# Damn Dell Dickheads **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 30, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-dell-dickheads/242780 "2004-04-30T01:49:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-dell-dickheads/242780/21 "2004-05-03T20:14:30Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > P.S.- Hey Geobabe, how do you like that awful APR on the Dell Credit Card plan? We hated it. We literally spent the first year just paying the principal. After spinning our wheels on that bill, we finally started sending them hundreds of dollars every period, just to get out from under them. Uuuuuggghhhhh, yeah. I was sending in well above the minimum payment, but the last few months were pretty tight, so the interest has been racking up. It’s near the top of bills to pay off now, though. > [@tdn](#): > > I once had an ISP where you couldn’t even mail them a check. You had to physically walk into the store to pay them. (And they closed at 5PM). > > They built my computer for me, complete with an installation of Windows. Imagine my horror the other night after reformatting the hard drive to discover that while they gave me a Windows disk, they never gave me the CD key. Holy crap! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-dell-dickheads/242780/22 "2004-05-04T15:23:57Z")
Shit, I just helped 2 guys at work “build” and order some Dell Desktops. I hope I don’t end up supporting them! I’ve always been disappointed by “pre-built” computers since my first, and only, pre-built NEC 486 dx 2/66. I learned my lession damn fast and build all my personal computers myself. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-dell-dickheads/242780/23 "2004-05-04T16:21:23Z")
> [@badmana](#): > > Shit, I just helped 2 guys at work “build” and order some Dell Desktops. I hope I don’t end up supporting them! > > I’ve always been disappointed by “pre-built” computers since my first, and only, pre-built NEC 486 dx 2/66. I learned my lession damn fast and build all my personal computers myself. **badmana-** I have been building all of my own machines since I bought my first computer, a P166 w/MMX(oh the memories!). Having built many for myself and for others, I must say that I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of the Dell my wife forced us into buying. I resisted it all along, and I’m happy to say I think it came out more than just fine. Sam ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-dell-dickheads/242780/24 "2004-05-04T19:31:09Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > **badmana-** > > I have been building all of my own machines since I bought my first computer, a P166 w/MMX(oh the memories!). Having built many for myself and for others, I must say that I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of the Dell my wife forced us into buying. I resisted it all along, and I’m happy to say I think it came out more than just fine. > > Sam Heh heh heh, your wife decides what computer to buy? :eek: 😃 Yeah, for my co-workers I told them how the trade off works. They either get a moderately priced Dell now, with no chance up a true upgrade (since you cannot change the MB and CPU with aftermarket parts) or get a slower and cheaper clone with no support. I hope they understand they’ll have to spend another $1200 (CAN) on their next computer because everything but the monitor will have to be purchased from Dell (does Dell sell replacement MB and CPUs for their older models?). For myself, the only “pre-built” I have is a Toshiba laptop…no issues with that what-so-ever. ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-dell-dickheads/242780/25 "2004-05-06T21:03:47Z")
Dell, so sad. I order computers for my company and we’ve been a dell shop for about 2 years. In that two years I have had, no kidding, 20 different sales reps. And we do a fair amount of business with Dell. Not millions, but close. They have screwed up the billing process more times than I can remember. We’d get late invoices or none at all and then get billed for late charges. They would open a new line of credit for each order until I caught it sticking us with a big mess. We’re switching to Sony soon, the Vaio laptops are keen. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-dell-dickheads/242780/26 "2004-05-06T22:44:37Z")
> [@](#): > > **[t-bonham@scc.net](mailto:t-bonham@scc.net)** said: > Actually, this is good practice in electronics – a soldered-in chip is more reliable. It will not come loose during shipping or thermal expansion over it’s lifetime. Plus it saves the cost of the socket, which is part of the reason they can sell those systems so cheap. I would’ve thought that chip creep wouldn’t be much of a problem considering that the socket processors are locked in securely with the lever-action but also held in by rather tightly clamping the heat-sink and fan assembly to the top of them. Soldering on BIOS and CMOS chips I could understand, but not something that is twice clamped to the motherboard. Also, in all the years I’ve worked with computers I have never seen a single one in which the processor with a clamped down heat sink ever came loose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-dell-dickheads/242780.md?page=1)