dells

Posted by r.o.f

why are they so cheap? are they crap? or is it there mission to sell cheap computers?

Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

They can sell them cheap due to the volume they make them in and all of their exclusive contracts. For example, Dell has a contract with Intel which gives them Intels best chips for a reallly low price. Therefore, they can pass the savings onto the customer. They just have a lot of headroom, really.

And no, they aren't crap. I've had one for over two years without any problems whatsoever.

Posted by NegativeTrend

Dells are great computers and decently priced.

Posted by Raptor

I'm still using the same Dell desktop I received as a high school graduation present in late 2000. Ever since I installed a new 300 GB hard drive three months ago, it has been running like a brand new computer, and I have never had any serious problems with it.

Posted by Boner

I love my dell. My only complaint is the fact that they have some proprietary crap incorporated into their systems, which can make it hard to customize. A perfect example is the cooling system on the dimension 4600. The case fan doubles as a CPU fan. They have a green plastic piece of duct that channels air through the heatsink via the case fan. If you ever want to transfer it to another case, then be prepared to make some major physical changes to the cradle that the heatsink clips onto, so that you can attach a heatsink/fan combo on it. I did it. It was a pain in the @ss, but I got it to work. Other than that, I'm happy with my PC.

Posted by r.o.f

cool, well i saw a advertisement for a notebook.it looked a college kids dream notebooke with the desighn and the lights and everything only priced at $600 if i had a job i would but it.

Posted by Klarth

I have a Compaq notebook that was made in 2000. It runs like a piece of **** and I wish I had a Dell.

Only problem I can see with them is that they're ugly as sin and the notebooks are liable to falling apart, but whatever.

Posted by Proto Man

Quoting r.o.f: why are they so cheap? are they crap?


That would be eMachine. :p:

Anyhow Dells are pretty much the best computers that you can buy, but we all know that the best computers that you can have is the ones you build yourself ;)
Posted by Dexter

I just got a new HP. I haven't had it very long so it is difficult to say what I think of it compared to the Dell I had previously, which functioned fine with me. Anyone have a HP or have any thoughts on it? I could always bring it back and replace it with another Dell or something else entirely.

Posted by r.o.f

im all about about portible,laptops,notebooks.. I think HP function well,thats what im using right now it would be better if I didnt have windows 95 but it wont let me update to 98.everyone around me pretty much has a compaq(which i like the most)gateways p*ss me off they just got rid of the maintence and tech stores so now you have to send them in to get fixed and then you cant forget about updateing them but its a way for them to make money.anyone remember the packerd bell?

Posted by Philsdad

Quoting Opeth: I love my dell. My only complaint is the fact that they have some proprietary crap incorporated into their systems, which can make it hard to customize.


Yeah, this is about the only disadvantage I can think of, although it can be a big one if you want to upgrade certain things. A friend of mine had a Dell desktop and tried to upgrade his video card, but his power supply was too weak to handle it. He had to go out of his way to get a Dell proprietary power supply that could handle the card. But since you're looking for laptops, this won't be an issue for you. But if you ever do decide to go the desktop route, just keep that in mind if you plan on doing a lot of hardware upgrading.

Dell has a wide range of computers to choose from of course, so tell us what you're going to be using the computer for specifically, and we can help you pick a good one based on your budget, if you'd like.

Quoting r.o.f: anyone remember the packerd bell?


Yup, I had an old Packard Bell Pentium (100mhz) running Windows 3.1 way back in the day. It had an ISA soundcard/14.4 modem on one card, an 815 MB hard drive, and I think it only had 8 megs of ram. It was top of the line at the time though!
Posted by Klarth

[quote=Dexter]Anyone have a HP or have any thoughts on it?
Well, I might as well own one, considering that HP and Compaq merged - Same company administrating, it's just that HP and Compaq seem to be two different brandnames these days. The current Compaq notebooks kick *** from what I've seen of friends who own them, but I haven't seen any recent HP notebooks/desktops recently, so I can't pass judgment on them.

[quote=r.o.f]anyone remember the packerd bell?
First computer my family owned. Big beige box with 32 megs of ram, 500 mb hard drive - top-of-the-range for 1994.

Posted by Boner

Quoting Philsdad: Yeah, this is about the only disadvantage I can think of, although it can be a big one if you want to upgrade certain things. A friend of mine had a Dell desktop and tried to upgrade his video card, but his power supply was too weak to handle it. He had to go out of his way to get a Dell proprietary power supply that could handle the card. But since you're looking for laptops, this won't be an issue for you. But if you ever do decide to go the desktop route, just keep that in mind if you plan on doing a lot of hardware upgrading.



I had the exact same problem with mine. I ordered my dell with ann upgrade to an NVIDIA GeForce 5600 card. It wasn't so much that the power supply couldn't handle the load so much as it was a piece of crap power supply. They just have a short life span. I think that's the worst thing dell puts in their desktops. It even looks cheap. I replaced it with a 430W Antec power supply. It runs just fine now. I have also upgraded to an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro and this power supply is still kickin' it. I even have a TV tuner card in my system and all sorts of gay lights. It's like there's a disco in my computer.


[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v468/bc2412/PICT0109.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v468/bc2412/PICT0110.jpg[/IMG]

My dad's buddy also has a dell 4600. His is standard with no special upgrades to it and his jsut did the same thing. He thought his power button was broken, so he took it apart and twisted the two wires to the power button together thinking that would fix it. He called me up and I showed up at his house with a new power supply, put it in, and started it up. He thought I was a god, lol. F'n n00bs.
Posted by mis0

I don't think highly of Dell computers seeing as one of my duties in A+ PC Repair class was to service the schools Dell computers. They suck ***, and, they suck more ***.

I can't say my eMachines desktop is much better, but, still. The laptop I'm now using is an Averatec, and I debated getting a Dell but chose against it because it was kinda bulky.

Shop around. Buy what works. Not because it's a Dell/COMPAQ/Alienware

Posted by Trigger

I have to agree with Misoxeny on this one; plenty of times I have had to open a Dell computer to work on it. I use Dell almost every day of the week but would never plan on owning one for personal use. Despite the price of a Dell computer, it simply isn't worth the money that you do pay for it and I don't find their hardware very reliable. Not to mention that I dislike Dell's method of drivers. Of course, the other people are right in saying that the best machine one could ever have is one that they have built themselves - my machine has all custom parts in it and is my baby.

Another company to avoid buying computers from, in my opinion, are Acer - they are just as bad, and as cheap as Dell computers. If I ever were to buy a computer that had a 'brand name' placed on it, my company of choice would be Asus.