Building a home computer for a guy from work

[shoRunner]

Originally posted by: dclive
Why? They don't fail, they don't have PSU issues, they don't have voltage issues, they use rock-solid Intel-made motherboards, Intel CPUs, and name-brand video, HDD, CDROM, etc.

I see *so* many posts on here in these forums from people who've built their own PC (often for far, far more money than the PCI-E equipped Dells with 19" LCD monitor for $480, last time Dell had their 4700 sale) and are having nothing but problems. Why would anyone choose to go through this, in this day and age, for anything outside of specialized (SLI, AMD X2, etc.) needs ^B^B^B^B^B wants?)

yes many dells fail...thats why i work on them all day, but they don't fail anymore than another brand.
my reasoning why they suck follows these lines... a) they exclude (how is amd specialized?) better parts for who knows what reason, b) they still sell northwood celerons with 256mb of ram with winXP and loads of bullcrap c)for god knows what reason everyone thinks they are the sh!t, when they are no better than any other brand.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: shoRunner

Originally posted by: dclive
Why? They don't fail, they don't have PSU issues, they don't have voltage issues, they use rock-solid Intel-made motherboards, Intel CPUs, and name-brand video, HDD, CDROM, etc.

I see *so* many posts on here in these forums from people who've built their own PC (often for far, far more money than the PCI-E equipped Dells with 19" LCD monitor for $480, last time Dell had their 4700 sale) and are having nothing but problems. Why would anyone choose to go through this, in this day and age, for anything outside of specialized (SLI, AMD X2, etc.) needs ^B^B^B^B^B wants?)

yes many dells fail...thats why i work on them all day, but they don't fail anymore than another brand.
my reasoning why they suck follows these lines... a) they exclude (how is amd specialized?) better parts for who knows what reason, b) they still sell northwood celerons with 256mb of ram with winXP and loads of bullcrap c)for god knows what reason everyone thinks they are the sh!t, when they are no better than any other brand.

A quick read of Consumer Reports will state that Dells have significantly higher reliability than all other brands but Apple.

They're very reliable. The fact that you're a tech probably has something to do with your experience in repairing Dells "all day" - in some markets they have 60% penetration, and overall they have roughly 1/3 of the USA's PC business, so they're very common, to say the least.

AMD is specialized - it's still a smaller market (for example, the AMD server market is only a tiny fraction of the Intel server market, and the AMD workstation market is similarly tiny). But I was referring to the AMD X2 CPUs, which are even more of a niche market.

 

[Powermoloch]

Originally posted by: itr
like everyone said, if anything goes wrong in his computer, the first person he'll look for is you.

fvcking true!

 

[shoRunner]

Originally posted by: dclive

A quick read of Consumer Reports will state that Dells have significantly higher reliability than all other brands but Apple.

They're very reliable. The fact that you're a tech probably has something to do with your experience in repairing Dells "all day" - in some markets they have 60% penetration, and overall they have roughly 1/3 of the USA's PC business, so they're very common, to say the least.

AMD is specialized - it's still a smaller market (for example, the AMD server market is only a tiny fraction of the Intel server market, and the AMD workstation market is similarly tiny). But I was referring to the AMD X2 CPUs, which are even more of a niche market.

AMD is no more specialized than intel. just because they have a smaller marketshare does not mean they're specialized.

if you want to bring ratings into how bout:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,118514,pg,3,00.asp
there we see that emachines is actually on top with dell alittle behind...
but it doesn't really matter i just think its funny when everyone recommends dell...like they are jesus or something.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
but it doesn't really matter i just think its funny when everyone recommends dell...like they are jesus or something.

No, they're just reasonably good, sometimes dirt cheap with coupons, and easy for n00bs to buy.

Most important, they save you from the endless tech support that ensues if you build or even set up a PC for someone.

 

[yELLOthar]

Meh, my old PC (which I now use as a server) was a Dell and I never had problems with it. It was just a P4 1.7 GHz with a 64MB GeForce, but that thing was pretty damn good in its day. Right now, its happily sitting in the corner on a little desk serving people random files I need to give them. However, I could never go back to a Dell for my main computer, I like AMD too much

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: shoRunner

Originally posted by: dclive

A quick read of Consumer Reports will state that Dells have significantly higher reliability than all other brands but Apple.

They're very reliable. The fact that you're a tech probably has something to do with your experience in repairing Dells "all day" - in some markets they have 60% penetration, and overall they have roughly 1/3 of the USA's PC business, so they're very common, to say the least.

AMD is specialized - it's still a smaller market (for example, the AMD server market is only a tiny fraction of the Intel server market, and the AMD workstation market is similarly tiny). But I was referring to the AMD X2 CPUs, which are even more of a niche market.

AMD is no more specialized than intel. just because they have a smaller marketshare does not mean they're specialized.

if you want to bring ratings into how bout:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,118514,pg,3,00.asp
there we see that emachines is actually on top with dell alittle behind...
but it doesn't really matter i just think its funny when everyone recommends dell...like they are jesus or something.

I meant specialized as a niche product, but niche isn't the right word either, as it's larger than a niche product. The X2 I'd call a niche product for now; the general AMD setup, I would not.

PC World has one set of ratings, CR has another. I'll stick with CR's ratings, but it's interesting that Dell does so well in PCW's ratings too. Interesting too about e-Machines given how everyone slams them.

I recommend Dell because, during their 4700 sales from two or three weeks ago, they sold a top-notch, modern computer with a great CPU and great system around it, plus PCI-E, for $480 with a 19" LCD monitor. To me, that's a smashing good deal.

 

[shoRunner]

well i linked to that report because everyone is recommending them for tech support basically...saying don't build it, because then you are the tech support...if you'll notice dell's tech support sucks, and if you've every called you could also affirm this. i was simply trying to point out that recommending dell because they will take care of the tech support is like...recommending a person to go to best buy for their customer service...ie not nice

 

[w00t]

get him 2005fpw that would be sweet for him.

 

[raildogg]

Dell

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
well i linked to that report because everyone is recommending them for tech support basically...saying don't build it, because then you are the tech support...if you'll notice dell's tech support sucks, and if you've every called you could also affirm this. i was simply trying to point out that recommending dell because they will take care of the tech support is like...recommending a person to go to best buy for their customer service...ie not nice

Ya, dell tech support sucks, but he won't be calling you at least.

 

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
dell sucks

word....I've had hands on experience with 5 dells and I've had NOTHING but problems with all 5 of them. They're a nightmare as far as reliability goes. absolute nightmare

 

[raildogg]

no, Dells customer service is better than most. their pcs are more reliable than most. they offer the best bang for the buck if you decide not to build your own.

so for your co-worker, Dell is the best choice.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Accipiter22

Originally posted by: shoRunner
dell sucks

word....I've had hands on experience with 5 dells and I've had NOTHING but problems with all 5 of them. They're a nightmare as far as reliability goes. absolute nightmare

how old are they? who is using them - how much spyware and viruses are on them? is it a hardware problem or software?

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Accipiter22

Originally posted by: shoRunner
dell sucks

word....I've had hands on experience with 5 dells and I've had NOTHING but problems with all 5 of them. They're a nightmare as far as reliability goes. absolute nightmare

We've had thousands of them. A few have issues, but overall they're reliable and work well.

 

[Pythias]

How about this? Decent system under $1500

I love window shopping.

 

[sniperruff]

"Building a home computer for a guy from work"

don't. order a dell and pop is a nice video card like people suggested.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

like others have said, i wouldnt build for him

instead i suggest helping him look for something that fits....Dell is a good choice, very well built, quiet, quality, and cheap

 

[bob4432]

what happend to the op???

 

[w00t]

he's gonna call you everytime you have a problem and your gonna be nice and answer it and help him but after awile your gonna hate it.