DELL AND EVERY OTHER PRE BUILT COMPUTER SUCKS
I WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE THINK BUILDING THERE OWN COMPUTER IS SO MUCH BETTER AND LESS COSTLY AND YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED NOT A WHOLE BUNCH OF CRAPY PARTS AND SOFTWARE.
 

Hmmmm you couldn't be more wrong about Dell, because Dell use intel motherboards, and other well known standard parts and brands in their computers. My guess is that most homebuilders use more crapy parts than Dell. IBM is built by Lenovo and the quality is ok, as long as you don't need to upgrade, the same goes for HP and Fujitsu.
 
Dell is very cheap, and building a computer yourself matching the quality/price of a Dell computer will give you a hard time.
 
I build my own computers, not because it's cheaper, but because I like to choose what PC case, motherboard etc. to use, and I don't have that option buying a prebuilt computer.
 
Did buy a Dell a couple of years ago, and to my big surprise all the parts used was high quality. So thumbs up for Dell , and if you don't know much about computers the software package was great, my 5 year old kid could reinstall the computer without any problems, thats how easy it was. Only problem was that I didn't like the PC case that much so I moved the parts to another one.
 
./CrAzY-HoRsE

Got to agree with Crazy Horse there, having built my own PC to specific requirements (was at uni so on a budget) was fine and great fun, but when it was time to finally let it go I decided to buy a Dell. The reason? I couldn't build a new system using components that were as good as used in the Dell for the same price, let alone cheaper. They delivered it in a week too. Sure, I would have liked to be able to build another one but I couldn't justify the increased cost just to say I built it myself and didn't "sell out" by buying one from a major company (I was saving to buy a house).

wow i wonder if you guys are paid to do this and are probably the same people. Dell do not use intel motherboards, they use intel based motherboards. Their motherboards are altered so that they can only fit in a dell case and so that parts are locked in and hard to remove without tools. When I took my processor out of my dell, it was the single hardest computer thing ever, the heatsink on it was basically bolted down. Dell is more expensive per part, as you can build a better equal computer for about 400 dollars less. Please go be paid to say shit elsewhere.

I believe they are paid to say some of this crap.
 
Pre-Built computers always get older and slower faster.  Plus its harder to upgrade a pre-built pc, than actually knowing that you can and how much it would cost, and what to get.  It may not be too hard, but is still harder than if you have your on PC that you built yourself, and know where you'll be in 3 years.  Usually people who buy pre-built pc's just buy another pre-built pc 3 years later anyway, but they are always going to get out of date after like 6 months, even if they do still run, are ok for programs, can have decent frame rates, will still be out of date and be largly behind anyone who built their own.   Its not about Intel and AMD... or DELL or Alienware... its just about the hardware timeline... As time goes on, new stuff will always be comming out, and hardware will always eventually be out of date, its just DEPENDS on how long until you are out of date.
 
It may cost you more to build your own PC only because you can be Pickier on what you want and make it more expensive cause of the High-quality products you want.  A pre-built PC can be really cheep cause they usually bundel it with a 15' monitor or printer or scanner to sweeten the deal.  But most likely you wont see a ATi or nVidia VGA card on a Pre-built PC costing LESS than to buld your own with the same VGA card.

First of all, you should probably get your facts straight.  Dell does not make pre built computers.  All of their business is built to order which means you can choose which parts go into the system.  While Dell does not necessarialy offer top of the line components on all of their lines, they still offer a system built with quality parts.  For the average user Dell offers an excellent choice at nearly any given price point.  
 
Personally I decide to build my own computers because I can select the exact components that I want and allow for upgradeability in the future.  I also have a Dell and have had it for nearly 4 years and not a single component in the system has failed or given me a problem in that time.  Actually I'm not sure why I'm bothering because anyone who posts in all caps is normally just looking to get a rise out of people....

There have to be some Dell trolls on this thread.  First and foremost, almost all of the components in a Dell are cheap, stripped down or customized low-cost versions of more expensive chipsets and boards.  Their PSU's are garbage (try upgrading to a better vid card and watch it choke), their memory is frequently >cas 2.5, the motherboards are almost impossible to upgrade in any meaningful way and you would be lucky if digging into one of their cases didn't take 2 hours just to get past the 3 pounds of plastic that was in front of the motherboard.
 
A homebuilder can put together a better system for 25% less than a comparable Dell, you just don't get Customer Service based in Bangaldesh and a team of "fixers" whose job is to rush out and replace the failed parts that crap out after 2 weeks of hot use.  Sure, you might have to learn the wonders of the RMA process, but you get a system all your own without any of the OEM software that slows down even a brand new $3000 XPS "gamer" (LOL) box from Dell.
 
"Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Dell" is my motto....the paid Dell trolls can keep swimming upstream for all I care.

 
I would definitely have to agree here.  Ever since the .com bust in 2000, 2001, the quality of parts from dHell has increasingly declined, Support has declined and customer service does not exist.  They sell people things that are not necessary and lie to customers about things they do need, but don't want to sell them due to a lower margin with specific parts.  
 
I would have to say that, yes, if you know how to build your own, which i'm sure most people on here do, then it's definitely better.  You don't have to deal with over priced proprietary parts that dHell uses, you don't have to deal with I(ndian)diot tech support and you know the quality of parts you are putting in.  You can actually go to the hardware vendor and get the updated driver imediately, instead of waiting 3 months for dHell to adapt the driver to work with their proprietary component.  
 
With that said, if a person is wanting a low end computer for checking email and playing solitaire, then yes, dHell or HP would be great for them.  Someone wanting a high end system is going to be spending a ton of money for tech support and other unnecessary crap, plus, have tons of crap software on the computer like the google desktop, aohell, and other "trial" version software.  You build your own, you don't get that crap, sure, you can reinstall, but only if you remembered to order the disks with the system, another downfall of dell.  For those who want a middle of the road system, it's a coin toss.  prices will be compareable.  It just depends on if you really want to deal with a corporation to handle your support needs.  
 
Don't get caught up in "It's a dHell."  that has no meaning anymore, other than to say, what the f*** are you thinking, it's a dHell, run for your life.

I'll start by saying that I do not like Dell, and I build custom computers and repair all kinds for a living.  Now, for the rest.  What snobs some of you are.  Computers are tools, at least they are for the vast majority of people.  Would you buy a $30 hammer if a $10 would do the job?  If somebody wants to send emails and surf the net, which is what many people do with their computer, what do they need to build a computer for, or shell out lots of bucks?  Gamers and other computer geeks tend to forget this, and totally rail against Dell, Gateway, etc.  Most in these threads believes anyone who uses value memory, or anything but an Asus, Epox, of DFI board is a loser.  What a load of ...  I agree if your a big gamer or into some other things like video editing, CAD/CAM, etc., you need a decently powered computer, and the higher up in price one goes with companies like Dell, the more one gets ripped off, and a custom is the best way to go.  But for $500 or $600 for a complete system including monitor, I'd like to see any of you put together what Dell does for that amount.  You cannot, I've tried.  They aren't the best, but they likely are about the best you'll get for the money.  When people come to my shop and want a low cost computer, I do try an educate them about computers.  But if they only have so much to spend, I don't even bother and just send them to the internet to check out Dell, Gateway, HP, etc.  I do concede that Dell's power supplies are generally garbage, and most computers from the big companies are not very upgradeable, but they do have their place for a lot of folks with limited funds.

well nobody has paid me yet to say anything pro-Dell, however if you want to pm me i will give you my paypal addy    
 
seriously, i have a business and have purchased all Dell systems since about 1992.  for my purposes, stability, reliability, drivers, and support if i need it, they are just perfect.  if a change is made to one box it can be rolled out to all with no problems.  heck, 2 years from now if my cpu barfs i get a replacement overnighted to me (or installed by a stranger if i wanted).
 
HOWEVER, just about everything with Dell is proprietary just as it is with HP, IBM, Compaq etc.  yes, they are intel based mobo's but they are manufactured for dell and fit only in dell cases, power supplies are great but try to find a bigger one that fits and well... it is stuff like this that make you be careful when buying a Dell that you plan on serious upgrading.  it's a pain.  it can be done, but geez the simplest of things can be a nightmare and it is not worth the grief most of the time.
 
i would say these name brand systems are great for business workstations in certain environments.  however if you really want a system that can do all of your work AND great gaming, you are probably better off starting from scratch.  or buy a Dell with the roomiest case and best PSU and go from there.

I suspect you're PC seller (or an associate) trying to boost sale from thier losing business of non-Dell computer.
 
Hmmm...try harder next time...we not that stupid.

I just got rid of my Dell for a computer I built myself and it's much better. My Dell actually wasn't that slow after i got more ram an deleted all the dell crapware but it still sucked , my power supply died twice and after the 2nd time i just bought a better power supply.  
 
Now it's my little brother's problem

I got to agree that Dell uses quality durable parts, most branded computer are very durable, but u can't upgrage a lot, can't overclock,less space in the case, limited pci slots what i experienced with branded machines. If u want 2 buy a computer 4 ur 6 year old kid or wife dell is good,  u know with the   onsite service,tech support, manuls bla bla.

I have to agree in part with both sides of the arguement. I have a dell laptop that recently got dropped and pretty banged up. The entire case was warped and things were bent that normally shouldn't do that. When I got it home, just for the hell of it, I decided to see if the thing would still boot up. Broken parts and all the thing still powered up and ran, it was a little slower and sucked but it ran. The components as far as I could tell were average but they built the thing like a tank. However I will say that their tech support is terrible. I have spent almost a month now just trying to get them to fix it under the Accidental damage program. I have had different employees and different managers giving me different stories. I FINALLY got a box just to send it in a week ago. I sent it in and called them back yesterday to find out if they had gotten the thing and if they knew how long it would take. I spent over an hour on the phone and was routed to the wrong department three times before I finally got someone who could help me. This has been an ongoing problem with them, I have found that everytime I call their number seems to have changed and they want me to call another number. I then spent the remaining 45 minutes on hold, after being told it would take 2 to 3 minutes twice, to find that the guy only had a number for me to call to get more information.
 
As far as their hardware goes they do build pretty cheap systems and they aren't too bad, especially since I don't even know of a way to custom build your own laptop. However their tech support is crap, I wouldn't want a wife or kid to have to deal with this kind of BS, which is why I build my own systems. One final note that most will probably agree on is that if you build a high end system yourself you can save money, it's building the average low end that Dell can win at since they buy in bulk/produce their own mobos(I think)

But i think their tech support system depends on where u r. i mean mainly it depends of manager , team leader etc. coz some people buy dell 4 customer support they get

Yes and no, I understand what you are saying but I've dealth with their tech support on probably 10 different occasions this spring alone and it's all been bad. People buy for the tech support because they think it's still good. When I first got my computer it was amazing, I loved dealing with techs then, they actually knew what they were doing. But then about 2 years ago, shortly after I got my computer they outsourced their tech support, and things went downhill quite quickly.
 
I will admit it is entirely possible I have very bad luck when calling Dell these days. One of my biggest conflicts with them is that I know what I'm doing and I know more than most of their people. It's entirely possible that for an average person that just calls up and follows dells directions that the support isn't so bad. However I've spent an hour on the phone with them to simply have them finaly come to the conclusion I'd had at the beginning.
 
Another example of their high efficiency these days: my laptop that got damaged is beyond repair apparantly so they are covering it under the replacement portion of accidental damage. This is fine and all, until I find out that it's going to take another two weeks... First their depot is going to check the system components and tell the main people what I had (last I checked this was in the main peoples computer database...). Next the depot is going to send the broken laptop to ME, not to the main people. Then the people building the new system to replace my old one are going to send me the new one and they want me to send the old one BACK to them...
(btw, I tried to refer to the depot and the main company separatly because I found out recently that they subcontract out for the repair work.)
 
/end rant

I'm not to keen on Dell but they are the only ones that I can get something and make payments with NO interest for 18 months. I have a Inspiron 8500 that is all of 3 years old and the case is falling apart. Out of warranty you guessed. But called to get a better quality one which is Latitude..won't sell to outsiders unless you have tax id number. So did some searching and found Refurbished and scratch an dent ones for way under what they offered me and can get the parts I want from else where to install that doesn't come with it. Like buying bare bones and add what I want for fraction of the price they offered. Like a Latitude they offered me was over $1400 with all the things I wanted. Bought one Refurbished and got almost every on it but 2 things cost me $729. So not to bad. Do hate it when I get someone that doesn't speak English good, just hang up on them and keep calling til I hear someone I can understand.
Just my 2 cents for Dell.

As mentioned above, Dell doesn't use quality hardware, and sometimes not even standard hardware (they recently used a standard ATX power connector with swapped pins, so you can't use a standard ATX power supply.)
 
The reality is that any brand name system is just a bottom-dollar build, with cheap components... and for that matter, it doesn't matter if you buy Dell, Gateway, HP, eMachines, or whatever. Now, if you pay to upgrade, then you are certainly improving things, but often enough, the higher prices systems are a ripoff when it comes to price vs. performance.
 
Lastly, I hear it all the time: "I bought <insert brand name> because I wanted the support in case something goes wrong." Well, I hate to tell you, but ALL of these companies have crappy support. Their common solution to any software issue is to reformat and reinstall windows. I have had many customers come to me with "broken" systems but they were wise enough NOT to reformat, as it would lose their data. You don't have to reformat to reinstall windows... and more importantly, if you are competent, 90% of the time you don't even need to reinstall windows. Reinstallation is just a cop-out. Granted, from a business perspective, it makes more sense to them... but that's not SERVICE... that's just a restore CD or a Ghost image.
 
I could go on and on about terrible support from Dell and other companies, but I won't bother. It's a dead horse. A home-built system will certainly outperform it, sometimes for less money, too.
 
As for the every-day user who just want's email and such, sure, a bottom-line system is plenty for them. Again, it doesn't matter who it comes from, it's still crap. However, just don't get caught up in trying to upgrade it too much.
 
Heck, with that mentality, most websurfers don't need a CPU faster than 1GHz, or more than 256MB RAM... yet they buy faster and faster machines (mostly because the Dells of the world don't make slower boxes anymore.)