Hi All...!

One of my daughters are considering getting a new computer for her family.
She is a private secretary at a University in Cornwall and would like a home computer suitable for word processing and spreadsheets, etc, so that she can also work from home, including access to the Internet.

Her children are mainly interested in music and film downloading, (Payware), but not games...(they say!)... ...!

Below is the spec of the system she is interested in...>>>

---------------------------------------------------------------------
D1047 Dimension 4700
Dimension 4700 3.0GHz 800FSB w/1MB cache
DHS Money Off £80 / ¿100 (inc VAT)
English - Documentation with UK Power Cord
Resource CD
512MB DDR400 Dual Channel Memory (2x256)
No Floppy Required
160GB SATA (7200rpm) Hard Drive
16x DVD+RW and 48 x CDROM
DVD 5.1 Power Software
Sonic Software for DVD/RW+R
FP/MG - UK/Irish - 17in (E173FP TCO99) Value Midnight Grey Flat Panel
128MB ATI Radeon¿ X300 SE
UK/Ireland - Dell A425 Midnight Grey Speaker
V.92 Data Fax Modem UK
Dell Midnight Grey PS/2 2 Button Wheel Mouse
Mouse Pad with Dell Logo
UK/Irish (QWERTY) - Dell Entry Midnight Grey Keyboard
English - Win XP SP2 Home
English - Microsoft Works 7.0
English - Paint Shop Photo Standard Album
AOL 8, BT + Tiscali UK ISP
English - Paint Shop Pro Try and Buy 8.0
Dell Support 3.0 - (English Only)
English - Adobe Reader 6.0
English - McAfee Security Centre 90 day Trial Version

No Warranty Upgrade
Base warranty
1Y CAR (Collect and Return)
EMEA Voucher Month 1
                                                                                         Type
Rate %
Total Net GB£
VAT GB£

{VATSumType}
17.50
697.02
121.98


Subtotal  £GB
648.02

Freight
49.00

VAT
121.98

Total
819.00

----------------------------------------------------------------------

My query is....
Would she also be supplied with ALL the installed  manufacturers hardware driver disks, and the software disks...?
..in case of system crashes/corruption, necessitating a re-installation of programs..?

NOTE: Also, the spec seems to preclude a floppy disk drive...?
This has always seemed to me to be essential to generate a "Boot Floppy Disk" containing the DOS commands to re-start the computer following a fatal system crash, format the hard drives, etc, etc...!
(It's also handy for swapping small files between computers).

What is your opinion...expensive for it's proposed use..?

Many thanks... 8)...!

Cheers all... ...!

Paul.

Thats the comp that I've just bought 2 of ........ one for me and one for the wife .... (well she bought em her credit card details  )

I've had no problems with them .... well in 2 weeks anyway.

The main bug is the software issue ....... you don't get full copies of anything thats been installed apart from M$ Word ....... everything else including the OS is on generic Dell discs.... I would also suggest getting the optional 3.5in floppy ........ as trying to install one after the fact is well nigh impossible.. I'm having to figure some sort of engineering solution as they dont leave the 3.5in tray if you dont order the drive and Dell engineer everything themselves so its none standard fittings. I'm also quite sure that if I contacted them they would try and charge me for the full installation ... and not just send the parts that I need.

Otherwise no problems ... everything arrived when it was supposed to and in good condition.

Having checked out other manufacturers and costing parts to build machines to my own spec's this was by far and away the most economical way to go.

There ya go
cheers
eno

Quote:



Floppy Drives are no longer needed.  Old technology.  It was required for Win98 in the event of a crash. A boot disk containing system drivers would be needed to reboot.
WinXP is "self booting" meaning that the when you insert the disk, the disk itself contains minimal drivers to get things up and running.  I built 3 comps for our home and all have no floppy drives.

If you want to share files between comps. set up a network or burn the files to CDR-W. If the files are small and you dont want to waste a good cd, just send via email.

You will get some software disks with the comp.  Likely a Master CD as well which would contain the default setup.

For the intended use, a used  P4 1.5 Ghz would suffice. Its like buying a Ferrari when all thats needed is a Volskwagon.

Speedbird_1961

Im sure that you would get a Master CD which would contain all the programs that came with the comp.  I have only ever bought one "premade" comp many many years ago (10) and it came with a Master CD.

Yes, some hardware does come with floppy disk.  However, WinXP is very good at picking up new hardware and installing the proper driver without the need for the floppy disk that came with the product. It has a very good database of drivers within itself.
BTW, which hardware comes with floppy disk these days??  Seems to me that it would be "old" hardware and not anything "up to speed?"  Could be wrong though.
As I had said, I built 3 comps in the last 2 years and none of the hardware came with any floppy disks. 

Speedbird_1961

Quote:



Oooh heck! I'd better make sure I correct all my typo's in that case! 

In the cold light of day, (i.e. sober) , basically mate, her requirements to my eyes don't require anything like the spec (good as it is for the price) tha Dell PC is. 90% of the PC's we have at work are used for watching films,browsing erm "adult" sites(!) the occasional e-mail/fax & letter but rarely work related uses! 

The average spec of the PC's we have at work are 350mhz! - most have 19inch monitors (CRT) none have floppies  all work just fine and are ideal for their uses.

My boss has a 3.4ghz 2GB p4 with integrated graphics! - it spends most of its day running dedicated transport software that has a minimum system spec of 75mhz!  in short, its completely wasted! - any of the other pc's in the office can do its work, but as its my boss and the company's paying, who cares?

My main point is I'd hate to see your daughter waste money on a PC that she frankly seems not to need, when a cheap 2'nd hand one from a local rag will suffice and leave her plenty of change for software that'll suit her requirements.

Paul.

P.S. you've given her a link to here? she'll realise how much time you spend here and surely, will start to worry about your sanity! 

Quote:


Hi Congo...!
I was hoping you might pop in and have a word... ...!

Shooting yourself in the foot will hopefully be the ultimate deterrant to my Diane purchasing a very expensive Dell Computer.... ...LOL...!

It really is a problem for new-comers to the "computer world" to select a suitable computer to suit their needs and not be waffled by computer sales-people... ...!

I've been working with computers since the late 1970's, (Apple, etc),  so I've got them pretty well sussed out now regarding builds, etc, but to the un-initiated it's a nightmare.......!

If it wasn't for playing hi-spec computer games, my old PII 486-DX100, (still got it as a back-up!), would perform admiribly... ...!
Value today?...about a tenner... 8)... ...!
LOL...!

Anyway, Congo, thanks for your input, always useful... ...!

Paul.