Dell computers?
03-21-2006, 04:10 PM
#12
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 115
Depends on what you plan on using your computer for.
Of course Dell doesn't use top of line individual parts in their towers, but most companies known to The Source, Futureshop etc (compag, dell, ibm, gateway...etc) don't use "performance parts/components"
Look at it like a car, if you just want to drive it like 90% of the population and listen to your music in it, then go ahead and get it. If you want to race it every night then think about building your own... its that simple.
Of course Dell doesn't use top of line individual parts in their towers, but most companies known to The Source, Futureshop etc (compag, dell, ibm, gateway...etc) don't use "performance parts/components"
Look at it like a car, if you just want to drive it like 90% of the population and listen to your music in it, then go ahead and get it. If you want to race it every night then think about building your own... its that simple.
03-21-2006, 04:31 PM
#13
Originally Posted by flipconvict
Depends on what you plan on using your computer for.
Of course Dell doesn't use top of line individual parts in their towers, but most companies known to The Source, Futureshop etc (compag, dell, ibm, gateway...etc) don't use "performance parts/components"
Look at it like a car, if you just want to drive it like 90% of the population and listen to your music in it, then go ahead and get it. If you want to race it every night then think about building your own... its that simple.
Of course Dell doesn't use top of line individual parts in their towers, but most companies known to The Source, Futureshop etc (compag, dell, ibm, gateway...etc) don't use "performance parts/components"
Look at it like a car, if you just want to drive it like 90% of the population and listen to your music in it, then go ahead and get it. If you want to race it every night then think about building your own... its that simple.
Mark
03-21-2006, 05:47 PM
#14
my opinion may be partially biased as i've worked for them...and still do for the next little while, as well as had a couple go thru the family (note for a desktop PC, i choose to build my own as i have the time and (i like to think) the knowledge to break it, troubleshoot it and replace parts at my own cost (if not manufacturer warranty) when they break. Plus i like the overclocking, makes me feel special.
If you're planning to buy systems and don't want to build you own, you can't really go wrong if you're comparing them to HP or Compaq or whatever. They make pretty solid PC's overall, and the warranties are pretty decent (just make sure you buy it...especially for a notebook).
All in all, they do have some ups and some downs. Some of hte support is done outta hyderbad india (same as a lot of companies), but if you're in canada, we've got a call center in edmonton and one opening in Toronto, so depending on what you're calling in about you don't have to talk to the "indian" folks as much as you'll see complained about. Beware, they're also hiring another 10,000 folks over in india, just who knows if they're supporting canadian customers, us customers or both.
Parts for the most part are fairly standard. There is the high and low end of every kind of part, dell is middle of the line i'd say (memory is the most obvious component i can think of). I wasn't aware they used different processors than standard, but i suppose that is plausible.
Upgrading is pretty simple and straight forward depending on the PC you buy. If you're planning to keep a computer and upgrade as you go, you've gotta buy something that is upgradable. If you buy the cheapest computer available, it'll be the cheapest parts and it won't give you those extra fancy options (ie extra sata controllers, or pci slots, or sometimes even an agp slot).
If you buy mid to high end and actually do some research ahead of time, you can easily look for the things that you may want to upgrade in the future (namely: memory, harddrives, expansion cards) and make sure that there are options. For example, older 2400's and 3000's, both budget comptuers for the most aprt. No extra pci slots (maybe 2 total, no agp slot, no sata controllers, nothing extra other than what you're buying now. If you buy a computer every year anyways that may work. If you alternatively plan to keep it for a while and upgrade your video card when the latest greatest thing comes out, make sure you buy a 5100 or higher and and that you have that PCI express slot, both sata and ide controllers, extra pci expansion slots etc etc. So research what you want before you buy it, know what your getting into, then you won't have to be the person that complains afterwards.
As far as Overclocking , obviously they don't offer this in their BIOS as the majority of people would screw this up and wreck their computers in one way or another causing me more of my time and stressing me out as some people just shouldn't be allowed to mess with things like that lol. For you others, thats the reason you built your own system.
In conclusion, if you research it your buy (as wiht any product) i think you can buy a good product. Choosing between dell or hp for the most part comes down to service and warranty (assuming you find a product that meets your needs for your price). The warranty is definitely there from what i've seen and done for people. The service is pretty decent within canada i think. Other countries may be a different story, but i've never dealt with dell elseware but canada, so i won't comment.
Bottom line, they're a decent company, just be knowledgeable with your purchase and what your warranty does and doesn't cover and you'll be fine.
If you're planning to buy systems and don't want to build you own, you can't really go wrong if you're comparing them to HP or Compaq or whatever. They make pretty solid PC's overall, and the warranties are pretty decent (just make sure you buy it...especially for a notebook).
All in all, they do have some ups and some downs. Some of hte support is done outta hyderbad india (same as a lot of companies), but if you're in canada, we've got a call center in edmonton and one opening in Toronto, so depending on what you're calling in about you don't have to talk to the "indian" folks as much as you'll see complained about. Beware, they're also hiring another 10,000 folks over in india, just who knows if they're supporting canadian customers, us customers or both.
Parts for the most part are fairly standard. There is the high and low end of every kind of part, dell is middle of the line i'd say (memory is the most obvious component i can think of). I wasn't aware they used different processors than standard, but i suppose that is plausible.
Upgrading is pretty simple and straight forward depending on the PC you buy. If you're planning to keep a computer and upgrade as you go, you've gotta buy something that is upgradable. If you buy the cheapest computer available, it'll be the cheapest parts and it won't give you those extra fancy options (ie extra sata controllers, or pci slots, or sometimes even an agp slot).
If you buy mid to high end and actually do some research ahead of time, you can easily look for the things that you may want to upgrade in the future (namely: memory, harddrives, expansion cards) and make sure that there are options. For example, older 2400's and 3000's, both budget comptuers for the most aprt. No extra pci slots (maybe 2 total, no agp slot, no sata controllers, nothing extra other than what you're buying now. If you buy a computer every year anyways that may work. If you alternatively plan to keep it for a while and upgrade your video card when the latest greatest thing comes out, make sure you buy a 5100 or higher and and that you have that PCI express slot, both sata and ide controllers, extra pci expansion slots etc etc. So research what you want before you buy it, know what your getting into, then you won't have to be the person that complains afterwards.
As far as Overclocking , obviously they don't offer this in their BIOS as the majority of people would screw this up and wreck their computers in one way or another causing me more of my time and stressing me out as some people just shouldn't be allowed to mess with things like that lol. For you others, thats the reason you built your own system.
In conclusion, if you research it your buy (as wiht any product) i think you can buy a good product. Choosing between dell or hp for the most part comes down to service and warranty (assuming you find a product that meets your needs for your price). The warranty is definitely there from what i've seen and done for people. The service is pretty decent within canada i think. Other countries may be a different story, but i've never dealt with dell elseware but canada, so i won't comment.
Bottom line, they're a decent company, just be knowledgeable with your purchase and what your warranty does and doesn't cover and you'll be fine.
03-21-2006, 06:29 PM
#15
Thanks for the feedback guys, I am not interested in building anything myself, when Dell have a Dimension 3100 that has a P4 521 2.80ghz processor, Windows XP, 512DDR Ram, 80gb HD, 17" flat panel, DVD burner, and printer for $649, sounds like a decent deal to me.
03-21-2006, 07:01 PM
#16
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 98
ever experience i have had with a dell computer licks dink. sure there service is great..till your warranty runs out. any other computer shop will kill you for bringing them a dell, i personally hate dealing with a dell computer. there parts are cheap..and they come with pre-loaded crap programs. i myself suggest just building your own..soooo much cheaper for what you get.
03-21-2006, 07:07 PM
#17
2000 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,142
Originally Posted by TD_Pėnut
ever experience i have had with a dell computer licks dink. sure there service is great..till your warranty runs out. any other computer shop will kill you for bringing them a dell, i personally hate dealing with a dell computer. there parts are cheap..and they come with pre-loaded crap programs. i myself suggest just building your own..soooo much cheaper for what you get.
03-21-2006, 07:09 PM
#18
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 98
i have been repairing computers for people for coming into like..8 years now , and i finally stopped doing dells, at first i'd give it a whirl..but they are just useless. building your own is so cheap, and easy..plus you get to spend the money where you want..since you don't need a 200 g harddrive like most futureshop comps come with..you can spend it on more ram, or vid card. dells are the demons of the computer world.
03-21-2006, 10:33 PM
#20
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 98
haha if they said "you kicked my dog" i would laugh my butt off, but alas they don't, they are evil. but ya ..if you buy one and re-format..your good for go, the newer ones are nice for reformatting, since the drivers are common, the older ones were a pain in the butt.
