What? A computer that works?
Written: Mar 05 '00 (Updated Mar 05 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: great tech support, very customizable and upgradeable
Cons: Financing is a joke, dont pay for the two day delivery
|
|
|
| rangerstyle's Full Review: Dell Dimension XPS T600 w/DVD |
I've been building my own computers for the last few years, but finally decided to let someone else deal with my worries. So what did I do? I did what any person would do...searched the internet for good deals. Of course it helps to know what you want and what extras you want. Most leading computer manufacturers now have webpage configurations that allow you to specify each and every part of the computer you want to buy.
I chose Dell because they seemed to have the most configurable systems. In other words, where companies like Gateway and IBM only allowed for a few types of upgrades and different configurations, Dell most often allowed more than 3-5 difference configurations and upgrade options per item.
Another thing I liked was the online tech support that was already in place. One thing I suggest to anyone getting ready to buy a computer, is to goto their online tech support and see what is offered....IE do they have specific help for each computer system, or do they just bomb their site with all the help in one place, and let you figure out what you need to fix your problem, how well is the site setup, and how slow is their tech support?
Dell has online help support, and chat lines so that you can get replies via a web-based msg system (this also allows you to see past problems other have had) not to mention this can help you see what options have the most problems.
I would also suggest that you call the tech support line when you have some free time....see how long their "expected" wait time is.....typical is normally 7-10 minutes, but others have over a 30 minute wait (watch out for these) How good the manufacturers tech support is can determine how good the end product is... Long waits can mean either a lack of tech support personel (in other words we aren't worth the time and money) OR their computers simply have a lot of problems.
If you cant tell, I put a lot of emphasis on tech support, and Dell had the best.
I was able to order the complete system (as I wanted it) online via the dell website (www.dell.com) and it took me less than 30 minutes to finalize the order. Originally, I asked for Dell to finance AND for two day delivery. First, when you order from Dell they assign you your own personal representative, and when I talked to her, she said the extra cost for two day delivery wasn't really necessary because it would take about the same amount of time (overall) She saved me about $30.00. Second, I wouldn't suggest going through the financing departments of computer manufactures. Typically they go through third party financing, so when there is a question of why they didn't give you the "prefered" rate, they cant answer you. This was my only beef with Dell, so I just used my own creditcard.
Now for the computer itself...
I bought the Dell XPS T 650 Pentium III
Options bought:
8X max DVD + decoder card with TV out ( so you can hook it to your entertainment center)
7200RPM 20Gig Hardrive (plenty for most people...overkill for others)
128Meg RAM (standard for a good computer)
Nvidia 32 Meg Video (mostly overkill for many users, but I like the 3D quality it gives. Most people will probably go for a Voodo 3Fx based video card which will be ample for most users.
and 56K modem (standard for those who cant get cable or DSL yet)
Now I had plenty of goodies in my old computer (such as a Ricoh 7060A CD writer) that I moved over. Another thing I look in a new computer is how customizable and upgradeable it is afterwards....well its sufficient for me, and easy to get open. There was just one screw to take off (and it didnt require any tools) and the side came right off. Installing the additional drive was easy. Unlike computers like Compaq which use a locking system to mount hardware, Dell still uses the ole screw method (my favorite personally).
Anyhow, this computer was ready to go once I got everything hooked up (and they even gave a big map to help me with that too even though I didn't really need it) and most users that dont know how to hook the computer up will appreciate that. All software was preloaded, and I've only had one problem with software (still do).
One of the preloaded programs that came with Microsoft Works was Expedia Streets and Trips 2000. In order to run the darned program you must change a setting for the graphics, then reboot, then once I'm finished using that program I have to change that setting back and reboot again (otherwise some of my other programs wont work). Anyhow this is a Microsoft program that they know the problem for...go figure
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
rangerstyle
|
|
Location: Biloxi, MS
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 15 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.