• College Computer
    16 replies, posted
Dear Facepunch Community, I am going to be graduating and leaving for college soon, and my parents are considering on buying a new desktop computer for me while I am there. They showed me a few computers and I was able to narrow it down to this option from Dell. [url]http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/print_summary_details_popup.aspx?c=us&cs=19&fb=1&l=en&leadtime=5/4/2011&model_id=studio-xps-9100&oc=dxdwqu4&s=dhs&showleadtime=True&vw=icon&~lt=print[/url] I will be working on engineering applications, so I will need a good amount of RAM and decent hardware acceleration capabilities. I am wondering if I missed a better option along the road to choosing this one, and would be very grateful for some input from the community on this build. I apologize if this is considered a "Choose for Me," thread, but I have done some homework and came to a conclusion myself. It is just that I only want to make sure I am making the "correct" decision, and not wasting any money. ABRIDGED VERSION: I am going to college. I found a computer that looks like it will fit my needs. Does anyone have any thought's on this choice? Thank you to everyone for your time in this endeavor. Sincerely, Ziggle.
In this section all you'll probably get is "Build it" Which is the best option, of course, you could get a nice SB build for the price of that
Honestly, buy a laptop.
No, unless you want it portable First off, laptops are generally more expensive, and due to size limits (mostly) worse specs for the price
You should check hardware compatibility with the software you'll be using. If you'll be working with some serious 3D you should consider a Quadro or a FirePro card.
Yeah get that one, I can't see anything wrong with it
[QUOTE=Tobba;29407574]In this section all you'll probably get is "Build it" Which is the best option, of course, you could get a nice SB build for the price of that[/QUOTE] I wouldn't mind building my computer, but my parents aren't so comfortable with that idea.
I only advice would maybe be do 2 HD's in RAID 1 or 2x1TB, or any config where you have a drive for backups
Tell it's cheaper and you can get what you want in it.
[QUOTE=Intoxicated Spy;29408033]Tell it's cheaper and you can get what you want in it.[/QUOTE] There is a good chance he gets a school discount and/or financial aid help, custom build RARELY get this kind of treatment, if possible it would be a good idea to dish out for an EEE transformer + dock source: I work for a college
[QUOTE=JohnEdwards;29408080]There is a good chance he gets a school discount and/or financial aid help, custom build RARELY get this kind of treatment, if possible it would be a good idea to dish out for an EEE transformer + dock source: I work for a college[/QUOTE] On the subject of discounts and what you said about the FirePro, the configuration that I have has an ATI Radeon HD5970 2GB GDDR5, and I can't seem to tell how that stacks up compared to a FirePro. The 5970 is discounted to about 70 dollars though, is there a comparable FirePro that has any significant gains compared to that? I don't really have any knowledge about the FirePros and Quadros even as I am looking them up.
If you go for a custom built: [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4838268/cart.png[/img] $1,345 Could probably add another graphics card if you're willing to sacrifice some RAM, or switch the case, or whatever fits you I managed to get it to exactly 1,499.91 first, but then i realized i forgot the power supply and had to sacrifice a video card [editline]25th April 2011[/editline] Oh fuck i forgot an optical drive EDIT: Fuck, I forgot OS too, but you can fit that in
[QUOTE=Ziggle;29408193]On the subject of discounts and what you said about the FirePro, the configuration that I have has an ATI Radeon HD5970 2GB GDDR5, and I can't seem to tell how that stacks up compared to a FirePro.[/QUOTE] For things like redering/3D modeling a FirePro is a better choice, both will do decently on the machine but the firepro will excel in 3D modeling and rendering. The 5970 while it might not do the best in modelling(it still will perform adequately) it will do okay if you want to game. I would go with an Nvida though a 560ti will give you CUDA and gaming so it really is the best choice here.
[QUOTE=Tobba;29408223]If you go for a custom built: [img_thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4838268/cart.png[/img_thumb] $1,345 Could probably add another graphics card if you're willing to sacrifice some RAM, or switch the case, or whatever fits you I managed to get it to exactly 1,499.91 first, but then i realized i forgot the power supply and had to sacrifice a video card [editline]25th April 2011[/editline] Oh fuck i forgot an optical drive EDIT: Fuck, I forgot OS too, but you can fit that in[/QUOTE] What website is that on?
[QUOTE=Ziggle;29408512]What website is that on?[/QUOTE] it is a custom build from newegg.com
Main rig / Netbook(or 13"er laptop.) Best combination there ever was
three options: 1-just buy a 13" netbook and take your current machine which I assume has an HD 5970 in it with you 2-just buy a 13" netbook and build a rig with any good SSD + samsung f3 1Tb + firepro or quadro + everything else you want (should be less or around 1500$) 3-look at the second option, decide for the second option and you win :)
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