Reasonable price difference between these 2 PC?

[UALOneKPlus]

Circuit City has a Sony Vaio Desktop for $899 after rebates:
Intel Pentium P4 processor 2.4 GHz desktop package:

-256 MB DDR-RAM
-80 GB Ultra DMA hard drive
-Stylish 15" LCD Monitor
-Lexmark color printer
-DVD-R/W drive
PCVRS310/SDMH553/Z705 (PC/Monitor/Printer)

Best Buy has a Sony Desktop for $1.759.97 after rebates:

-Pentium 4 Processor 2.8 GHz with Hyper Threading
-15" LCD Flat-Panel Monitor
-Color Printer
-512 MB DDR RAM memory
-120 gigabyte hard drive
-DVD+/-RW drive
RZ34G/HS53/3650 (PC/Monitor/printer?)

So the main differences between the 2 packages are:

1) P4 processor 2.8GHz w/ Hyper Threading (Best Buy) vs P4 2.4Ghz processor w/out (Circuit City)
2) 512 MB RAM vs 256 MB RAM
3) 120 GB HD vs 80 GB HD
4) DVD+/-RW drive vs DVD-RW drive

But do the differences justify a $860 difference in price between the 2 packages?

What do you PC shoppers think? I'm supposed to help my in-laws select one, and I'm leaning towards the $899.99 package...

[ted]

The deciding choice would be what are you going to use it for. Buy the cheap one if your just surfing the internet mainly and buy the more priced one if you planning on doing a lot more such as working with movies and cad programs. But you can also upgrade the cheaper computer with all the specials going on lately for more ram and a bigger hard drive for much less too. I would consider more ram for the cheaper one. Bump it up to 512mb for much better performance. A bigger harddrive......well again its if your going to be storing lots of music and pictures on it and other stuff.
For the dvd I think + is winning the war but I dont think + or - would make much difference to your inlaws. I mainly use my dvd burner for data burning.
For the processer is saying how fast do you want to go fast or really fast.
I would think theres not much noticeable speed between them.

Good Luck in making the right decision.

[Scruffy]

You might want to check this out!
http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/offers/sp ... cial14.htm
HOT! DellHome - Dimension 2400 with P4 2.2GHz, 128MB RAM, 40GB HD, 48x CD-Rom, and a 15" LCD Monitor for $574 After Rebate Shipped Free with No Tax in Most States!
Great deal for a complete system, including an LCD monitor! Dell normally sells the 15" LCD for $300 if you buy it at Software and Peripherals. If you take that out of the total, then you are basically getting a computer for $274, and this system has a P4 chip instead of a Celeron too! Specs: Pentium 4 Processor at 2.20GHz with 400MHz front side bus , 128MB DDR SDRAM, 40GB HD, 48x CD-Rom, and the 15 in E151FPb Flat Panel Display. What a deal!

Start here at Dell Home Dimension 2400 Featured Systems.
Click on Customize It.
All of the stuff for the lowest cost, including rebate, should already be selected . Here`s a few upgrades we would suggest, though it will raise the price:
Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.40GHz with 533MHz front side bus [add $30 or $1/month1]
16x DVD-ROM Drive [add $30 or $1/month1]
Scroll to the bottom and click on Continue
Scroll to the bottom and click on Continue
Scroll to the bottom and click on Add to cart
Use coupon code: B036FDAB63CA for $25 off a $500+ system purchase. Expires 2/29/04.
Finish checking out. Send in the $100 mail in rebate (unknown expiration date). REBATE

[UALOneKPlus]

Thanks for the info! The Dell deal looks really sweet, especially since my in-laws are only into "brand name" PC's.

Thanks!

[TheWizard]

Convince your in-laws that branded computers aren't all they are cracked up to be, then build them a computer for much less. They'll be happy with the money you saved them.

[Ian]

Convince your in-laws that branded computers aren't all they are cracked up to be, then build them a computer for much less. They'll be happy with the money you saved them.

Yeah, but then they're going to call him for every problem they have with the computer. Buy a Dell and tape their tech support # on the top of the monitor.

[cfitz]

I agree with Ian on this one. Save yourself some grief. Besides, if they have their hearts set on a name brand computer, then why bother expending the time and effort trying to convince them otherwise? Dell computers aren't terrible pieces of junk, so you wouldn't be stopping them from making a big mistake. And some people just rest easier seeing that badge on the front. There is nothing wrong with buying a little peace of mind if that is what works for them.

cfitz

[TheWizard]

I never classified Dells as pieces of junk, all I said is that name-brand puters aren't all they are cracked up to be. If I had to buy a name-brand PC, I would probably buy a Dell.

The tech support is a good point. For me though...don't need it. I'd rather save the money, build my own PC, and read solutions either online or in books if I ever encountered a problem.

[cfitz]

I never classified Dells as pieces of junk

Oh, please don't misunderstand me. I wasn't trying to imply that you did classify Dells as junk. I was just offering that situation as a counter-example that would justify the course of action you suggested.

For example, if some friend you know had his heart set on some hypothetical brand, call it X, that you know to be a piece of junk, then it would be worth your time and effort to convince him not to buy brand X because it would save him from making a big mistake. But Dell makes reasonable quality computers, so your friend wouldn't be making a big mistake buying Dell and it isn't so important to convince him to get an alternative.



cfitz

[CowboySlim]

Start here at Dell Home Dimension 2400 Featured Systems.

I use a Dell Dementia at work because that is what they give me and it is OK. For me, it is build my own. For my daughter, who only lives about 10 miles away, it's build one. Then when my grandson (3 years old) hits too many keys at once and freezes it, it's up to me to fix it. That's fine, I'm going there anyway.

Only one issue however, the local Fry's is just off the freeway about halfway between. Hard to drive by without pulling off and going in.

[dodecahedron]

Dell Dementia

interesting name.
i wonder why they chose it.

[cfitz]

Dell Dementia

interesting name.
i wonder why they chose it.

Dell didn't choose that name, Slim did.

cfitz

[CowboySlim]

Dell Dementia

interesting name.
i wonder why they chose it.

Dell didn't choose that name, Slim did.

cfitz

cfitz, you bet!

It really says: "Dell Optiplex GX260"

But that was a take-off of another Dell model: "Dimension"

[dodecahedron]

OK i guess i'm a dufus!