The BEST FDPC Computer

What is the best computer out of the 4 computers being offered at FreeDesktopPC? I want to either upgrade the RAM to like 512MB or 1GB at least, and I want to put it in a new video card, sound card and other things. OR sell it on eBay for the most $ I can get for it so I can buy a new motherboard and CPU (maybe some RAM sticks too, or I could buy those out of my pocket twisted )

Pretty much the Dell is the best bet. You get the added benefit of the 17" CRT which will make it more sellable.

If Gratis continues to send Dimension 3000's for the Dell its not even a close contest to the other systems. The 3000 can support HT P4's @ 800MHz FSB and even supports dual channel memory. If they revert back to 2400's, then its more of a toss-up, but still I think the Dell would win out with the brand recognition/respect and added monitor.

None of the computers offered by FDPC have AGP ports or PCI express, so you can't really upgrade the graphics except through standard PCI which won't result in much of a benefit. So, you're mostly looking at a unit to sell as opposed to one you can upgrade for any serious use.

How much greens do think I could make for the Dell?

$400 w/o monitor $450 w.

[quote103a1d973d="mapStuart"]Pretty much the Dell is the best bet. You get the added benefit of the 17" CRT which will make it more sellable.

If Gratis continues to send Dimension 3000's for the Dell its not even a close contest to the other systems. The 3000 can support HT P4's @ 800MHz FSB and even supports dual channel memory. If they revert back to 2400's, then its more of a toss-up, but still I think the Dell would win out with the brand recognition/respect and added monitor.

None of the computers offered by FDPC have AGP ports or PCI express, so you can't really upgrade the graphics except through standard PCI which won't result in much of a benefit. So, you're mostly looking at a unit to sell as opposed to one you can upgrade for any serious use.[/quote103a1d973d]

I'm getting the 3000 and looking to upgrade it. I know the included 256mb RAM is pc2700 and I have a 512 ddr pc2700 stick I plan to put in it. My question is, does it support significantly faster ram and is it cost effective to upgrade it?

Also, what would be the best speed for an HT CPU to upgrade to? 3.0? I'd love some opinions on this.

P.S. Yes I know the vid card sucks but I'm not a gamer D

Well, first thing I'd say is the 256MB in the 3000 is actually pc3200 (or so the site says). It runs at pc2700 speeds though if the processor its paired with is 533MHz. Secondly, the "ideal" solution for this system would be to match 2 identical sticks of RAM so you could enable the dual channel memory, so you may want to purchase 2 256MB (or better yet, 2 512MB) sticks and sell the 512MB pc2700 you have (and possibly the included 256MB if you're not matching it with another) to offset the cost...

So, the system does support PC3200 (400MHz) RAM, but its only worth upgrading all the sticks to that if you're going to have an 800MHz FSB CPU, otherwise the RAM will run at 333MHz. The absolute BEST solution you could have would be to have 2 matched 1GB sticks of PC3200, thereby giving you 2GB of memory running in dual channel (dual channel will also help the onboard video perform considerably better, although it'll still suck compared to a decent dedicated AGP or PCIe card).

In terms of upgrading the CPU I'd probably go for whatever HT 800MHz FSB gives the best price/performance ratio. The newer Prescott core P4's typically don't have much benefit in the lower speeds, even with their increased cache - so it'd probably be better to find the best deal on a Northwood core P4 - so 3GHz or thereabouts.

if i get a PC i'll just get it and sell it and save up for a nicer comp.

Yeah, I jumped on a Dell 400SC deal a couple weeks ago with that effort in mind. I was able to sell back the 40GB hard drive that came in the 400SC so all told after rebate the system cost about $200. For a 2.8GHz P4 (HT @ 800MHz), 512MB ECC PC3200, nice case, motherboard/chipset and an 8X AGP port! So, I'm reconfiguring the systems I have here (creating a server out of an old machine) and putting my Radeon 9800 Pro in the 400SC, along with some other goodies. I should be able to sell the Dell for $400-$500+ (depending on if I do get the 3000 P4 like I think I will - I was part of the initial STV group but still haven't received it) and so I should net $300 to spend on other goodies if I need 'em... (already have dual LCDs and such so not much need at the moment)

If I keep the non-HT 2.8 and grab another pc2700 512mb, will it run in dual-channel mode?

yeah, you don't need to have an HT processor for dual channel. So in that scenario you'd ditch the included 256MB PC3200 and run the two 512MB PC2700 sticks. As far as my understanding of this system that should then enable dual channel. Also, you'll probably want to make sure the sticks are identical, otherwise compatibilty issues can arise.

And how significant is the performance imiprovement between 256mb+512mb and matched 512 pair?

Depends mostly on what you're doing with the computer. The onbaord graphics will see significant improvements with dual channel memory enabled. Of course, we're talking in relative terms here since this isn't a gaming machine by any stretch and you said you don't game. But the Intel Extreme Graphics 2 can actually handle older games pretty decently.

Obviously you'd also have 1GB of memory over 768MB which will have improvements in various areas of functionality/multitasking.

It all boils down to how you will use this system and what type of user you are. If you only web browse, word process and email while playing some music and such, you'd be fine with the 768MB single channel solution. But if you're doing all those things, while also working in Photoshop, a development application, or ANY sort of video/audio work then you'll want the 1GB with dual channel. Similarly, if this is to be a cheap HTPC with an added PCI TV tuner or something, I'd opt for the 1GB dual channel as well.

Considering RAM prices have dropped recently and some great deals have been out there, a 1GB matched set shouldn't set you back too badly, especially if you can offset the cost by selling your 256+512...

On a side note, Admin you're Shure's are STV for about a week or two now, right? Let me know when they ship if you don't mind. Mine wen to STV today so I want to have an idea of the time frame...

I do multitask extensively but generally don't use anything more brutal than Paint Shop Pro (ha). It's the quantity that gets me, usually. Like, mIRC, Azureus, many copies of FlashFXP, Eudora, dozen+ tabs in firefox, etc. I think for now I'm going to stick with the 768 though. Thank you for the advice.

Yeah, it sounds like the 768 will probably serve you perfectly well, especially since you already have it in hand. Computers these days are more than capable of doing quite a bit of work and the 3000 will be no slouch. If you ever get into video editing/encoding, etc or graphics intense applications, then it may be a wise move to step up to 1GB with dual channel. But until you really see the need, there's not much reason to jump ship on the 768 you have.

Actually, if you take a look at the Compaq website, the 1010V is really better than the Dells (at minimum). They come with a Celeron D, which has a better FSB than the basic Celeron (533Mhz vs. 400Mhz) and the RAM is listed at 256 MB of 2700 DDR, not just 128 MB. They are also listing a free hard drive upgrade from 40 GB to 80 GB.

The two upsides for the Dell systems in this case is that they provide a monitor (but I won't be needing one of them...got too many as it is...) and a free CD-Burner upgrade.

However, if Dell continues to provide these types of specials with new systems, they easily outperform anything else on FreeDesktopPC