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Is Dell worth the money?

post #1 of 29
4/4/06 at 7:29am
Thread Starter 
I was decided to buy the new Latitude D620, but after reading many forums and opinions of Dell users, I have mixed feelings. What I need, is a reliable and quiet notebook, but I'm not convinced about Dell's reliability. I thought, that IBM and Dell are both something like Mercedes is among cars, but I'm reading mostly stuff like they have changed the whole inside of my notebook twice, but it's still not working, or that Dell knows about a bug in one of their series (noise in the headphone output) and cant' fix it. I don't know, maybe only disappointed users write their opinion on the web to vent their anger, but still, it concernes me as I don't have many options IBM is out of my financial reach, HP's new dual core models don't have a multi-bay, I've heard that Fujitsus tend to overheat and the rest of the brands don't offer on-site service in my country.
So the question is: Am I going to get quality and reliability for my money or should I stay away from Dell and rather choose HP and forget about multibay (I want a secondary battery in it)?
Thanks for your opinions!
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post #2 of 29
4/4/06 at 7:52am
ya Dell is the mercedes of computers, they always fall apart!
But serioudly, IBM is like a ford F-150, put it through hell and it will keep going, and the inspiron line is for home users, not very well built, but the business laptops from Dell are a totally different story, they are actually quite good laptops.
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post #3 of 29
4/4/06 at 1:20pm
i disagree.. the inspiron line may not be "as well" built as the lattys.....but i wouldnt say they are "not very well built". maybe back in the day, but they are much better today.
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post #4 of 29
4/4/06 at 3:47pm
Get the new Latitude line, I'm not sure if they changed the model numbers or not. The previous D620 was a solid and OLD design. The newer Latitude (came out last week) looks much better IMO.
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post #5 of 29
4/4/06 at 5:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Petre
Am I going to get quality and reliability for my money
yes... i have owned 4 Dells. A+.
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post #6 of 29
4/4/06 at 8:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Petre
I thought, that IBM and Dell are both something like Mercedes is among cars, but I'm reading mostly stuff like they have changed the whole inside of my notebook twice, but it's still not working, or that Dell knows about a bug in one of their series (noise in the headphone output) and cant' fix it.

My advise is that whatever good/bad that happens to others may or may not happen to you. Just go with whatever you like, can afford & I'm sure you'll be fine. Good luck.
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post #7 of 29
4/4/06 at 9:15pm
Well, this is sorta how i feel about things, my 2 computer companies are alienware and Dell. My opinion is basically that if you have a budget and your looking for a good price and willing to sacrifice some part quality go Dell. If you have alot of money to fool around with then i say go with an Alienware- this way you wont really need to have repairs a couple times a year. Im guessing this is going to stirr up some dell fans but, after owning both companies computers thats my conclusion about them. I have officially givin dell a 2nd chance with my Inspiron 9300 and i personally feel the over all build quality and strength is very high and the computer seems quite reliable. As does my alienware so for all i know Dell has caught up to Alienware in part quality.
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post #8 of 29
4/5/06 at 4:38am
You need to know what to expect.

Here's stuff that can go wrong.

- The dvd plays movies, but they stutter. Why.
- The bsod happens. What then.
- The screen has light leakage. How much is too much.
- The battery life. How long were you expecting.

Answers.
- The dvd stutters because it's set to pio mode.
- The bsod happens because of the way the software was installed. You may need to reinstall using the cd, not just the reformat partition.
- Light leakage is usually there, but is worse at certain angles, and gets worse because of no ultrasharp on the screen.
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post #9 of 29
4/5/06 at 12:40pm
I have had a great experience with DELL notebooks (see sig for models I have owned) and I expect to buy more from them. I use the heck out of my notebook i.e. 50+ hours per week, typically leave it on 24 hours a day, and occassaionlly travel with it.
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post #10 of 29
4/5/06 at 1:32pm
i think dell is without a doubt the best bang for the buck in the notebook world.
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post #11 of 29
4/5/06 at 9:01pm
^^^ I am using my 4th Dell notebook and I just ordered an 710m. for $860 shipped. The support is average at best, but the notebooks are a great value.
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post #12 of 29
4/5/06 at 9:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Petre
I was decided to buy the new Latitude D620, but after reading many forums and opinions of Dell users, I have mixed feelings. What I need, is a reliable and quiet notebook, but I'm not convinced about Dell's reliability. I thought, that IBM and Dell are both something like Mercedes is among cars, but I'm reading mostly stuff like they have changed the whole inside of my notebook twice, but it's still not working, or that Dell knows about a bug in one of their series (noise in the headphone output) and cant' fix it. I don't know, maybe only disappointed users write their opinion on the web to vent their anger, but still, it concernes me as I don't have many options IBM is out of my financial reach, HP's new dual core models don't have a multi-bay, I've heard that Fujitsus tend to overheat and the rest of the brands don't offer on-site service in my country.
So the question is: Am I going to get quality and reliability for my money or should I stay away from Dell and rather choose HP and forget about multibay (I want a secondary battery in it)?


Thanks for your opinions!

Depending on what model you get, dell lappies are built very well, the new inspiron line is far more durable than the 8000 series and the latitudes are built even better. Ibm has always been the standard in laptops though I have to say since lenovo took over their laptops are not as solid as they used to be. I have an inspiron 9300 and it is very well built, no flexing of keyboard, lcd panel or anything else, something I cannot find on laptops when I poke and prod them at best buy, those from compaq, hp, sony, toshiba etc.
I recommend you stay with your choice, you made a very good one, while the HP's might look nice, they are not built well at all.
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post #13 of 29
4/5/06 at 9:09pm
Yes
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post #14 of 29
4/6/06 at 5:58am
yes
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post #15 of 29
4/9/06 at 1:32pm
Yes
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post #16 of 29
4/9/06 at 9:35pm
Whatever your judgment on build quality is, the warranty you choose is at least as vital a call. These are sophisticated machines after all, and many components are shared by every alternative. Hundreds of things can break down at any second. The best built machines still fail. And as we are people, not machines, we can drop them and spill things on them, and many other things besides. So get full accident cover for the expected lifetime of the machine. If you don't, you haven't costed it right. Cost over time, not just initial cost. Dell offers very comprehensive cover, which is a big factor in my going back to them over the opposition. I have paid the multiple prices of not costing over time...
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post #17 of 29
4/9/06 at 11:30pm
The Latitude has a 3 year mail in warranty, bare minimum.

The Latitudes I have had a chance to use are well made. I just ordered a D620 and my only complaint will be waiting for it.

The Inspirons are solid in performance and construction but loaded with bloatware. I did a 'clean install' to get rid of all of the junk.
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post #18 of 29
4/10/06 at 11:50am
Go with Dell, HP is paying a High Price regret at the end!
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post #19 of 29
4/11/06 at 1:43pm
I'm the proud owner of two Dell notebooks (and a Dell desktop I obtained from a customer that didn't want it) I'm fixing to purchase my third Dell notebook. My Inspiron 5000e still works fine and all that ever got replaced on it was the LCD panel. All I've replaced on my i8200 as a result of failed hardware has been the Hard Drive.
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post #20 of 29
4/11/06 at 7:14pm
My inspiron is really great, the body is very tight, the plastic is strong. My friend owns a Latitude and its great too. I was concerned initially aswell, but Dells are actually good in quality. In many reliability surveys, Dell consistently achieves the top three. The worst is Gateway
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