Thanks, its still in my extensive testing period, and so far it seems free of all the troubles that have seemed to plague this combo on the i8600 (It has Samsung screen, and no graphics card errors as of yet). I will post up my own little review in a day or two after my tests have finished and I've had a chance to muck around. Cheers,
I am about to order an 8600 very soon. Had a few queries
1. How do I make sure that the screen is Samsung ?
2. Are there any options that I should stay clear of, or should certainly order?
3. What are the tests that you are running on your new 8600 and where can I download them from ? Or are you running the standard Dell diagnostic tests ?
Basically this is for software development and I will be doing some home movie editing from my camcorder.
1. How do I make sure that the screen is Samsung ?
You need not worry about this unless you order it with an WSXGA display. Even then, it is now much less common for them to ship with an Hitachi one as they have caught on its not so good... what with all the returns made on account of that screen. But to double check when you do get it, use a kanotix CD. Have a look at the following page in this thread. The fourth post from the bottom by Free_Linux explains how to tell what display you ave through the CD, how to burn the CD, and a link on where to get it.
2. Are there any options that I should stay clear of, or should certainly order?
Not really, as I said, the Hitachi WSXGA's were something to worry about before, but the problem is all but gone now, with 99% being shipped with Samsung displays. The WXGA and WUXGA displays never had issues.
I would suggest that you order the 128MB 9600PT as you video card option. The FX5200 is a piece of garbage (no offence to those using it... but it is), and you will regret ordering it if you don't choose the 9600PT.
The 60GB, 7200rpm 8MB cache Hard Drive (Hitachi 7k60) is also a must. This drive is light years ahead of all the other drives in the i8600, which are 4200rpm w/ 2MB cache's. Again, you will be disappointed if you go with one of the others.
Thats about it, the rest of the components are all fine... they come down to peronal preference and needs.
3. What are the tests that you are running on your new 8600 and where can I download them from ? Or are you running the standard Dell diagnostic tests ?
Ahhhhh, these are my own special tests. They are a mix of CPU intensive programs and benchmarks, GPU intensive programs and benchmarks, and memory intensive applications. Their sole purpose is to determine if the parts are in working order with no faults (such as the graphical errors that were present in some 9600PT's a while ago).
After these are through, I go into intensive game and driver testing. This involves choosing the best driver for the videocard based on game visuals and framerates. These include stock Dell drivers, modified ATI Catalysts and Omega drivers.
After all testing is done, and the best drivers selected, the format and reinstall commences. This is so i have a clean install without all the Pre-installed Dell stuff that the Add/ Remove function can never seem to fully banish (evil, evil preinstalled ISP's).
I am currenty in the later stages of the first step, CPU, GPU and Memory testing.
All in all (including the Complete Care warrenty) it set me back AUD$3800 (I got a deluxe leather case that you don't see listed there as well). This equates to approx US$2760 or so (I configured it on the Dell US site just now (without the leather case... couldn't find it) and it came to US$2700..... so yeah, about the same).
sakor1
2.2K Posts
0
March 12th, 2004 10:00
Thanks, its still in my extensive testing period, and so far it seems free of all the troubles that have seemed to plague this combo on the i8600 (It has Samsung screen, and no graphics card errors as of yet). I will post up my own little review in a day or two after my tests have finished and I've had a chance to muck around. Cheers,
stu
rhans
29 Posts
0
March 12th, 2004 21:00
I am about to order an 8600 very soon. Had a few queries
1. How do I make sure that the screen is Samsung ?
2. Are there any options that I should stay clear of, or should certainly order?
3. What are the tests that you are running on your new 8600 and where can I download them from ? Or are you running the standard Dell diagnostic tests ?
Basically this is for software development and I will be doing some home movie editing from my camcorder.
Thanks!
Raj
sakor1
2.2K Posts
0
March 12th, 2004 21:00
1. How do I make sure that the screen is Samsung ?
You need not worry about this unless you order it with an WSXGA display. Even then, it is now much less common for them to ship with an Hitachi one as they have caught on its not so good... what with all the returns made on account of that screen. But to double check when you do get it, use a kanotix CD. Have a look at the following page in this thread. The fourth post from the bottom by Free_Linux explains how to tell what display you ave through the CD, how to burn the CD, and a link on where to get it.
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_video&message.id=101093&view=by_date_ascending&page=222. Are there any options that I should stay clear of, or should certainly order?
Not really, as I said, the Hitachi WSXGA's were something to worry about before, but the problem is all but gone now, with 99% being shipped with Samsung displays. The WXGA and WUXGA displays never had issues.
I would suggest that you order the 128MB 9600PT as you video card option. The FX5200 is a piece of garbage (no offence to those using it... but it is), and you will regret ordering it if you don't choose the 9600PT.
The 60GB, 7200rpm 8MB cache Hard Drive (Hitachi 7k60) is also a must. This drive is light years ahead of all the other drives in the i8600, which are 4200rpm w/ 2MB cache's. Again, you will be disappointed if you go with one of the others.
Thats about it, the rest of the components are all fine... they come down to peronal preference and needs.
3. What are the tests that you are running on your new 8600 and where can I download them from ? Or are you running the standard Dell diagnostic tests ?
Ahhhhh, these are my own special tests. They are a mix of CPU intensive programs and benchmarks, GPU intensive programs and benchmarks, and memory intensive applications. Their sole purpose is to determine if the parts are in working order with no faults (such as the graphical errors that were present in some 9600PT's a while ago).
After these are through, I go into intensive game and driver testing. This involves choosing the best driver for the videocard based on game visuals and framerates. These include stock Dell drivers, modified ATI Catalysts and Omega drivers.
After all testing is done, and the best drivers selected, the format and reinstall commences. This is so i have a clean install without all the Pre-installed Dell stuff that the Add/ Remove function can never seem to fully banish (evil, evil preinstalled ISP's).
I am currenty in the later stages of the first step, CPU, GPU and Memory testing.
cheers,
stu
CSmith06
2 Intern
•
956 Posts
0
March 13th, 2004 15:00
sakor1
2.2K Posts
0
March 13th, 2004 22:00
All in all (including the Complete Care warrenty) it set me back AUD$3800 (I got a deluxe leather case that you don't see listed there as well). This equates to approx US$2760 or so (I configured it on the Dell US site just now (without the leather case... couldn't find it) and it came to US$2700..... so yeah, about the same).
stu
Sterlin254
394 Posts
0
March 14th, 2004 19:00