New XP Pro desktop system

[Charles Knutson]

I ordered a Dell Inspiron 530 yesterday afternoon -- Q9300 quad core processor, 4GB RAM, XP Pro, fax modem, 10 gig online storage -- free shipping, $759 before tax. I built it online, but placed the order through a Small Business sales rep who'd given me several quotes over the past few weeks.

The Inspiron is a Home & Home Office computer -- the equivalent build with a Vostro 400 was $150-250 more; the Inspiron XP Pro upgrade is $20, but the XP Pro upgrade in the Vostro is $99. Go figure.

Placing the order through the sales rep gave him a commission, but it didn't change the price -- so he threw in next day shipping for free, because I let him handle the transaction.

Small Business homepage

http://www.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~ck=bt

The Inspiron 530 -- great deal on the quad core processors.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DDDADGX&s=dhs&dgc=CJ&cid=24471

The base deal is screaming good -- $499 for a Q6600 quad core, 3 GB Ram, 500 GB HD. XP Pro adds $20, a high power video card is $60, fax modem another $20 -- which is a great machine for $599.

I upgraded to the Q9300 quad core processor for another $100, and went with 4 GB Ram. The Q9xxx processors (along with the E8xxx line) use the new 45nm technology; the Q6600 uses the older 65nm architecture. The performance is about the same, but the Q6600 has 8MB of L2 cache, compared with 6MB L2 for the others. The 45nm chips run cooler and use less power, which is why I went that way.

The dual core Inspiron 530

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&fb=1&l=en&oc=DDCWDAY&s=dhs

The same configuration using the E8200 is $10 more than what I ordered -- but a Q6600 is $50 more, and the Q9300 is $150 more. Go figure.

The E8200 Dual Core uses the 45mn technology, same as the Q9300 Quad Core -- performance wise, there is very little difference between them. Since most applications are not designed to take advantage of multiple cores, processor speed is the most important factor. I almost went with the E8200, but the Q9300 seemed like a better deal.

At any rate, Dell is saying that June 18th is the LAST DAY to order a computer with Windows XP -- if you want one, the window of opportunity is closing fast.

On the other hand, Vista Business comes with XP Pro downgrade rights, but that's another $50-150 -- I thought about going that route and setting up a dual boot machine; but I personally don't need the aggravation of adapting to a new OS right now, so it's XP Pro for me.

 

[Smokey Bear]

Ooooooh I'm jealous - my laptop is so old it's only got a 40 gig hard drive. :-(

 

[OSU Beavers]

Charles,

I'm confussed. You bought an Inspiron through Dell Small Business? All the times I called they would only sell me Vostoros. The Vostro 400 do have a 6-pin molex power connector for better video cards and come standard with the faster 800mhz RAM.

The last Inspiron I got was from Dell Home. I posted a pretty killer Inspiron Quad core deal last night for $429, but it only lasted six hours and was Vista.

Yea the times I tried Dell Small Business line I found only one in four sales reps had a clue. If you find a good one get their direct line. Where you able to get your 3% NAR discount on the Inspiron?

 

[Charles Knutson]

Hi OSU --

I started out looking at Vostros and talking to small business sales reps. The guy I talked to said they will price match anything, and he recreated my build from the Dell home website. His name is William Seifried, William_Seifried at Dell dot com -- he goes by Kurt, and his phone # is 1-800-456-3355 x 9460978. He returned every call within 10 minutes, and was as helpful as the Dell rules allowed.

The link you posted didn't have a no monitor option, so it didn't work for me. I didn't ask about the NAR discount, but I'll call Kurt on monday to see if it applies. Do you have a NAR specific discount code?

I found the link to the quad core Inspiron at a tech site -- the window is closed now. But this page has the same deal, and a coupon code that gives me another $40 discount.

The Dell link at this page is Vista only.

http://www.cheapstingybargains.com/...reen-digital-flat-panel-1079-w-free-shipping/

$300 discount Coupon -- CJ?Z2DQDSJ0L0N

Quad Core 530 Inspiron with XP Home or Pro

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...&oc=DDDADGX&s=dhs&dgc=CJ&cid=24471&lid=683020

This deal isn't on the Dell webpage, but it still works -- it's a great deal for high powered system. If I had to do it again, I'd probably go with the Q6600 and save the $100 -- but that might not get the full discount and free shipping.

UPDATE --

Dell has the weirdest coupons -- I plugged in the code above, and it gave me a $300 instead of a $260 discount. I tried the same build with a different coupon, and it cut the discount to $200. After several attempts to go back to the original configuration, I removed the coupon -- and the $300 discount reappeared.

At any rate, there is a $200 discount coupon for all Inspirons over a certain price point -- it cut the price of the same build with an E8200 processor to $659. The E8200 is more than enough processor for what we do.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DDCWDAY&s=dhs

Another coupon -- I think this is the $200 discount: 93WLX690FFR?FN

Another coupon -- don't know it works or not: Q4MVHZTFT04Z1W

Dell deals -- Optiplex, Inspiron laptops and desktops (same deals)

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/deals/deals.php

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

He returned every call within 10 minutes, and was as helpful as the Dell rules allowed.

So, is there a rule they can't be as helpful as that guy in those Honda ads? Because that's a waste of company time!?

 

[OSU Beavers]

An Inspiron through Small Business, I'll be damned. I'll have to call Kurt to see if he will let me use my EPP coupon on a Vostro. The good Vostro quad core deal with a 22" monitor required a $300 off $749 coupon that was on some of the May catalogs. I didn't get one and jerks on ebay were selling the coupons for $100 each.

Did your $759 deal include a monitor?

 

[Charles Knutson]

Did your $759 deal include a monitor?

No monitor with my $759 computer -- including the basic 19" flat panel adds $190; $250 for a 20", and $280 for a 22".

But if you stay with the basic $499 Q6600 quad core and 3 GB Ram, it works out about the same. The discount is $260 -- but if the pre-discount total is more than $1,000, the $300 coupon should work.

 

[Charles Knutson]

I found the original post that led me to the Quad Core 530 deal -- it also had a link to a site with the $300 off coupon, but I missed that one. That site also has two Vostro laptop deals that end on Monday.

$300 off coupon, for $1,000 Inspiron 530; and laptop deals

http://www.gotapex.com/

original deal post -- Dell Inspiron 530 Quad Core fully loaded $499

http://www.pcabusers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=288750#post288750

Looks like they've extended this another week. $499 gets you:

Intel Core 2 Quad Core Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB), XP Home Edition, No Monitor, 3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 4 DIMMs, 500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache, 16x DVD+/-RW Drive, Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100, Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio, Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse, 1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support

This is the same computer as the business division Vostro 400. It has a fully functional PCI-E slot. Just pop a card in and it automatically disables the crappy onboard video.

The stock PSU has 30 amps combined on the 12 volt rails which can handle up to a Geforce 8800GT (the Vostro 400 version comes with an option for an 8800GT pre-installed). It will take a standard ATX 2.0 PSU so you can upgrade it.

It comes with either XP or Vista.

Yeah, you have to deal with the Dell Home division whose tech support I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, but we're all techies here and fix our own crap.

I had the business version of this same PC (the Vostro 400) on my bench last week. A client had ordered it with an 8800GT pre-installed and for fun I ran 3DMark2006 on it. It benched at 11807. For a comparison, my Dell Dimension 9200 with an 8800GT benches at 11683. A friend of mine ordered one and is getting just over 12000 3DMarks with an 8800 GTX (after he installed a better PSU).

Dell Home division charges $30 shipping for 3-5 day ground (unlike the Business division which is free) BUT an IT friend of mine says he's usually been able to get Dell to drop the shipping by saving it in your shopping cart, and then calling Dell's sales number and asking why you can't get free shipping. Worth a try.

These are nice Quad Core systems for the money. I've ordered 3 of the Vostro 400s for clients, and a few guys over at Red-Eye have bought either the Vostro 400 or the Inspiron 530 recently for gaming.

There's a $300 off $999+ coupon at http://GotApex.com if you want to add some items to get the "Starting Price" over $999.

Inspiron Quad Core 530 deal with Win XP:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...&oc=DDDADGX&s=dhs&dgc=CJ&cid=24471&lid=683020

With Vista:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...&oc=DDDADG4&s=dhs&dgc=CJ&cid=24471&lid=683019