the more i use my Dell Laptop the more i like it and a couple times now between mine and my dads dell laptops we have upgraded/changed parts and Dell provide you with downloadable step by step instructions on how to replace virtually any part of the laptop/desktop

they also sell all upgrades themselves direct or using their part numbers can often be found a little cheaper on ebay but with the instructions still available from Dell its so easy its unbelievable

i am getting an 802.11n internal card for my inspiron 6400 for £30 from ebay and i have just done a dry run on removale/refitting and it requires removal of the cover above the keyboard and the keyboard itself which sounded daunghting tbh but turns out the top cover unclips if you know how and the keyboard is held in with 2 screws and some clips, took maybe 5 mins to take apart, have a gander at and put back together again

can't wait to get my new wireless adapter now and get a new router so i can have better/faster wireless

i also bought the bluetooth adapter from ebay after purchase (£30 build option that was unavailable at the time, £18 from ebay) and it installed in no time and when i turned the laptop on windows deteceted the hardware and had it installed in a couple of minutes with no need for disks/downloads

I am now a Dell fanboy and will recommend them to everyone

Because it rhymes with hell!

Because it's trendy to say "oh Dell's just crap" in the same way that you'll get people bashing Microsoft for no good reason , or Skodas for that matter.

We had a problem laptop at work that was just a bad one from the factory. It had a new motherboard because it kept bluescreening and was ok for a couple of months then died. They swapped the MB a second time which didn't fix it so rather than keep faffing I phoned them up and asked for a replacement machine which they have arranged.

If you were buying other manufacturers kit through a reseller you simply wouldn't get that service at all.

Do people hate Dell?

Right now I'm happily sitting with my 5 yrs old Dell Inspiron that so far never has failed me - I use it both at the offfice and at home. After all these years (and more demanding software) I've began to long for more memory.

At my Uni there's nothing but Dells - well, there's a few macs since some stubborn colleagues refuse to touch anything else, and I guess there are some larger unix machines in the IT labs. AFAIK our techs are quite happy with them.

I recommend Dell to everyone that cares to listen.

Their support is cr@p - but tell me a company that offers anything better than that?

quite possible hit the nail on the head there Doctor.

Do people hate Dell?

Right now I'm happily sitting with my 5 yrs old Dell Inspiron that so far never has failed me - I use it both at the offfice and at home. After all these years (and more demanding software) I've began to long for more memory.

At my Uni there's nothing but Dells - well, there's a few macs since some stubborn colleagues refuse to touch anything else, and I guess there are some larger unix machines in the IT labs. AFAIK our techs are quite happy with them.

I recommend Dell to everyone that cares to listen.

Their support is cr@p - but tell me a company that offers anything better than that?

i take it you mean phone type support?

i've found their online support excellent

i take it you mean phone type support?

i've found their online support excellent

Yup, phone support - if you're a home user and not covered by any of the advanced support offers. They can happily spend a lot of time telling you why they are not giving you the information you ask for, when a simple 10 sec. answer would solve the issue.

In my case my laptop refused to recognise a new AC adaptor. The simple solution was that I had to upgrade BIOS (which of course phone support could have told me if they wanted to, but no).

Eventually solved thanks to the big online support community Google.

Also had that classical experience when my sis bought a Dell. She had ordered it without AV but it came anyway with Norton (as it was then). Problem was that Norton refused to update properly (classic Norton issue). Dell support said: "it's a software issue, call Norton" while Norton said "since it was installed by Dell, call Dell".

Once again Google helped me to get rid of it.

I'm on my second Dell Laptop and I can't really fault it. Had a screen problem but they sent an engineer next day and he changed it all without question.

For company use with a support contract of sufficient level it's geat

Still looking for a laptop (earlier post) Dell was top of my list until some on here said otherwise:eek: Must say though looking around the Dell XPS still ticks all the right boxes:thumbup:

Will be ordering one soon me thinks....

Phil

I can not fault Dell I agree that the telephone support can be a pain in the a55 but hey its the same for any telephone support that uses call centres in India.

had a hard disk failure and 24 hrs later engineer was on doorstep with new disk

They get a off me as well

My last 2 desktops have been from Dell and I have never had any problems with them

I was recommended to get my pc from Dell from a friend who has used them in the past!

For company use with a support contract of sufficient level it's geat

yeah, we had Dell servers at my old place; even the phone support was wicked and if a part/engineer was needed it was always there either within xx hours or the next day, depending on the support contract.

I still want either an eee pc or macbook to replace my ageing Fujitsu laptop though

I still want either an eee pc or macbook to replace my ageing Fujitsu laptop though

I too find the eee tempting. I'm thinking of talking my boss into giving me a Dell Latitude as office laptop, stick to my old Inspiron for home use (it's quite OK for most everyday tasks despite the limited RAM) and get an eee just for fun - and travelling. Well priced, too, considering what it can do.

I hate Dell for all the crappy thin cheap paper booklets they send through the post that weigh a ton and turn to pulp when it rains, and rip when pushed through a tight letter box Oh and they seem to send them out weekly as well. Mind you keeps us in a job

Inspiron 9400 laptop here, my only criticism of it is the very poor USB hub built onto the board. it won't power my USB HSDPA Modem, mouse dongle and external disk

of course I can use a powered USB hub, but not always convenient to lug around.

I'm pretty certain my next laptop will be a Dell XPS, but I am a call of duty 4 addict and I can run it on one of those hahaaaaaaaaaaa

Better not let my brother see this, he has just ordered a lap top from dell and sounds like he got a good deal from them, will let you know he gets on with his one.

Because it's trendy to say "oh Dell's just crap" in the same way that you'll get people bashing Microsoft for no good reason , or Skodas for that matter.

We had a problem laptop at work that was just a bad one from the factory. It had a new motherboard because it kept bluescreening and was ok for a couple of months then died. They swapped the MB a second time which didn't fix it so rather than keep faffing I phoned them up and asked for a replacement machine which they have arranged.

If you were buying other manufacturers kit through a reseller you simply wouldn't get that service at all.

Hit the nail squarley on the head there, I had a fault on the screen on the 9400, next day a Dell engineer arrived whilst I was on a customers site and swapped the screen out, no more problems.

I get the same with Microsoft, people hate Microsoft, I'm not talking about some of our more well informed Mac and Linux bretheren, but people who can just about master the use of a mouse will say Microsofts crap .... ask them why and they have no real answer.

Family members want a PC, I just send them to the dell website, saves me faffing around building stuff

I've no problem with their laptops but their desktops seem to be slower than their specs suggest. I use either a Dell or a FujitsuSiemens at work, both the same spec, both built with the same software but the FJ is definitely the quicker of the two, also quieter.

That said, I'd have the Dell machine, even if when the fans kick in it sounds like it's trying to take off as it's less likely to blow it's power supply up.

Because I have to deal with their 1 day return service that took 1 month, because I have to deal with failing hardware on a regular basis in the pro line. Because on average the machines behave for the first 14 months then start to play silly buggers.

That is why I don't like Dell. Doesn't mean I like any others mind.

Kit is ok for the money.

Support for home users is not good.

Sales are pushy and try to get you to order bits you don't need

They often change the spec of the machines that you order without warning (usually to you disadvantage)

I'll still recommend them to people but I warn them about what can happen.

The best dell sales story i ever read was some bloke rang up and explained he wanted a home PC but wanted to be able to share files with another machine, so they sold him a cheap home PC and a 4 grand server, when he found out he had been done he rang back dell who refused to take back the equipment because it was a business product or something like that. Could be complete urban myth but quite amusing!

sounds like BS to me but would be quite funny.

Never had any problems with Dell, I had an Inspiron 5150 with the dreaded and notorious mobo fault, they collected it, replaced the board and delivered it back to my doorstep FOC when the machine was just over 2 years old, can't argue with that.

The 2 M1710's we use have been faultless (touch wood) for over 15 months now.

As for Microshaft; Vista is a quantum leap over most of Mr. Gates' past efforts. I always ask people who moan about it to build a better O/S and they usually shut up.

The best dell sales story i ever read was some bloke rang up and explained he wanted a home PC but wanted to be able to share files with another machine, so they sold him a cheap home PC and a 4 grand server, when he found out he had been done he rang back dell who refused to take back the equipment because it was a business product or something like that. Could be complete urban myth but quite amusing!

Dell sells file server to man with two PCs | The Register

A clueless business customer wanted to be able to share files between PCs and got sold a server as well as the PCs.