OKay so slightly off topic but in regard to Dell.

[Luchtaine]

I think it was here I was reading Dell has taken an unfriendly stance toward gun ownership.

So supposeing that this is true i need to find another manufacturer for a cheapish office computer. I've been told to order a new one for the shop here.

So I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about gateway perhaps or anyone else for that matter.

if it wasn't for work I would just build one on my own, I can't beat the prices on the low end systems, however.

 

[KriegHund]

Bought a pentium 2 gateway in 1998.

Still workin hard to this day with all original equipment but the graphics card (Nothing was wrong with the old one, i just wanted a more powerful one)

IMHO dell sucks. I hate that they use chipsets, especially. That bugs the hell outta me.

 

[Luchtaine]

Yeah well I've no loyalty to either. For my own personal use I put them together myself.

but since we arn't talking top of the line here I can't compete pricewise.

 

[Technosavant]

Old story.

Short version: the order got kicked because of the business name, and Dell went out of their way to make it right (even offering major discounts, IIRC), but the person decided they would rather gripe about it on the internet.

Krieg, EVERYBODY uses chipsets. If you don't have a chipset on the motherboard, there is nothing to govern the operation of said motherboard. You will have a doorstop. They do have some machines with integrated video chipsets, but you can opt for separate cards (if that is what you meant).

I have no beef with Dell, and the notebook I am typing this on is a Dell. I do not believe they have any animosity toward gun owners or gun related businesses, and when I replace this notebook, it may well be with another Dell. I build my own desktops- nobody does those well enough for my tastes (I'm too picky).

 

[KriegHund]

Old story.

Krieg, EVERYBODY uses chipsets. If you don't have a chipset on the motherboard, there is nothing to govern the operation of said motherboard. You will have a doorstop. They do have some machines with integrated video chipsets, but you can opt for separate cards (if that is what you meant).

Mm, sorry, that is what i meant.

Ive actually had no bad experiences with dell. Or gateway.

Making you own (well, assembling) is probably the best way to go.

i have heard good things about alienware.

 

[redloki]

Shooting has always been my first hobby since I was a kid. My second hobby is computers. I build and fix them on the side for a little extra money, which goes into computers or guns. So, I break even with a few extra toys in the toybox. There are a lot of good websites out there that offer great discounts on PC's. You can find new, refurbished,or used. I get a lot of my computer parts here. They have great all around prices and a great selection on everything computer related. No, I do not work for them, I just shop there. Hope this helps.

 

[Delmar]

Don't know how Dell is now on their notebooks, but a few years back when I was in Saudi a few years back, every single tech who showed up with a Dell had their hard drive fail within 3 months. I had an older model Toshiba which took everything I could toss at it without complaint.

 

[ZenMasterJG]

You should probably think again about building your own. No, you can't compete with the prices for the real bottom-line systems, but you can definatly build better systems for less money then most places will charge you.
Especially if you have an old box you can gank the case, power supply, etc from.
I've built low end systems that could compete against dell & gateway, but I also have a bunch of extra random parts lying around (cases, drives, etc)


(Maybe someday i'll do a karma for a IBM PC-AT! )

 

[michael_aos]

I get a lot of my computer parts here.

Another vote for Tiger Direct.

Mike

 

[308win]

I have an eight year old Gateway and the only thing that has failed was the modem. I bought 6 Toshibas for project staff and three of them were DOA out of the box (bad disc controllers). I have Dells (desktop and laptop) now and they are as good as anything out there (just MHO). I will probably buy Dell again unless something better & less expensive comes along.

 

[blackdragon]

If you want parts, or a custom assemble, www.mwave.com -- I've spent more there than on guns. Great prices, and they handle warranty issues well.

But if it is for business, well, something prebuilt, with warranty and onsite service is always nice. Dell's seem to do this fairly well.

 

[George S.]

I just bought a new Gateway to replace an older Gateway. It's still running (even as I type!!) but its level of technology is what is now considered to be ancient history in the IT world (1.3GhZ P4 chip, 128MB RAM, 20GB hard drive and Windows ME

I've always had excellent results with Gateway and we used them in the office I used to work in. Had a Dell at work but it only stayed around for a few months. Went thru a big office upgrade and wound up with IBM's.

A lot of people I have talked to say that Dell's customer support pretty much sucks. You typically get India when you call Dell Customer Support and it can be very frustrating to talk to somebody who does not have a good command of the English language. But most of the Customer Support "techs" in the consumer retail world can only provide advice from canned responses they read to a customer.

My recommendation would be Gateway and check out the DX line for a system that will provide enough performance for just about any kind of office use and even intensive graphics activity or gaming. The base processor is a Pentium 4 631 at 3 GHz.

I would also recommend some additional memory (1GB if at all possible), an upgraded video card like an nVidia GeForce 6200 if you are looking at doing any graphics and an LCD flat panel monitor.

 

[Berek]

Mm, sorry, that is what i meant.

Ive actually had no bad experiences with dell. Or gateway.

Making you own (well, assembling) is probably the best way to go.

i have heard good things about alienware.

Ted Nugent gave away alienware on Survivor: Nugent...

And, yes, they have good stuff. And cool looking...

 

[Lupinus]

Dell sucks, I will probably never buy another one.

Modem wouldn't work, I was on the crappist iternet connection possible for six months untill one day it started to work right agian out of the blue. And customer service did nothing. Couldn't hardly understand him, bad enough you outsource you could at least pick a guy who can speak english clearly enough he can be understood. Then that nice extended warrenty? Oh no, thats no good for this because they were convinced the problem, which fixing how it would have been fixed had it been the problem didn't work, didn't cover this. Thanks dell for ripping me off.

That and in general I just didn't like it.

The best compters are Alienware IMO. HP and Gateway are also good.

 

[Technosavant]

Alienware is good, but they charge about half again what they need to.

Anybody will churn out good and bad PCs. Individual part failures are usually more the fault of the source than the PC maker- these contracts are decided upon long before the problems are evident (IBM 75GXP "Deathstar" drives- the drive that killed IBM's hard drive business). Dell has good deals and decent machines, but they do tend toward proprietary power supplies and motherboards (pinouts are different, NEVER upgrade a motherboard or p/s on a Dell without swapping the other).

To those who don't roll their own, I tend to recommend to Dell or HP. My particular set of anecdotal evidence shows Gateway being crap, but that will vary too.

In computers even more than guns, you pays your money and you takes your chances. And if you thought getting a bad gun fixed was a pain, bad computers are even worse.

Of course, there are things one can do with a good gun and a bad computer...

 

[palerider1]

dell bites. when you call them you get some boobely from india, and they would call me to remind me to send a payment in before it was even due. next time i'm going to get an IBM. they sell refurbished ones for 3-500 bucks.

 

[autospike]

I've never heard anything about Dell being unfriendly to gun owners.

I work at a state university and manage a group that is responsible for around 1,000 desktops and laptops and we have close to 40 servers. About 270 of those PCs are in use in labs that serve over 6,000 students - they are ABUSED. They are all Dell.

7 or so years ago, I evaluated Gateway, Dell, Micron, IBM, Compaq, HP, and a few others. Dell *whipped* everyone soundly. I chose what I thought would give me the least amount of trouble. So far, I've been extremely happy. That was a significant change for me since my previous job was at a telecom with all HP and Compaq stuff, and before that I was a Compaq and HP reseller. I hated Dell up until that point.

Notes:
Dell divides their lines into "Corporate or Professional" and into "Consumer".

The Optiplex, Precision, and Latitude are their Corporate or Pro lines. IF you are buying for a business, buy one of those. The support IS NOT outsourced outside the States on those boxes (but it is or at least was on the consumer stuff - Inspirons and Dimensions).

Buy the Gold warranty stuff and CompleteCare and they will take care of it even if you drop it or run over it with your truck

I don't like Gateways. Mainly because their sales and support staff could never take care of us. They opened a bunch of stores around here and now they are all gone. I don't think it looks good for them at all.

HP/Compaq is a shell of what they used to be. Carly Fiorina did a great job of destroying what were once two outstanding tech companies.

Building something yourself is great if you have the time and inclination. The problem is that it can become a nightmare if you're not careful. If this is going into a business, and something goes south, even if it's not your fault, you will still be blamed if you built the thing. Not a fun place to be.

Hmmm... what else. Oh yeah... I use PCs every day. I have them on my desk at home and at the office. But when I'm on *my* time, and actually I guess for about 80% of work time, I'm using a Mac.

 

[cbsbyte]

I have a Dell desktop that replaced a Compaq that replaced a Gateway 2000. The worst of the three was Gateway. I bought it in late 1994, when they where still located in Souix City, South Dakota. I never liked it. The computer which was a Dx486-66 had a lot of software problems throughout its usage. And then mother board died after three years of use: Gateway said tough luck and didn't bother helping with the defect. The Compaq(1998) was a good computer but with alot of software issues that where only gradually addressed with software updates. It was also very limited in how you could update the computer over the years. In 2002 I purchased a Dell which is a good computer but the harddrive died after one month. Luckily I had copies of my files still on the Compaq. Dell had a techy come to my house to replace the HD. But he messed up the instulation, so the HD would not work properly, and then I had to have a Tech on the phone from India guide me through formatting the HD. He did a great job and knew is stuff but it was very hard to understand him. It has work great since the HD replacement. I will get a new computer at the end of this year. I am not sure what it will be. Maybe an Apple with the new Intel chips?

On a side note. My Mom had an HP if I can remember correctly from 1999. And it was a terrible computer. It had numorus software problems, that I had to try and fix. Their techinical service was useless. It never worked properly. Then my Mom after a four years of the HP bought a Dell notebook, which completely died after three months of light useage. The worst part is thar they lost it in a warehouse somewhere in Texas after being sent back to be replaced. After some lengthy phone calls a manager finialy refunded all her money including shipping. She now has a Toshiba Notebook which seems to be working very well for her. She now recommends Toshiba to all her friends. Granted she does not travel or use it for more than typing emails and notes for commitees. But it works with no problems.

 

[KriegHund]

Bottom line-

All mainstream computer companys suck.

 

[BigRobT]

All computer manufacturers suck. Dell & Gateway have decent tech support offerings for the average end user. Personally, I prefer to build desktops myself. I build them for myself & my wife's office. They run fine. I've found that I can build a higher end machine for the same price as Dell's medium end machines. I can't compete when they offer deals on their low end stuff.

My Toshiba laptop is circa 1999, and HAD windowsME on it. I finally got sick of the constant BSOD or restoring my active desktop and installed XP. Since then, it runs as fine as frog's hair. I did buy my wife a new Gateway laptop. Price was right and I'm not into building them. So far, no issues. Gateway's rep did take a dive circa 98 and stayed low until 2002. They've been on the upswing since.

 

[cracked butt]

All mainstream computer companys suck.

Some of the local, not-so-mainstream companies are far worse.Far worse.Far far worse.

A few years ago when I bought my last computer I ordered it from a local company. Not only did it take them 3 weeks to deliver it, but a coworker ordered a Dell 2 weeks after I ordered mine, and he had his set up and running before I got mine. I had specified for them not to install an operating system, yet one of the techs did then realized the error and botched the removal of it, making reinstallation a bigger PITA than it needed to be. They didn't include any of the software drivers for the hardware installed or for the motherboard for that matter- they simply toook the disk from another motherboard they had in stock and gave it to me and burned the other drivers onto another disc, of course this necessitated a trip tot he shop to pick these discs up. The computer worked just long enough for me to install the operating system before the motherboard went TU. I took the computer back to the store, where it sat for another 2 weeks. I called a week after dropping it off, and they said they had the motherboard in and would work on it the next day (friday). I called saturday and was told that the tech who was going to do the repairs was on vacation and wouldn't be back until tuesday. I called wednesday expecting it to be done, but they hadn't touched it yet, I finally got it on friday. When I took it home it wouldn't post. I took the box back to the store with the full intention of throwing it through their front window. They fixed the computer 2 days later.

All told, it litterally took me about 6 weeks to get a working computer with a lot of aggravation on the way. Next time I'm buying a Dell. BTW, the coworker that bought a Dell got roughly an equivalent computer with a LCD monitor for the same price I paid just for the computer box from the 'nonmainstream' brand. I'm not going to name the company outright, but the biggest largest city in Wisconsin is part of the name.

Anti or not, I'll go with dell just so I don't have to come close to having a darn stroke again.

 

[cracked butt]

All mainstream computer companys suck.

Some of the local, not-so-mainstream companies are far worse.Far worse.Far far worse.

A few years ago when I bought my last computer I ordered it from a local company. Not only did it take them 3 weeks to deliver it, but a coworker ordered a Dell 2 weeks after I ordered mine, and he had his set up and running before I got mine. I had specified for them not to install an operating system, yet one of the techs did then realized the error and botched the removal of it, making reinstallation a bigger PITA than it needed to be. They didn't include any of the software drivers for the hardware installed or for the motherboard for that matter- they simply toook the disk from another motherboard they had in stock and gave it to me and burned the other drivers onto another disc, of course this necessitated a trip tot he shop to pick these discs up. The computer worked just long enough for me to install the operating system before the motherboard went TU. I took the computer back to the store, where it sat for another 2 weeks. I called a week after dropping it off, and they said they had the motherboard in and would work on it the next day (friday). I called saturday and was told that the tech who was going to do the repairs was on vacation and wouldn't be back until tuesday. I called wednesday expecting it to be done, but they hadn't touched it yet, I finally got it on friday. When I took it home it wouldn't post. I took the box back to the store with the full intention of throwing it through their front window. They fixed the computer 2 days later.

All told, it litterally took me about 6 weeks to get a working computer with a lot of aggravation on the way. Next time I'm buying a Dell. BTW, the coworker that bought a Dell got roughly an equivalent computer with a LCD monitor for the same price I paid just for the computer box from the 'nonmainstream' brand. I'm not going to name the company outright, but the biggest largest city in Wisconsin is part of the name.

Anti or not, I'll go with dell just so I don't have to come close to having a darn stroke again.

 

[Sindawe]

For the most part, Dell vends acceptable hardware. Not great or top of the line, but it works. Most of the time. A buddy bought a refurb Dell for his wife for Xmas, and it was delivered with a DOA video card. I use refurb Dells for my testing/training network at home with no problems, and have put three of 'em into other folk's homes with no problems either.

The Consumer support DOES suck rocks big time. Talking to "Jim" in India via VoIP really sucks when your CD/DVD drive fails. Corporate support is a bit better, but I've had to get "unplesent" and twist their arms a few times to get failing servers repaired under warranty in a timely fashion. The wanted to replace each component one at a time and let it run till it failed. Nope, not on a production box.

Home spec'd and built machines for gaming beat Dell and everybody else hands down. The ONLY issue I've had with the Media/Gaming box I built in 2004 has been the bug-riddled Media suite from ATI and its joke of a remote control.

I delt with HP and Compaqs in the 90's while working in Biotech. Machines were flaky as all get out. If you even LOOKED at 'em wrong they'd crash and lock up. Not good when you're running assays to fractionate the elution peak off a chromotography column.

 

[SirPorl]

Building them is fun

I too fix them and build them on the side for a bit o extra money. Tiger is a good place to score parts from. Also Newegg is another good parts vendor. Newegg has excellent customer service if you ever have a problem.

SirPorl

 

[pcf]

I bought a Dell Insprion in Aug 2004, when shipped the hard drive bracket was not secured. The inside of the computer had been destroyed in transit. Dell replaced the computer with a very well worn refurb'd machine, and was more than happy to cite their policy "all replacements can be made with refurbished parts". Finally ended up stopping the payment with Visa. It took Dell 6 months (Feb 05) to send a return label for the computer. Great customer service, as long as you don't call it.

I ended up buying an eMachines from Bestbuy, for $360 with a two year warranty, it's not a bad deal. The power supply died in December and Bestbuy replaced it. It's a cheap computer (even if it goes TU and there's no support, I won't be that upset), and the supports local, customer service is so much better when a person has to face you.