New 'Puter Purchase Questions, Long...

motordavid · #1 11-14-2005, 12:45 PM

We got a new Dell PC in late August and enjoy it very much; a real step up from our 5 1/2 yr old Dell w/Win982nd Ed. that had about 6 horsepower, lol!

We are shopping for another new one for the Seasonal Starter Shack.
I don't need custom built, etc., like some of you mavens have;thus, another new Dell PC is in the works.

I have several questions:
-Is there a regularly good site for Dell "coupons"/discounts? Most of the sites I've seen are mind-numbing to read through and seem to be only for very specific, eg. slow sellers & low powered units, or assorted peripheral stuff.
-Most models I'm looking at, the XPS 400 series, come with the "Windows Media Experience" OS in lieu of std Windows XP...I'm not a gamer or multi-media phanatic while on the 'puter...is this OS just jive compared to "standard" Windows XP? (The DellBastards want $40 More for Std Windows XP!?)
-"Memory": this is inc. in base price: 512MB Dual Channel @533. They want another $60 for a 1G Dual Channel. Worth it? Need it? (I currently have the 512MB deal.)
-Hard Drive: I realize this is like asking how much reserve HP is enough?! Lol!
I have a 160 G currently, and it's gonna be hard to get that much space plugged up, I think. Does it make Any sense to go bigger? Aren't External Hard Drive add-ons, for back-up/storage, etc., a lot easier and cheaper than the extra horsepower Dell is trying to sell, at point of purchase, as an expensive option?
-CD/DVD: the one I'm chasing comes with 48X CD-RW & 16X DVD-RW dual layer thingie. Seems ok.
-Do I really need a Floppy Drive? (Our current new Dell has no Floppy).
-Their cheapo pair of speakers seem fine...don't understand need for subwoofer or "better" speakers, for my casual listening at PC. When I want HiFi for classical, I have a system.
-Monitors: we currently have a 19" flat analog that came w/our recent 'puter.
Is the 19" digital flat panel "UltraSharp" unit worth the extra $80 bucks?
-Printers: they have a laundry list of units; all I want is to occasionally print something out. Not photos, not super color, etc. Should I just get my own, seperately?

Any other stuff ya'll think I need to look at?

Not interested in a lap top...this new 'puter will be in our FL joint. It will be fired up by Comcast Cable high speed.

I realize my wonderment is Long and complicated and that it is hard for any reader here to "know my needs", but ya'll are very savvy and knowledgeable on this 'puter stuff, so any/all opins, ideas or answers to my questions, are much appreciated. Thanks for reading this long version and responding with your thoughts.
BR, Ol'UncMtr

'[email protected]