My Dad Thinks Dell is Reasonable...any Rebuttles?

[Missing User]

Title of thread says it all, he likes their:

[LIST]
[*]tech support ("you call, they are there. they will walk you through anything")
[*]software ("their pre-builts come with stuff like Microsoft Office")
[*]warranty ("3-year-extended with Dell, what happens when something goes wrong with a custom built?")
[*]"never had a problem with Dell. i've owned 6 dell pc's with no problem and when I get it I don't have to put it together, it already works."
[*]"their higher end systems seem really well built and quiet" (he wants a quiet computer)
[/LIST]
Go Facepunch, convince him that custom builds are better!

Why are you rating me dumb...I like custom builds :(

[ForTehWolf...2!]

I hate dell's shitty software; I uninstall it immediately
there computers look like shit, expect the really expensive ones, altough I like that they put Ubuntu on their netbooks
tech support on the phone is stupid as shit, but I admit, there chat is WAY better than hp

[IllegalPaste]

Unless he's getting a laptop possibly?

[Demache]

If you want a budget PC, and you really aren't concerned with doing upgrades or any of that, then its fine. The fact that Dell sometimes uses proprietary parts makes me a little iffy.

But all the crapware they install really slows the computer down. If you are forced to go with a Dell, make sure to uninstall all the crap it comes pre-installed with immediately. Or do a clean install.

[w1ldstly3]

1. If you are smart enough to build a computer then you obviously know how to solve problems, and if not then facepunch is always a helpful resource.

2. Actually Dell does charge you for extra programs such as microsoft office.

3.Most of the warranties don't cover shit and on a custom build, if a part doesn't work then RMA it.

4. Dells are complete shit for the money. The custom built only takes like 2 hours tops to put together, and in my experience they arrive faster than a computer from a manufacturer.

5. Assuming you don't get a shit 30 dollar case and everything is put together properly, sound isn't an issue. The only time i get noise is from my GPU fan when I turn it up for games.[I overclock]

[Missing User]

[QUOTE=IllegalPaste;20276673]Unless he's getting a laptop possibly?[/QUOTE]
I'm pretty sure he wants a new desktop. He does quite a bit of photography and video editing. I was trying to convince him that custom is better, but I couldn't...yet.

[PvtCupcakes]

The only points I have some experience with are:
[quote]
"never had a problem with Dell. i've owned 6 dell pc's with no problem and when I get it I don't have to put it together, it already works."

"their higher end systems seem really well built and quiet" (he wants a quiet computer)
[/quote]

My 1 year old $500 Dell laptop is still kicking ass. So that should count for something. :v:

And my laptop seems to be well built enough for me. It's certainly not like a solid brick of aluminum like a Macbook, but it's pretty good nevertheless. However I don't like the glossy plastic palm rest, it get extremely smudgy.

For the other points, I've never needed the Tech Support. And I wiped Windows off it as soon as I got it and put Linux on it. And I don't even know what the warranty is on this thing, but I've never needed it.

[editline]06:01PM[/editline]

Just be thankful he wants a Dell and not an HP.

[MetricMoose]

If you're getting a Dell, get a Vostro. Now.
When my brother's laptop game from dell, there was only Google Desktop Search and a few other Dell Utilities. Their support is excellent, after the screen cracked after being put inside a laptop bag with an awkwardly placed power adapter, they sent us a box, we sent it and received it in the timespan of about 4 days, and we're in Canada.

For desktops, I can't really give a good estimate since the last desktop we bought from them was in 2003-2004, which was a Dell Dimension 4600, which is a decent machine. Not the best built machine, though warranty came though on that too. When the hard drive died (A 74 GB), a guy came by and installed a new 120 GB drive.

Personally, I build my desktops, though if you're not gaming, then a Dell should be fine.

[roflcakes]

Can't say much for their desktops, but their Vostro laptops are god tier. They cost almost nothing brand new and they're practically giving them away if you buy factory refurbs.

Posting from one now.

[butre]

get an XPS or a Vostro.

[trent_roolz]

Honestly they're good for doing just work related things, and can do them pretty smoothly, but they suck at gaming so don't even bother trying to use it for that.

[Missing User]

alright, my dad has specifically requested the following:

for: photo, video editing and little to no gaming

special requests: must be quiet, preferred some USB connection in the front for easier access, he also wants a webcam to chat with me on Skype when I go to university, prefers intel system (i5), he has windows XP but wants to upgrade to windows 7, wants to be able to burn lots of DVDs

budget: $900-1000(ABSOLUTE MAX) CAD

Also, he has a special question: "I would like to be able to backup all my data, not my software, unless someone tells me otherwise, on a seperate harddrive, but I don't want that harddrive running all the time, I only want to run it when I backup every few days."

In this case, would building a custom or getting a Dell be better?

[Morkcheese]

the tech support is usually incompetent
you getter a better computer for cheaper if you build it
you get better quality parts if you build it
individual parts have warranty
you can buy quiet fans

[KSI]

Dell isn't that bad, besides the fact you can build a computer for less.

[Evilan]

Dell has amazing laptop support. I broke my mom's XPS laptop when I tripped on the power chord and since it was under warranty she got a free one that cost 2x as much as the original for "the inconvenience."

[Java Llama]

just say "HO YOU STUPID" always works with my bitches

[Tezza1234]

Can't fault my Dell Laptop.

Dell Hate, pfft.

[gparent]

You can't argue with him, he's right on all points.

You can just convince him that a custom build is cheaper on the higher-end. The higher-end is where companies usually cannot compete for price. On the lower end, they can destroy custom-made.

[Zolofto]

[QUOTE=Armyis1337;20276534]Title of thread says it all, he likes their:

[LIST]
[*]tech support ("you call, they are there. they will walk you through anything")
[*]software ("their pre-builts come with stuff like Microsoft Office")
[*]warranty ("3-year-extended with Dell, what happens when something goes wrong with a custom built?")
[*]"never had a problem with Dell. i've owned 6 dell pc's with no problem and when I get it I don't have to put it together, it already works."
[*]"their higher end systems seem really well built and quiet" (he wants a quiet computer)
[/LIST]
Go Facepunch, convince him that custom builds are better!

Why are you rating me dumb...I like custom builds :([/QUOTE]

I work with dell. Heres some reasons why you should go with dell:

- India Tech support
- "Dell Certified Technicians" (DSP, DCSE) will fuck up your computer just taking a keyboard out. [8/10techs don't know what they're doing]
- Excellent outsourcing (Dell Managed Services, IT Outsourcing group), micromanages and never gets anything done.
- tons of preloaded shit
- Only choose dell to get a laptop.

Now, to convince that its better to go with custom builts (Retail, No OEM)

[list]
[*] Tech support is great when you don't know a damn thing about PCs. But if thats the case, you shouldn't be building one
[*] Software is software. However dell manages to fuck up their software amazingly well.
[*] Warranty. Most 'retail' components come with a better retail than 3 years. Sometimes worse. From personal IT experience, a HDD failed in my former companies Proliant Server. The drive was 1½ yeasr old. Seagate/Maxtor didn't honor the warranty because it was OEM. And HP-India helpdesk Riksha Yakkabulkukli said it only had a 1 year warranty. Most HDDs come with 2. Also there is "extended warranty providers". While they can be really iffy on honoring your warranty, they still have too. Be prepared to spend extra. But you'll get a new (not a refurb) component
[*] A computer is a computer. You're going to have problems with it. Dell is of good quality however. You do get a fair amount of defective units in a batch though. (Out of 1300 we ordered, about 50 turned up DOA)
[*] Higher end machines built by Dell are of great quality. The XPS and Alienware PCs are of surprisingly great quality, however be prepared to spend atleast 2x more than a custom built of the same quality.
[/list]

[^0mKTank]

Their phone support sucks. We got my grandma a laptop, it wasn't working right wirelessly printing because of 7, so they wanted to charge us the price of a full version of Vista to send it in and have the OSes swapped, and they said we would have to talk to tech support (wat).

They transfered us to tech support, and the rep refused to talk to us unless we paid for the phone services even though the laptop was literally delivered under 5 hours from then so there's no way our phone support had expired. We explained the issue and said we wanted to just return it, and the rep said that there would be a 30% restocking fee for returning it.

Finally we got another rep and they waived the 30% restocking fee even though we never actually saw any note of that under the returns section of their site. We sent it back, and they only refunded my grandpa 70% of the price of the laptop. We called again and it took an hour of sitting on hold going from department to department because they didn't know how they could help us without a serial number, and after about 3 hours on the phone we got the full amount back.

[Zeke129]

[QUOTE=Armyis1337;20276534]
[LIST]
[*]tech support ("you call, they are there. they will walk you through anything")
[*]software ("their pre-builts come with stuff like Microsoft Office")
[*]warranty ("3-year-extended with Dell, what happens when something goes wrong with a custom built?")
[*]"never had a problem with Dell. i've owned 6 dell pc's with no problem and when I get it I don't have to put it together, it already works."
[*]"their higher end systems seem really well built and quiet" (he wants a quiet computer)
[/LIST]
[/QUOTE]
1. Tech support is better with a pre-built. If an individual component fails, call them up and get an RMA if needed. You don't have to send the whole thing back.
2. They overcharge for software.
3. Many individual components have lifetime warranties.
4. I've never had a problem with a prebuilt.
5. Water cooling.

[JakeIsWin]

[QUOTE=ForTehWolf...2!;20276588]I hate dell's shitty software; I uninstall it immediately
there computers look like shit, expect the really expensive ones, altough I like that they put Ubuntu on their netbooks
tech support on the phone is stupid as shit, but I admit, there chat is WAY better than hp[/QUOTE]

When I get a computer, the last thing I care about it looks. :colbert:

[Finaldeath]

[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;20276794] However I don't like the glossy plastic palm rest, it get extremely smudgy.
[editline]06:01PM[/editline]
[/QUOTE]

God i hate that shit, why do all these companies that make things that involve you touching it constantly insist on making it glossy and uber easy to get full of fingerprints?

Just a few examples.....psp and ipod touch

[Missing User]

So the general consensus is, for a $900 to $1000 machine, it is probably better to go with a custom build, unless it's a laptop.

[Unreliable]

[QUOTE=Armyis1337;20277545]alright, my dad has specifically requested the following:

for: photo, video editing and little to no gaming

special requests: must be quiet, preferred some USB connection in the front for easier access, he also wants a webcam to chat with me on Skype when I go to university, prefers intel system (i5), he has windows XP but wants to upgrade to windows 7, wants to be able to burn lots of DVDs

budget: $900-1000(ABSOLUTE MAX) CAD

Also, he has a special question: "I would like to be able to backup all my data, not my software, unless someone tells me otherwise, on a seperate harddrive, but I don't want that harddrive running all the time, I only want to run it when I backup every few days."

In this case, would building a custom or getting a Dell be better?[/QUOTE]

Raid array for backing up software, he can't tell the difference, plus it's safe and he won't lose anything.

Here, I made this build for someone at a car forum, their PC section was dead and idiotic (suggesting 4GB DDR3 2x2gb for an i7 920)

Anyway:

[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=intel_i5-_-19-115-215-_-Product]The Intel i5 - $199[/url]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193&cm_re=DDR3-_-20-231-193-_-Product]4GB DDR3 Dual Channel RAM - $105[/url][url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858]Sapphire HD 5770 1GB - $160[/url]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171038]Coolermaster eXtreme Power 550w Power Supply - $65[/url]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130253&cm_re=p55-_-13-130-253-_-Product]MSI P55 M-ATX Motherboard - $99[/url]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284]Western Digital Black 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache - $99[/url]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingItem.aspx?ItemList=N82E16827135204]Asus DVD/CD R-+RW Combo Drive - $25[/url]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137&Tpk=RC-690]Coolermaster RC-690 Case - $80[/url]

[b]Total: 834.92[/b]

[ForTehWolf...2!]

[QUOTE=JakeIsWin;20279921]When I get a computer, the last thing I care about it looks. :colbert:[/QUOTE]
the last thing I care about is its ram....

[Reapaninja]

there's a mATX MoBo there, might be worth the extra for [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129041&cm_re=mini_P180-_-11-129-041-_-Product[/url], the sound dampening is pretty good and the fans are quiet

I'd drop the GPU down a bit more, 5770 seems a waste when it's not really going to be used for gaming

[~Kiwi~]

Dell = No
Alienware = No
Custommade = :siren: HOT HOT HOT

[Juniez]

their tech support is p awesome if you have warranty

I got 2 free 280gtx's from them

[Missing User]

[QUOTE=Unreliable;20281430]Raid array for backing up software, he can't tell the difference, plus it's safe and he won't lose anything.

Here, I made this build for someone at a car forum, their PC section was dead and idiotic (suggesting 4GB DDR3 2x2gb for an i7 920)

Anyway:

[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=intel_i5-_-19-115-215-_-Product"]The Intel i5 - $199[/URL]
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193&cm_re=DDR3-_-20-231-193-_-Product"]4GB DDR3 Dual Channel RAM - $105[/URL][URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858"]Sapphire HD 5770 1GB - $160[/URL]
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171038"]Coolermaster eXtreme Power 550w Power Supply - $65[/URL]
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130253&cm_re=p55-_-13-130-253-_-Product"]MSI P55 M-ATX Motherboard - $99[/URL]
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284"]Western Digital Black 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache - $99[/URL]
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingItem.aspx?ItemList=N82E16827135204"]Asus DVD/CD R-+RW Combo Drive - $25[/URL]
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137&Tpk=RC-690"]Coolermaster RC-690 Case - $80[/URL]

[B]Total: 834.92[/B][/QUOTE]

Alright thank you for all of your help guys! I really appreciate it. I'm going to make a thread in the PC Building section because he's probably going to order (a custom-made one now!) by this weekend.