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New Dell rig in place

Finally able to spend a little time with my new desktop PC - a Dell Dimension XPS Gen 5. Pretty good-looking, don't you think?

It arrived at the beginning of last week and I've now got everything unpacked, sitting on my desk and in use, sort of. Key apps like Microsoft Office, FeedDemon RSS reader, etc, installed. Most docs transferred from my laptop although still loads more to do. But at least I can use the new PC from now onwards for day-to-day business.

I must say that I'm very pleased with it. I didn't order the most top-of-the-range model (no Intel Pentium D processor, for instance, just the regular 3.2Ghz Pentium 4 processor supporting Hyper-Threading Technology) as the budget didn't quite go that far. Instead I settled on a mid-range customization that provides a great balance between price and performance.

I did go for additional RAM and a great 5-speaker sound system, and I did splash out on a gorgeous 19-inch flat panel monitor - the thing you stare at all day is worth that extra investment.

Some initial impressions:

  • I am mightily impressed with Dell's product ordering system here. From customizing my system on Dell's website, to my first contact with Dell's sales office here in Amsterdam, to tracking my order online at the factory in Ireland, right through to seeing the delivery progress on the carrier's website, I have no complaints at all. Indeed, I find it really impressive that Dell has organized their online ordering system to work so seamlessly in different languages in different countries. Very good indeed.

  • On the system itself, it has five internal fans including one for the Nvidia GeForce 6800 PCI Express graphics card. Yet the whole thing is whisper quiet. Impressive.

  • It goes like greased lightning. Everything just runs so quick. I suppose I would notice the difference when compared to my IBM ThinkPad T30 2.0Ghz laptop!

  • Loads of USB 2.0 ports everywhere (2 at the front and 6 at the back) plus 2 FireWire ports (finally, high-speed sync for my iPod Mini). Also, the monitor has 2 USB ports as does the keyboard (the old 1.1 standard there, I think). So I can't see a problem now on where to plug things.

  • Very cool illuminated front panel, if that's something you care about (well, I do). And you can change the colours. Nice.

  • I ordered the system with Windows XP Pro SP2. When the time comes, it will run Windows Vista.

More thoughts to come as I use it some more.

Next, I need to get a bigger desk - the box is a full-size tower. Probably off to Ikea for that as they have just what I need for the office at a reasonable cost.

If I ever do need to call customer support, I'll expect great service notwithstanding the increasing number of horror stories that are emerging about Dell's service - Jeff Jarvis' experience being the most extraordinary, although Allan Jenkins has some bad news closer to home, in Denmark.

I'll bear those in mind.

[I cross posted this from NevOn Experimental, mainly because the post has a photo and I wanted to test including an image in a post here as well as doing an extended entry.]

Posted by Neville on August 17, 2005 11:11 PM |

Comments

Neville,

Congrats on the new rig - looks sharp!

Just thought I'd pass along an FYI... did you know that this entry in your RSS feed stopped after:


Some initial impressions:


Since you had the colon there, I assumed there was more text and followed the link to see the full post here. I don't know if you have set a limit on the size of what gets put in the RSS feed, but I thought I would mention it in case it was not deliberate. All of your other posts in this blog have come across in their entirety, so I found it strange that this one was partial.

Anyway, thanks for this public exploration of Movable Type... I'm looking forward to following your learning.

Thanks,
Dan

Posted by: Dan York | August 18, 2005 10:43 AM

Thanks Dan. Sharp indeed!

Yes, I noticed the cut-off in the RSS feed. This is the first time I've done an extended post here, and the cut-off point is precisely the point where the entry body ends and the extended text begins. So it's a setting I need to change somewhere.

I'll get it right next time!

Posted by: Neville Hobson [TypeKey Profile Page] | August 18, 2005 12:34 PM

Hi Neville nice PC i wish had one as this machine and new blog design is great.

Posted by: Brano | August 21, 2005 08:05 PM

Thanks, Brano. I am quite pleased with it all so far!

Posted by: Neville Hobson [TypeKey Profile Page] | August 22, 2005 03:33 PM

Hi, Neville. Bought myself a set from Dell in Sweden thorough the internet. Ordering and delivery was absolutly seamless. Regretfully the flat panel display (same as yours) broke down but new unit was delivered promtely by Dell. Now the CPU (or memory) has stopped and the unit is in the workshop for repair. However very good service from Dell and I still have very much confidence at Dell and the customer service is just perfect.
Longing for having my new baby back from the workshop.
Was surpised that you have such a small desk you seem to plan to invest in more desk space from Ikea.
(I assume you know that both IKEA and SKYPE were created by Swedes.)

Posted by: Jan-Erik Kaiser | August 24, 2005 06:50 AM

Hope you get your Dell back soon, Jan-Erik.

Re desk, yes, I am aware of the Swedish origin of Ikea (and Skype)!

Posted by: Neville Hobson [TypeKey Profile Page] | August 26, 2005 01:41 PM

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