Are Dell Destops Good/Reliable?

[V Bot]

Just want to know what everyone thinks of the Dell line desktop computers.

[usually_quiet]

I bought one in 2001. It still works. (It is my backup computer in case of emergency.) Current models take a standard PSU if a replacement is needed. They are fine if you are not an over-clocker and don't intend to upgrade the CPU or motherboard.

[sum_guy]

I can't praise them because I have three of them as servers, and as soon as I say how wonderful they are, they are going to fail. Don't put me in that position.

[16mmJunkie]

Picked one up in a trade for some video work a 9150 put a HD card max memory and a second Harddrive runs great in the other room.

[PuzZLeR]

It seems everybody has an opinion on Dell products - and it can be positive or negative.

[V Bot]

Thanks for the replies, I was just debating on several desktops. I went to Office Max and picked up an Acer AX3910-U3012. Not a bad deal, $329.00 on sale, 4GB DDR3 (Upgradable to 8GB), Intel GMA X4500 Graphics, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit, Intel Pentium E5700 Processor, 640GB HD (That's Enough for me), Wireless LAN. I just wonder about the vertical DVD Drive. Gonna buy 4 more GB Ram soon.

Need to see what it's got in it.

[lordsmurf]

If I have to pick a "brand name" computer, I'm going with HP.

Otherwise I self-build.
.... mostly from a shopping spree at Microcenter, Fry's, Geeks, Directron, Newegg or Amazon.

Those Acer systems are as good as a Dell, I think.

My opinion on notebooks is different -- look to Dell or HP, or even Apple.

[V Bot]

If I have to pick a "brand name" computer, I'm going with HP.

Otherwise I self-build.
.... mostly from a shopping spree at Microcenter, Fry's, Geeks, Directron, Newegg or Amazon.

Those Acer systems are as good as a Dell, I think.

My opinion on notebooks is different -- look to Dell or HP, or even Apple.

I have an Acer Aspire One 8.9" I bought about 2 years ago, it's seems to do good. What's the opinion on Vertical DVD Drives? Is that trouble? The Tower is about half the size of my old one. I do like that.

[hech54]

I have an OLD Dell here as a backup. It has never failed me.

[redwudz]

I don't particularly like vertical mounted optical drives, but they should perform just as well as a horizontal mount. The disc is clamped in there anyway. Some are a bit hard to load, but if they mounted it that way I would assume it's optimized for vertical loading. Acer is a bit of an economy brand, but so is HP most times. If you don't plan to do heavy video work, should be fine.

Probably not bad idea to add more RAM with a 64bit OS and likely on board graphics using some of it. RAM prices are lower at present, so maybe a good time to upgrade.

[victoriabears]

I think the old adages of getting what you pay for and luck kicking in.

I bought two to replace my 5 year old local built machines and would make the following observations.

I saved $200 a machine going with dell but they are not as easy to add extra drives and other internals as there is not as much space as in a local built machine using a standard case.

The xps9100 is a better built and more robust machine than the xps7100, i bought one of each. The use of only sata connectors needs to be considered if you want to use ide parts as you would need a pci card (1slot only) and there isn;t much room.

They came well packed and certainly are fast and well set up, and I never thought I would like the factory installed quick reinstall option but it is certainly easy , keeping your data files and system files on separate drives is a great way to ensure an easy reinstall.

[classfour]

We have 3 Dell desktops, 1 Dell laptop, 2 Dell Mini 10s. I can't build a machine for what I can buy a Dell for. The only failure that I've seen was a screen hinge on an older model (that I sold) which is still running. No problems so far - at work we have 25 or so, and they've had failures (alot of power supplies) and have lost video cards or hard drives.

Also, check where they ship from - friend bought an HP and paid to overnight it - took 2 weeks for him to get it. It had to slow boat from China, then overnight from California.

Most Dells I see within 2 days without paying extra. Then again, I do my own upgrades - no custom orders.

[MJPollard]

We use Dell desktops (mostly the OptiPlex line) and servers at work. Solid, reliable machines. I personally own a Dell laptop (Vostro 1500 w/ 2GB, Core2 Duo, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M, with all the usual network/port trimmings) and it's been rock solid. Currently runs XP Pro SP3, but I'll be upgrading to 7 soon (it doesn't "officially" run 7, with some drivers not available, but I found obscure 64-bit drivers by doing The Google). As others said, Dells are good if you don't plan on doing much customizing, and as LS said, Dell laptops are hard to beat.

[jollyjohn]

It's like anything else, all depends on how much you want to spend. There are top machines that can cost you over four grand and the cheap ones that you may be lucky an get an excellent one. My son and my daughter have Dell laptops and they swear by them. Wouldn't have anything else.

[handyguy]

Last few orders from Dell I never got, they just made me wait & wait. You rarely read about them in the news these days.

ZT Affinity at Costco are pretty basic, nice specs, don't have any bloatware. HP computers have nice maintenance built in these days.