And I the Dimension line is no longer made. Dell now has an Inspiron and Studio line. The old Dimension line kind of bridged both, I guess. The reason I say that is that the Inspiron line is just fine for most people.
I own a year old Inspiron desktop and it is fast, low-priced, and operates absolutely seamlessly. It also is very nice looking (IMHO).
My feeling is that far too many people buy into marketing hype and purchase products that are needlessly more expensive than they need.
You can buy an Inspiron 580 with an i5-750 processor and a 20" monitor at the moment for @ $800. That kind of machine will meet the needs of virtually all users, including gamers.
You can, of course, purchase a Studio 8100 or 9000 with a similar configuration for significantly more money. But, everything I read suggests that the waiting period is potentially long.
As an aside: If you do some research on Dell's forums you'll notice that there are FAR fewer negative posts about Inspiron desktops than other desktops. Just check for yourself.
Again, this is just one person's opinion, but I'd save my money and get a nice, reliable, well-built Inspiron desktop package if I were you. I doubt you'd be sorry.
I have NOT purchased a Dell computer in over 5 years. My current one is a Dell Dimension 8300. Dell always has some coupons, sales, and promotions. Currently, they have a trade-in offer I'm considering.
I've done some searching and it appears their product lines have shifted yet again, with Inspiron desktops more or less representing Dell's lower end of the desktop lines while Dimensions the higher line of desktops, but also having branched out to business consumers as well.
I'll need to read up on how components have changed since then (processors, types of RAM, which video card to spring for to suit my needs). However, as a home consumer, I'm wondering just which model line I should be getting, Inspiron or Dimension. While I'm sure I couldn't go wrong with either of 'em, I'd like to get it right before I make my purchase, as this machine will likely last me 5+ years as well, and some types of hardware modifications will be too unwieldly for me. Among my uses include....
MORE HIGHER END:
--some programming and development, such as with Java or C++
--Basic image editting (nothing fancy like layering with PhotoShop, but stuff like cropping and size manipulations)
--higher end PC games such as Halo 2, BioShock, and whenver Starcraft 2 comes out.
MORE BASIC:
--multimedia (viewing/listening to music, pictures, DVDs, and other video clips)
--M$ Office (the typical, Word, Excel, and some Powerpoint, Access, and Visio)
--web surfing
--burning optical discs
Some advice on which model line, and any concerning specs I should be looking for will be greatly appreciated!
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