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Thread ID: 35423	2003-07-12 11:28:00	Dell brand pc's	Garibaldi (3838)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
159143	2003-07-14 12:18:00	i have had a report of a dell pc that chewed through 3 hardrives all of which where replaced under warranty and the tech actually drove the 3 hour round trip to install it (unlike most courior it back to us repairs most companies do). >Any built to order or DIY PCs had poor reliability in comparison probably based on the choices of components used long term. Major manufacturers usually get it right more often. strangly enough i would have to agree. having said that most of the custom built ones i have seen have been budget built jobs. major companies eg dell, compac do put a lot of work into R&D on a pc. after haveing to repair 10000 pc's due to a design fault is very expensive.	tweak'e (174)
159144	2003-07-14 12:22:00	i have had a report of a dell pc that chewed through 3 hardrives all of which where replaced under warranty and the tech actually drove the 3 hour round trip to install it (unlike most courior it back to us repairs most companies do). >Any built to order or DIY PCs had poor reliability in comparison probably based on the choices of components used long term. Major manufacturers usually get it right more often. strangly enough i would have to agree. having said that most of the custom built ones i have seen have been budget built jobs. major companies eg dell, compac do put a lot of work into R&D on a pc. after haveing to repair 10000 pc's due to a design fault is very expensive.	tweak'e (174)
159145	2003-07-14 23:07:00	XXX use both Compaq and Dell computers . The Dell computers are mainly used in USA and Europe, whereas the Compaq branded PCs are predominantly NZ . The Dell PCs have (in the past) proved to be just as bad as from any other supplier . However the Compaq PCs have been quite reliable, and we haven’t seen the failures detailed below, in the quantity mentioned . Although our IS department would have the figures, I’m sure that they would not use PCs that were unreliable, and it’s possible (as the details suggest) that because the order was large, then the supply came from the same batch, and may have had some manufacturing or installation problems . I’m sure that no matter who you speak to, some will give you good stories, and other will give you bad . At one point, the old adage used to be “well, no-one ever got fired for buying IBM” !! Cheers,so thats from me pal . I am from Derbyshire hence the funny spelling;)	Thomas (1820)
159146	2003-07-15 09:28:00	" Any built to order or DIY PCs had poor reliability in comparison probably based on the choices of components used long term. Major manufacturers usually get it right more often. " Built to order possibly depending on the firm. DIY is rather dependent on how you build it and the quality of components used. Decent quality components ensure that a DIY job will prove to be more reliable, flexible, powerful, upgradable and fiscally superior to any brand system. With brand systems you have a bureaucratic system that ensures the lowest quoted price parts are sourced and fitted to keep costs down and maximize profit margins (compaq/HP for example) and propriatry issues with some parts such as motherboards and power supplies ensure that you must source parts from the company concerned at exorbitant prices. Case in point Of fourteen compaq 4020s purchased in 2000, nine still function. Three died from from mobo failures and two from undetermined causes. The rest have had the following problems: 10 out 14 needed replacement floppy drives 3 out 14 needed new hardrives 5 out of 14 needed new cd players 3 out of 14 needed new p/supply 7 out of 14 keyboards replaced onboard sound failed in 3 out of 14 requiring sound card installation Compaq replacement spare parts prices= ludicrous They are in short, a dog of a computer. When they get it wrong they really get it wrong. Having said that and to be fair we also have 5 older compaq deskpros( P2 vintage) and they are bulletproof. Haven't had to touch them on hardware issues in 4 years. :-) Hope I do not find a horse head in my bed in the morning.	the highlander (245)
159147	2003-07-15 10:46:00	>Hope I do not find a horse head in my bed in the morning. I am sure the horse does to;)	Thomas (1820)
159148	2003-07-15 11:34:00	I wonder how much the reliability of brand name office computers are effected by the users not owning or caring for them to the same extent that they would if they did own them, phew . On the other hand, the first few PC's I built, were put together with second hand, scavenged or re-used (mine) parts and for the most part performed like shite . The latest home built has been put together using quality new parts and known reliable bits from other machines I have (the previous shite) . the result is rock solid stable hardware, despite the user :D cost = $950- excluding monitor, keyboard and mouse but including win2k pro and office 97 oem and afew other bits and pieces . If I was buying for somebody elses business I would probably go name brand for the support, not that I would ever be in that position . Cheers Murray P	Murray P (44)
159149	2003-07-15 11:36:00	The economic situation now means that a tin of Jellimeat is the closest I can get to bits of dead horse ... sorry. The point you raise Highlander, was also covered by a post above, when a batch/model has a problem, its a real problem if you have a lot of them. Many commercial organisations run a service contract, but the down time still costs. Suffice to say I know of no large organisations that use DIY PC's as these are difficult to outsource for support, and can end up as an expenive asset.	godfather (25)
159150	2003-07-15 21:40:00	So Highlander if you find a tin of Jellimeat in your bed,the economy being what is,you will what it means and whence it came,be warned;) One can understand companies who buy say 300 compus going to the likes of Dell,but I would have thought they could go to a top maker in there city,specify exactly what they want for there replacement units,say 30 a year,any probs and the techs can get on there bikes and solve. Or maybe that is to easy.	Thomas (1820)
159151	2003-07-15 23:08:00	> One can understand companies who buy say 300 compus > going to the likes of Dell,but I would have thought > they could go to a top maker in there city,specify > exactly what they want for there replacement > units,say 30 a year,any probs and the techs can get > on there bikes and solve . > Or maybe that is to easy . Too easy . You have just introduced a second tier IT support contract now, with all the finger pointing that will go on between equipment suppliers . It imperitive that a single responsibility exist, and unless the local supplier also has the service contract for the entire site (not usual) it never works . Cost savings pall into insignificance when support is failing due to these matters . Major IT support companies are unwilling to assume the role of supporting something they have no handle on the quality control of, and do not stock replacements for .	godfather (25)
159152	2003-07-15 23:17:00	On the surface I thought my idea was good,but I bow to actual experience.	Thomas (1820)
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