Another 2 Monitor Setup Question

[player1]

go to places like slick deals and wait for a $500, 30% or 40% off qualified purchase of a new dell system. the deals seem to come around every week or so. to get the savings, you would need to either purchase an 8400 system or at least spend $1500 on the system.

sounds like you really don't need or want the 8400 system (their 2nd best line), but you can save alot on the LCDs, as well as the nice system. i bought my dual lcd 8400 system for around $1680 (after the 40% off and the mail in rebate). in some states, you don't have to pay tax, which was $106 for me.

there are deals for the 20" lcds by themselves also. buying two at the best deal (10 days ago) would cost you $1300.


hope this helps,
jc

[teddyFBI]

I recently purchased brand new computer components for my poker setup, here's what I spent:

computer: got a pretty good entry-level computer with an AGP slot for a video card for $400 from hpshopping.com (see the a710e model)

monitors: bought 2 dell 20"fps', which you should be able to find for $650 - $700 each (before tax if Dell charges tax to your state.)

graphics card: $150 Matrox dual-DVI card from newegg, although I probably could have gotten a $50 card with 1-DVI outlet and 1-VGA that would have done the trick.

Other EV+ things I bought:

Microsoft wireless optical mouse and keyboard which I LOVE for $30
Netgear ethernet router for $20

a few bargain sites I check regularly:
slickdeals.net
bensbargains.net
techbargains.com
fatwallet.com

[aggie01]

Just thought people who want to add two external monitors to their current laptop would be interested in this.

http://www.villagetronic.com/e_pr_vtbook_techspecs.html

[BusterStacks]

[ QUOTE ]
Just thought people who want to add two external monitors to their current laptop would be interested in this.

http://www.villagetronic.com/e_pr_vtbook_techspecs.html

[/ QUOTE ]

that is SWEET

[Ajax410]

I was looking at the Dimension 8400 - and it seems like a decent system at a reasonable price. If I buy it with the two 20' LCD monitors, it seems I'd be spending somewhere around $2100 for the entire system. Is this too much? Also, what are the differences in these graphic cards, and which do I need?

128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon™ X300 SE
128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon™ X800 SE
256MB PCI Express™ x16 Nvidia® GeForce 6800 GTO Graphics Card

Ajax

[BusterStacks]

I just paid over 1300$ for my two 20"s... was it too much? I dont think so...

[Ajax410]

<Wipes drool off chin>

[mephisto2000]

[ QUOTE ]
I was looking at the Dimension 8400 - and it seems like a decent system at a reasonable price. If I buy it with the two 20' LCD monitors, it seems I'd be spending somewhere around $2100 for the entire system. Is this too much? Also, what are the differences in these graphic cards, and which do I need?

128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon™ X300 SE
128MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon™ X800 SE
256MB PCI Express™ x16 Nvidia® GeForce 6800 GTO Graphics Card

Ajax

[/ QUOTE ]
Way too expensive at this time. I purchased a Dimension 8400 w/ two 2001FP 20" LCD monitors for $1600 just a few weeks ago. But now you might need to wait 3 months for Dell to offer such good deals again. Usually when it's their end of fiscal quarter they offer outstanding deals.

[Ajax410]

So, if I want to do it relatively quickly, what do you suggest as a cheaper alternative?

Ajax

[Blarg]

If you can get a package deal, you'll be doing the most saving. Less than a month ago, Dell was selling two of the 20-inchers plus a 8400 computer for $1579 with free shipping. A deal that good is pretty rare, and many deals don't let you get a 20-incher, much less two. It's basically a matter of checking the bargain sites every day. Some deals last for only 500 uses, or for a day, and Dell reserves the right to yank the deals whenever they feel like it. So a lot depends on how motivated you are to keep looking.

If you're going Dell, pretty much any of their computers will run poker tables, but you don't want to go lower than the 4600. Skip the 3000, etc. For the best bargain, you'll probably be looking at either a 4600 or a 8400. The 4600 uses a broader selection of video cards and such that are already easy to find, but it is old technology that is being replaced. For poker, you really probably don't have to upgrade for years and years, but if you eventually do, you'll be trying to update an outdated machine.

Right now PCI Express is the new thing in computers, and the 8400 is one of the new computers that use PCI Express. When you upgrade, you'll be replacing video cards and other things in those machines with PCI Express items, and that will be easy. Upgrading a 4600, you'll have to look for items that use the old system of AGP and PCI slots. It will at least be more difficult, and who knows, may eventually be close to impossible to get an upgrade that's really worth the price for what it does.

So, you'll get more future proofing with an 8400, but -- just for playing poker, it really doesn't matter, and won't for years. By the time you have to worry about it, you'll probably just be looking to buy a whole new computer anyway.

Finally, keep in mind the lost time value of waiting too long for the perfect deal. Waiting costs money. Sure, you might get great deals after Thanksgiving or before Christmas, but you might miss them too, and anyway you might have many weeks of diminished profitability by waiting. If you got yourself playing 8 tables tomorrow, your increased earn rate could easily make up for not getting the world's absolute best bargain.

You can often get deals from Dell which add up to an effective 25% off, even much more if you're exceptionally lucky, but sometimes they're not quite the packages you want. While you decide, time is ticking away the money you could have earned if you already had your set-up going. So be sure you're giving all your options their proper weight.