Hello everyone I hope everybody are doing fine and in good health. I own 700 MHz micron I have bought it almost 4 years ago and I think it is doing ok but lately the computer started to be come like turtle very slow. I am thinking of taking this computer out the service. I was looking at the Dell home page and seen many good computers with reasonable price. I could not make my mind for which I should go for. Could anybody recommend which computer model or what processor I should go for?

First:

There are many things you can do make your old micron run better. Please describe your symptoms and we can help you improve the performance. You still might want to get a new system, but sprucing up the old one will give you a backup pc and chance to try your hand at networking.

Please read this thread (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=34342&highlight=Reason+Buy+Dell) and you will see there are not a whole lot of Dell fans on this site.

My personal Specs for a new PC these days: (Bear in mind I'm an Intel guy and I do not know about AMD. AMD has many fans on this site as well. This is NOT a slight against them I just am not knowledgeable enough to recommend one.

Case..............: Mid Tower (More room to work better air flow)
Processor........: P-4 2.8 Ghz
FSB................: 800 mhz (Get a 533 if money is an option)
Power Supply...: 350-400 watt
RAM...............: 512 MB
OS.................: Windows XP Pro w/SP2
NIC................: On board is fine for all but high end corporate networking
After that it depends on what you are doing with the PC. If you are just doing word processing and general surfing than on-board sound and video are also OK. If you are gaming or editing movies or pictures you may want to upgrade the sound and or video card. If you are getting a TFT screen, you want the contrast ration to be at least 450:1 and the response time to be under 20 ms. As for optical drives i would get a DVD-RW drive so you can back up on a single DVD. Depending on the number of USB ports, I would stay away from USB mice & keyboards as they will decrease your available USB ports from anywhere to 25%-50%.

We'll let a few of the system builders take a look at the posts and put their 2 cents in.

As Classic said, it depends on what you want to do with your computer. Will it be for general web surfing, office programs?. Or for gaming and/or video editing? And what kind of budget do you have in mind? Answer those questions, and we will be better able to help you. ;)

Not too many Dell fans around here. But that's up to you. I would take a look at, and compare some of the other OEM's, or if you have a local computer shop around your area. Not necessarily trying to steer you away from Dell, just giving you other options. ;)

One of the problems I have with Dell is that their systems aren't very upgradable. If you could look inside one of those Dells, I think you would find it doesn't match up to your current Micron system. Not only that, but Dell and the other big OEM's line up their systems according to the CPU. The low-end models with the Celeron's are equipped with low-power PSU's, older chipsets, and you probably won't be able to upgrade to a P4 later on.

I think you'd be happier with a local shop building a sytem for you, if only so that you can be sure of upgrades later on. And probably better quality parts.

Ooh! Qatar is a cute little country (http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/6387/Maps/middle_east.gif)!

I thank you guys for your honest reply. I will build my own system much better. My Micron pc is doing fine 700mhz and I just upgraded the memory to 512. maybe I should build my own system by changing the mother board and keep everything as it .
Thank you again and God bliss

I vote for the Dimension XPS-T450.
700MHz is obsolete, but you won't need it for much

Depends on what kinda system and budget you have. Mostly based on the kinds of application you would install but generally on what exactly your gonna do with it. Some would just stack it under the desk and check emails and upload pictures.

But if u want ur moneys worth. check out the 8400-Miller desktop. Its a real kicker =)

I think you can trade your old Dell to purchase a new one or u can simply get a refurbished one.

more power to you my friend!

To answer your question directly ... none. I'll leave it at that and for a change, I'll stay out of the Dell scrum :cool:

My guess is you'll get plenty of good advice here. Like everyone here has already said, there are a few basic questions to ask yourself:

1) What will I use it for?
2) Is portablility a consideration?
3) What is my CURRENT budget?
4) In terms of making the purchase, how important is convenience?
5) Is upgradeabilty important to me now or in the future?

If you're OK with Dell products and service, they have something that will probably meet your needs. As has been pointed out, be aware that question 5) is where it gets a bit dicey with Dell depending on your answer.

definitly go refurbished. [just a note: no matter which one your looking at you probably don't want to go below 512 of ram] If all your looking for is a way to surf the net just get a 3000. That will work fine for you. If you want to play an occasional game go with the 4700 with out a vid card then upgrade that your self. If your an avid gamer.. .then save up and build your own.

=) also if I may add. Please be careful with the things you buy. You might end up regretting the purchase after a day or two. Bring your wife when your gonna purchase one. LOLZ! if the Mobo of your system ( refrurb or not) has pci slots, expansion cards...its best you save up for such.

Caveat Emptor my friend. a nickel and a dime makes the difference somtime.

Service wise?!!! be ready for a big headache.

Spend wisely my friend.

I vote for the Dimension XPS-T450.
700MHz is obsolete, but you won't need it for much

In truth, from an old time system builder (my first was a 486 at 30Mhz with 16 meg of RAM and 100 Mg HD) a computer is only truly obsolete when it stops doing what you need it to do. Simple word processing, e-mail and surfing, it should work fine. Games? Newer games require ALOT more horse power than what you have running now. Also, to answer your original question, either build it yourself or have it built. Any new machine from Dell, or anyone for that matter, will have alot of software on it that you may never use, but will pay for. Think about it. :)

Best you consider your options. I'd go for the built one and besides it ssomething you would be proud of and self gratifying if it works well.

Spend wisely my friend!

I built my own PC's for years. I wanted control of what want into it, decent case, expandable, etc. $$$ was also a major decision factor.

Saw a comment on TV about buying Dell Servers straight from Dell Small Business, and I couldn't believe the "bang for the buck". I have bought 4 (gave 1 to daughter) and currently running 3. These machines are rock solid, run very well, and are almost completely silent. With three of the sitting side by side and running I hear no sound unless TV, radio, etc. are off and it is totally silent in the house.

Cases are quality, componets likewise, and I could not have built them for the amount I paid for them. Most I paid for any of them was $333 and that one came with a P4 2.8 HT processor and 160GB SATA disk.

Wow. Hail to Retired Geekster. Please correct me if I am wrong but You (Gasp!) bought 4 Dell Computers? cool!

Hope you got your moneys worth =)

Still my friend. Check your options. If you want to buy one or assemble...its completely upto you.

Just want to let you know that PCguide is here for you for all your computer inquiries.

Retired Geek,
Just what did you get for $333? Was there a monitor, keyboard etc? That's better than dirt cheap for an entire system even if it's used with specs like that! I can almost understand if it was only a tower.

Just want to let you know that PCguide is here for you for all your computer inquiries.
I'd be missing a part of my life if this place disappeared... I sure hope it stays here for awhile... ;)

(Where's here anyway, this is cyberspace.. :rolleyes: )