OT: Anyone bought a Dell computer from Dell.ca?

[SaraMc]

Hi everyone, DH and I are thinking we need to upgrade and have been looking into Dell and the whole monthly payment thing. Anyone use them? Are they good. Are they bad?

 

[MikeyNS]

Hi everyone, DH and I are thinking we need to upgrade and have been looking into Dell and the whole monthly payment thing. Anyone use them? Are they good. Are they bad?

I've never had a problem with Dell. If it's price you're worried about you can't beat the price/quality ratio, but something custom built with quality parts from a local shop will outlast them for sure.. but by that time you may be ready for a new machine. Usually the top of the line Dells are within a stones throw of a locally built machine.

Personally I use one of their bottom of the line $299 machines (bought it last year when it was on sale) and the thing has been rock solid. Got a friend of mine to purchase a half dozen or so for his office and have had no issues either (hey, for $299 you can throw it out after the years warranty).
You will always hear bad and good stories. All I can relate to is personal experience, and I would definitely buy one of their cheaper machines again!

 

[drag n' fly]

We had ours custom built 2 years ago. Quick and efficient customer service with them. We will be doing an upgrade at some point soon with them again. No problems here.

 

[trivial]

My sister-in-law just bought one, at my suggestion. I highly recommend Dell unless you'd prefer to custom-build your own PC.

 

[Care]

My trusty Dell desktop is going on 8 years old, and still running strong. When I bought it, the system was about as good as you could get at the time: Pentium III, 11GB hard drive, 256MB RAM, and a DVD player. No major problems. All I've done in the past 3 years in terms of maintenance is added another 128MB RAM (since that kind of RAM is pretty hard to find), replaced the hard drive with a bigger one - 100GB (funny that my MP3 player had a bigger memory than my PC), and added a CD-RW. Other than that, I am still using all of the original components in the PC and the original monitor. Keyboard and mouse have been upgraded several times )

I'm a big fan of Dell, and can also add that our entire office uses Dell laptops and desktops. Never had a problem with the computer, the company, or the quality of customer service post-purchase. I cannot attest to the monthly installment plan, though, since I've never used it.

 

[drag n' fly]

My trusty Dell desktop is going on 8 years old, and still running strong. When I bought it, the system was about as good as you could get at the time: Pentium III, 11GB hard drive, 256MB RAM, and a DVD player. No major problems. All I've done in the past 3 years in terms of maintenance is added another 128MB RAM (since that kind of RAM is pretty hard to find), replaced the hard drive with a bigger one - 100GB (funny that my MP3 player had a bigger memory than my PC), and added a CD-RW. Other than that, I am still using all of the original components in the PC and the original monitor. Keyboard and mouse have been upgraded several times )

I'm a big fan of Dell, and can also add that our entire office uses Dell laptops and desktops. Never had a problem with the computer, the company, or the quality of customer service post-purchase. I cannot attest to the monthly installment plan, though, since I've never used it.

That is how we purchased our custom built was through a corporate discount. My dh entire office used dell also. The turn around time with dell was exceptional also. We did not finance ours but I am sure it must be ok or you would hear about it!

 

[mousy_in_canada]

I am waiting for their $299 or $399 specials I thought they came out by now for Christmas sales, my sister got one last year and loves it!

 

[SaraMc]

Thanks everyone, we have a Dell that was given to us when a friend upgraded to a new computer after our old ones hard drive fried . We are going to go for it I think. Now I just need to get DH on board with this ( he's one of those, but ours works why get a new one.. but Im tired of worrying if I turn this pc off its not going to turn back on.)

 

[cslittle999]

Dell is good but also take a look at HP. HP actually ships more home computers than Dell. I've found that HP's are a little less expensive than the comparable Dell and you don't need to pay for shipping. You do trade-off not being able to custom build the machine. Watch the Futureshop and Best Buy flyers for deals.

 

[trivial]

Dell frequently has deals of all kinds, including free shipping. I don't mean to doubt you, but what makes you say HP sells more PCs than Dell? I find that extremely hard to believe.

 

[connorsmom911]

We have a Dell at home, bought 4 years ago now and have had very few problems with it, none actually hardware related. I was very impressed at the time, and still am. We are in the market for a new computer simply because ours is getting up there in age, so I ask around work, where there are a lot of computer geeks, IT guys, etc. The current feeling is that while Dell is still OK, HP is the better supplier at the moment, so that is who we will be going with this time around.

 

[cslittle999]

Dell frequently has deals of all kinds, including free shipping. I don't mean to doubt you, but what makes you say HP sells more PCs than Dell? I find that extremely hard to believe.

HP passed Dell in the third quarter this year.

http://news.com.com/HP+regains+spot+as+No.+1+PC+maker+worldwide/2100-1003_3-6127339.html

 

[dennise]

We bought a Dell in October through the shopping channel, they have a really good deal about every three months, there is one this Saturday,but on New Years day they always have a great package. You can usually poay over nine months and no shipping or handling. Quite a good software package included as well as upgrades if you are interested. We acutally got three years in house warranty with ours at no extra cost.

 

[jtdl]

I bought a Dell about 6 months ago. Have had absolutely no problem so far. I have had an HP as well as a one built by a local computer store. I have had no problems with any (other than the motherboard went in the HP due to a lightening strike to my home). The only thing I don't like about Dell is that if you buy one of their printers, you have to order the ink from them - can't run out to a store and buy it.

 

[A&CsMom]

We bought a Dell online on December 2/06 using an interest free loan through my husband's work (employee computer purchase program) and we received it about a week ago. We went with a upper mid-range computer and are extremely happy with it. My brother, who is an IT guy, recommended Dell and helped us "build" our computer online once we told him what we wanted and how we would be using it. He also said HP is good and they are probably Dell's biggest rival, which seems to be true. He liked Dell because you can get good customer support. When we bought you could get 4 years for the price of 3. We also use all Dells at work and my work IT person recommend Dell as well. Whatever you get, I'm sure you'll love it! This computer is the first we have had new, the others were used or hand me downs.

 

[trivial]

I have had no problems with any (other than the motherboard went in the HP due to a lightening strike to my home).

This is a good opportunity to remind people to buy a quality surge protector for their computers.

HP passed Dell in the third quarter this year.

Thanks for the link! I hadn't considered that they have computers in every Best Buy/Futureshop (and probably Staples).

 

[Care]

I'm not sure about their current customer service policies, but when I bought my Dell system, I had a few problems with my keyboard and mouse in the first 18 months. Each time I called up customer service, they shipped out a brand new keyboard or mouse to me, no questions asked. In one instance, it was actually my fault (accidentally spilled coffee on the keyboard), so I was surprised and impressed that they were willing to replace it.

I tend to be fairly brand loyal once I find a brand that works for me, and makes the effort to impress me and keep me impressed.