Do Not Buy a Dell Computer

[Brynne]

I wonder why they are having such problems?
My Dell laptop is just over 3 years old and still works great.

I ordered a wireless keyboard and mouse combo from Dell last week for like $25 with free shipping and received it 2 days later.

I'd be really ticked if my expensive computer were continually delayed.

Is there a reason for this?

 

[LilyWDW]

Just a warning though... be careful with HP as well.

I have been looking for a new computer but have been having issues on finding the set up I wanted. Finally found one on the HP site that looked promising. I5-750, gforce 260, 8gig RAM, ect. Did a bit more research... 300W power supply... wait what?

The Nvidia Gforce 260 requires, according the Nvidia, a MINIMUM of a 500W power supply. This is the MINIMUM spec for this video card from the manufacturer. HP was selling this system with a 300W supply. This would be BAD... you could do some serious damage if your power supply is not adequate. There was NO option to upgrade the power supply. Come to find out after some looking around at their other systems that this is something common with HP.

So just be VERY careful about that.

 

[solfan68]

I wish I could order an HP, unfortunately HP does not have an equivalent computer to what I ordered (Zino HD). My only choices are to wait for Dell or build one myself.

Just got our Zino at the end of January after ordering it December 30. That said, it was worth the wait. Quiet as can be and can hook up to out flatscreen via the HDMI hookup. I was a bit disappointed with the wait, but quite happy with the end product.

 

[ssawka]

Just a warning though... be careful with HP as well.

I have been looking for a new computer but have been having issues on finding the set up I wanted. Finally found one on the HP site that looked promising. I5-750, gforce 260, 8gig RAM, ect. Did a bit more research... 300W power supply... wait what?

The Nvidia Gforce 260 requires, according the Nvidia, a MINIMUM of a 500W power supply. This is the MINIMUM spec for this video card from the manufacturer. HP was selling this system with a 300W supply. This would be BAD... you could do some serious damage if your power supply is not adequate. There was NO option to upgrade the power supply. Come to find out after some looking around at their other systems that this is something common with HP.

So just be VERY careful about that.

I bought an HP last year, and I was a bit concerned about the wattage of the the power supply, but a year later it is still going strong (Knock on wood!).

 

[BCV2003]

I don't think they realized how popular those Zinos were going to be.

I agree. This is what I had ordered. If I had ordered the basic one I would have been fine. I knew someone that ordered one the same day and they received theirs but since it was a gift I upgrade the drive to Blue Ray and the sound card.

My problem with Dell is that they should have known how many Blue Ray drives they had available to ship with that estimated ship date and then they should have had the estimated ship date change when you added that feature. If it had, I would not have added that as an option.

The thing that made me mad was that with the initial order I had 20% bing plus $70 off and free shipping. Them changing the date nullified the the bing and I was going to give an IOU for a Christmas gift and say that your gift MAY be here in two months if all goes well.

I have had no problems with the quality of Dell computers and, in fact, I have a Dell Laptop that is 6 years-old and going strong.

I just think they have terrible customer service.

 

[ssawka]

Just got our Zino at the end of January after ordering it December 30. That said, it was worth the wait. Quiet as can be and can hook up to out flatscreen via the HDMI hookup. I was a bit disappointed with the wait, but quite happy with the end product.

What was your configuration? I'm just wondering what is holding mine up since I ordered on 12/31.

 

[windycitymom]

Have you ever tried to call Dell customer service? It is impossible to get anyone that is not reading a script or has the authority to do anything.

I called Dell support and reached a man with a thick Indian accent who said, "My name is Kevin, how may I help you?" Somehow I doubt his name was Kevin. Ask immediately for "Level 2 support" which brings you to a customer service dept. in Texas.

 

[Frye7127]

My husband ordered a laptop from them one week ago and has already received it. I can totally agree with you about their customer service. I will bet you could reorder it, and you would get it in short order. Of course, you would lose your discounts (could that be Dell's problem?) I ordered a specialised desktop from them and got it in a few days - I was shocked - but of course this was several years ago.

 

[ssawka]

My husband ordered a laptop from them one week ago and has already received it. I can totally agree with you about their customer service. I will bet you could reorder it, and you would get it in short order. Of course, you would lose your discounts (could that be Dell's problem?) I ordered a specialised desktop from them and got it in a few days - I was shocked - but of course this was several years ago.

Yes, I'm begining to think that orders were better than they thought they were going to be so they want to cancel the orders that had discounts associated with them.

 

[gymboqueenkaylee]

That's odd becaues I ordered a custom built laptop on Jan 20 and got it Jan 28. I have never had any troubles with shipping with Dell. It's always been faster than my expected ship date.

 

[LMN]

OP: Not sure how you're going to "apply it to your 2009 taxes." Dell does not charge you for the computer until it ships, so you did not incur the expense in 2009

 

[Leajess99]

You are both so right.

The pink Dell Netbook we bought for DD that got the error "No Operating System Found" when it was turned on. After dealing with Dell No-Support, where they told me to take the battery out and press the power button for 2 minutes. Then to go into the BIOS and read them what was there. Like all these things were going to make the OS miraculously appear? Yea, right. All their support does is read from a script. If something goes wrong that's not on their script, they're clueless. I had one year of on-site support where they come to you to fix the computer if there's a problem. They wanted me to wait 7-10 business days for someone to come out or that I should go and buy an external CD drive and install the OS myself. They also told me that with the amount of computers they build, these things happen.

That thing got packed up and sent back right to Dell, and she is now the proud owner of a pink Sony Vaio Netbook instead, which is great. When I need a new laptop, I'm definitely checking out Sony.

I will never buy another Dell again, and this is coming from someone who has 2 laptops and a desktop that are all Dell.

I have never had an issue with Dell support and have had to use it several times recently. My laptop that was almost 3 years old crashed after being dropped and because I still had it under warranty they took it back and redid it. Unfortunately the wireless card would not keep a signal so they did a system exchange. My "new" laptop is awesome and much more up to date. When this one came in they did have the lower battery in it so I made another call. I had a brand new 9 cell battery the next day from them. I will continue to deal with Dell as they have had good service for my friends and myself. I am even getting ready to order my daughter a mini from them as her Acer that she got for Christmas, and was already replaced once due to being defective, is again going back for being defective.

 

[ssawka]

OP: Not sure how you're going to "apply it to your 2009 taxes." Dell does not charge you for the computer until it ships, so you did not incur the expense in 2009

You're are correct, I didn't even think about that. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait til 2011.

Thanks.

 

[DISdreamin']

All their support does is read from a script. If something goes wrong that's not on their script, they're clueless.

Had this with our last Dell - and I mean our LAST Dell. Ever.

Funny thing, it was a notebook with a serious overheating problem. As in smelling hot and feeling like it was going to go up in flames. Tech support gave me the "Hello, my name is Mike. How can I help you..." cr*p - yeah, sure. That's your name. Read from the script, having me do cartwheels and backflips. Had never heard of a problem like mine, etc. Asked for Level 2 tech support. Oh, no ma'am, we can figure this out. Um, no, I'm worried about a FIRE, dude! Funny, when you mention the work fire, you get results.

BTW, not too long after, battery recall. Ironic, no?

 

[timmac]

Awww...Dell's are good.

If you order one from their outlets...refurbs and scratch and dents...they're already packaged ready to ship...saves you a LOT of money going that route.

I've personally gone this route several times, and would absolutely recommend it.

 

[OhMari]

Wow! That is crazy. I wonder how they are deciding which ones to build. I ordered a custom Dell on January 18th and it arrived on the 28th. Maybe it has to do with yours being a pre-configured system? I wonder if they run out of parts/component for popular systems that cause delays.

FWIW, I have an 8 year old Dell laptop that my new one replaced. The only reason I had to replace it was because it will no longer run some of the newer programs.

We order DELL for work. We ordered a desk top, and did our own configures. Got a smoking deal on Black Friday. After waiting almost 6 weeks, I noticed on the web page, that the order was cancelled. I called Customer Service, and I was told an e-mail was sent. Not. The webpage, said it was cancelled because one of the components we ordered was out of stock. We just ordered another one 2 weeks ago, and it was promised last week, and we still don't have it.

We paid for 3 business days, because one of the girls in our office is without a computer. I can't believe it isn't here yet. And, it doesn't say anything on the log in, where you can see where your computer is.

 

[shelly3girls]

I wish I could order an HP, unfortunately HP does not have an equivalent computer to what I ordered (Zino HD). My only choices are to wait for Dell or build one myself.

I ordered DD a Dell for Christmas after Thanksgiving. It was delayed but arrived in plenty of time. I also purchased an HP for myself. It came in no time but it is a total lemon. I had to fight them for hours to believe it doesn't work. They remote accessed my computer and tried for an hour to fix it. finally they sent me a box for me to send it back. Of course I am not actually getting a new computer, they say they are going to repair the one I have. Never again!

 

[nd5056]

...

The Nvidia Gforce 260 requires, according the Nvidia, a MINIMUM of a 500W power supply. This is the MINIMUM spec for this video card from the manufacturer...

You wouldn’t believe just about anything you read on the internet, would you?

Nvidia continues to recommend using high-capacity power supply units for their graphics accelerators. However, as we have already proven multiple times any 400W-450W PSU will be sufficient to ensure their normal operation...

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/geforce-gtx200-theory_12.html#sect0

 

[Bama_C]

Amen, DISDreamin!

I have had five Dells (two of them laptops... one a refurb and one was brand-spankin'-new) and will NEVER have another one. I now own three Toshiba laptops which I love and for which I paid less than a third what I paid for two Dell laptops. The Dells lasted about as long as the warranty. With my second one (purchased new in 2005), a month after my warranty ran out I began getting the BSOD. I called Dell about it, and for a hefty fee (I originally paid over $1500 for the piece of junk) they would allow me to send it in and diagnose it. Then after they diagnosed it (for a fee) they would tell me how much it would cost to fix the thing. No thanks. Fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice, shame on me. My three Dell desktops (all over 7 years old) still run like well oiled machines. However, the OSs are severely out of date and they have very little RAM or hard drive space. The laptops are both dead as doornails and no good to anyone. Before the laptops, I was a dyed-in-the-wool Dell fan. I had recommended them to friends and family who had also purchased (I am now sorry to say they had similar experiences to mine.) They lost a loyal customer.

I love my Toshiba laptops... they are very durable and run very well. You can get a lot of computer for the money with them, and they make a good product.

XXXXX STAY AWAY FROM DELL XXXXX

Had this with our last Dell - and I mean our LAST Dell. Ever.

Funny thing, it was a notebook with a serious overheating problem. As in smelling hot and feeling like it was going to go up in flames. Tech support gave me the "Hello, my name is Mike. How can I help you..." cr*p - yeah, sure. That's your name. Read from the script, having me do cartwheels and backflips. Had never heard of a problem like mine, etc. Asked for Level 2 tech support. Oh, no ma'am, we can figure this out. Um, no, I'm worried about a FIRE, dude! Funny, when you mention the work fire, you get results.

BTW, not too long after, battery recall. Ironic, no?

 

[tinatark]

OP, if you ordered it around Christmas, the processors have already changed - from Pentium/Dual Core Pentium to I3, I5, etc... it won't be obsolete, but will not be the "latest thing". Sorry!