The Dimension 8400 delivers all the benefits of the Dimension 8300 but now with the latest technologies including PCI Express graphics, Dual channel DDR2 SDRAM and the Intel... more
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A review by divyeshp123 on Dell Dimension 8400 - P4 530 3 GHz - 17" TFT June 22nd, 2007
Author's product rating:
Speed
Average
Design
Poor
Manufacturer Support
Needs improvement
Ease of use
Easy
Value For Money
Satisfactory
Advantages:
cheap, can be made to own spec
Disadvantages:
design poor (e . g . front usb ports)
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
i have had my dell dimension 8400 since february 2005 which could be a trademark of dells supposed reliabilty rating. dell is good as it allows you to build your own spec computer over the phone if you wish not to order the internet. it is also good at prviding a good service at a reasonable pirce.
but there are a few problems. the design and the build quality of the machine is rubbish. since it is to be built by the customer its casing has to be designed to be able to cater for different orders. but because of this the unused motherboard connections are covered with strips of metals just like other computers, the only problem with this is the fact that unlike other computers they have not been screwed into place meaning they move around. the first ipods to come out needed a firewire port to connect it to the computer and although the computer clearly had a firewire port looking at it form the back it did not seem to pick it up on the hardware lists. being a person who used to have dial up internet i had to continually insert and remove the phone line wire from the ethernet port where after a while i noticed that it was moving. after a while it eventually completely went into the computer along with the firewire port meaning that i had to replace and remove them before they made any damage and intime for the arrival of ntl bband into my area. this proves that the motherboards designs still needs alot of work.
USB ports, because of the layout of the front ports its not possible to fit both my usb storage device and another device because the front ports seem to be too close to each other.
dell dimension 8400 computers seem to have power lead problems as on rare occasions the computer refuses to turn on which can be very annoying for the user, instead of switching on the light turns amber. after researching it when i had this problem i was told to buy a new lead which i bought for 15 pounds.
dells do have their problems but the fact that it can be built around you is a big pluss factor. i personally negotiated with the salesman in india to chuck in a few things and reduce the price which i think is near impossible when trying to buy computers such as hewlett packard. dell have released newer version of home computers which look good, and maybe the problems i encountered were just a one off. but i think if you know what your doing build your own or pay someone to do so and if you dont just stick to pc world and ask one of them to help.
Advantages: Very fast, reliable, good customer support, nice selection of components. Disadvantages: It's not pretty, front USB ports are awkward and it can be a bit loud.
...be a bit loud.
Dell PCs may not have the costumer support but the reason for this might be because they do not need it that often, this might be a little bitter-sweet . This Dell Desktop has good performance for several years, not having any problems to it. The addition of some RAM memory makes the speeds even better, so it is "FAST" so you can run ig programs such as games really fast. With a 3.0 Ghz processor, this desktop is great for a wide ... ...can always upgrade it. The hard drive space allows you to store a good deal of information, music, movies, and pictures, so their is always a free space for ANY thing you want!
This is my third personal computer from Dell. I sold my first Dimension to a friend for half its purchase price. That was four years ago and it's still running. ...
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Advantages: Good spec, well known brand, customer service Disadvantages: Reliability
...Buying a Computer is still a major purchase, and due to the level of choice and the myriad of terms and quite confusing information, a very difficult purchase. I would judge myself to have a quite good understanding of computers, but i'm certainly no expert.
Whilst my old 'Tiny' machine was still working I starting looking for a replacement. I chose Dell, because you had the option of custoimising the computer to your requirements, and they are a well known brand that is not over the top in terms of price. I went for the 8400, as I wanted a high level machine that would be useable for at least 5-6 years.
The machine spec I went for has 1meg of Ram and a 140 gig hard drive, 19 inch CRT monitor (I find them more reliable-longer life span), P43 gig processor etc.
I don't play games on PC's, so I didn't need to consider this aspect...
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Advantages: Well-Built, Cost Effective, Fast Machine Disadvantages: None
...DellDimension8400 Review
INTRODUCTION
Dell Computers do not sell through the shops. This cuts out middle men, and therefore lowers the cost of the PCs for us, the consumer. They do their business on-line, or over the telephone. You may have watched their commercials on television, which show you the fabulous deals.
Dell offers high quality equipment, at very low costs. In addition, they often have offers, which offer you double memory, extra hard drive, or free printers, etc. Look out for these. Where possible, go for extra memory or hard drive, because those are invaluable.
I purchased the Dimension8400 on-line last year, around September. The final purchase cost was £760, and that included my upgrade of the sound card to a Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2, and also I increased my monitor to 19”.
SPECS...
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Processor Main Features: Hyper-Threading Technology
Cache memory
Type: L2 Cache
Installed Size: 1 MB
Cache Per Processor: 1 MB
Storage controller
Type: 1 x RAID - integrated
Controller Interface Type: Serial ATA-150
Channel Qty: 4
RAID Level: RAID 0, RAID 1
Storage controller (2nd)
Type: 1 x IDE - integrated
Controller Interface Type: ATA-100
Optical storage
Type: DVD+RW - IDE
Optical storage (2nd)
Type: DVD-ROM
Read Speed: 16x
Monitor
Monitor Type: Flat panel display - TFT active matrix
Diagonal Size: 17"
Viewable Size: 17"
Manufacturer's product description
The Dimension 8400 delivers all the benefits of the Dimension 8300 but now with the latest technologies including PCI Express graphics, Dual channel DDR2 SDRAM and the Intel Pentium 4 Processors with Hyper-Threading Technology up to 560 (3.6GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB). These enhancements provide high end users the ability to run advanced productivity, intense graphics and enhanced multimedia applications.
Graphics controller
Type: PCI Express x16 - plug-in card
Graphics Processor / Vendor: ATI RADEON X300 SE
Installed Size: 128 MB
Digital Video Standard: Digital Visual Interface (DVI)
Audio output
Type: Sound card - integrated
Speaker(s):
2 x right / left channel
1 x subwoofer
Telecom
Modem: Fax / Modem
Max Transfer Rate: 56 Kbps
Networking
Networking: Network adapter - integrated
Data Link Protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
Power
Device Type: Power supply
Voltage Required: AC 110/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Power Provided: 350 Watt
Operating system / software
OS Provided: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Software: Drivers & Utilities, Microsoft Works 7.0, McAfee SecurityCenter (Trial), Paint Shop Pro (Trial), Paint Shop Photo Album (Trial)
The Dell D series of laptops came out in 2003 to replace the C series laptops (how did they come up with such a catchy name?). The main ranges are the D400, D600 and D800 spot the pattern yet. The D600 is the middle of the range in terms of size, weight more
I did a lot of looking around, saw a lot of good reviews about Dell, and the occasional bad review, but mostly this was about their systems being hard to upgrade (have to use Dell parts mostly) and that the customer support wasn't great. The prices... more
10 days ago, I was up in Sheffield visiting a friend for the weekend. We were enjoying the driving rain and gale force winds in the Peak District, when my mobile rang. My housemate somberly informed me that my four year old laptop had been nicked from my more
This computer is a reliable computer but the can improve in terms of speed and storage. With only 256MB ram the computer can be a bit slow. When I first bought this computer it was quite quick but after a while it got slower and slower. The storage... more
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