The $50 instant off is fairly standard. I've been watching for 2 weeks now thinking Dell would cut prices, or provide free shipping, since it's almost the end of their fiscal quarter. I haven't pulled the trigger yet, if that tells you anything.
The $50 instant off is fairly standard. I've been watching for 2 weeks now thinking Dell would cut prices, or provide free shipping, since it's almost the end of their fiscal quarter. I haven't pulled the trigger yet, if that tells you anything.
Don't forget the outlet too. I got 2 nicely equiped Q6600 530 computers (no "N") out of the outlet a few months ago, one for $279, the other for $329. Both of them were a month or two old when I bought them, looked brand new, GO stepping. Vista home basic. Takes awhile of searching the deals, but in my free time scored a couple nice ones.
clearanceman said: Don't forget the outlet too. I got 2 nicely equiped Q6600 530 computers (no "N") out of the outlet a few months ago, one for $279, the other for $329. Both of them were a month or two old when I bought them, looked brand new, GO stepping. Vista home basic. Takes awhile of searching the deals, but in my free time scored a couple nice ones.
To be honest, I want Ubuntu pre-loaded on the machine for various reasons. I called about getting it done on the $499 machine because the hardware (RAM and HD) is slightly better. No dice. When configured to be the same, the 530N was $100 more than the 530.
I have the luxury of time, so I'll wait a little longer.
clearanceman said: BTW, what's the "N" and how is it different than the regular 530?
Guessing 'Non-standard OS'. That's the only difference. Hardware's the same. Only the Inspiron 530 desktop and 1525 laptop have the designation. You can get linux on the XPS M1330, but there's no 'N' designation.
c'mon Dell, it's the end of your fiscal quarter at the end of July isn't it??? Can't you come up with any hotter deals that this? How about regular Inspiron 530's at these prices, then maybe I'd pull the trigger.
(sorry OP, not trying to threadcrap, I just am disappointed at Dell's "deals" at the end of this fiscal quarter so far)
It's nice to see more hardware choices from Dell with Ubuntu. Earlier this summer when I was looking, it was pretty clear that Dell was only putting Ubuntu on hardware it was trying to clearance out.
For point of reference, I ended up buying from Newegg a nice slim and quiet Asus barebones w/ ATI x1250 integrated graphics, 2600 X2 AMD, and 2 GB RAM for $250. HD and monitor were scavenged from the old box. I have no idea about game use, but it is a great Ubuntu box for writing, gimp, internet, and a/v.
EricGo07 said: It's nice to see more hardware choices from Dell with Ubuntu. Earlier this summer when I was looking, it was pretty clear that Dell was only putting Ubuntu on hardware it was trying to clearance out.
This is part of my reasoning for wanting to get Ubuntu pre-loaded directly from Dell. Personally, I do want to do my part to show that there is demand out there. Hopefully, it would provide more business incentive to throw more resources into the Dell Linux team. I'm not convinced that Dell was providing Ubuntu on hardware that they wanted clearanced since there's more effective outlets for them. I think that the staffing dedicated to Linux development and support is limited causing isolated configuration tests and a handful of certified drivers.
If I do go with the $499 deal on the cash-back page, I'm not showing that directly-tied-to dollars support that Dell values, even if I do wipe the OS and load Ubuntu. At the same time, it's hard for me to justify spending $100 more for the same configuration just to make a point. Particularly since I wouldn't be paying for the windows license.
That's probably more information than anyone cares to hear about my specific motivations, but I thought I'd share anyway.
iceui2 said: Ubuntu OS Comes with DVD playback built in. Last I checked, XP didn't include that. Not sure about Vista.
Markfaafp
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Jul. 29, 2008 @ 10:40p
Does anyone know if you could use Partition Magic on this and then install Win XP on another partition. Would I have a lot of problems getting the right drivers for the hardware on the computer or would it still work with the drivers provided?
Markfaafp said: Does anyone know if you could use Partition Magic on this and then install Win XP on another partition. Would I have a lot of problems getting the right drivers for the hardware on the computer or would it still work with the drivers provided?
Yes, you can dual and triple boot after partitioning the HDD however you want. Since this thread assumes you buy the Ubuntu version of the Inspiron 530, here's the most appropriate how-to without Partition Magic, although with PM would be just as easy.
Assuming you're using 32 bit XP, drivers should be easy to find. Hard to say without knowing your peripherals, but it's a safe bet you won't have problems with the machine itself if you get Ubuntu pre-loaded.
poundfoolish
Member
posted: Jul. 29, 2008 @ 11:07p
Markfaafp said: Does anyone know if you could use Partition Magic on this and then install Win XP on another partition. Would I have a lot of problems getting the right drivers for the hardware on the computer or would it still work with the drivers provided?I haven't tried that on this install on this Dell, but IME partition magic nowadays tends to get flustered on many modern installs of any linux (not just ubuntu) - ditto for xp-era ntfs partitions - esp. if the linux install uses any lvms.
Ever since PQ sold to Norton, it seems like Norton hasn't bothered to keep it up to date (Norton has said that they are ceasing devel. on it and this is the result).
If partition magic is your favorite tool of choice, might be easier to erase the whole disk then reinstall both OSes. Of course, then that makes you eligible to revisit the question of which Linux distros.
poundfoolish said: If partition magic is your favorite tool of choice, might be easier to erase the whole disk then reinstall both OSes. Of course, then that makes you eligible to revisit the question of which Linux distros.
Just a quick point, should you decide to pull the trigger on an Ubuntu pre-installed Dell system, make an image backup first. These guys ship with DVD Playback which is not in a standard distro that I know of for legal reasons. Dell pre-pays for licenses before the system is shipped which is part of what you're paying for in lieu of an OS.
So, if you blow away the OS, just to reinstall it, you may lose that feature.
Maybe someone else can comment on other distros? I've been out of the loop for a while.
EDIT: Updated for clarity.
poundfoolish
Member
posted: Jul. 29, 2008 @ 11:34p
Markfaafp said: Does anyone know if you could use Partition Magic on this and then install Win XP on another partition. Would I have a lot of problems getting the right drivers for the hardware on the computer or would it still work with the drivers provided?Looks like Aquone and I both answered simult., and thanks to Aquone for his further points. Further elaborastion:
Markfaafp seems to be asking 4 questions. 1. Can a disk be portioned to permit linux and xp to coreside? 2. Will this work on this Dell? 3. Can I use partition magic to do this? 4. Will I have trouble getting xp drivers?
Assuming I've paraphrased Markfaafp ok: Answer 1) Yes, in general, pc disks can be divided up between different operating systems, including linux and xp, among others. Answer 2) I don't know specifically for this model. I have done it successfully on many different brands of computers, including various Dells. I have not tried with this particular model however. Answer 3) I don't know if Partition Magic is up to this particular task, though. Maybe you have a more up to date version than I (or volume manager). But IME, Norton has been lax about freshening it. Answer 4). I don't know specifically for this model. I have done it successfully on many different brands of computers, including various Dells.
A couple of general comments about double booting. If you do this, then I would suggest actually creating at least a third and possibly more partitions. Put your data there, as much as you can. Linux is much more flexible on where it will happily reside than windows IMO. Knowing that, plan ahead for growth, debugging, crashes, etc. down the line.
Extra credit will be awarded to those who quad boot their computers between Linux, XP, and two versions of *BSD.
poundfoolish said: ... Answer 2) I don't know specifically for this model. I have done it successfully on many different brands of computers, including various Dells. I have not tried with this particular model however. Answer 4). I don't know specifically for this model. I have done it successfully on many different brands of computers, including various Dells.
I have 2 530s with quad cores & 3 GB RAM, one with a 8800 GT OC & one without. Between them I have run/am running XP 32 and 64 bit; Vista (Ultimate & Home Premium) 32 and 64 bit; and Ubuntu 8.0.4 64 bit.
The easiest time I had were with XP Pro 32 bit and Ubuntu, in that order. Hardest were XP 64 bit and Vista 64, in that order.
poundfoolish said: ... Extra credit will be awarded to those who quad boot their computers between Linux, XP, and two versions of *BSD.
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