Oh no! You got a pentium D processor...

The Core Duo is what you should've been looking for.

That in turn means that the FSB is going to be low and not offer very good bandwidth to the low timed DDR2 sticks...

I hope you're not gaming. The X300 isn't much of a series. It's just fine for the desktop type of person, using 2-d applications.

They didn't make you pay extra for the SATA2 setup, did they? It's proven to be virtually 100% ineffective in speeding up the system. The only thing it can make faster is the cache delivery on the hard drive, which is between 2mb-16mb. I would gamble on it being somewhere around 8mb.

I wish I could walk people through this. It eats me up inside seeing people buy them...

Congrats on the purchase though, and I hope it lasts you, and treats you well.

Ryan

 

Fair 96 I am sure you will be happy with your purchase.

 

Not that it matters it is the x400 series. Did not pay extra for SATA2. I guess I bought a junker but is too bad all of us cant be as knowledgeable as others. I better let boeing know so they stop useing that 2.8 Processor in their simulators.

 

Fair 96
Its not a bad box just lower to middle end for whats out right now,but you get what you pay for like anything else.
FghtinIrshNvrDie is right about the x300 vid card its a turd for gaming.
My gateway came with the same card I dumped it and installed a 6600 gt now I moved up to 7800 gt oc.
You can upgrade if you get into gamining later you motherboard has pci e.

 

Thanks that is good to know. Maybe later I will get more into gaming but am not now. I never disagreed the card was a turd and did follow FghtinIrshNvrDie advice from an earlier post making sure about getting pci e. As for the Duo I do not think Dell offers it and to be honest I would not have gotten it anyway due to the fact I just plain did not know. It was not mentioned here.. I must admit I am a bit down about my shopping experience and choice. However After alot of thought I am not going to cancell the order.
I also realize that it is not high end and I done that for a reason. I currently have a Compaq with Pen 4 1.7, 512 Ram , 64 Ge force graphics, 12x CD RW. 17 in monitor that is the size of a small fridge..At the time when I bought this it was very high end on paper. I was greatly disapointed a very short time later when the same computer was half the price. My main goal for my new one was to try and double my current computer. I did not quite get this done but it should be better. In fact this will be my third computer and it is the cheapest of all.. If I would have went with all the best Dell had to offer it would have cost a fortune and that is why I was looking closely at the Gateways. I believe they offer more computer for the money. I am going to give the Compaq to my 7 year old daughter and she is excited about it..
I am the first to admit that I am at a loss when it comes to computers and many other things. This is why I came here reaching out for much needed help.. I guess if it had 67 Fairlane written on it or was to do with Firefighting I would know more about it...LOL.. Anyway I wanna thank all who replied it was appreciated...

 

If you don't do any or much gaming you have got a great buy. You put a lot of extra money into a computer if you want to do gaming and it seems like it just doens't last very long and there are new games out that cause the darn thing to slow down again anyway. Buy a computer for what you will use if for. If you don't do much gaming now then you probably won't start gaming like crazy. For what it sounds like you use the computer for you will be very happy. Let me know if you are still down when you get it and start using it. I'll bet not.

 

Sorry I missed your question before you bought, but I don't check this forum much anymore.

It looks to me like you made a good buy. You could always buy higher end gear as other have suggested & it is the best/fastest for about 3 months. I would suggest that you improve your video card when you find that it will not support the games that you want to play.

I have seen DVD R/W for about $40 & it is easy to put it in. If you deside that is what you want to do, I will take a look at your system in detail for adding one & watch for a good price for a DVD R/W for you.

Enjoy your new computer (I always have friends order Dell promotions online & avoid the confusion of calling).

 

Dell is NOT what everyone makes them out to be. I have a "Dimmension 4400" it has been discontinued but they use the same hardware in a different machine. Same crap different name. Anyway,The case on mine has seen much abuse and I went to swap it into a aftermarket case,the powerswitch on it was on a circuit board,along with the power light and HDD light,with some knowlege,cutting,and rigging up,I got it to work. The tech support for dell really sux,If you call after 8PM(My time,Central),you'll get a guy in India that doesnt know what he is doing. I hope you enjoy it though. Have fun.

 

Hey Fair 96, do you have anything to do with the old computer, or does it need a home?

Ryan

 

Good One.. LOL.. I couldnt sell it if I wanted too it works fine yet. Thanks for the offer though... She has her heart set on getting it...

 

True, I have been through some dances with Dell customer service but that was for a TV tuner that comes through a different company. I spoke to the guys in India when lighting killed my machine. They took very good care of me and I had my laptop back in less than a week. I have owned two computers in my life and worked with many, many other brands in school districts. From all I have come across Dell is easily the best computer out there. Sure you can always build your own but if you can't or don't want to then build exactly what you want through Dell and you won't be disappointed. Oh my first computer was an NEC. Actually a great computer that lasted about 8 years before a virus from my sister-in-law put it over the edge. Sister-in-laws are a whole different site though.

 

Sounds to me like you got a great deal on a fine computer. I'm not a gamer and don't buy new or upgrade my machines that often. My newest is a Dell 3 Ghz machine with < 1G RAM and it does have a 19" flat panel.

Computers are like anything else...some people believe "high-end" is the only way to go, while others looks for what does the best job at the best price. I'm in the latter group.

Enjoy your new Dell...it should serve you well for years to come.

Scott

 

Your old Compaq is a great opportunity to learn.
Refomat it before you give it to your daughter.
You can upgrade the old Puter though e bay or craiglist and learn as you go.
Does it have a AGP slot ?
Which speed is it if it does 4x or 8x ?
Can you upgrade the ram ?
Which socket is the processor ?
I never have had much luck with Compaq but you never know,but start a home network and go from there.
That's how I started by upgrading my old puters for the kids.

 

compaqs usually do have agp slots. I know mine from that era was capable of AGP 4x. As long as the card you get is 4x, you can be almost certain it'll work just fine. The boards are always 2x/4x capable, or 4x/8x capable.

Ram is always upgradable. SDRAM is pretty darn cheap, as everyone is getting rid of it. They used it on some early P4 platforms. I doubt it's a socket 423, but it's possible. Socket 478 migrated to DDR after a little while of being in production.

Ryan

 

Well we got the Dell . Yes you guys were right about the India helpers. We couldnt get the monitor to work and called for help. It was terrible she had an accent so thick couldnt understand her. Anyway I Emailed the Dell Lady who sold me the computer. Told her my problem and the computer was working in minutes.
I only been messing on the net a bit but it is like going from a 289 to a 390.. It is so much faster I mean lookin at car pics and videos is like right now fast. My other computer took a little time downloading. Anyway for a clunker it sure works nice. I also like not hearing fans and noise from the tower it runs very very quiet compared to the Compaq. It does look pretty easy to upgrade... Anyway I like it so far.... Thanks for all the input I do appreciate it.
P/s As for the 19 in Flat panel all I can say is WOW!!!!