Yesterday afternoon, Dell delivered my new Dell dual-core Pentium computer. Wow — this thing is huge. We’re talking Apple G5 huge… but it is fast and quiet (normally). I was struggling with getting the Dell XPS or a BoxxTech dual AMD system (Opteron) and I couldn’t wait for the dual-core AMD X2 systems (mid to late June at best). So when I saw a good deal on this system on Dells site, I jumped on it.

I started yesterday evening with moving files over to my new system and re-installing software. FYI — Find a software audit program (there are freebies out there) that will dump a list of all the software you have installed so when setting up your new system, you don’t forget anything. I wasnt concerned abou forgetting any big apps, but all the little utilities and freeware that I have come to rely on.

Quick impressions so far of Dell dual-core:

  • Its Big! My Mac Mini sat on top of my old Shuttle box. Its now lost behind the Dell.
  • XPS box feels a bit flimsy with so much plastic.
  • It is quiet.. until you get both cores crunching — then it sounds like a jet engine taking off.
  • It is much much faster than my 3 year old AMD XP2700 processor. :)