System Comparison Chart

Pay particular attention to Memory and Hard Drive information. 

Dell Dimension 3000 is uses a two-generation-old 865G chipset.  Our ATXcalibur, with the latest 945G chipset, supports newer (faster) memory, hard drives, expansion cards, video cards, Intel's new "Dual Core" processors and even Microsoft Windows XP 64-bit.

  Dell Dimension 3000
(base model)
Dell Dimension 3000
(w/ basic upgrades)
Tyber ATXcalibur
(base model)
Tyber ATXcalibur
(w/ better upgrades)
Price $449 ($349 + $99 S&H) $1146 $699 ($866 w/ 3.0GHz/800/2048kb) $1093
Processor 2.53GHz/533fsb/256kb cache 3.0GHz/800fsb/2048kb cache 2.53GHz/533fsb/256kb cache 3.0GHz/800fsb/2048kb cache
Max Memory 2GB 2GB 4GB 4GB
Installed Memory 256MB (this is nuts) 512MB 512MB 1024MB (1GB)
Memory Speed 400MHz 1-Channel 400MHz 2-Channel 533MHz 1-Channel 533MHz 2 Channel
Hard Drive Size 40GB ATA 160GB ATA 120GB S-ATA II 250GB S-ATA II
Hard Drive Speed 100MB/s 100MB/s 300MB/s 300MB/s
Optical Drive 48x CD-RW Dual Layer DVD-RW / CD-RW Dual Layer DVD-RW / CD-RW Dual Layer DVD-RW / CD-RW
Floppy Drive None 3.5" Floppy 3.5" Floppy 3.5" Floppy
Card Reader N/A N/A None 16-in-1 Memory Card Reader
Power Supply 250W 250W 350W Ultra-quiet 350W Ultra-quiet
Drive Bays 4 (open: 1 CD, 1 Floppy) 4 (open: 1 CD) 8 (open: 2 CD, 1 Floppy, 2 Hard Drive) 8 (open: 2 CD, 1 Floppy, 2 Hard Drive)
IEEE1394 Firewire None Yes (uses 1 expansion slot) Yes (built-in) Yes (built-in)
PCI Slots 3 PCI (2 open) 3 PCI (1 open) 4 PCI (4 open) 4 PCI (4 open)
PCI-Express Slots N/A N/A 2 1xPCI-e, 1 16xPCI-e 2 1xPCI-e, 1 16xPCI-e
Keyboard Basic Basic Microsoft Windows Keyboard Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard
Mouse Old ball type Basic Optical Microsoft Optical Wheel Mouse Microsoft Optical Wheel Mouse
Media Control None None None Microsoft Remote w/ IR Blaster
Operating System Microsoft WinXP Home Microsoft WinXP Pro Microsoft WinXP Home Microsoft WinXP Media Center or 64-bit
Productivity Suite None None None Microsoft Works 2005 w/ Word and Encarta
Case Color Black/Gray only Black/Gray only Choice of Black or Platinum Choice of Black or Platinum
Manf. Warranty* 90 Days Manf. Warranty 3 Year Manf. Warranty 3 Year Manf. Warranty 3 Year Manf. Warranty
Tech Support 800 number (India?) 800 number (India?) Local number, local shop Local number, local shop
Marketing Slick Mega $ Mail/TV/etc Slick Mega $ Mail/TV/etc Reputation and word of mouth Reputation and word of mouth

Comparisons made 10/26/2005 using online information.

*Lifetime warranty on memory; 3-year warranty on power supply, motherboard, cpu and hard drive; accessories and other item warranties vary by manufacturer (typically 1 to 3 years).