Dell Dimension XPS

By rumbleph1$h
in Member Reviews

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Neowinian

unbeknownst to i

Posted
Posted
That's an insane machine. I got a dell about 2 months ago, Dell 4600 with 2.8 Ghz HT. No where near your machine. But the Dell has performed marvelously for me. I still don't understand this cult following behind building one's computer. If someone doesn't build their own, these guys threaten to kill.

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Ahh, I know this post is a bit out of date...but anyways: I built a system (yes on a tight budget too) and while you don't get a warranty (more power to dell, sony, etc) I found that none of the parts I ordered (all from newegg, greatest website ever) broke, were not what I expected, etc. For less than $2000, here is what I built (exactly 2 hours,and yes I know I'm a geek) :)

-Windows XP 64-bit Edition

-AMD Athlon64 3200 @ 2.2 gigs

-Chaintech GeForce 6800 128mb

-Corsair XMS PC3200 768mb

-36.7 gig Western Digital 10,000rpm Raptor Hard Drive

-Zalman VGA Cooler, CPU Cooler, HD Cooler, and Main Cooler (system is completely fanless and silent)

-Silverstone 250watt fanless aluminum power supply

-Wave Master Case (black anodized aluminum) , Compaq Wireless keyboard and mouse, and Altec Lansing VS3151 5.1 surround sound speakers (I personally love Compaq's styling, but whatever...)

Only thing I did not buy was NEC 17" flat screen monitor which I got for christmas (around $150), and speaking of which, Merry Christmas! Not trying to be a smacktard or anything, but I found that if you take a little time to learning to build a system to where you know what your doing and spare around two hours, you'll save a lot of money.

Neowinian

sakin13

Posted
Posted

Hello :)

I found about this forum today while i was seeking "salvation" ...

I got this Dell XPS gen 3 about 40 days ago . its the one with the 775 socket.

the noise is unbearable ( i have had over 30 different pcs in the past both branded and own built ) , it is the most noisy pc I ever had.

The problem is too obvious, it is due to the huge NIDEC fans that have built in thermostats and do not operate as desired and they turn the pc into an airplane.

What i would like to ask you guys here is if anyone has been able to change the CPU colling system on a GEN 3 . I think the board that Dell is using is made exclusively for them and they holes around the cpu socket where the cooling system must be fit are different... hence impossible to find anything that fits there on the market.

the solution that "rumbleph1sh" has suggested is very promising noise wise but unfortunately it cannot be aplied to my system due to the 775 socket custom made board :/

any help will be greatly appreciated :)

Grand Master

rumbleph1$h

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Hello :)

I found about this forum today while i was seeking "salvation" ...

I got this Dell XPS gen 3 about 40 days ago . its the one with the 775 socket.

the noise is unbearable ( i have had over 30 different pcs in the past both branded and own built ) , it is the most noisy pc I ever had.

The problem is too obvious, it is due to the huge NIDEC fans that have built in thermostats and do not operate as desired and they turn the pc into an airplane.

What i would like to ask you guys here is if anyone has been able to change the CPU colling system on a GEN 3 . I think the board that Dell is using is made exclusively for them and they holes around the cpu socket where the cooling system must be fit are different... hence impossible to find anything that fits there on the market.

the solution that "rumbleph1sh" has suggested is very promising noise wise but unfortunately it cannot be aplied to my system due to the 775 socket custom made board :/

any help will be greatly appreciated :)

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There are a variety of solutions I've seen implemented on Generation 3's. You can read about many of them here: http://xpsmodz.proboards33.com/index.cgi

Feel free to ask any questions you might have and glad to hear you are going to do something about the noise issue.

Grand Master

SkyyPunk Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

i just got an XPS for one of my clients...and got to "set it up and test it" before shipping it...and I must say I am impressed with the 55lb beast...

my only complaint it straight out of the box the door that covers the cd drives fell right off...

It went back on fairly easy...but you have to close it just right to get it to shut properly...feels sort of cheap...ah well, not my $2300 that was spent on it :oP (incl 20" ultrasharp lcd)

Collaborator

Darkinspiration

Posted
Posted

I have only one thing to say ... good i want that case. it's nice. The rest of the machine is not really interesting being a pentium and all ( i swore to myself that i would never buy another intel as long as they don't admin that amd pwned them ;) )

For all the people out there that says that buy building you own pc you save money i have to say: hey your right

but you also save on the customer support

For all those who says buying build is better: just make sure you don't use the bloody recovery disk and you start your use with a clean install of what ever os you like

Grand Master

rumbleph1$h

Posted
  • Author
Posted
thank god someone said it. not only that but i feel bad for what the guy paid for it. a 9800xt in a $3000 box  :no: more like the guy should have got at least a 6800gt or x800

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Thanks for the wonderfully useful comments, but if you look, this thread is several months old, before the x800 or 6800 were even out. ;)

Mentor

sgtLENIN

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i can't tell if you were being sarcastic in your post before this or not.

anyways, where in norway are you located? my girlfriend is from larvik and she's flying in today to see me.

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I know the cards were not out at that time as i stated before. And yeah i was beeing sarcastic :laugh:

Anyways, im from near Oslo so its quite a drive to Larvik.

Rookie

Nammy

Posted
Posted

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, and frankly I don't feel like reading through this whole thread, but I prefer to build my machines for a number of reasons. For starters, you're not getting bottom of the line OEM parts. While there isn't much difference here in terms of speed, you're missing out on a lot of features. For example, on the motherboard, some of these features could be Dual BIOS, On-board 8 channel sound, Dual Gigabit NICs, and multiple SATA/RAID controllers. I don't know exactly what kind of memory you got there, but I'm willing to bet that the timings aren't as good as something like some low latency Corsair memory. Also, one of my favorite perks is that you can choose from a plethora of components out there.

On the other hand, you're getting a warranty and support with an OEM machine. While I can do without the support, someone else might not be able to, and a warranty is definitely a plus. However, should you decided to change a component in an OEM machine, you would be voiding your warranty. You also don't have to build the machine, which I would think is the deciding factor for most people, whether it be the lack of desire to build or the lack of knowledge (no offense).

It's all a matter of preference.

Mentor

salterbomb

Posted
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rumbleph1sh,

thank you for the link to that XPS forum it will greatly help on my "quest" for a less noisy XPS  ;)

I have managed to install a water cooling system myself and it does work fine . I will try to post some pics for anyone that is interested :)

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do that

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