>
>
> Hi
>
> we're trying to decide what kind of new computer to get. Looking at
> Dell stuff. Anybody here have a Dell? Good or bad experience?
>
>

> PeeVee_Hermann wrote:
>>
>> Hi
>>
>> we're trying to decide what kind of new computer to get. Looking at
>> Dell stuff. Anybody here have a Dell? Good or bad experience?
>
> Here is an entertaining anecdote about one man's struggle with Dell:
>
> http://www.brokennewz.com/displaystory.asp_Q_storyid_E_1130mbcone
>
> I wouldn't really base my actions on that story, however.  As entertaining
> as it is, there's not way to tell if it's representative of the average
> user's experience.
>
> I've purchased a number of Gateway systems because they give me the right
> answers to a number of questions:
>
> 1) Will the PC case take standard parts, or do you have some sort of
> freaky proprietary parts that I will have to use.
>
> You see this less often now, but at one time it was popular to have
> "stylin'" cases that need special parts to work.  For instance, I have a
> sony VAIO that uses a special floppy drive without a face plate, because
> that part is molded into the case.  When replacing it, I managed to
> retrofit a regular $10 floppy drive instead of shelling out $25 for one to
> make it look cosmetically perfect.
>
> In a recent exchange with an HP Pavilion user, I noticed that their cases
> have eject buttons mounted, on the case, for the optical drive bays.
> Although it turns out that many standard drives will likely work, you have
> to be careful to get the right one.
>
> 2) Does the system restore allow me to just reinstall the OS, without all
> of the extra promotional software (read: crap) that the manufacturer has
> seen fit to include with your system.
>
> Gateway systems, thusfar, have come with bona fide *Windows* installers,
> with application and driver installation done seperately.  Perhaps Dell
> has come around since I last checked, but if they are still distributing a
> one-shot system restore, that would qualify as a deal breaker for me. I
> noticed that a fairly recent HP machine I've seen still uses the
> all-in-one restore.
>
> A related piece of advice: Do a system restore as soon as you get the PC
> and drop all of the trial crapware.  Install software as you need it to
> run an efficient system.  Also, you might find some relief in this regard
> by purchasing a small business computer, instead of a home user system.
>
> 3) Can I call for technical support after my warranty expires, for a
> per-incident fee?
>
> Sony gets major kudos in this regard because they took my calls years
> later for only $30.  I can also attest they they seem to have a relatively
> low f*ckwit ratio.  Frontline techs generally were able to ascertain that
> I had done my homework, and moved me on to a more experienced engineer.
>
> Gateway's phone support has been decent.  My experiences with Dell and HP
> have been poorer, but characterized by much fewer interactions, so perhaps
> it just back luck for them (and me) that I got the idiots.
>
> 4) Ask if you can be give access to their tech support knowledge base
> *before* you make the purchase.
>
> The answer will be no, but I keep hoping.  On your own, search the web for
> the model/series that you are thinking of purchasing.  Sometimes these
> products have a design flaw that shows up early.  You can save yourself
> considerable grief by avoiding those lemons.  Laptops, in particular, can
> suffer nagging, irrevokable problems from bad design decisions.
>
> Good luck!

> I'm a pretty big fan of Dell. The two machines I got from them had plenty of
> breakdowns, but they were always there to help get them up and running. Long
> after the warranty expired, they would still always talk to me for no
> charge. I bought a newer HP machine, and although, it was built with better
> quality parts than the Dell, and worked flawlessly for several years, the
> one time I had a question and called them, they wouldn't even talk to me.
> Whatever machine you get, look for one with no proprietary parts
> "Grinder" <grinder@no.spam.maam.net> wrote in message
> news:6ND4e.14930$Vx1.12344@attbi_s01...
>
>>PeeVee_Hermann wrote:
>>
>>>Hi
>>>
>>>we're trying to decide what kind of new computer to get. Looking at
>>>Dell stuff. Anybody here have a Dell? Good or bad experience?
>>
>>Here is an entertaining anecdote about one man's struggle with Dell:
>>
>>http://www.brokennewz.com/displaystory.asp_Q_storyid_E_1130mbcone
>>
>>I wouldn't really base my actions on that story, however.  As entertaining
>>as it is, there's not way to tell if it's representative of the average
>>user's experience.
>>
>>I've purchased a number of Gateway systems because they give me the right
>>answers to a number of questions:
>>
>>1) Will the PC case take standard parts, or do you have some sort of
>>freaky proprietary parts that I will have to use.
>>
>>You see this less often now, but at one time it was popular to have
>>"stylin'" cases that need special parts to work.  For instance, I have a
>>sony VAIO that uses a special floppy drive without a face plate, because
>>that part is molded into the case.  When replacing it, I managed to
>>retrofit a regular $10 floppy drive instead of shelling out $25 for one to
>>make it look cosmetically perfect.
>>
>>In a recent exchange with an HP Pavilion user, I noticed that their cases
>>have eject buttons mounted, on the case, for the optical drive bays.
>>Although it turns out that many standard drives will likely work, you have
>>to be careful to get the right one.
>>
>>2) Does the system restore allow me to just reinstall the OS, without all
>>of the extra promotional software (read: crap) that the manufacturer has
>>seen fit to include with your system.
>>
>>Gateway systems, thusfar, have come with bona fide *Windows* installers,
>>with application and driver installation done seperately.  Perhaps Dell
>>has come around since I last checked, but if they are still distributing a
>>one-shot system restore, that would qualify as a deal breaker for me. I
>>noticed that a fairly recent HP machine I've seen still uses the
>>all-in-one restore.
>>
>>A related piece of advice: Do a system restore as soon as you get the PC
>>and drop all of the trial crapware.  Install software as you need it to
>>run an efficient system.  Also, you might find some relief in this regard
>>by purchasing a small business computer, instead of a home user system.
>>
>>3) Can I call for technical support after my warranty expires, for a
>>per-incident fee?
>>
>>Sony gets major kudos in this regard because they took my calls years
>>later for only $30.  I can also attest they they seem to have a relatively
>>low f*ckwit ratio.  Frontline techs generally were able to ascertain that
>>I had done my homework, and moved me on to a more experienced engineer.
>>
>>Gateway's phone support has been decent.  My experiences with Dell and HP
>>have been poorer, but characterized by much fewer interactions, so perhaps
>>it just back luck for them (and me) that I got the idiots.
>>
>>4) Ask if you can be give access to their tech support knowledge base
>>*before* you make the purchase.
>>
>>The answer will be no, but I keep hoping.  On your own, search the web for
>>the model/series that you are thinking of purchasing.  Sometimes these
>>products have a design flaw that shows up early.  You can save yourself
>>considerable grief by avoiding those lemons.  Laptops, in particular, can
>>suffer nagging, irrevokable problems from bad design decisions.
>>
>>Good luck!
>
>
>

"RBM" <rbm2(remove th***@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:T2H4e.1052$Df6.986@fe09.lga...
> I'm a pretty big fan of Dell. The two machines I got from them had plenty
> of breakdowns, but they were always there to help get them up and running.
> Long after the warranty expired, they would still always talk to me for no
> charge. I bought a newer HP machine, and although, it was built with
> better quality parts than the Dell, and worked flawlessly for several
> years, the one time I had a question and called them, they wouldn't even
> talk to me. Whatever machine you get, look for one with no proprietary
> parts
> "Grinder" <grinder@no.spam.maam.net> wrote in message
> news:6ND4e.14930$Vx1.12344@attbi_s01...
>> PeeVee_Hermann wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi
>>>
>>> we're trying to decide what kind of new computer to get. Looking at
>>> Dell stuff. Anybody here have a Dell? Good or bad experience?
>>
>> Here is an entertaining anecdote about one man's struggle with Dell:
>>
>> http://www.brokennewz.com/displaystory.asp_Q_storyid_E_1130mbcone
>>
>> I wouldn't really base my actions on that story, however.  As
>> entertaining as it is, there's not way to tell if it's representative of
>> the average user's experience.
>>
>> I've purchased a number of Gateway systems because they give me the right
>> answers to a number of questions:
>>
>> 1) Will the PC case take standard parts, or do you have some sort of
>> freaky proprietary parts that I will have to use.
>>
>> You see this less often now, but at one time it was popular to have
>> "stylin'" cases that need special parts to work.  For instance, I have a
>> sony VAIO that uses a special floppy drive without a face plate, because
>> that part is molded into the case.  When replacing it, I managed to
>> retrofit a regular $10 floppy drive instead of shelling out $25 for one
>> to make it look cosmetically perfect.
>>
>> In a recent exchange with an HP Pavilion user, I noticed that their cases
>> have eject buttons mounted, on the case, for the optical drive bays.
>> Although it turns out that many standard drives will likely work, you
>> have to be careful to get the right one.
>>
>> 2) Does the system restore allow me to just reinstall the OS, without all
>> of the extra promotional software (read: crap) that the manufacturer has
>> seen fit to include with your system.
>>
>> Gateway systems, thusfar, have come with bona fide *Windows* installers,
>> with application and driver installation done seperately.  Perhaps Dell
>> has come around since I last checked, but if they are still distributing
>> a one-shot system restore, that would qualify as a deal breaker for me. I
>> noticed that a fairly recent HP machine I've seen still uses the
>> all-in-one restore.
>>
>> A related piece of advice: Do a system restore as soon as you get the PC
>> and drop all of the trial crapware.  Install software as you need it to
>> run an efficient system.  Also, you might find some relief in this regard
>> by purchasing a small business computer, instead of a home user system.
>>
>> 3) Can I call for technical support after my warranty expires, for a
>> per-incident fee?
>>
>> Sony gets major kudos in this regard because they took my calls years
>> later for only $30.  I can also attest they they seem to have a
>> relatively low f*ckwit ratio.  Frontline techs generally were able to
>> ascertain that I had done my homework, and moved me on to a more
>> experienced engineer.
>>
>> Gateway's phone support has been decent.  My experiences with Dell and HP
>> have been poorer, but characterized by much fewer interactions, so
>> perhaps it just back luck for them (and me) that I got the idiots.
>>
>> 4) Ask if you can be give access to their tech support knowledge base
>> *before* you make the purchase.
>>
>> The answer will be no, but I keep hoping.  On your own, search the web
>> for the model/series that you are thinking of purchasing.  Sometimes
>> these products have a design flaw that shows up early.  You can save
>> yourself considerable grief by avoiding those lemons.  Laptops, in
>> particular, can suffer nagging, irrevokable problems from bad design
>> decisions.
>>
>> Good luck!
>
>

>> we're trying to decide what kind of new computer to get. Looking at
>> Dell stuff. Anybody here have a Dell? Good or bad experience?
>
>I am using a Dell 4300 PC (a mid size desktop PC). It works. And I like
>the fact that I can easily open the case without using tools (this is a
>big time saving as comparing to my old PC that I assembled -- I need to
>remove 10 screws to open it).
>
>But I have a feeling that it is not the kind of computer that is good
>for a person who likes to upgrade his PC (like me). It is limited in
>these areas:
>-  It has very few PCI slots. Currently I have maxed
>   out with my Dell PC. When I need to add something
>   into it, I must remove something first.
>-  It uses some unusual parts that I must order it
>   from Dell instead of buying it in local stores.
>   The part that I am referring to is like the original
>   fan in the PC that has unusual thickness. The power
>   supply "may" also be specific to Dell; I am not sure.
>-  The round plastic front panel doesn't match well with
>   common components that tend to be flat in the front.
>   This results with exposing a small area of the inside
>   of the round plastic front panel. This is a "look"
>   thing.
>
>Hope these shortcomings only applies to that model and are not
>applicable to other models from Dell.
>

>Jay Chan