[PLUG] Dell 5100

Doug Davis doug at mindglow.net
Mon Mar 22 14:32:02 UTC 2004


On Mar 22, 2004, at 2:06 PM, Michael C. Robinson wrote:

>
> For $1000 or less new, this is looking like the way to go.
>
>
>
One thing to keep in mind with a low end machine like this. It is very 
heavy in my opinion. My wife has an 1100 and I certainly wouldn't want 
to lug that around all day, compared to my ibook, it is just plain 
unwieldy. The graphics that come with it are also fairly anemic. I 
would upgrade to the separate graphics card if you can afford it. The 
onboard Intel card shares memory with the system, so plan for that. I 
personally think you are going to have a hard time keeping that system 
at under 1000 if you add anything that a student would most likely want 
like a cd burner and wi-fi card. The card dell sells isn't that great. 
I think you can get a better deal at best buy.
	As far as a software rebate, you do get disks, but they are not 
official application disks. I would be highly surprised if you are able 
to get any sort of discount or rebate on those.
	I know you are into linux, but you should really consider an ibook as 
well. These are highly usable and well under the 1000 mark with 
educational pricing. You can run PPC linux quite well if you want, but 
i think if you tried OS X you would be really surprised. It is a very 
friendly environment for a Unix hacker and with fink, you can get 
almost all of your favorite Open Source apps. Also, I have compiled 
several things from source and since you get gcc, its fairly 
straightforward. Just a though and an alternate view from someone who 
is doing what you hope to do in the future.

Doug






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