linky

Price stays the same whether you go w/ the default 20 inch SP2009W Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor or the Dell 23 inch Consumer™ S2309W Flat Panel

Intel® Core™i7-920 Processor(8MB L2 Cache, 2.66GHz)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit
Ltd HW WRTY, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis, 24x7 Phone Support
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 4 DIMMs
(It's 100 more if you want to go 6GB Triple Channel)
500GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
Dell 23 inch Consumer™ S2309W Flat Panel, Adjustable Stand
256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Dell USB Consumer Multimedia Keyboard
Dell Laser Mouse
No Floppy Drive or Media Reader Included
No Modem Option
Integrated 10/1000 Ethernet

$999 (as configured above) + tax w/ free shipping

Extra savings opportunities:
3% FW CashBack
and another 3% if you finance it w/ Dell. First try to pay w/ credit card, then it will offer 3% to use DFS. And 12 months no-interest if you use DFS.

I've had my eye on the sub-$500 Q6600 systems that crop up every week. But when I saw the benchmarks (particularly video encoding) I started having second thoughts.

If you want to go with a built computer with the i7, without a monitor. Cyberpowerinc.com has i7 computers starting at 800. I got a few computers from here with no problems. Link

forgot to mention they have special. Instant 5% off orders 999 or more and some other free stuff

dont forget you can add for $50 the 2409w 24"
for $100 you can up the ram to 6gb or for $200 3 ddr3 at 6gb
thats a cheap deal at any cost too bad I build mine at the beginning of october or I would have just bought this one.

tlwisner said:raiderj said:Would it be better to take out one of the DIMMs to run just 3x3GB?

No, you need two DIMMs per channel so running 3 DIMMs is not an option.

The manual recommends pairing in 3's. Not sure which is better: 3GB at tri-channel vs 4GB dual-channel. I'm guessing it depends on what you're running on it.

Damn, I just bought a XPS 420 with a Q9550 last month for 750.00.

I thought for sure the desktops with I7 processors and DDR3 memory would start at around 1500+

And you get a freakin 23 inch monitor too! Sweet find, wished I had waited now.

HELP.....I can't get to this config through the FatCash link?????

The configs are different and some of the options are taken away...
You can't get the 500GB HDD, and end up w a higher price.

Never used FW Cash Back before.

wraithtech said:IIRC, only the higher-end Core i7's use tri-channel memory. YMMV

incorrect - all versions of core i7 are capable of tri-channel (and it is recommended by many online sites to used over dual-channel):

http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=38497,37586,37582&familyID=1&culture=en-US

what really separates them are the quickpath interconnect.

zaksdad said:Dead?

Link doesn't work and I don't see anyway of configuring a studio for that price.

Yep. Looks like it ended on the 18th

I'm sure this deal will come back soon. Personally I ended up holding off since I don't really need the monitor.

Update: Checked the Dell EPP site. Configured a similar i7 920 desktop w/ 3GB RAM and NO monitor for $921 after tax, including, $29.99 shipping, and after 7% EPP and 4% DPA discounts, again w/ 12 months no interest. Still a little too high for me considering the previous deal had more RAM and a 23" 1080P LCD for not much more.

Fudge I thought it was on till today missed it.