Opinions on Dell?

[LazyHound]

I've always built my rigs in the past, but that was when I had the time and interest, and it was necessary to overclock to get decent performance.
Anyway, the last computer I bought I went mainstream and got a Dell laptop with XP. It has been just fine. Now it's time to replace my old XP rig, and I'm thinking of going mainstream again. Dell seems fine from my limited experience, but I've heard mixed things lately. I'm looking at a fairly mid-level desktop (anything would blow my current setup away). The new power would be welcome for the work I do...
Anyway, what say you about Dell computers these days?
Thanks!

 

[eastmen]

I've always built my rigs in the past, but that was when I had the time and interest, and it was necessary to overclock to get decent performance.
Anyway, the last computer I bought I went mainstream and got a Dell laptop with XP. It has been just fine. Now it's time to replace my old XP rig, and I'm thinking of going mainstream again. Dell seems fine from my limited experience, but I've heard mixed things lately. I'm looking at a fairly mid-level desktop (anything would blow my current setup away). The new power would be welcome for the work I do...
Anyway, what say you about Dell computers these days?
Thanks!

Just buld your own. It will be far cheaper and perform way better.

Go amd and get a quad core with 4 gigs of ram and a intergrated graphics on the mobo. That set up would cost you about $300. Then pick out the other stuff you want. 1TB hardrive ($80) Dvd burner ? ($20) and so on.

IF you must buy from a company dell is just as bad/good as any other company When you mass produce something quality goes down all the big companys have problems and you can get a problem just as likly from dell as asus or apple . If you build your own , you know whats in it , you know what to replace and you can do it far cheaper than dell.

 

[MfA]

For a desktop I don't see the point, if you don't want to build yourself there are build to order shops.

 

[LazyHound]

Just buld your own. It will be far cheaper and perform way better.

Go amd and get a quad core with 4 gigs of ram and a intergrated graphics on the mobo. That set up would cost you about $300. Then pick out the other stuff you want. 1TB hardrive ($80) Dvd burner ? ($20) and so on.

IF you must buy from a company dell is just as bad/good as any other company When you mass produce something quality goes down all the big companys have problems and you can get a problem just as likly from dell as asus or apple . If you build your own , you know whats in it , you know what to replace and you can do it far cheaper than dell.

hey eastmen,
Thanks for your answer. You may just inspire me to build my next computer. One thing I have read about dell is that they are quite, and I know my current rig which I stuffed with fans for overclocking is a tad loud. I'd rather have a computer that I can't hear.
But anyway, your answer is very good. Thanks.
PS. Who would you buy from? I've used Newegg for components, but I think the place I got most of my stuff years ago is gone.

 

[MfA]

Get a decent case with a high quality bottom mounted PSU, soft mounting for the HDs (rubber grommets for the screws is enough) good heat sinks and never run a fan over 800 RPM (if you have a case like P182 you can run the internal fans a little higher, because of insulation and front door, but not over 1200 RPM). No need for expensive fans either, I like slipstreams for vertically oriented fans and S-Flex for horizontal.

That's all that's needed for a quiet system ...

 

[Silent_Buddha]

One caveate for rubber grommets (assuming isolation from the metal shell) or suspension mounting of HDDs. Make sure you have good airflow over the HDDs or you'll have greatly reduced lifespan due to heat buildup.

This was a common problem early in the days of silent PC computing, where HDDs died in droves when people moved to suspension mounting without good airflow directly over the drives.

Almost all cases now days that use rubber isolation bushings or suspension mounting will have a fan directly in the path of the HDDs now days though or channeled airflow (Antec P182 for example).

Regards,
SB

 

[digitalwanderer]

One thing I have read about dell is that they are quite,

I think you missed a word in there...

Dell's are fine, as long as you never plan on modifying or updating your computer. If you do plan on doing that down the road you'll discover you made a pretty horrible mistake.

 

[eastmen]

hey eastmen,
Thanks for your answer. You may just inspire me to build my next computer. One thing I have read about dell is that they are quite, and I know my current rig which I stuffed with fans for overclocking is a tad loud. I'd rather have a computer that I can't hear.
But anyway, your answer is very good. Thanks.
PS. Who would you buy from? I've used Newegg for components, but I think the place I got most of my stuff years ago is gone.

MFA is right on the money. The p182 (I have the p180) has moved from 60/80mm fans to 120mm fans , some cases have 240mm fans and higher. Just get quite 120mm fans for a case like that. You can also get a nice heatsink with a 120mm fan that will do a great job esp if your not overclocking.

 

[MfA]

I think the P182 is beautiful ... but it's heavy, expensive and still a bit cramped to work in.

You can definitely run the internal fans (GPU&CPU) higher than in most cases without hearing them ... but in a more open high airflow case you can afford to simply run the fans at lower RPM any way, especially for the GPU which doesn't have great airflow in the P182, so it's not really an advantage.

PS. stock Antec fans are shit ... hell, most stock fans are shit.

 

[Grall]

I have the Antec P180 Mini chassis for my current rig, it's great, except...well...small. On the inside, anyway. Externally it's almost the size of a typical ATX chassis.

Like Digi says, Dells are decent if you don't plan to upgrade stuff. These days I think they use standard chassis and components all around mostly, except for things like front panel connectors and such. There they still have their own shit I suspect, so it's going to be difficult to swap out the mobo for something more modern and current, plus their PSUs almost never have additional PCIe power plugs. Dell BIOSes are also extremely spartan - NO tweaking at all typically. Performance is slightly mediocre compared to identical components in a self-built PC; not so much you'd notice from just using the PC, but benchmarks would reveal a difference.

On the other hand, stability is likely to be greater with a Dell's more conservative timings compared to a tweaked-out overclocked box... You can't both have cake AND eat it.

So, if you like to mess around in the BIOS and want gaming-grade video cards, you pretty much have to go with their alienware line, and those are crazy expensive. Other than that, Dells are a fine choice IMO. They look good, they're solidly constructed and well-put-together with components well secured so the system can be shipped to the customer without breaking.

If you just want a PC that works without any fuss - and a chassis that doesn't look like a turd like most DIY PC chassis do - then Dell = OK.

If you want stuff the way YOU want 'em, you'll probably feel constrained about the lack of options to configure a pre-built PC from any of the big manufacturers.

I like ASUS mobos myself, but Gigabyte stuff is good also. Sapphire makes some beautiful Radeon 5870 vidcards, and Enermax power supplies are teh win.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I think the P182 is beautiful ... but it's heavy, expensive and still a bit cramped to work in.

Agreed, I love my P182, I just wish I could have taken it with me to Japan. The Silverstone Sugo SG05-B might be awesome for fitting in my rolling backback (my old Shuttle would fit in a backpack but not a rolling backpack. ) AND fitting a 4890, but damn is this thing loud.

Also the P182 + the CP-850 (will only fit in 3 Antec cases) oversized PSU = wonderfully silent even under heavy load. Having a 120 mm straight through (back to front rather than bottom mounted) fan does wonders for silence and airflow.

Then if you want even more silent. Block off the top vent/fan, and put a tower heatsink with a 120 mm fan running at <700 rpm. That's what I have in mine. So I have a grand total of 3 fans (PSU, CPU, Rear) running in my system. All running at <1000 rpm.

For the price, it's hard to beat the P182 + CP-850. For affordable quiet game computing.

BTW - just have to say for the record. I HATE recycling (tearing down) old Compaqs and HPs. They suck to recycle often using 3 different screw types (phillips, hex, star) in the same computer. Dells on the other hand are wonderfully easy to recycle. Sometimes, just to take out frustration I'll just take a hammer to a Compaq or HP before tearing it down.

Regards,
SB

 

[MfA]

Also the P182 + the CP-850 (will only fit in 3 Antec cases) oversized PSU = wonderfully silent even under heavy load. Having a 120 mm straight through (back to front rather than bottom mounted) fan does wonders for silence and airflow.

Not enough bays though together with a fan controller (Kaze Master, more black). So I got some Lian Li BZ-501 bezels instead to open up the remaining 2 5.25" bays a bit ... they fit snugly and look perfectly in place.

 

[LazyHound]

I think you missed a word in there...

Dell's are fine, as long as you never plan on modifying or updating your computer. If you do plan on doing that down the road you'll discover you made a pretty horrible mistake.

Good point, and I agree. I'd only get a dell if I was never planning on opening it... maybe I will build another one. This thread has got me motivated again.
Thanks to all of you for your good advice and input!

 

[Davros]

Dell are good value if you buy the basic system but once you start to customise it they charge you through the nose

ps: if its any good to you theres a Buying an Enthusiast PC: DIY vs. OEM guide on techspot
http://www.techspot.com/guides/276-enthusiast-pc-diy-vs-oem/

 

[LazyHound]

Dell are good value if you buy the basic system but once you start to customise it they charge you through the nose

ps: if its any good to you theres a Buying an Enthusiast PC: DIY vs. OEM guide on techspot
http://www.techspot.com/guides/276-enthusiast-pc-diy-vs-oem/

Davros,
Good point and I agree.
Dell is a lot like McDonalds and other fast food restaurants...

I don't think they make money (or very much) on their "value meals" and specials. They rely on people "adding on" or getting upsold, and as you say, they then make their money off of people paying for extra stuff or systems that aren't on sale.
PS. I'll check out your link. Thanks.

 

[MfA]

Dell used to be quite nice at allowing you to upgrade displays on laptops, allowing you to get high quality screens on lower end laptops (which if you think the screen is the most important part, which I do, is a very nice option). Recently most of the screen upgrade options seem to have disappeared though :/

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Dell used to be quite nice at allowing you to upgrade displays on laptops, allowing you to get high quality screens on lower end laptops (which if you think the screen is the most important part, which I do, is a very nice option). Recently most of the screen upgrade options seem to have disappeared though :/

That's also something I've been disappoint with lately with a lot of Lenovo notebooks. It just seems like OEMs are slowly moving away from having a lot of customization options. A lot of Lenovo notebooks have virtually no customization options. Same goes for Gateway (owned by Acer now right?).

Regards,
SB