Which Core 2 Duo 2222

you would need to call a rep and have the modem added. its easy to do it yourself just as well.

i do think the xps700 is overkill. at least the price is. i like the case and design for me. i dont like the price and i can only guess the large amount of electricity it will use and heat it will emit, not to mention noise it will make. i like the extra slots and drive bays. looks good too. but not worth the money.

the 9200 is a great deal and box. i would buy the base system with one upgrade, the e6400 proc for $50 more. if you want, pay an addl $100 and get the e6600. its not worth to go past that. in checking the benchmarks, the other processors just give you like 5 seconds more speed over several minutes, i dont think its a big deal and worth the money right now.

i would also take all the defaults, and back out the flat panel. cost is $579 !!! price probably good thru this thursday. E-Value Code: 6W300 - dim92min i've seen the 1907 ultra on sale for $220 recently, so i wont pay $250 for it, although that's not so bad. but the 20in is not worth it.

i would then go buy my own 400gb sata from seagate with 5 year warranty for $100 and use that. i would not pay dell $50 more to get an addl 80gb added to the internal drive. that's a waste. same for the cdrw included. i would go buy a better dvd burner like a plextor, not pay dell $70 for their cheap burner upgrade. the $100 sound card upgrade is overkill, i would but a different card if the onboard 7.1 is not good enough, but it generally is excellent sound. the 1gb ram is perfect to start, then as your needs grow, you can always buy 2 more dimms and add more later.

Brian Smith