz)
Genuine Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
250GB Hard Drive
17'' Flat Panel Display (E176)
128MB ATI's RADEON X300 SE HyperMemory
CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) Drive
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio
Dell A525 Speakers with Subwoofer
Microsoft Works Suite 2006 - Includes Microsoft Word, Money Standard and Encarta; 13-in-1 Media Card Reader
1 year Limited Warranty, At-Home Service, Hardware Warranty Support


I'd appreciate everyone's honest thoughts about which one of the two is the better buy. I know some will say a Mac is better, lol, but that's not an option. :)

Thanks for your help.

[IanS]

It will really depend on the uses your grandfather intends to make of the computer.
Is it a replacement for an existing computer? If it's storing lots of photos then the second one would be my choice, simply because it has a bigger HD. If he's wanting to put his music collection on to the HD, then again, the second one for the same reason.

I wouldn't have chosen the Windows Media Centre OS, ditch that for XP Pro, or even XP Home. (Better to ditch for Linux, but that's not an option with Dell :D).

[tbonekkt]

I'd go with the E510.

[YvetteKuhns]

If I had to choose from the two choices above, the second choice sounds better for him. But I wouldn't choose a Dell or Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Inquire about replacing that OS with something else.

[tpoynton]

of the choices, i would say the second one as long as it had 1gb of RAM - the RAM is not specified above...the first one appears to have integrated graphics, while the second one has a dedicated video card.

regarding the OS, i know some people who love the MCE; i'm not one of them, but it (allegedly) makes organizing music and such. XP pro or home is, IMHO, a safer bet...

[Builder]

Well, I guess I'll go along with the crowd. It looks like you get more for your money with Option #2 -- except for the waranty, if that matters.

A couple of personal experiences:
1) My current computer came with the MusicMatch thingy and I dumped it within 24 hours of owning it -- not impressed
2) The internal card reader is way cool. My old computer didn't have one and I used a PCMCIA reader which was OK, but didn't read Sony Memory Sticks even though it was supposed to. The internal one on my new computer has no problems at all.

Good luck,
Kevin

[Doc C]

Looks like you've got your heart set on a Dell for some reason. Depending on what your grandfather wants and/or needs there are other brands on the market that will do the same for less. Is this what he needs or what you want so you can play on his machine? :)

I picked up an eMachine for about 450 and used my existing monitor. It does everything I need it to do.

[tenndevil]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with MCE at all i've been using it for a couple of years now and it controls all the media here, hooked up to my receiver and television, all my cd's are stored on it, it works like a tivo, and even better.

MCE is just a souped up version of XP Pro, If you haven't used it then you shouldn't knock it, it does what pro will do and more. Got an XBox then you have MCE where ever that xbox is located.

Very easy to switch bewtween GUI's you can select to boot to XP Pro or MCE in the setting's.

We keep music, photo's and movies on it, and can put them on the big screen with just "flip of the switch"

[YvetteKuhns]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with MCE at all i've been using it for a couple of years now and it controls all the media here, hooked up to my receiver and television, all my cd's are stored on it, it works like a tivo, and even better.

Good comments! It appears that MCE was created for people like you and it suits your needs. For people who do not use their computers for media entertainment but for work or information, this would not be the OS of choice. You really have to know how you are using a computer to decide what you need.

[symo]

MCE is just a souped up version of XP Pro, If you haven't used it then you shouldn't knock it, it does what pro will do and more. Got an XBox then you have MCE where ever that xbox is located.
It appears that Microsoft themselves may be a bit confused... ;)

From the MCE Website:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/students/default.mspx

"Looking for a computer for schoolwork and fun? Windows XP Media Center Edition offers all the benefits of Windows XP Professional (emphasis added), plus entertainment features that centralize your TV, music, digital video, photos, and DVDs in one easy-to-access location."

However, also from the MCE information website:

http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/mediacenter/evaluation/faq.mspx

"While you can access network resources on a work network or a domain, you cannot join a Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 PC to the domain. PCs running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 are designed specifically for home use. Windows XP Professional features, specifically Domain Join and Cached Credentials (Credentials Manager for logons) are not included (emphasis added)."

Well, not being able to join a domain is also the major difference between Home and Professional. So on one hand MS says you get, "all the benefits of Windows XP Professional", but on the other hand, "...are designed specifically for home use. Windows XP Professional features, specifically Domain Join and Cached Credentials (Credentials Manager for logons) are not included."

IMHO, joining a domain would be the prime, if not the only, reason to use Pro (as we do here at work) versus Home. So I'm not so sure that the statement, "MCE is just a supped up version of XP Pro..." is exactly correct ;)

Actually from what I can tell, the only major difference between either Home, Pro, or MCE is additional ability to handle:

Multi-tuner support (record two shows at the same time and watch another previously recorded show)
Support for digital and high-definition local TV
Built-in CD and DVD burning (third party)
Windows Movie Maker 2.1 with DVD burning (Home and Pro)
Internet radio (Home and Pro)
Enhanced setup wizard for easier installation

The italicized items above indicate those that are also included in Home and Pro (except for built in DVD burning, for which I use a 3rd party app anyway).

I'm certainly not knocking MCE (any more than I would any other MS product :D), but I also would not call it a "supped up version" of anything. :D

As I stated previously (in this, or another thread), my daughter uses the MCE operating system, since her's was the last computer the family acquired and it came preinstalled on the OEM machine (which is the only way you can get it). Would I reformat her machine just to install either Home, or Pro, simply because it came with MCE? No.

Sorry, my opinion of which to buy would be the E510. Even though the amount of memory was not stated... memory is cheap (well, relative speaking of course :D)

Anyway, this sure ended up a lot longer winded than first envisioned :D

symo

[YvetteKuhns]

Dell computers format the first 20% of the hard drive with their bundled adware (crap from M$, Yahoo, Real Audio, Adobe and others) which cannot be removed.

I hate prebuilt computers and their proprietary software. I had to buy a laptop for college that was imaged by the school. I reformatted the hard drive after graduation and my son still uses it. I only use my own custom built computers, so I get what I want. I can reuse the monitor, keyboard, mouse and other stuff.

Other people don't know anything about computers and prebuilt computers are okay until they need support. Still, the prices aren't as bad as they used to be.

[Autoload]

Dell computers format the first 20% of the hard drive with their bundled adware (crap from M$, Yahoo, Real Audio, Adobe and others) which cannot be removed.


Not entirely true.. the part of not being able to remove it. You can pay a few extra dollars and get actual install CD's for the OS and all the software included on the PC. For the computer saavy this means you can buy a Dell and blow away the partition before you even boot to the OS, do a fresh reinstall of Windows only and skip all the proprietary spyware/adware/useless crap Dell puts on their machines.

Of course ... if you're going to do that.. why buy a Dell in the first place.. lol ;-)

[YvetteKuhns]

You can pay a few extra dollars and get actual install CD's for the OS and all the software included on the PC. For the computer saavy this means you can buy a Dell and blow away the partition before you even boot to the OS, do a fresh reinstall of Windows only and skip all the proprietary spyware/adware/useless crap Dell puts on their machines.

Of course ... if you're going to do that.. why buy a Dell in the first place.. lol ;-)

You can have a nonproprietary hard drive installation for any manufacturer, but you may as well buy a barebones kit from Tiger Direct or another company and choose what you want there.