Acer Desktop: E5800 Dual Core/Win 7/ 1TB HD/ 4GB RAM: $350 ~ Office Max (Starts 3/13 YMMV)

this seems like a better deal than the Dell OptiPlex 380 Desktop PC, it has a dvd burner, wifi, 1tb hd, mouse and keyboard.

all other specs look the same, am i missing something?

Not necessarily. Win 7 Pro is generally $50 more (though it doesn't give you much more than Home). Plus a 3-year warranty and replacement is amazing (though it may limit your ability to mod/change/add parts). Often another $99. A HD is so cheap now, the extra cost isn't worth it. Spend $50 for a $1 TB, and you can backup your data.

If you need HDMI or wireless the add-on parts/adapters are so cheap.

Most important, the Optiplex's tend to be whisper-quiet. Not always the case with other brands.

I'd recommend the Dell with the Win 7 Pro and 4 Gig Ram chip upgrades.

Plus this Acer has a 1 TB 5400 RPM hard drive. I don't know if I'd want my operating system on something that slow.

Quote from Thunderpants : Plus this Acer has a 1 TB 5400 RPM hard drive. I don't know if I'd want my operating system on something that slow.

They aren't much slower than a year old 7200rpm. I agree, I wouldn't want it. But not a deal breaker.

Quote from Kandless : Not necessarily. Win 7 Pro is generally $50 more (though it doesn't give you much more than Home). Plus a 3-year warranty and replacement is amazing (though it may limit your ability to mod/change/add parts). Often another $99. A HD is so cheap now, the extra cost isn't worth it. Spend $50 for a $1 TB, and you can backup your data. If you need HDMI or wireless the add-on parts/adapters are so cheap. Most important, the Optiplex's tend to be whisper-quiet. Not always the case with other brands. I'd recommend the Dell with the Win 7 Pro and 4 Gig Ram chip upgrades.

Yes, and the warranty is usually more like $200 for +2 years! Also, 1 x 4GB of ram is better for upgrading instead of already having 2x2GB(this one). I would disagree on the quiet though, 99% of major brands computers are super quiet within the last 2 years.

Both this deal and the optiplex deal are awesome. I am in for 2 optiplexes as 320GB was plenty for my clients and the 3 year warranty is a huge selling point even, if like me, you could care less about warranty.

Quote from Kandless : Not necessarily. Win 7 Pro is generally $50 more (though it doesn't give you much more than Home). Plus a 3-year warranty and replacement is amazing (though it may limit your ability to mod/change/add parts). Often another $99. A HD is so cheap now, the extra cost isn't worth it. Spend $50 for a $1 TB, and you can backup your data. If you need HDMI or wireless the add-on parts/adapters are so cheap. Most important, the Optiplex's tend to be whisper-quiet. Not always the case with other brands. I'd recommend the Dell with the Win 7 Pro and 4 Gig Ram chip upgrades.

Yup, the Optiplex lines are fairly quiet and reliable. They are well put together machines aimed more for business users.
Some of us are looking at the small form factor version too.

Quote from lessblue : Yup, the Optiplex lines are fairly quiet and reliable. They are well put together machines aimed more for business users. Some of us are looking at the small form factor version too.

Cool, I try to avoid those to keep more air flow for even when the heatsinks get caked with dirt. Also, no room for 1-3 more hard drives inside
But if space is a major issue, the only way to go (so you can avoid stupid all in one designs)

Quote from lightfoot3b : Cool, I try to avoid those to keep more air flow for even when the heatsinks get caked with dirt. Also, no room for 1-3 more hard drives inside But if space is a major issue, the only way to go (so you can avoid stupid all in one designs)

What I'm trying to do is build a single, super efficient file server (video and audio) with a mid-tower desktop which would hold all my drives.

The small form factor PC ideally would just have a SSD for OS. The small form factor PC would stream HD video files to my plasma TV and stream lossless audio files to a Squeezebox from the file server.

Quote from lessblue : What I'm trying to do is build a single, super efficient file server (video and audio) with a mid-tower desktop which would hold all my drives. The small form factor PC ideally would just have a SSD for OS. The small form factor PC would stream HD video files to my plasma TV and stream lossless audio files to a Squeezebox from the file server.

Exactly what you needed then! Good work and good luck.

how many HD bays? from the specs on Acer's website it appears that it has 2. i just want to confirm that...

300 w power supply
WOW. You won't be upgrading this thing

Quote from A.VOID : 300 w power supply WOW. You won't be upgrading this thing

You can put a cheap graphics card into it. Nowdays most games don't need much of a graphics card if you run it at normal resolutions. If desired one could upgrade PSU before putting a beefier card into it.

Obsolete graphics on consoles are holding back game development. The main reason for a multi-hundred graphics card in gaming is to run more than one monitor, or run at higher than 1080p resolutions, or a a couple games that aren't optimized very well such as the latest GTA.

Quote from zima : this seems like a better deal than the Dell OptiPlex 380 Desktop PC, it has a dvd burner, wifi, 1tb hd, mouse and keyboard. all other specs look the same, am i missing something?

i posted this in the other thread, but i figure i'd post it here too.

the Acer is better spec'd, but imo, the Dell is a better build quality. The Acer is also geared towards consumer, Dell Optiplex, towards buisiness. The Dell warranty in addition to being 3 years, is top notch, they will fix it next business day on-site. Acer, you have to send your pc back to them at your expense, plus downtime. imo, that is a huge plus in Dell's favor.

Media reader: Acer Yes/Dell No
HDD: Acer 1tb 5400rpm/Dell 250or350gb 7200rpm (Dell has optional 2nd drive)
ODD: Acer DVDRW std / Dell DVDRW optional ($10 extra) (Dell has optional 2nd drive)
Gigabit ethernet: both yes
Wifi: Acer yes/Dell No
HDMI: Acer yes/Dell No
usb: 4 top/4back Acer/ 2 front/6 back Dell
firewire: Acer yes/ Dell no
OS: Acer Win 7 Home Premium/ Dell Win 7 Professional
expansion bays: Acer-2/Dell desktop-none, mini tower-2
sound: Acer 7.1 audio/Dell stereo only
PCI expansion slots: Acer 2 pci/1 pci-e / Dell 2 PCI/1pci-e for desktop and mini tower (desktop are half height or full height with optional riser)
memory slots Acer-4/Dell-2
max memory 8 on both
chipset: Acer G43/ Dell G41
serial port: Acer No/Dell Yes
parallel port: Acer No/Dell Yes
power supply: Acer 300W/ Dell 235/255W (optional 80+ Silver for $20)
usb/audio jack/power switch location: Acer-Top/Dell Front
weight: Acer 35.27lb/ Dell Mini 26.5lb/ Desktop 19.8lb / SFF 15.4
productivity: Acer none / Dell Office Starter (Word&Excel with ads)
Warranty Acer 1 year (must ship back at customer's expense)/ Dell 3 years NBD onsite service

Is the Dell's quality that much better than Acer's? The Acer seemed better specced than the Dell in every aspect based on the list above.