Vostro 200 vs Optiplex 330

OK Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm looking for opinions....

Here's the situation......

Small company, around 100 users and 150 PC's that are very old, loooking to
buy new PC's a few at a time to start replacing the current outdated
systems.

The PC's would be used for the most part for general non-demnading Microsoft
Office apps.

No demanding video apps, general a general office desktop system.

the main restraint is price, the budget allows for $1,200/PC

OS, Windows XP Pro
CPU, midrange speed Core 2 Duo, hopefully with 4meg cache just on
general purposes
Ram, 2gig
HD, not a real issue, these systems will be on a network, so local
storage is not an issue.
Video, integrated video should be just fine
Software, Microsoft Office SBE
Monitor, preferably 19" Ultrasharp non-wide.

I've been browsing the various configurations on the Small Business web
site, and I find (at least right now) that I can configure both a Vostro 200
mini-tower (not the slim case) and a Optiplex 330 pretty much the same, and
they both end up with a cost in the $1,200 range.

so, given the above requirments, what's your opinion on whether to go the
new Vostro route (un-proven track record) or go with the small Optiplex?

Let the opinions begin.....

"Timothy Drouillard" wrote in message
...
OK Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm looking for opinions....

Here's the situation......

Small company, around 100 users and 150 PC's that are very old, loooking
to buy new PC's a few at a time to start replacing the current outdated
systems.

The PC's would be used for the most part for general non-demnading
Microsoft Office apps.

No demanding video apps, general a general office desktop system.

the main restraint is price, the budget allows for $1,200/PC

OS, Windows XP Pro
CPU, midrange speed Core 2 Duo, hopefully with 4meg cache just on
general purposes
Ram, 2gig
HD, not a real issue, these systems will be on a network, so local
storage is not an issue.
Video, integrated video should be just fine
Software, Microsoft Office SBE
Monitor, preferably 19" Ultrasharp non-wide.

I've been browsing the various configurations on the Small Business web
site, and I find (at least right now) that I can configure both a Vostro
200 mini-tower (not the slim case) and a Optiplex 330 pretty much the
same, and they both end up with a cost in the $1,200 range.

so, given the above requirments, what's your opinion on whether to go the
new Vostro route (un-proven track record) or go with the small Optiplex?

Let the opinions begin.....



Darn, they've taken the Opti330 bundles off special/sale. $499 to $549 with
either a 17" or 19" LCD included, CoreDuo or Core2Duo with 2gb RAM. Only
shortcomings were the 80gb HDD and a regular CDROM.

But I digress.

I'd take the Opti330 any day of the week over any Vostro desktop - and twice
on Sunday.

Most all Opti's come with a default 3 year NBD onsite warranty, and the
foundational hardware quality is far better, imo. (The Vostro and Inspiron
are, in effect, the same chassis )

I prefer the (full) mini-tower configuration Opti due to both increased
future card/upgrade and drive options as well as additional drive bays.

fwiw


Stew

"S.Lewis" wrote in message
...

"Timothy Drouillard" wrote in message
...
OK Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm looking for opinions....

Here's the situation......

Small company, around 100 users and 150 PC's that are very old, loooking
to buy new PC's a few at a time to start replacing the current outdated
systems.

The PC's would be used for the most part for general non-demnading
Microsoft Office apps.

No demanding video apps, general a general office desktop system.

the main restraint is price, the budget allows for $1,200/PC

OS, Windows XP Pro
CPU, midrange speed Core 2 Duo, hopefully with 4meg cache just on
general purposes
Ram, 2gig
HD, not a real issue, these systems will be on a network, so local
storage is not an issue.
Video, integrated video should be just fine
Software, Microsoft Office SBE
Monitor, preferably 19" Ultrasharp non-wide.

I've been browsing the various configurations on the Small Business web
site, and I find (at least right now) that I can configure both a Vostro
200 mini-tower (not the slim case) and a Optiplex 330 pretty much the
same, and they both end up with a cost in the $1,200 range.

so, given the above requirments, what's your opinion on whether to go the
new Vostro route (un-proven track record) or go with the small Optiplex?

Let the opinions begin.....



Darn, they've taken the Opti330 bundles off special/sale. $499 to $549
with either a 17" or 19" LCD included, CoreDuo or Core2Duo with 2gb RAM.
Only shortcomings were the 80gb HDD and a regular CDROM.

But I digress.

I'd take the Opti330 any day of the week over any Vostro desktop - and
twice on Sunday.

Most all Opti's come with a default 3 year NBD onsite warranty, and the
foundational hardware quality is far better, imo. (The Vostro and Inspiron
are, in effect, the same chassis )

I prefer the (full) mini-tower configuration Opti due to both increased
future card/upgrade and drive options as well as additional drive bays.

fwiw


Stew



The Optiplex is what I would normally have chosen, but I haven't see a 330
yet, and the Vostro is a new line so it doesn't have much of a track record
yet.

As far as additional drive bays or room for expansion isn't a big issue as
the only upgrade I can foresee might be a video card.

Thanks for the feedback.

"Timothy Drouillard" wrote in message
...

"S.Lewis" wrote in message
...

"Timothy Drouillard" wrote in message
...
OK Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm looking for opinions....

Here's the situation......

Small company, around 100 users and 150 PC's that are very old, loooking
to buy new PC's a few at a time to start replacing the current outdated
systems.

The PC's would be used for the most part for general non-demnading
Microsoft Office apps.

No demanding video apps, general a general office desktop system.

the main restraint is price, the budget allows for $1,200/PC

OS, Windows XP Pro
CPU, midrange speed Core 2 Duo, hopefully with 4meg cache just on
general purposes
Ram, 2gig
HD, not a real issue, these systems will be on a network, so
local storage is not an issue.
Video, integrated video should be just fine
Software, Microsoft Office SBE
Monitor, preferably 19" Ultrasharp non-wide.

I've been browsing the various configurations on the Small Business web
site, and I find (at least right now) that I can configure both a Vostro
200 mini-tower (not the slim case) and a Optiplex 330 pretty much the
same, and they both end up with a cost in the $1,200 range.

so, given the above requirments, what's your opinion on whether to go
the new Vostro route (un-proven track record) or go with the small
Optiplex?

Let the opinions begin.....



Darn, they've taken the Opti330 bundles off special/sale. $499 to $549
with either a 17" or 19" LCD included, CoreDuo or Core2Duo with 2gb RAM.
Only shortcomings were the 80gb HDD and a regular CDROM.

But I digress.

I'd take the Opti330 any day of the week over any Vostro desktop - and
twice on Sunday.

Most all Opti's come with a default 3 year NBD onsite warranty, and the
foundational hardware quality is far better, imo. (The Vostro and
Inspiron are, in effect, the same chassis )

I prefer the (full) mini-tower configuration Opti due to both increased
future card/upgrade and drive options as well as additional drive bays.

fwiw


Stew



The Optiplex is what I would normally have chosen, but I haven't see a 330
yet, and the Vostro is a new line so it doesn't have much of a track
record yet.

As far as additional drive bays or room for expansion isn't a big issue as
the only upgrade I can foresee might be a video card.

Thanks for the feedback.


Tim -

Then perhaps the only concern might be the slim-line form-factor(s) that
require a half-height video card (which might minimize choices or
availability).

Good luck with your choice.


Stew

"S.Lewis" wrote in message
news

"Timothy Drouillard" wrote in message
...

"S.Lewis" wrote in message
...

"Timothy Drouillard" wrote in message
...
OK Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm looking for opinions....

Here's the situation......

Small company, around 100 users and 150 PC's that are very old,
loooking to buy new PC's a few at a time to start replacing the current
outdated systems.

The PC's would be used for the most part for general non-demnading
Microsoft Office apps.

No demanding video apps, general a general office desktop system.

the main restraint is price, the budget allows for $1,200/PC

OS, Windows XP Pro
CPU, midrange speed Core 2 Duo, hopefully with 4meg cache just on
general purposes
Ram, 2gig
HD, not a real issue, these systems will be on a network, so
local storage is not an issue.
Video, integrated video should be just fine
Software, Microsoft Office SBE
Monitor, preferably 19" Ultrasharp non-wide.

I've been browsing the various configurations on the Small Business web
site, and I find (at least right now) that I can configure both a
Vostro 200 mini-tower (not the slim case) and a Optiplex 330 pretty
much the same, and they both end up with a cost in the $1,200 range.

so, given the above requirments, what's your opinion on whether to go
the new Vostro route (un-proven track record) or go with the small
Optiplex?

Let the opinions begin.....



Darn, they've taken the Opti330 bundles off special/sale. $499 to $549
with either a 17" or 19" LCD included, CoreDuo or Core2Duo with 2gb RAM.
Only shortcomings were the 80gb HDD and a regular CDROM.

But I digress.

I'd take the Opti330 any day of the week over any Vostro desktop - and
twice on Sunday.

Most all Opti's come with a default 3 year NBD onsite warranty, and the
foundational hardware quality is far better, imo. (The Vostro and
Inspiron are, in effect, the same chassis )

I prefer the (full) mini-tower configuration Opti due to both increased
future card/upgrade and drive options as well as additional drive bays.

fwiw


Stew



The Optiplex is what I would normally have chosen, but I haven't see a
330 yet, and the Vostro is a new line so it doesn't have much of a track
record yet.

As far as additional drive bays or room for expansion isn't a big issue
as the only upgrade I can foresee might be a video card.

Thanks for the feedback.


Tim -

Then perhaps the only concern might be the slim-line form-factor(s) that
require a half-height video card (which might minimize choices or

Thats the reason I mentioned 'not the slim case'.
also, the slim cased systems I have seen from Dell seem to run a bit warm on
the inside with not much cooling in the HD area of the case.

If the Optiplex's are still on sale when the PO get's approved, I'll go with
them.

Thanks.
availability).

Good luck with your choice.


Stew

the optiplex is a better qulaity build and case design. it does not have
the goofy cosmetic doors to coer the optical drive bays. it can be
configured with the 19" non-wide on the web site (no ned to call in an
order). and it has a longer product life cycle so if you are not going to
buy all at once you can get a steady supply of the same machine for the nex
several months (dell has made no commitment about the longevity of the
vostros product life cycle but since they share compnents with the home
buyer inspiron series i would guess they will not have extended life
cycles). and if you care about a 3 year warranty (not sure that i would
with a any quanitity over 20 machines) but the optiplex comes standard with
a 3 year warranty and if you add that in to the vostros 200 pricing the
vostros will come out costing more. start on the small business 'specials'
page and you will find that the pricing between the two machine is under 10%
with the better built, longer life cycle optiple haveing a 3 year vs the
vostros 1 year warranty. oh, one other thing. the optiplex can be had with
an internal speaker that is perfect for business installations (no cables
and speakers on the desk or ac adapter required to plug in and no worry
about wasted energy).

"Timothy Drouillard" wrote in message
...
OK Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm looking for opinions....

Here's the situation......

Small company, around 100 users and 150 PC's that are very old, loooking
to buy new PC's a few at a time to start replacing the current outdated
systems.

The PC's would be used for the most part for general non-demnading
Microsoft Office apps.

No demanding video apps, general a general office desktop system.

the main restraint is price, the budget allows for $1,200/PC

OS, Windows XP Pro
CPU, midrange speed Core 2 Duo, hopefully with 4meg cache just on
general purposes
Ram, 2gig
HD, not a real issue, these systems will be on a network, so local
storage is not an issue.
Video, integrated video should be just fine
Software, Microsoft Office SBE
Monitor, preferably 19" Ultrasharp non-wide.

I've been browsing the various configurations on the Small Business web
site, and I find (at least right now) that I can configure both a Vostro
200 mini-tower (not the slim case) and a Optiplex 330 pretty much the
same, and they both end up with a cost in the $1,200 range.

so, given the above requirments, what's your opinion on whether to go the
new Vostro route (un-proven track record) or go with the small Optiplex?

Let the opinions begin.....

Thanks for the reply.

Over the years I've come to expect better quality from an Optiplex in
general, but I wasn't sure of the lower end Optiplexs.

You make good points regaring the longer product cycle and longer (by
default) warranty.

The speakers don't bother me as I ususlly opt for the small speakers that
clip right onto the bottom edge of the monitor. That way they don't take up
extra desk space.

As long as the prices on the Opti's hang in there, that's what I'll go with.

Thanks.

"Christopher Muto" wrote in message
...
the optiplex is a better qulaity build and case design. it does not have
the goofy cosmetic doors to coer the optical drive bays. it can be
configured with the 19" non-wide on the web site (no ned to call in an
order). and it has a longer product life cycle so if you are not going to
buy all at once you can get a steady supply of the same machine for the
nex several months (dell has made no commitment about the longevity of the
vostros product life cycle but since they share compnents with the home
buyer inspiron series i would guess they will not have extended life
cycles). and if you care about a 3 year warranty (not sure that i would
with a any quanitity over 20 machines) but the optiplex comes standard
with a 3 year warranty and if you add that in to the vostros 200 pricing
the vostros will come out costing more. start on the small business
'specials' page and you will find that the pricing between the two machine
is under 10% with the better built, longer life cycle optiple haveing a 3
year vs the vostros 1 year warranty. oh, one other thing. the optiplex
can be had with an internal speaker that is perfect for business
installations (no cables and speakers on the desk or ac adapter required
to plug in and no worry about wasted energy).

"Timothy Drouillard" wrote in message
...
OK Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm looking for opinions....

Here's the situation......

Small company, around 100 users and 150 PC's that are very old, loooking
to buy new PC's a few at a time to start replacing the current outdated
systems.

The PC's would be used for the most part for general non-demnading
Microsoft Office apps.

No demanding video apps, general a general office desktop system.

the main restraint is price, the budget allows for $1,200/PC

OS, Windows XP Pro
CPU, midrange speed Core 2 Duo, hopefully with 4meg cache just on
general purposes
Ram, 2gig
HD, not a real issue, these systems will be on a network, so local
storage is not an issue.
Video, integrated video should be just fine
Software, Microsoft Office SBE
Monitor, preferably 19" Ultrasharp non-wide.

I've been browsing the various configurations on the Small Business web
site, and I find (at least right now) that I can configure both a Vostro
200 mini-tower (not the slim case) and a Optiplex 330 pretty much the
same, and they both end up with a cost in the $1,200 range.

so, given the above requirments, what's your opinion on whether to go the
new Vostro route (un-proven track record) or go with the small Optiplex?

Let the opinions begin.....

"Christopher Muto" wrote:

the optiplex can be had with
an internal speaker that is perfect for business installations (no cables
and speakers on the desk or ac adapter required to plug in and no worry
about wasted energy).

Curious how well that internal speaker works any idea?

is it just suitable for sounds form Windows OS ...or
can it actually be used to listen to audio on videos
and such?

"HDRDTD" wrote:

The speakers don't bother me as I ususlly opt for the small speakers that
clip right onto the bottom edge of the monitor. That way they don't take up
extra desk space.

When using the sound bar on a monitor... does it
automatically turn off the internal Optiplex speaker?

"HDRDTD" wrote:

As long as the prices on the Opti's hang in there, that's what I'll go with.

Which model will you order? The 330?