The first thing is that there must be something about the computer to justify its purchase. It's a few hundred more than a similarly equipped and lightning-fast P3 1000MHz system, so why spend the extra money?

Well, I needed another (or maybe I just WANTED another) computer so I added the 8100 (P4, 1.4 GHz, 256 RDRAM, 32MB video) to the two Dells I already have (P2-400 and P3-700) and my IBM laptop.

Anybody reading this probably does not need a primer on basic computer operation. But, for completeness, the 8100 pretty much does what you want. The compatibility of any specific programs, etc. is based on the operating system you choose, not necessarily on the processor itself.

What I think people want to really know is, IS IT FASTER?

For most programs that I use, there is no real speed advantage. Many programs require a lot of disk access, connections to the internet, etc. and THOSE are the speed limiting factors. But, for any number-crunching or raw processing, this thing really works.

For example, if you want to write a letter in Microsoft Word, you would open Word itself. This accesses it from the hard drive and puts it in memory. That's pretty quick on any machine. Then you type the letter. Obviously the speed of the machine is faster than your typing so the processor doesn't matter much there. The time it takes to save is based on the bus and hard drive speed, and the time it takes to print is based a lot on your printer speed. So the difference between the P3 and P4 is not truly felt in that type of environment.

But, you CAN and DO feel the difference as soon as you use Excel or Access or large financial programs like Quickbooks and fiddle with large amounts of data. Both the faster memory and the faster processor fly through tasks that, on the Pentium 3 700MHz that sits NEXT to my new 8100, take about 1/3 longer for the exact same task with the exact same data file.

And, the video cards to choose from are relatively fast so there should be no worry about game playability.

That's the advantage of the Dell. You can choose your internal components like video and sound cards and the ones you can choose from are industry-leading components.

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Enough about the speed. Reliability:

My last Dell came with a missing disk drive, that I found flopping around inside the mini-tower, banging against all the components, hanging from the drive cable. That was a problem. They replaced the entire computer overnight. The Dell before that one came with a broken Zip drive (remember them?) that they replaced in two days. I was expecting something wrong.

Well, actually this one came and has been just fine. The first thing I did, however, was get Windows ME off of the thing and Windows 2000 on. Trust me. No comparison in terms of stability. But, if you want to play every game out there, Windows 2000 might not be your best choice. Having said that, I play MOST GAMES just fine on Windows 2000.

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The BAD: Although very quiet when on (the quietest Dell I have had), there is a very high-pitched noise from the power supply when it is off. It probably wouldn't be heard by a lot of people, but it can be annoying if you do hear it.

In summary: this computer is faster than the predecessor and it is noticeably faster when doing intensive computing. It has been reliable and has only an annoying high-pitched noise when off as a negative.

THE PRICE INCLUDES THE 19" TRINITRON MONITOR (P991).

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 2600
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW
Hard Drive (GB): 41-50