# $3200 at Dell.com! What the Hell was I thinking. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 27, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415 "2006-09-27T21:42:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/21 "2006-09-28T06:55:49Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] Hmmmm, looks like a Herradura on the bottom there. On first glance I thought it twas a vodka. I stand corrected. [/QUOTE] See what happens when you try to flaunt your superior knowledge of alcohol brands by identification through bottle/label shape and size in small pictures which are in fact very difficult to positively identify? “First glance” indeed. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/22 "2006-09-28T07:22:41Z")
[QUOTE=Caridwen] I too was very unhappy with Dell tech support, but hopefully you won’t need it. [/QUOTE] Dell tech support is awesome! Dell tech support is the best! I love Dell tech support! People get tired of waiting 2 hours for someone they can’t understand and pay me to come fix their computer 😃 The list of people willing to pay me $90 rather than navigate Dells tech support morass seems to grow by the day. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/23 "2006-09-28T07:27:03Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] 1 465-4013 Thank you for choosing Dell [/QUOTE] I wonder how much of the $3200 that was. Probably the most expensive part. ---
**Author:** ![Otanx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Otanx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otanx)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/24 "2006-09-28T09:06:08Z")
How far back are we allowed to go? Late 2000 I stopped at the Chevy dealer in town to get a part for my truck. While I was at “Dealer Row” I walked down to the Dodge place to look at their trucks. Ended up trading in my truck I just bought the parts for, and got a $52,000 Dodge RAM 3500 Diesel. It will be paid off in just under 2 more years. -Otanx ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/25 "2006-09-28T09:10:08Z")
[QUOTE=Vetch] [This little boy did](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/5379930.stm) [/QUOTE] Yeah, right. ‘My kid pressed all the buttons and bought it’ is right up there with ‘the cat ran across the keyboard’ in the list of common lame excuses offered by dumb remorseful bidders/buyers. This case is no more believable than any of the others; you don’t just ‘press buttons’ to buy something on ebay. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/26 "2006-09-28T09:16:12Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Wait, I just went to my email and here’s a list. Order Detail Qty Part # Description * * * 1 222-4759 XPS M1210, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7400 (2.16GHz/667MHz/4MB) \ 1 310-8314 Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor \ 1 310-8314 Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor [/QUOTE] Why is the CPU listed three times? Were you charged for each of these lines? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/27 "2006-09-28T14:38:10Z")
[QUOTE=Caridwen] It sounds great! Best of luck with it. I too was very unhappy with Dell tech support, but hopefully you won’t need it. [/QUOTE] If I need tech support, I’ll come here. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TwoOnSunday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@TwoOnSunday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoOnSunday)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/28 "2006-09-28T14:53:24Z")
I bought a necklace at Tiffany’s for myself just so I could get the little blue box and bag. Unfortunately, they wrapped the box so nicely, I don’t want to open it to get to the jewlery. I am a total bag whore. If you have a nice bag, I wil FIND something to buy in your store. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/29 "2006-09-28T15:01:21Z")
I’d like to know what a $3,200 computer can do that a $700 computer can’t. I mean, really, they run the same CPUs, same Windows. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/30 "2006-09-28T15:08:27Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] I’d like to know what a $3,200 computer can do that a $700 computer can’t. I mean, really, they run the same CPUs, same Windows. [/QUOTE] Or, you could have had [one with a 17" monitor](http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/StoreReentry.wo?family=MacBookPro) and saved $400 bucks. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/31 "2006-09-28T15:36:11Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] I’d like to know what a $3,200 computer can do that a $700 computer can’t. I mean, really, they run the same CPUs, same Windows. [/QUOTE] Point 1: This is a notebook, which automatically makes it more expensive. Point 2: It might be the 2 gigs of ram, the neat video card, the I didn’t even know you could get that in a laptop processor… In other words, he is going to have a nice gaming machine for a couple of years, and a computer that is useful for other things for many years after that. Rather than buying a 700 dollar desktop that probably couldn’t even limp through the latest games. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/32 "2006-09-28T15:39:44Z")
[QUOTE=chaoticbear] Point 1: This is a notebook, which automatically makes it more expensive. Point 2: It might be the 2 gigs of ram, the neat video card, the I didn’t even know you could get that in a laptop processor… In other words, he is going to have a nice gaming machine for a couple of years, and a computer that is useful for other things for many years after that. Rather than buying a 700 dollar desktop that probably couldn’t even limp through the latest games. [/QUOTE] I knew it was a laptop, $700 can buy a very nice laptop these days. Laptops aren’t great for gaming, you have to spend too much money to get something that performs decently. Still, I will admit that you probably won’t be happy with AOE3 on a $700 laptop. However, he could get a $700 laptop and a $1,300 desktop computer for gaming, and still be $1200 to the good! Please people, don’t spend $3,200 on a computer that’s going to be obsolete in 5 years. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/33 "2006-09-28T15:57:17Z")
[QUOTE=Dervorin] **\> 1 465-4013 Thank you for choosing Dell** I wonder how much of the $3200 that was. Probably the most expensive part. [/QUOTE] Implying there are cheaper places to get comparable spec laptops? Do you have any specific recommendations? I’m shopping for a new laptop myself but I don’t see anything else that’s much cheaper than Dell. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/34 "2006-09-28T16:02:05Z")
If you just want a laptop for word processing, Internet, and simple (not 3d) games, I ordered my sister a ~$650 laptop from Dell that she’s very happy with. Basic specs were: Dell B130 laptop, 15" widescreen, 512MB of memory, 60GB hard drive, integrated wireless ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/35 "2006-09-28T17:04:57Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] I just bought a [bar](http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=baropengh0.jpg). Does that count? [/QUOTE] Holy Crap, what’s with the Multiple Fire Code violations to the right of that bar?? LOL, it reminds me of the outlet in _A Christmas Story_ where the dad had 50 cords all plugged into one outlet. he he he ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/36 "2006-09-28T17:14:31Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Please people, don’t spend $3,200 on a computer that’s going to be obsolete in 5 years. [/QUOTE] Huh? It’s the OP’s money. Some people just aren’t happy with a budget machine, or have a lifestyle more suited to a notebook than a desktop. (I’m thinking the OP prefers to play computer games…err…“do work” in a recliner rather than at a desk. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/37 "2006-09-28T21:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=Jeep’s Phoenix] Huh? It’s the OP’s money. Some people just aren’t happy with a budget machine, or have a lifestyle more suited to a notebook than a desktop. (I’m thinking the OP prefers to play computer games…err…“do work” in a recliner rather than at a desk. 😉 ) [/QUOTE] Still, $3200 seems way out of line for a laptop not made by Alienware these days. It’s only got a 15" screen and an 80GB 5400rpm HDD, not that impressive really. Really feels like he’s getting crewed unless I’m missing something significant. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/38 "2006-09-28T21:53:49Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] Really feels like he’s getting crewed unless I’m missing something significant. [/QUOTE] It’s a 4.4-lb ultra-portable model, which is pretty expensive to start with. The 2.16GHz Core-2 Duo processor is top of the line (+$500 upgrade from the Core Duo 1.86GHz). It has a fancy video chip. And the software isn’t cheap either - Office alone is about $400, I believe? Add other extras like extended warranty and larger capacity battery, and you can easily get to $3200. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/39 "2006-09-28T22:02:23Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] Still, $3200 seems way out of line for a laptop not made by Alienware these days. It’s only got a 15" screen and an 80GB 5400rpm HDD, not that impressive really. Really feels like he’s getting crewed unless I’m missing something significant. [/QUOTE] Actually the screen is only 12.1", which is great for when I’m trying to be portable. If I want a larger screen, I’ll just plug in a monitor, my 61" HDTV or my projector and have as large a screen as I want. I’m with you on the HD though. And not because of the size. I have a 500gig external hard drive that I bought last year. And it only has like 50 gigs used up. So obviously I dont have much storage needs. So I stuck with the 80. If I fill up the external, then I’ll get another one. However, I would have asked for the 80gig 7400 HD had I known or realized there was something faster. . . Oh well, this thing is always upgradable in the future. Even the RAM will go to 4 gigs if I want in the future. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415/40 "2006-09-28T22:03:37Z")
Actually, it’s a 12" screen, which usually indicates an ultra-light. It has a Core Duo processor, it has discreet graphics, it has 2 GB ram, a Verizon wireless broadband card, and Microsoft Office (as opposed to the Word-less version of Works that usually comes standard). There’s also a lot of extra software in that package. These things boost the cost pretty quickly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3200-at-dell-com-what-the-hell-was-i-thinking/374415.md?page=3)