Bought a Dell

[wkbl52]

I have been doing a little reading on this board, and it's obvious you don't care for Dell? I'm not taking up for them, would just like to know why. I read a lot of you saying you could build a better for less. I purchased the Dell because I already had one and it has worked great. I don't know much about computers and was scared of building my own.

Specs are:
Dimension 8400
P4 3.4 HT
Inetl 925x express chipset
512mb ddr2 sdram 533mhz
128mb pcie radeon x300se
160gb hard drive
17in. flat panel
dvd rom drive

So there it is, have at it. Tell me why I should have built my own instead. Just wanting to learn something.

Oh yeah, total price to my door was $1056.

 

[lazerman]

First off it would have been cheaper to build your own, second Dell loads there pc's full of crap... and you can't re-use their cases. They also rig there hardware so you cant use different major components unless you buy it from them (like they wire the psu unit so that if you get a different mobo it will fry it).

 

[wkbl52]

I couldn't agree more about the full of crap part. 14gb of my hd was partitioned with Dell crap for an easier restore if it was to crash. That was pretty aggravating. I felt like I didn't get all of the HD I purchased.

 

[jnev_89]

i have a dell now, and it's a complete pos. when they build it they use the crappiest components that they can get for cheapest. the mobo they give you has a crappy bios, and on top of everything else they put so many crap programs that your hd is practically half full when you recieve it (exaggeration)

/rant

 

[wkbl52]

Lazerman
How would it be cheaper to have built the same thing on my own? I'm not doubting you, I would just like to know.

 

[crud_tud]

I just did a little toying around at Newegg and came within a hundred dollars or so of of wkbl32's dell system, and that was with some of the lowest priced options available. I don't think it's possible to beat his price when you take into account tax and/or shipping. But there's a good chance that the computer you build will be "better" than his dell because it may have some better parts inside and be easier to upgrade in the future.

Still, that dell price seems awfully competitive!

 

[southernlady]

My soon to be son in law works on repairing Dells after they are no longer under warrenty and say that his company charge more for repairing Dell's just because they are so hard to repair.

The systems are too propietory and like someone else said, you can't use just any part, you have to order from Dell which makes replacing parts more expensive.

If you want an eye-opener, go read this thread on another forum: http://forums.techguy.org/t149848.html

And then there is this post:

The SP2 download for XP has cost Dell at least one customer -- me. I ordered a Dimension 4600 and received it late Monday (9/20). 48 hours later, it was on it's way back to Dell for a refund.

I started the process of setting up the computer and transferring programs and working files from my old Win98 machine to the new Dell about 8am Tuesday. For the first couple of hours, everything went swimmingly, and I was actually impressed with the machine's performance. Dell's Web site, and the messages you (have to) listen to when you're on hold with Dell's tech support, urge you to download and apply SP2, saying that "getting the latest updates helps to solve many problems". So I downloaded and installed SP2. Seemed to install perfectly, no error messages.

Then I tried to get back on the Internet. No connection. Called Dell TS. Told them that I had no problem getting onto the Web BEFORE installing SP2. The tech rep. they told me (in his best Indian accent!) that SP2 was "untested", bad, full of problems, and I should take it off. While I was on hold for a minute or so during our discussion, I thought "...wonder what would happen if I removed IE from Windows, then added it back. I did that, and loe and behold, my Internet connection returned. Then the rep. came back on the phone. I told him that I had solved the problem, but he insisted that SP2 would cause future problems, and could slow the machine. He still wanted me to remove it. His way of removing it was to reinstall XP1a from the CD that came from the machine, so that's what I did.

MAJOR MISTAKE! After the reinstall finished, I opened Outlook Express to look at my e-mail. Have 2 identities, one for business, one personal. The business identity looked fine. Tried to switch to the personal identity. When I did, it showed the same messages that were in the business identity. Also, I could not send or receive. Viewing the accounts showed both to be BLANK (nothing in them, so no way to change anything). Called Dell back. This rep said I would have to delete the main partition (wiping out everything), reinstall XP and all the drivers from the Dell Resources CD. Started that process. When I got to the integrated video driver on the Resources CD, got an error message "32-bit self-extractor module has encountered a problem", and it would not install (retried twice after rebooting first). So there I sit with a PC running the default 640x480 resolution, no way to install the video driver to change it. At this point, I was so angry at Dell, who's Web and phone messages tell you to install SP2, but whose tech reps. tell you to avoid it, and who's easy-reinstall Resources CD doesn't work, that I packed the machine up and had UPS pick it up to go back to Dell the next day.

In a way, I'm glad it happened. I have reformatted HD's on my machines many times, reinstalled Windows and all the drivers, and never had a problem. Had I not had this problem, I would have kept the machine, and would have only discovered that the driver CD they give you wouldn't work after reformatting the drive. Needless to say, there will never be another Dell in this office.

I hate to say it but I do NOT recommend Dell's, at least from the support angle. Liz

 

[crud_tud]

That support horror story doesn't really mean a whole lot to me, because you could get unlucky with Dell Gateway or just about any high volume seller.

The stupid proprietary setups and expensive repairs though, right there is a good reason to think twice about getting a dell.

Still, that price is really really competitive. I haven't built my own computer yet (I'm about to in a week or so), so maybe I'll find out just how easy it is, but I'll go out on a limb and say that for most of middle america, it is not something that they should jump to do. I was reading some article about intel chips and installation statistics where it quoted Intel as saying there was a 1 in 20 installation failure rate with both socket 478 and socket t. Think about that. 1 in 20 people who build their computer break the cpu or the mobo during installation. Right there is good reason for a layman to think twice about doing it himself and instead opting for a massmarket PC.

 

[southernlady]

However, 19 out of 20 don't break the cpu or have problems with the mobo during installation. In those terms, is it really as bad as it seems?

And the story above is just another example of Dell's P#SSPOOR technical support to middle America, the ones who ARE buying Dells.

Did you know that they staff the customer phones which American or American born staff when you are buying a computer but the Technical support for all BUT Corporate America is still outsourced overseas and the only reason it isn't outsourced to Corporate America is that those accounts are too big. Liz

 

[Codeine]

Well, besides Dell limiting your business to them and that they only use Intels, along with installing a countlss amount of software in your pc. The way they built their computers is a nightmare.

Dell does nothing more then what we do (Built Computers). The only thing thats Dell in a computer is the monitor and case, maybe even the PSU. Its hard to say Dell or Sony or any other company that puts hardware togather from various hardware companys are dependable. I mean all computers are made the same way.

So since all computer components from any retail company (Dell) evidently will always have the same installation. It wouldent be to accurate of an assumption to try to pedict this company builts better computers then another, or yourself.

Besides the fact that Dell and vast other computer builting company's get hardware and software (dirt) cheap, builting one yourself will cost less. Thats just the ignorance of Dell, Sony ect.

Once you built it yourself, you customize everything. So in reality its better for you. OC will be alot better, and you dont have to put up with the ignorant company's limiting your upgrading.