Everyone you ask is going to tell you something different, because everyone has had different experiences with different brands.

If you want my two cents, read on (Let it be known, I am an authorized Dell reseller).

I love dell. Dell is the only name brand computer I will buy or use; other than dell, I just build my own. In my personal experiences fixing computers (I run my own business), Dells have the least hardware problems (and when they do, its simple, like a power supply dying) compared to HP/Compaq who die all the time (and like to take the entire mobo and processor with them). I have dells that are literally over a decade old and still run fine (TinyXP, anyone?). I've used a Dell Optiplex GX110 as a personal server for the past five years running 24/7 and have never had a problem.

I hate HP/Compaq. Never have I had more trouble with computers than with HP/Compaq. Horrible case design, shoddy components, and poor support. Expanding on the above, I've had more hardware failures in HP/Compaqs than any other manufacturer.

If you're going to buy a Dell, do not buy from their home line (and do not buy from a third party, because they're in business to make money, too!). Their small business line is indentical to or better than their home lines, but more often than not at much cheaper prices. You may be familiar with the Inspiron line of computers which was formerly home&business but now only home; the Vostro business line is literally identical, at a fraction of the price. When I bought my dell laptop (pre-Vostro), I paid $550; the same exact computer (same model and specs!) on a different part of their website was $850.

Also, when you buy from the business line, you get North American support. Always a plus.


Now again, this is my own experiences, because you will definitely find people who HATE dell and LOVE hp. I don't know why (maybe they found some pretty serious drugs?), and I probably never will.

Superbike32 wrote:

1.Linux and DOS suck, not to be mean here, but I can't get anything good to run on them, and the so-called compatibility with linux can't run most .exe's, and to respect, they say it runs on a higher array of hardware, yet you have to have better than ATI Radeon 7000 card to play a simple game like say, tibia, and its 2d, it doesn't run any 3d either.

I am likely one of the most pro-Windows people you will ever meet, but I still have this to say to you: You are nuts.

Simply because "you can't get anything good to run on them" doesn't mean they suck, it means one or both of the following:
1) You're doing it wrong.
2) Linux isn't for you.

K/X/Ubuntu are, as far as linux goes, pretty neat. There are alternatives or native ports for most of the software that people use on a daily basis, and then there's also emulation with WINE (note to correction-nazis: I don't care if emulate isn't the right word 'technically').

I will say one thing: OpenOffice is horrible, and the open source community really needs to do a better job.

Also, you have to have less than the new hardware too because it just doesn't near support it yet. Also, the manufacturers, most of them, they don't give the drivers to run on those machines.

Thankfully, one of the totally awesome things about open source communities is there's tons of smart people working together. The newest version of Ubuntu picks up everything on my laptop without a problem. Sound, wireless, video, media card reader, etc, all work right after install. Maybe you just haven't tried linux in a few years? Or maybe you're just going on hearsay?

Also, dell in respect sucks too, because they're making you go with every dell product, usually if something goes bad, go to the store, buy something new, maybe even better, but usually dell, you try, boot up, and it wont let you because it's not their brand.

Now I know you must be smoking something, because that is absolutely untrue. Despite whatever these drugs are making you think, Dell, like any other brand, takes parts to make a whole machine. These parts are not proprietary, they all follow standards. SATA/IDE for drives, RAM speeds, processors, power supplies, etc... will work in any computer, as long as it is *compatible*. I can take a Dell PC, rip out the power supply, hard drive, disc drive, memory, and processor, and replace every single one of them with other brands, and it will work fine. I'd do it with the motherboard too, except now it's a brand new computer.

Windows Vista is better than windows xp in most respects, however, of course, you need the computer to run it, and if you do, windows vista is not a hindering factor, not having it might be though.

I can't stand Vista compared to XP, but at least in this sentence you decided to go with opinion instead of just spewing lies and garbage.

Linux is, however, very much the do-it-yourself OS, and I don't believe a whole lot of people want it on a pre-built machine. Again, vista is no hindrance with a machine that can handle it, and any new machine can. Also, XP is outdated, the only people with a legitamate claim to still use it are business customers with proprietary software that does NOT run with Vista.


You are correct that they serve a wider customer base by still selling 8 year old software that some people can't let go of, I however, don't see a need to still sell 8 year old software that some people can't let go of. Some of those same customer who are still buying XP machines are going to be mad they have XP in a few years when everything stops working with it, just because their PC maker didn't force them to buy the current OS.

Jotdaniel wrote:

I doubt that >.>

cough*torrent*cough


I delete and refill at least 80 gb a week in files, granted I take good care and defrag often.

Torrenting. Oh yes, I forgot how COMPUTER-intensive that is, no it isn't. I torrent videogame speedruns like crazy... and the only thing it demands alot of is internet, if I was to say, watch other videos (in my hard drive), or draw something in a program, there'll be no lag.

And why would you download 80GBs worth of files just to delete it? o_o

I forget why you were banned from these forums, something about not having the first clue what you are going on about, but saying it anyway, perhaps.

* Dell are more expensive than if you were to build something yourself (by a fair margin in quite a few cases, less so in others), but they do have excellent customer support. Their components are however crap, any way you look at it. Whether that is important to you or not is up to yourself to figure out.

* Warranty replacements are already accounted for in price, you are *not* causing some sort of price inflation by taking advantage of it. Smash away.

* Building your own will always be cheaper than a pre-built machine, unless the machine is on a special sale of some sort (i.e. they want it gone, so they're lowering the price to or below what the purchase cost them). I've seen maybe 2 offers that were genuinely cheaper than home-built, out of the many thousands and thousands I've browsed over the years.

I'm surprised not a single person has mentioned newegg.com

Harddrives have very high DOA and infant death rates. It is not strange at all for a harddrive to die within the first few months of use. The important thing is how HP reacted.

That said, I don't recommend HPs to anyone, ever. From what I hear they are far better today, but back in the late 90s to early 00s they where huge pieces of junk with an extremely high failure rate. Specifically blown capacitors seemed to be the issue. I'm not much of one to hold a grudge, but this is one case I do.

As with others, I generally recommend Dell as long as you order from their small business site. However, recent experience has made me a bit angry at them for an incredibly long shipping delay. I've been waiting for almost 10 days now for my netbook which still hasn't shipped, and it's not expected to arrive for another 10 days. By the time I actually get this thing, chances are there will be a new line of netbooks out making this one horribly outdated >.>