I see ads in many different computer and business magazines and Dell mails me their own ads to my house.
It’s difficult to compare prices in the different ads because all the systems seem to be slight different.
So does anyone know if Dell does any specials? Do some ads show systems which are discounted? Where is the best place I should go to find a Dell deal?
TIA
Go to their website and poke around. They even have a “refurbished systems” section.
My personal experience with Dell (both through their website and their 800 number) has been very positive. I’ve now bought three home computers from them (over the years).
YMMV.
Scruff
(I believe that I’m not supposed to put a link to their website in the SMDB, otherwise I would)
I’m not sure if Dell has any retail stores (i.e. Gateway), but I know you can escape sales tax, if applicable in your state, when buying over the Internet or over the phone.
You will have to pay S&H, but if you were to buy from Gateway at their stores you would be stuck with Tax AND S&H. (Again, if applicable).
Another satisfied Dell customer chimes in. I just slapped down for my 3rd Dell in three years. They are reasonably priced, really reliable machines, and the sales staff, in my experience, have an above average knowledge, and even though they do push the upgrades a bit, they are cool when you say “no, i just don’t need a network card for my laptop thanks, got one on the desk top”. Also the one time I actually had to call tech support (over the Dell not playing nicely with a Compaq printer) they were helpful and the whole thing took abgout five minutes.
Hmmm, I dunno. A friend of mine bought a Dell & had her account automatically debited. Dell was nice enough to pull an additional $500 out, thus leaving her overdrawn. They promised credit in 24-48 hours, and it has now been a week with no resolution. They shipped it in 7 boxes, which arrived at 3 different times, including the printer & its cable arriving at separate times. Other than that, the machine appears to function quite well.
/Forrest Gump voice: And that’s all I have to say about that. End voice/
Sorry, Dell will collect sales tax. I just received my Dimension 8100 last week and had to pay. They said they “have a corporate presence” in every state, so must collect the tax. I’m a Boeing employee and bought through their purchase plan. Did not have to pay shipping and received three years on site service.
I can comfirm the dell sales tax question. I did have to pay. However, when I purchased mine they threw in free shipping and handling and a free CDRW with purchase of a DVD. So I didn’t mind too much. It was my 2nd dell–my first one lasted me 4.5 years and was still running when I replaced it. It’s now serving as network hub for my boyfriend’s apartment. The only replacements–1 power supply and 1 set of speakers both of which were covered under warranty. I highly recommend the 3 year on-site service plan. I did all my purchasing online and found it to be very easy. I ordered on a Sunday night and my computer arrived on wednesday afternoon (and that was with the 3-5 day ground shipping).
A friend of mine bought a refurbished dell system and has had it for 2 years with no problems.
Shipping on them can be expensive. See if you can get that cheaper.
My 2 cents…
I bought a new Dell after Xmas and did not have to pay sales tax on the computer. I did have to pay tax on the service contract, but that was only like a buck forty or something trivial.
I did a lot of researching via magazine and web sites and ended up ordering online. Got a free CR-RW out of the deal. The web site seems to change specials every few weeks, sometimes free shipping, sometimes a free DVD or CR-RW, it pays to visit every so often.
My company also is in the employee purchase program, and I compared that with regular Dell online prices and ended up going the normal way. The EPP online configurations seemd to be built to a higher priced baseline and I felt I got a better deal for what I wanted by going the other way.
Frankly I’ve loved my Dell. All the problems I’ve had have been 3rd party related (i.e. Windows ME vs. my video drivers, that type of thing.)
Shop around and don’t be afraid to ask. My in-laws had priced out a home system but wanted a mid-tower vs. the mini-tower that was part of a preconfigured package. The sales rep looked around and found a system on the business user end that had the mid-tower and a faster processor clock speed for $50 less.
When buying a computer you need to decide what type of buyer you are. An enthusiast or someone who wants a box on their desk for writing an occasional letter and surfing the internet.
If you’re an enthusiast or concerned at all with what you are getting then stay away from Dell, HP, and the like. If you don’t want to build the PC yourself then I recommend Micon as a decent mass manufacturer.
If you just want a fairly capable machine on your desk then Dell, Gateway, HP and so on will all work fine for you.
If I sound condescending to the people who simply want whatever on their desk I apologize. There is certainly nothing wrong about that. There are many people (if not the majority) who want the flatout simplest experience possible with their computers and don’t give a rat’s ass about MHz and gigabytes. My parent’s are people like this and have had several Dell systems. Like many poster’s have already suggested they have had no real problems with their computer and will happily use it for the next 10 years (and the problems they do have they dump in my lap).
All of that said Dell and its ilk take advantage of the type of people they sell to. They thrive on the fact that their customers have little idea about what they are buying. Dell does offer some good deals but they also offer lousy deals. Don’t believe me? Try this article for an eye opener.
I’m not saying don’t buy Dell (in fact I think their laptops are some of the best out there). I’m just suggesting a buyer beware attitude.
Of course, for those of you not up on computers you have access to a bunch of geeks on this website. Pick their brains if you’re unsure about what to buy.
I’m responsible for requisitioning (oooh, big word) computers for my work place and almost solely get Dells. They are ridiculously low-maintenance machines–particularly when compared to the IBM’s we’ve had in the past (why, oh why? Oh, the pain). Anyway, if you don’t plan on gaming or doing high-end processor-intensive work, then by all means, Dells are great. Great service and support and the Dimension L has my vote for bang for your buck if you’re looking for a cheap, reliable, low-end system.
I am interested in buying or building the ultimate gaming computer. One that will play the really graphic intensive 3d games! Could you give me some ideas about what it should have in it for components and how it should be set up. Also, what OS should I use for the best results?
“I am interested in buying or building the ultimate gaming computer. One that will play the really
graphic intensive 3d games!”
Get a Playstation 2!
If you mean Micron, then you’d better hurry- they’re selling their PC business to a “private technology-equity investment firm”:
Arjuna34
Oops…Yes, I did mean Micron. I had no idea they were selling their PC business. Given that it’s probably better not to buy one now (warranty/support issues once the company is gone).
If you are going to buy an ultimate PC then I highly, highly, highly recommend Falcon Northwest computers. You will not find a better built computer anywhere. These guys have some canned systems but specialize in custom built systems and make certain nothing but the best products make it into their machines. Their main focus is on building power gaming rigs. While that may seem silly PC games tend to be about the most stressful thing a home computer does. If your PC can wail on a top notch 3-D game it can pretty much wail on anything an average home user is likely to throw at it.
I have a Falcon system myself and never ever had any problems with it (at least none that weren’t of my own making). You think Dell tech support is good? You don’t know what good is till you call Falcon for help and have zero wait times and ultra-knowledgable support staff (indeed…the guy on the phone might be the guy who actually hand built your PC).
To keep them honest another company, Alienware, also makes excellent systems much the same as Falcon does. You really can’t go wrong with either a Falcon or Alienware system. While you’ll pay a bit more than you would at Dell you actually get real benefit for that money. I lean towards Falcon just because they were the first ones to do what they do (and I have one) but in the end I’d price compare between the two and go with the best deal.
If you’re building your own gaming rig then I’d see that you had an AMD Athlon CPU in there. Those chips perform better than Intel chips across the board (on a clock for clock basis) and are noticeably less expensive (I can provide benchmark results if anyone wants backup on that). About the only downside to AThlon chips is they run hot so you MUST have active cooling (heatsink) attached to the CPU. If money is no object I’d build it on a DDR memory capable motherboard (AMD 760 chipset). Otherwise get a KT133A chipset with PC133 RAM.
For a video card the new GeForce 3 is unbelievably cool and truly amazing. It also costs ~$600 so it had better kick ass. For a more budget minded system you can step ‘down’ to a GeForce Ultra card or really save some cash and get the still quite good ATI Radeon card.
For a harddrive get an IBM 75GXP (or GXP75?). Fastest IDE drive currently available. If price is no object a SCSI subsystem is nice but expensive.
Check out 3DCool for good computer cases.
Go with Mushkin or Crucial memory, CAS2 latency (or lowest latency available).
I don’t have a recommendation for CD-ROM drives (hard as hell to find reviews on them). Consider a DVD drive. If going for a CD burner check out Plextor.
That stuff is a good start. Good luck!