My personal box-maker favorite for configuring and ordering a
PC for trading (or any other use for that matter) is Dell. It's my favorite for
several reasons: 1) Dell always offers a flexible motherboard with a lot of PCI
slots available (good for adding extra graphics cards/displays and other
options); 2) Dell makes the configuring and ordering process easier than every
other box maker; 3) their primary options tend to be from the leading
manufacturers for that segment (i.e., graphics cards, drives, etc.); and 4)
their systems are great values!
When ordering a system from Dell (or any other manufacturer
for that matter) you need to keep a few things in mind regarding
options:
Unless you're configuring your system with a multi-port
graphics adapter you're confident is sufficient for your needs now and in the
future, you want to maximize PCI slot availability (for additional single- or
multi-port graphics adapters) by offloading as many options as possible to
non-PCI slot connection options. For example, you can now utilize the two
standard USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports for connecting some Ethernet devices
(like cable/DSL modems) or backup analog 56K modems. Many systems now come with
a built-in Ethernet port for your cable/DSL modem or network router. It doesn't
take long to fill up the available PCI slots if you're not careful, limiting
your future expansion options. We'll talk about this more to follow in the
appropriate config option sections.
Technically speaking, Dell (like most box makers) doesn't
support multiple display configurations unless you choose a multiport adapter
that they offer (like an Appian Jeronimo). What I mean is, they won't install a
second or additional graphics adapter in your system if you want to start off
with multiple graphics adapters and monitors. They will sell you additional
adapters and monitors, but you'll have to install the additional adapters
yourself. It's not that they don't want you to get the system you desire, they
just don't want to take on the massive support issues trying to deal with all
the different manufacturers, boards, chips and resulting combinations. I don't
blame them. Hey, that's why you're here!
Beyond the basic setup, you may want to obtain certain
options from other sources. For example, Dell usually has a great price for the
primary monitor in the system. However, you may want to look around for a
better deal on secondary monitors and graphics adapters, unless you're not the
shopping type!
To make things easy, I'm going to concentrate on helping you
choose the options for Dell's most common system, the top-of-the-line Dimension
series. We'll consider whatever options are currently being offered on the Dell
site. Keep track of the choices as we go, and you'll be able to easily make
your selections when you go to the Dell site to configure your system. OK,
let's go!
(I am currently in the process of revising the content for
this section on configuring Dell systems and expect the new information to be
complete by the end of April 2002. Thanks for your patience!)
