Dell Computers

[RonDawg]

I've been a Dell customer since 2000 and in that time I've had two desktops and a laptop.

The only reason I didn't stick with the first desktop is that I upgraded to a more powerful one. Otherwise I'd still be using it. I do have to say that my first Dell (Dimension L) seemed a bit more rugged than my current one (Dimension 4550) which seems to have a rather flimsy trim plate around the optical drives. The newer one though is much easier to open and especially service than the older one.

The only problem I've ever had with my Dell computers was with my 4100 laptop. When I got it there was a beautiful green line down the middle of the screen. The laptop worked fine otherwise, the line was more of an annoyance than anything else, but when I just shelled out $1100 for a laptop I expect it to work perfectly out of the box. So I called Dell, and they sent out a courier to pick it up that afternoon (a Tuesday). I got the laptop back by Friday afternoon, and even extended the warranty to 5 years instead of the two I actually purchased.

My current desktop which I've had for over two years has worked flawlessly. It even survived the Windows XP Service Pack 2 upgrade :11:

 

[MikeC]

I recently bought a new computer, i was going to buy a dell, it was a good deal but they usually only come with an office package 7.0 or something, and if you dont pay $300 to install the microsoft office, you cant email a word or spreadsheet document to another computer because it wont be compatible. the guy suggested we just illegally copy the office package from someone and install it ourselves but i didnt want the hassle. plus it takes 10 days to get the PC cuz they have to put it together. i went with a compaq in the end, it has all the usual compatible things and is going good.

Go to openoffice.org, there is a free MS office clone program that can read and write MS file formats. No need for paying Bill Gates. Here is a product description

 

[adder70]

Did someone mention cool computer cases?

http://212.61.68.76/rebels/modpage/index2.htm

http://members.home.nl/gis/

 

[TheRedHead]

Did someone mention cool computer cases?

http://212.61.68.76/rebels/modpage/index2.htm

http://members.home.nl/gis/

Nice mods...

I got the Radioactive for my side window, but I haven't done any lights at work -- yet!

Dells are slow and Dell owners using slow Dells just don't realize how slow the cheaper Dells really are. I find the video painfully slow. I run Macromedia's Dreamweaver MX with a webserver and usually need to have Photoshop open at the same time and the integrated graphics dog won't hunt.

Read PC's magazine review of a typical Dell the 4700 currently listed at base price of $675 (in the Small Business section of the Dell site), but would retail for around $1150.00 configured to the review model configuration:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1631454,00.asp

It's a mediocre box by today's standards.

I don't really have service issues as I can diagnose my own problems and fix them myself faster than dealing with Dell Service. Getting the parts is a pain sometimes. It's doubly frustrating in that I know much more about PCs and their problems than the customer service dweebs and I can't get them to understand that they do not need to go through their little notebook for all possible solutions to the problem.

 

[Willar]

I don't see that you can say (all) "Dells are slow." But I guess you clarified it later with "the cheaper models" which is the key. For the money Dells are better than average computers with better than average support and good prices. Cheapest? No. Fastest? Depends on the model you buy.

I compare computers based on bus speed, memory speed, architecture, components, secondary features (USB prts, etc.), software included, warranty, support, build quality, and price. Overall score, Dell usually wins. If you want to spend a ton and have great graphics speed, don't buy a Dell 4700, move up. That system isn't designed as a graphics speed burner, it's an all-around home/office machine for basic tasks - Word, Excel, Internet, simple games, basic photo editing. Would you expect the 4700 to act as a network server? No, that's not it's design intent.

I've bought Dell for my company for years and the quality, features, speed, and support are excellent for the money. It all comes down to the price. If you want more, spend more on a higher model with higher specs.