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Thread ID: 65267	2006-01-12 14:55:00	Opinions on Dell PCs	Krusty (9606)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
420502	2006-01-12 20:37:00	Oh yeah, Might as well add that when the Dell campaign started I threw together a configuration to see how close I could come to it pricewise, Its on tradef1 at the moment...	Metla (12)
420503	2006-01-12 21:18:00	It's the difference between buying a pre-fabricated house, and starting from scratch. It's hard to beat the prices of a pre-fab, since they can buy in quantity, and you know it'll meet minimum standards, but probably it's not going to be as nice when you "roll your own." If you're just doing word processing, cruising the Internet, and play games about two hours a week, a Dell will probably do you just fine. If Dell was only producing trash, they'd go out of business eventually. If you've got $100 or $200 to spend extra, any number of computer shops can help you build your own. I've had good luck with Ascent in Wellington. Currently the price differential between AMD and Intel is not much. However, as much as it pains me to say, AMD is the better choice currently for a new system. For low-end system, don't worry about dual core, or 64bit CPU's.	kingdragonfly (309)
420504	2006-01-12 21:28:00	You can still walk into a local store and buy a similar pre-built system built with quality brands, for around the same price. The bonus is that your money goes into the local economy, rather then off-shore into the pockets of a mega corperation, Repairs are handled locally, Your point of contact is local.And of course you avoid crap like the OS being stored as a recovery partition, The OS being tied into the motherboard, and having a comp full of low quality components. As I have mentioned 50 billion times before, The motherboard is the most important component, and the Motherboards in low-end dells are an unknown factor.	Metla (12)
420505	2006-01-12 22:16:00	You can still walk into a local store and buy a similar pre-built system built with quality brands, for around the same price.That's so true... just a couple of years ago I bought my first PC components and assembled it myself... for about nine hundred bucks sans monitor - it was pretty close to top-end at the time, and the dealer would have assembled it for just fifty bucks more if I wanted. This at a time to get a pre-built system for almost a thousand more. The bonus is that your money goes into the local economy, rather then off-shore into the pockets of a mega corperation, Repairs are handled locally, Your point of contact is local.And of course you avoid crap like the OS being stored as a recovery partition, The OS being tied into the motherboard, and having a comp full of low quality components. That small "bonus" point is an excellent comment. As I have mentioned 50 billion times before, The motherboard is the most important componentWish I knew exactly why that is? I've since put together 3 systems, 2 with ASUS mobo's and one with Gigabyte, but in future I'll stick with ASUS simply because the manuals' English is so much better.	Greg (193)
420506	2006-01-12 22:22:00	To get back to the original questions I've got the 17in Ultrasharp and it's excellent, the 19in model wasn't available at the time I bought my Dell (two years ago) The wireless keyboard and mouse have been good and are light on battery use The support on queries has been very good and prompt with English no problem! Unable to comment on quality of components but mine has been totally trouble free. I'm sure you could probably do better buying from a local builder, but how many have subsequently shut up shop and disappeared without trace?	bonzo29 (2348)
420507	2006-01-12 22:36:00	You can still walk into a local store and buy a similar pre-built system built with quality brands, for around the same price. Unless you live in a small town like Invercargill the Dell site looks NASTY in firefox. the writing is on top of the picture instead of below it.	Greven (91)
420508	2006-01-13 00:31:00	Many thanks to all of you who have provided thoughtful and useful input so far. You know who you are. Keep it coming. For Metla - I have respect for those at the sharp end who deal with things when they go wrong, and certainly value their input. It obviously hasn't occurred to you that there could be some valid reasons for not specifically seeking the opinion of that group:- People get their cars routinely serviced by mechanics, as well as fixed when things go wrong. Not sure how many people take their computer along to a PC repair shop for service just because it has been 6 or 12 months since the last service. This suggests to me that you only get to see the bad side, hardly a valid sample. As stated, I am looking for recent experiences; I may be wrong, but I suspect that issues arising in the first year, at least, are addressed by Dell themselves. Also as stated I am particularly interested in the overall experience. I can take a punt on the reliability of internal hardware at my risk, but if the parts me and my family see, hear and touch are "nasty" rather than faulty, as such, the experience will be diminished. Nevertheless, there are some in that group who have offered their opinion without the need for venom, for which I thank them.	Krusty (9606)
420509	2006-01-13 00:47:00	Your right, You should dismiss my input . Very astute . My life in the thick of it makes it invalid . And your assumptions on what I work on and my experience are amazing . Couldn't be more wrong but there ya have it . I don't laugh when people bring in their brand new comps because they can't get any joy from tech support, or when people are just a tad upset because their brand new comp goes worse then the one it replaced . But then according to you they don't ever come see me . Anyhow, Enjoy the Dell, along with its benifits . If you discover what they are then please let me know .	Metla (12)
420510	2006-01-13 00:49:00	I purchased a projector from Dell, not exactly a PC, but still a $2K purchase. The projector itself has run fine. It lacks some of the polish of other projectors in mount points and the projectors internal software. But it does it's basic job well. I can't havn't had to ring the tech support, but I did have to ring their sales support after their website threw a berk while I was ordering it. While their english was OK, it was... interesting, and if I had a technical problem I dread to think how it would have gone. The only other dell I have had to deal with is a laptop owned by a friend.. and I have to say it has been less than reliable. 12 months old, 2 months in dell's care. And going back for month 3 any second now. -Qyiet	qyiet (6730)
420511	2006-01-13 00:53:00	The majoritiy of users are casual users and Dell is perfect for that . They have a good respected brand and it can be cheap with good warranty . Or upgraded if it wishes too, I think the warranty is onsite isn't it by a 3rd party on contract? There are good stores around and they may not be much more . But on some other models Dell maybe considerably more, so its give/take . To the avg person before I saw Press F1 forums is that if you go into a store, don't be surprised if one closes down or if you take some stuff back they refuse to acknowledge that you bought it from them . That avg person, with my own personal experience is that it is not uncommon to be stung by a retailer . A good price, does the job and good warranty that pple generally trust v well . To most pple thats a seller . To some pple they may pay a bit more for a Dell system just because they can be assured and most pple are not that technical minded . They don't need the most fancy parts or a OS on its own CD . As long as windows can be put back onto the HD and the comptuer turns on and it does the job .	Nomad (952)
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