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Thread ID: 75965 2007-01-16 06:34:00 Dell PC astounder (7314) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
516413 2007-01-16 09:10:00 Had a nosy inside and it looks fine. No sign of crappy construction or components.

Excellent, Glad to hear they have lifted their game.

Can you please advise make and model of Motherboard, Optical drive, ram, and confirm that video card is running at the clockspeed of the retail item. Can you also please advise of the rating of the PSU and the number of plugs and if it is using standard mounting for when it needs replacement. Can you please advise the number and placement of case fans and if the CPU is as per the retail item or a cheaper unit.

I presume everything is covered by a full warrenty comparable with what you can get locally including zero pixel replacement on that LCD?, Oh yeah, whats that LCD?, 4ms?, 6ms?......20ms?

Any chance the Motherboard has any options for future upgrades?, Do they give you full configuration options in the bios or is it restricted to changing the time,date and boot order?
Metla (12)
516414 2007-01-16 09:14:00 Actually, Don't bother answering my questions, Dell are what they have always been.

Perfectly fine if you have low expectations. I personally wouldn't recommend anyone purchase one, You can do much better with very little extra effort and there is no need to go right to the other end of the spectrum and build your own.

Still, Thats just my take on the subject, Plenty of happy Dell owners out there who simply don't know any better.
Metla (12)
516415 2007-01-16 09:21:00 I think the poster did mention their low expectations Metla :) winmacguy (3367)
516416 2007-01-16 09:28:00 Just checking dse.co.nz and it would seem that most of the manufacturers - Acer, Asus and Compaq have got systems available for around the $1,000 mark winmacguy (3367)
516417 2007-01-16 22:03:00 Just checking dse.co.nz and it would seem that most of the manufacturers - Acer, Compaq have got systems available for around the $1,000 mark

And they are all as Metla said. Low quality parts, 1 year warranty as opposed to full manufacturers warranty.
BIOS crippled. No upgrade options - like a graphics card slot for instance.
Sad PSUs. And so on.

There are shops that can build to a similar price if not exactly that price, using decent, quality, reliable, fully warrantied parts.
And then if there is a problem its easy enough to go back, rather than endless pain with overseas call centres, 3rd party dodgy repair shops etc.

An example: Lady got an Acer via insurance after an accident with her previous well built PC. 6 months later the crap ECS board failed. She had to send it to Ch/Ch. 3 weeks later she gets it back and then the DVD doesn't work.
It then had another problem 4 weeks after that at which point she told me if it was hardware again, I was to go ahead and repair it with decnet parts and she didn't care about her 1 year warranty anymore.

They're cheap because they use cheap nasty parts, and as low end specs as they can and don't deal with the customer direct.
All those corporations sell labels, not PCs.

This is why we techs don't like them.
pctek (84)
516418 2007-01-16 22:17:00 I guess there is reasonable quality, reasonable price and there is "cheap and nasty". winmacguy (3367)
516419 2007-01-16 23:48:00 Still, ...................... Plenty of happy Dell owners out there who simply don't know any better.

That's good, I like that :lol:

Puts me in mind of a remark I saw on the telly the other day about the millions of visitors who go to Las Vegas each year, who have a great time only because they're mathematically challenged. :nerd:
brig (1359)
516420 2007-01-16 23:54:00 LOL, I heard the same remark ;)

Dell and HP are currently jostling for first place for the world's biggest PC manufacturer. 3rd place is currently Apple followed by Gateway I think (US Stats- not NZ)
winmacguy (3367)
516421 2007-01-17 01:32:00 Hey, I am looking at this deal myself for a replacement for the boss at home. If you buy before 18th, the 19" lcd is upgraded to 20", for another $113 bucks, you can upgrade to the 22" Wide screen LCD.....

I'm twisting the bosses arm right now as he cant use a LCD bigger than 17" on his desk.....I want to swap him.....LOL
SolMiester (139)
516422 2007-01-17 01:35:00 I use a 19" CRT at home and a 20" studio flatsceen or what ever work supplies. I will hopefully be upgrading to a 20" or 24" for my next machine though. winmacguy (3367)
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