Does anyone here own a Dell?

I'm looking for an inexpensive computer for UW Stevens Point. I only have enough for a very inexpensive computer. Are they any good?

has been called an anti-technology company. Give Apple or little companies a chance at the business, An Apple eMac has a 17' flat screen and is only $799, I've seen them as cheap as $699 at CompUSA. And these are real prices, Dell has very complicated and even deceptive marketing on their webpage with this rebate and that rebate, this option and that. Dell, Gateway and HP make car salemen seem direct.

Unreliable junk, always breaks down every other week. You call their help lines, they're in India, they dispatch 3rd party contracted out service that brings the wrong part.

They are so unreliable, I bought an Apple Powerbook out of my own pocket and use it at work instead, and I have a Mac at home. No problems. Always reliable and they work, unlike Dell Hell!

I'd avoid them because of their crap service.

You can homebuild a better PC for the same amount of money IMHO. And even Dell won't tell you that.

I have been in the consulting business for 6 years and I can tell you first hand that service sucks all over. Really it is more like hit-and-miss but ALL computer manufacturers have their problems.

On a whole though Dell computers are more reliable than most and in this particular case makes their so-so service moot.

Yes, they are a big Republican company but so is every other computer manufacturer.

Check out consumer reports for the last 10 years.

But we are talking about computers that people actually use.



LOL

Just kidding.

See my other post.

It really goes against their 2000 election cycle, in which they contributed (quite extensively) exclusively to the Democrats.

:D

oops, dupe

Wow, at first, I didn't believe you - but OpenSecrets really did shock me.

Apple's statistics are interesting. In 2000, they donated $60,000 exclusively to Democrats. In 2002, however, Apple donated over $41,000 to Republicans. That's 73% of their total donations for the 2002 election cycle.

are large corporations. Of course they are going to donate to the Republicans, in some cases they donate to both parties but usually more to the Republicans.

Our government is for sale to the highest bidder. Don't be suprised to see them donating to parties. There is nothing we can do about it right now.

That being said...in my experience Dell is more reliable than any other computer manufacturer around. I have to hold my nose when I tell my clients to buy their computers. In the end though I want my clients to be happy with their computer and a happy client keeps me coming back and then I make money and donate it to the Democrats.

thatll surely make them happy.

will never get another penny of my money and I'll sell my Dell stock Monday. All this even though I could not build even a matchbox, much less a computer. Donald D. has been added to my so-called enemies-list as is every neoconic company I can identify.

On a whole though I have to say that Dell is more reliable than HP. If you can, stay away from purchasing the consumer branded PCs. Stay with a business model like the Dimension or Optiplex. Dell also has a program where you can buy refurbished PCs at a lower price.

If you ever have the money get one of these.


http://www.go-l.com/desktops/index.htm

old. The thing is bulletproof, and while it's slow compared to today's standards, it's still perfectly capable for one dude and a laptop :hi:

Btw, I now with along side the Laptop support people at my college, we do a loaner program. Last year we offered both Dells and Gateways, and the cowboxes *Gateways* broke about 10 times more frequently than the Dells.

Someone will jump your shit about Dell being Republicans. Ignore them, buy what you want.

He was an avid Dell buyer but he has had problems with them recently.

One of his Notebooks cost him over $4,000.00 dollars and he took out an expensive insurance replacement plan on it. It broke several months after he bought it and they replaced it with another used computer and it broke down. He is still having problems with the one that they gave him as a replacement.

Another bad thing about Dell is their customer service is in India and it takes time to get help when your computer breaks down.

I have to disagree with others who've said that the service sucks - I've had a good experience every time I've dealt with their tech support. Fortunately, that hasn't been too often.

I'm actually writing this post on a Dell Latitude D800.

If you're looking for a really cheap desktop and don't need support, though, you may want to consider getting one custom-built.

Also, check with your school to find out if they offer any special deals with retailers.

I know UWSP has a deal with Gateway.

Thats a good deal and they will stand behind their warranty.

Then I stopped screwin around with mush-brained retail "experts". I called the 800 # and ordered my 1st Dell. I now have 2 that just keep on performing fine. Had one hiccup with the 1st one, but after my 11 year old got off a free tech help call, all was well..... On edit: Imho, HP is to be avoided @ all costs.

fantastic. I have very high regard for the company and their computers.

and have had no problems whatsoever with it . . . my previous was a Gateway, and I was always on the phone with their service folks . . . have yet to call Dell . . . I bought a refurbished machine at a great price, so I had to take what came with it . . . the operating system is, unfortunately, WindowsME, but in my experience it's not as bad as its reputation . . . by doing regular preventive maintenance (ScanDisk, Defrag, spyware checks, etc.), subscribing to Norton Anti-virus, and adding a few enhancements along the way, I've managed to keep it running smoothly thusfar (knock on wood) . . . the machine itself is a workhorse, and I've been very happy with it . . .

that I bought from a third party. I'm very happy with it. I agree about the clones though. If you have someone who can build one for you, you won't necessarily save money, but you'll have better quality parts going in and you'll spend your money on what you want to spend it on. Don't need a mammoth video card? Why pay for one? Don't want to burn DVD's? Why pay for that burner you'll never use. With a custom you'll have the software you want and not the crap software you don't want.

Also, with a custom built clone you can pick out a way cool case instead of the same old black or greige box.

Here's a place that builds barebones computers:

http://www.directron.com/barebone.html

But if you go with a name brand, Dell's are better than HP's, IMO.

Something to do with video editing.....

edit:

Similiar to (better than) USB 2.0

What is it, some sorta network thing?

IEEE 1394 Last modified: Thursday, February 06, 2003

A very fast external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of up to 400Mbps (in 1394a) and 800Mbps (in 1394b). Products supporting the 1394 standard go under different names, depending on the company. Apple, which originally developed the technology, uses the trademarked name FireWire. Other companies use other names, such as i.link and Lynx, to describe their 1394 products.
A single 1394 port can be used to connect up 63 external devices. In addition to its high speed, 1394 also supports isochronous data -- delivering data at a guaranteed rate. This makes it ideal for devices that need to transfer high levels of data in real-time, such as video devices.

Although extremely fast and flexible, 1394 is also expensive. Like USB, 1394 supports both Plug-and-Play and hot plugging, and also provides power to peripheral devices.

http://webopedia.com/TERM/I/IEEE_1394.html

stuff, as in printers, hard drives, audio/video devices, disk drives and what not

Known as Fire Wire, IEEE 1394.

other ways to connect are USB 1.0, 2.0, Serial, and Parallel.

edit: Im assuming your asking about the $50 adapter you can get included with dell laptops/desktops, what IT does is give you FireWire ports, to plug in firewire periphrials (stuff). You wont need it unless you have firewire stuff, or plan to transfer alot of data to and from a digital camera/camcorder, hard drive, or high speed CD/DVR+-RW

I bought way back when, only had one moderate glitch (boot corruption), telephone service helped me fix within couple hours. Otherwise no major problems, other than that its not too slow for my needs, and I got another DEll on the way :).

Consider that I treat this computer like a drill sargent, Its on pretty much 23.9 hours out of the day. When Im not working it to death with multiple programs and whatnot (4-8 hours a day), I leave it to automated tasks, and I use tasks with plural for a reason.


edit: About the Dell CO. being a heavily Right winged company... Well, seems to be a trend in just about every computer company, and, its surely better than IBM's reputation (Germany 1940's)

Dell's - IBM's - Micron's - HP - NEC - and others.

I have never had any problems with any of the Dell computers.

One of my clients has 75 Dell PCs on their LAN. I can't remember the last time I had to repair one of them. It literally has been years. This is a company that manufactures industrial strength insulation. It gets very hot and very dusty in the plant and those Dells just keep going.

The company I work for is a HP reseller and I have had my ass chewed on more than one occasion for getting my clients to buy Dell over HP.

May I suggest a slight change? HPs are the M-16A1s and Dells are the M-16A2s.


The M-16A1 was a nice weapon but the A2 kicked its ass.

And Ive never had a high opinion of the M-16 A1 or A2.

that M-16A2 is one of my favorite weapons. I consistently shot 40/40 on the range with it.

Now the SAW...that is a piece of crap...

I've been buying Dells since I bought my first. I don't know how service is because I've never had any problems at all -- never called a helpline or anything. But then again, I don't do much with my computer. Internet, photos, word processing.

Pity they're a repub company. Didn't know that.

But they are best if youre buying in bulk, and/or don't need much service help. Being a large company, the product is pretty decent though. If youre buying a desktop, I would say dell is a decent choice, but if its a laptop, go with a Gateway or some other brand.

:wtf:

They were super cheapo with their components, it bit them (and us the users) in the ass.

And not-so-great ones with Dell versions. But hey, to each his own.

We bought two Dells about 4 years ago for work. My Administrative Assistant's machine kept failing. It ran extremely slowly. Mine ran well for the first 2 and 1/2 years. I nursed it along for another year but I was ready to throw it out the window many times. I finally replaced it. I won't buy another Dell.

We replaced them with a custom built one from a local shop. I love these machines. I've never had a better computer and these don't have all the junk that the big companies install. I just have drivers for what I actually use in my machine. I don't all the other junk. These machines were much cheaper than a comparable machine from a big company. Plus, the folks are pleasant and will answer my questions.

Mac's come loaded with the iLife suite of software.

;)

I don't know how compaq managed a competitive market share for so long, but they are really worthless for the most part. Again - personal experience.

for this Dell.

Subtotal $769.00
Tax: $60.57
Total $829.57
$200.00 Rebate

Total $629.57

Dimension 8300 Series,Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 2.8GHz with HT Technology
256MB DDR at 400MHZ
Dell Quiet Key Keyboard
Video ready option w/o monitor
128MB DDR NVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics card
80GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA Hard Drive
3.5in Floppy Drive
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition,Service Pack 1,English
Dell Application Back-up CD, Factory Install
Dell 2-button Scroll Mouse EA 0.00 0.00
Intel Pro 100M Integrated PCI NIC Card
48X Max Variable CD-ROM Drive
Integrated Audio - SoundMax 6 Speaker sound card
MCAFEE 90 DAY TRIAL,FACTORY INSTALLED
MusicMatch 7.1x Basic
Dell Picture Studio Image Expert Standard,Dimension
Dell Picture Studio Paint Shop Pro Try and Buy,Dimension
EARTHLINK TA2003 ISP
Real Network RealOne Player Basic,Version 6,US English
Word Perfect Productivity Pack
Money 2004 Standard Version for Dimension
Microsoft Enclyclopedia,2004 for Dimension

---------------------------------------------------------------------
This Is the Dell today
Dell Dimension 8300 - Win XP Pro SP 1 - P4 HT Technology 2.8 GHZ with 800MHz system bus - 1.25 MB Crucial PC2700 Non-ECC DDR - (Master Harddrive) Western Digital Caviar 80GB 7200 8MB Buffer - (Slave Harddrive) Western Digital Caviar 200GB 7200 8MB Buffer - Logitech Cordless Mx Duo - Logitech QuickCam Pro 3000 - Plextor 8X DVD-RW +RW DVD Recorder - LiteOn 16x/48x DVD-ROM/CD-ROM - 128MB NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 - Winfast Deluxe TV2000XP TV/FM Multimedia Card - SoundMax 6 Speaker sound card - Logitech Z-640 6 Speaker Surround Sound System - 20' Hitachi Monitor 800X600 @ 120hz - Surfboard 4200 Cable Modem - NetGear 4-port Router


I have about one thousand dollars Invested Into It.

I've never owned a Dell or Gateway because of the crappy customer service others have told me about--and that's what it comes down to: Customer service. The build quality is probably about the same for all of them, the postsale support is the proof in the pudding. On the few occassions I had problems with any of the 3 Microns I've had, phone hold time was minimal and the tech stuck with me until the problem was solved.

If you're buying for the University, check to see if they have educational/gvt vendor contracts with anybody.

workin fine for me...

-LK

This one is 18 months old and going great.

I passed its predecessor on to my son after 5 years of 100% problem free use, and it's still doing great at 7 years old.

My other son bought an HP which had constant problems for 18 months. He replaced it with a Dell, which is clicking along just fine.

My mother has an old Gateway; it has had problems since the day it was installed.

My two computers prior to the Dells, an IBM and an AST, were both pieces of *.

If I knew how to build and maintain my own computer, I would. Since I don't, I'll stick with my Dell.

n/t

This company and its owner are massive donors to the GOP. Do not buy Dell! Please.

Although it shipped with a bad hard drive, they replaced that within two days. I've upgraded it several times in the last five years (new and bigger hard drives, new CD-ROM, added memory, DVD burner) and it's always gone flawlessly.

I know Michael Dell is a fascist bastard, but a good computer is a good computer. I'll probably get another Dell when this one becomes too old for my purposes.