You should have what you need to get started in the box. As far as the internet we had to have the local cable person come and do some installation but they also offered a do-it-yourself kit. A surge protector is highly recommended and, of course, you have to plug into a grounded wall outlet.
For additional protection and a larger price tag you could get a battery back-up rather than a surge protector. Congratulations!

Dell 8100 1.3 Ghz
Windows Millenium
Norton Anti-Virus 2001
IE 5.5 SP2
ZoneAlarm
40 gig hard drive
Samsung 16X DVD drive
Nec 7800A 16X10X40CD-RW drive
17 inch M781S Monitor

skackie wrote:
- the 4300s. What doesn't come w/ the box thats a must
- have to get started? Is a surge protector a "must
- have". What else? TIA
-
- Steve


If you live where there is a lot of lighting a good surge protector is a "must". I think one should be used no matter where you live. The only one I recommend is an APC Professional Model. You can get one that will also protect the phone line or cable if you use cable. The APC is the only one I know that comes with a $10,000 Equipment Protection Policy that also covers lighting damage.
Good luck with your new computer.









Dimension 8200 @ 1.8GHz
In Service 12/06/01
512MB PC800 RDRAM
40GB, ATA-100, 7200RPM, HD
64MB NVIDIAGeForce2 MX Graphics Card
1024 DigitalSound Card
10/100 PCI Fast Ethernet NIC
21 in. P1130 Trinitron Monitor
16X/10X/40X CD-RW Drive
Windows XP Home
Toshiba PCX1100 Cable Modem
IE 6.02, Netscape 6.2
Zone Alarm
God Bless the USA

A good surge arrestor or a UPS depending on how dirty your power is. If you are going to be using a modem, make sure the surge arrestor also has a connection for the phone line.

The only other thing I considder a necessity is a good anti-virus program. Your new PC will probably come with a trial version.

skackie wrote:
- the 4300s. What doesn't come w/ the box thats a must
- have to get started? Is a surge protector a "must
- have". What else? TIA
-
- Steve
-

Steve,
The other respondents are correct. You have put too much money into your system to have it go up in smoke. I would personally suggest you spend the money and get a UPS. The difference being in that a surge protector will protect you against surges and lightning, but when the power goes out, anything you're working on is lost and the possibility of data corruption when "the plug is pulled" is greater. A UPS will insure the system stays on long enough for you to shut it down in an orderly manner. Most newer UPS systems can be plugged into your PC via interface cable and when the power disappears, tell Windoze to shut down. (TrippLite includes the software!)
APC is an excellent brand, however I have a TrippLite Omni Smart system on each of my PC's. (cheaper than APC) They have a $50,000 equipment warranty. I live in Louisiana and do we have some thunderstorms down here! (Not to mention hurricanes!) The systems protect not only the PC's and monitors, but the cable modem, router and the fax phone line. (attaching laser printers is not recommended by either manufacturer because of the high current these devices pull.)
Both TrippLite and APC have easy to use system selector guides on their sites so you can pick the unit that best suites your needs. For more info go here:

http://www.tripplite.com and http://www.apc.com

Good luck with your new PC and post back if you have questions or problems. Welcome to DellTalk!

Ron in N'awlins

I'd definitely get a UPS unless your power is absolutely 100 percent rock-solid. A half-second interruption in power will cause your computer to crash and could in rare instances lead to data corruption. I feel incredibly smug when the power flickers here and I am able to keep working as if nothing happened.