We’ve had this Dell desktop PC for a few years. Replaced the fans when they started getting noisy; that was easy. A memory upgrade was simple, but the R&R was physically difficult because of the tight plug. We ordered the fan and memory from Dell, so everything fit.
I have no experience with the Wisconsin Dells, but I’m told they come with a log flume. 
This is the way to go. I tried every possible laptop vendor online, and when it came down to it mine was right at a steal. The only bad thing is that it is an Intel chip, but it is a 1.83 duel core mobile one at that. Not the best, but gets the job done.
I also have an X1400, 100gig memory, a gig or so of RAM, a super deluxe battery that lasts nearly 5 hours, and various other upgrades that added up quickly. Then, I found a coupon that was for 750 dollars off for machines over $2,000, so I only paid around $1250.
Hell yea’ it was worth it.
There’s nothing wrong with Intel chips, and the new ones (Core Duo) kick AMD’s arse. Competition is good. You can’t go wrong with Dell, and you’ll be hard put to buy cheaper, especially once you’ve added in the software. You can get better machines, but you’ll pay more. If you want a good games machine, I suggest you build your own, but for a general use PC, go Dell.
I work for a Big Honking Financial Corporation[sup]TM[/sup]. Three or four years ago, we had contracts with both IBM and Dell for laptops. The IBMs were dramatically more reliable than the Dells. I knew lots of people who had problems with wonky touchpads, operating system errors, bad hard drives, and all manner of other glitches with their Dells. Very few ThinkPads gave people grief, though.
I know there are many computer-savvy folk around here more knowledgeable than I, and that they can construct a far superior machine.
But for this computer-literate, but not-tech-savvy woman, a Dell has been great. I had a Compaq POS that was so very much a POS I was contacted later to be included in a class-action lawsuit against Compaq (we won, although a pitious amount). My work gave me a Compaq laptop that, not to be outdone, also turned out to be a POS.
So I asked around here years ago, got my first Dell on Doper recommendation, and haven’t looked back since.
Yes, their tech support is annoying, but they’ve always been able to fix my minor problems pretty easily. (One was when my machine randomly decided my monitor didn’t exist anymore.)
Financing I can’t comment on; I’ve always paid on my own credit card for my machines.
I do the same exact thing. I’m too lazy to deal with them sometimes.
Oddly enough, I’ve never bought a Dell for myself… I’m a fan of Toshiba laptops and really dig my new Gateway widescreen tablet (hybrid, actually). My Gateway had very little factory installed crap on it, which is a big plus.
I bought a Inspiron 5150 laptop, which died about a month after I bought it. Many phone calls to gentlemen in India later, the motherboard and CPU was replaced. Had to go through the process of replacing a few other bits like the cooling system first.
When I got the new machine, I deleted all the Dell crap on the harddrive, reformatted - yeah, anal I know, and reinstalled XP.
That was 2 years ago. Has been going perfectly ever since.
Zebra’s post reminds me - Dell also called me after I bought my new laptop and had had it about a week. I didn’t have any problems at all, and told them so, but I was impressed that they called (especially after their offshoring tech support fiasco). Seems they’re working on elevating their customer service.
I have a Dell laptop and printer. Good machines, good service, quick shipping.
For gamers though, go to Alienware, or another gamer computer place, Dell isn’t the best for you money for that type of computer.
Doesn’t Dell now own Alienware?
it actually does, which I just found out a few days ago…
I did some looking around on their website and noticed that Alienware also uses some proprietary parts, namely motherboards. seems to me that would make upgrading a proprietary venture, which is not what I want at all.
reading all your responses here, I think I’ve pretty much concluded that Dell isn’t what I want for a gaming computer. I didn’t figure it was, and maybe I’ll wait and see what they do with AMD, but I have a feeling I’d be better off just building my own. or recruiting a boy to do it for me. 
From what i’ve seen, both of these statements are true.
I’ve had my Dell Dimension 8300 for almost exactly 2 years now, and it’s still going strong. The only problem i had was that the main cooling fan died about a year ago and needed replacing. It was actually a blessing, as the original cooling fan sounded like a jet engine, while the replacement i bought at the local geek store is much quieter.
Anyway, i’ve been very happy with the Dell so far, but when i need a new computer i’ll probably build it myself. There’s a couple of reasons for that.
First, the proprietary parts issue. I like to know that if something goes wrong i can just get the part NewEgg, rather than having to buy from Dell at their (often inflated) prices.
Second, my current computer has quite a few parts i could salvage for use in a new machine. Two SATA hard drives, 2x512Mb of memory, two optical drives. Also, i have two monitors, and most of Dell’s best-value systems come with a monitor, so that’s something else i don’t need.
It seems to me that the best value Dells are usually the Dimension series, although the entry-level XPS systems also seem pretty good.
Absolutely. TechBargains always keeps me up to date on tech sales, and they frequently list excellent Dell bargains.
I adore my Dell laptop. I’ve had it three years now, and I think I’ll be buying another one this summer. Unfortunately, my current laptop took a pretty bad spill from a table and now the hard drive isn’t so pleased. Other than that - everyday use, carried around everywhere, banged around, etc. It was fine.
I bought Dell desktops for a while, but the last one drove me insane with its proprietary parts. My desktop is therefore home-built, but I will continue to buy Dell Laptops.
We just got a Dell at work a couple of months ago, and it’s a piece of crap. I’m used to PCs and all the weird and stupid things that they do, and the weirdness that the new Dell is pulling is surprising even me.
Oh, by the way, I just replaced my old, broken-down PC with a Mac. Now that there is a Windows platform available for Macs so I can load up any software out there, no reason to stick with crappy PCs.
wow!
Well Dell’s computers for gamers still kind of suck. Maybe now that will change.
Proprietary parts-bad.
Klugey overcomplicated assembly inside too small boxes with too small power supplies-bad.
Cheap-good, as long as you’re actually able to get what they say you’re getting for the price advertised, which is a maybe proposition.
When I was shopping for a laptop I looked at Dell because they seemed to have a good deal–until I found out (after giving up on the online “ask us” function because the person on the other end can’t type, and the phone “ask us” function because the person on the other end can’t speak English and also knew nothing about the computer) by visiting a mall kiosk that the laptop they were offering actually can’t be ordered with the CPU/RAM/HDD they said it had. False advertising/bait and switch/clueless know nothing “support” people–very, very bad. In fact, I joked to friends that the only people who were able to talk me out of buying a Dell were the Dell employees!
Went to Fry’s and bought a bomb AMD Turion laptop for less than what Dell wanted for a vastly inferior system and have no complaints whatsoever, except that recently they’re selling this machine for a hundred bucks less than I paid–bummer, but no big deal since I wasn’t willing to wait three months to buy the laptop.
But I guess if you want a turnkey, supported, relatively inexpensive system and don’t ever expect to crack the case or upgrade it you’d probably be all right. Millions who deal with Dell are–it’s just that in my case I’m too much of a do it yourselfer to accept a “no user serviceable parts inside” computer…
Oh.
I thought you meant the Waterpark Capital of the World. :smack:
There are some people who hate Dell, for one reason or another. For the most part, though, people end up pretty happy, as long as you aren’t looking for anything better than a mid-range computer (which can still game decently, mind you, but won’t be a match for a build-it-yourself). I’ve had my Dell desktop for four years with only one problem - the fan on the video card died at about the 2.5 year mark, leading to a fried card; there was a pretty unacceptable delay in replacing it, likely because they had trouble finding the same model, but once they actually shipped the damn thing to me everything went quickly and painelssly. I’ve replaced that video card, added a hard drive, and added RAM (neither from Dell) with no trouble whatsoever. I’d rather the customer service have been a bit better for that one incident, but otherwise I’ve watched my Dell keep chugging along while friends have had more and more severe issues with their self-built jobs. Not that that’ll stop me from building it myself when I upgrade before the end of the year - but that’s just because I want to go high-end-gaming this time, and as has been mentioned, Dell becomes a much worse deal when you get to their “Gamer” lines.
When all my friends are trying to choose between half a dozen laptops from different brands that are all basically the same thing, I tell them to wait for a deal and then get a Dell, and it almost always works out well. If you aren’t the type who will build for yourself, and you don’t need to be running Crysis at 1920x1200, then a Dell may well be a great choice. And even then, you might want a Dell monitor 