An Excellent Machine
Written: Feb 11 '01
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Pros: Excellent Gaming power, you get your money's worth
Cons: The Pentium Four is not yet completely optimized for desktop programs such as Microsoft Office.
The Bottom Line: If you've got the money to spend, this is an excellent system and will not dissapoint you.
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| fed_ronin's Full Review: Dell Dimension 8100 Series |
From the moment I first purchased this machine just before Christmas, I knew it was going to be monsterously powerful system. Unfortunately, due to a lack of parts during the buying rush of the holidays,namely the hard drive, the computer was not delivered until the middle of January.
I knew that I wasn't going to get another new computer for two, maybe even three years, I decided to go all out on the parts.
Possibly the most satisfing component in my computer was the graphics card, a 64 MB GeForce GTS 2 powerhouse from Nvidia. At the highest resolution in Counterstrike I can reach 80-90 frames per second, and at normal resolutions (800 X 600) I can approach 140-150 frames per second. The graphics card came packaged with a game called MDK 2, which although having amazing graphics, had a storyline about as fun as a hernia.
One thing I would change if I could would be my hard drive. I went for size over speed and got the 80 GB 5400 RPM drive, which was the same speed as I had on my two year old Compaq. I suspect this has slowed down some of the computer's operations, but the other reason I will discuss at the end of my opinion.
The amount of RAM I got was powerful, but not unexpectedly powerful, 256 RAM is enough so that the computer reacts at 100% capacity while printing, playing music and running ten background programs at the same time.
I didn't order a CD-RW drive with my new Dell because I had one from my older computer that I expected to simply transfer into my new tower. However opening the tower and installing the drive was far from easy and I highly recomend buying a pre-installed CD-RW drive.
My final note is directed at the Pentium Four, which has recently been critisized for being slower than even it's Pentium Three counterparts. The reason for this is that until the release of Windows XP and Office XP, the programs you run every day will seem a bit slower becuase they programs are not configured to take advantage of the raw power of the Pentium IV.
Good day,
FED_Ronin
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 3070
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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fed_ronin
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