staff picks - Page 2

**crazijoe** · 08-01-2006, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joefireline

When you said about those companys, you have said about the hole company just through one model. You need to try out more than 1 system before you can say if a company is good or not.

I have never liked Acer. I have tried a couple of ther desktops and they were cheap. Not only in price but quality. We decided to give the laptops a whirl. There are some things about them that are excellent but other things I don't think they put too much thought into. I have handle a few other Acer laptops but they never tripped my trigger. (i.e. the placement of the headphone/mic jacks in the front, PCMCIA slot towards the front on the side, etc.) It makes attaching things awkward. Plus this wan't the only model I have seen battery life suffer on.

HP make darn good switches and printers. Their systems aren't much to be desired. I have handle more than one HP laptop and when you get one that leaves a major sour taste in your mouth, you just start nit picking everything that comes from the company. I admit, I was probably harsh when judging an HP but it takes 10 atta-boys to get rid of an uh-oh.
The one thing I do like about some of the larger HP laptops is the full keypad next to the keyboard. That will give them about 4 atta-boys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joefireline

I don't know how the hell you can like dell.

Dell machines have always been reliable. All the way back to my first Dimension XPS R400. I have hardly ever had a problem with them. The company I work for is an all Dell shop (except for a bunch of tablet PCs because Dell doesn't make them). We have had impeckable service with Dell and is probably the reason why we choose Dell every time our lease is up.

I actually think the reason ebackhus doesn't like Dell is because they are all Intel and he is an AMD man.

**Joefireline** · 08-01-2006, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazijoe

I have never liked Acer. I have tried a couple of ther desktops and they were cheap. Not only in price but quality. We decided to give the laptops a whirl. There are some things about them that are excellent but other things I don't think they put too much thought into. I have handle a few other Acer laptops but they never tripped my trigger. (i.e. the placement of the headphone/mic jacks in the front, PCMCIA slot towards the front on the side, etc.) It makes attaching things awkward. Plus this wan't the only model I have seen battery life suffer on.

I find my Acer laptop great. It was cheap, but quality. The places where everthing is positioned is good for me. Also, considering the performance of my laptop, it has a fairly good battery life, I can get 4 hours out of it.
I have found that they also have good componants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazijoe

HP make darn good switches and printers. Their systems aren't much to be desired. I have handle more than one HP laptop and when you get one that leaves a major sour taste in your mouth, you just start nit picking everything that comes from the company. I admit, I was probably harsh when judging an HP but it takes 10 atta-boys to get rid of an uh-oh.
The one thing I do like about some of the larger HP laptops is the full keypad next to the keyboard. That will give them about 4 atta-boys.

I agree with you here...

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazijoe

Dell machines have always been reliable. All the way back to my first Dimension XPS R400. I have hardly ever had a problem with them. The company I work for is an all Dell shop (except for a bunch of tablet PCs because Dell doesn't make them). We have had impeckable service with Dell and is probably the reason why we choose Dell every time our lease is up.

Loads of people have had great problems with them, they are hated due to their bad customer care. They are expensive, and have cheap componants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazijoe

I actually think the reason ebackhus doesn't like Dell is because they are all Intel and he is an AMD man.

Trust me, this is not the case.

whardman · 08-01-2006, 07:17 AM

Dell quality is not that bad. I still have a Dell L series 667MHz that works great. I also have a Dell Inspiron 8100 Laptop that is fine except the keyboard lettering has worn off, and a few minor things that they have fixed. If you know how to talk to their support you can usually force them into sending a replacement, or a technician. However after spending 3+ hours trying to figure out how to get them to send a replacement for a replacement monitor, I would NOT recommend them, even for a monitor. BTW, I called for the 2nd replacement before I even shipped the original one back, as it was defective.

minster9 · 08-02-2006, 12:53 AM

Hi all,guess I'll throw in my 2 cents. I'd like to think any mfr. would like to keep a customer who leases a bunch of their products;crazijoe doesn't spec. the qty. He also didn't say how times a service tech shows up within 4 hrs. I see Dell ads more than any other mfr. I wonder why?

**crazijoe** · 08-02-2006, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minster9

Hi all,guess I'll throw in my 2 cents. I'd like to think any mfr. would like to keep a customer who leases a bunch of their products;

We don't lease the machines from Dell. We lease them from an independent company. Any warranty has to be added to the price of the machine therefore the lease price goes up. We lease every three years to stay on top of the newest tech so we aren't trying to patch some old decrepit machine. Ask any IT person from a company that uses outdated stuff and you will know what I'm talking about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by minster9

crazijoe doesn't spec. the qty.

Nothing to hide here. 9 servers, direct attached storage, tape backup, 40 desktops, 13 laptops, 40 tablet PCs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by minster9

He also didn't say how times a service tech shows up within 4 hrs.

Everytime

Quote:

Originally Posted by minster9

I see Dell ads more than any other mfr. I wonder why?

Maybe that's why they are the largest manufacture of personal computers?

**Joefireline** · 08-02-2006, 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazijoe

Maybe that's why they are the largest manufacture of personal computers?

They have to advertise loads, or noone will buy their stuff. Acer however, they don't advertise, yet they are the fastest growing, and biggist laptop company in the UK. Suppying, QUALITY, which dell lacks, low priced, which Dell lacks, they show it as being low, but all you have to look at is the FROM. If you want anything worthwhile, you have to pay 3times more, and very wide range, featuring lots of different proccessors, so you get the one you want, Dell however, just a chose of 2 different intel proccessors. Another thing, quality service! Which Dell lacks hugly, you may say they will come over within 4 hours, but if you are a normal person, you would be lucky to get through to them!
Acer, also, has the LEAST breakages, and returns. Where as Dell on the other hand....

**crazijoe** · 08-02-2006, 04:44 AM

This Dell bashing thread is a waste of my time.
I'm Done.

Quote:

Ignorance must be inherited because wisdom is not.

**laboye** · 08-02-2006, 06:28 AM

While I have used some Dell PCs which were excellent, the majority have problems. The only problems I have had involve the proprietary parts and partitions that Dell uses for recovery and diagnostics, the low-end parts in their machines, their limited expandablilty and their lack of consumer support.

Dell tends to use a lot of Dell stuff. They install that funky MBR and partitioning which won't allow a full format without destroying the diag utility and recovery partition.

They also seem to use low-quality or cheap parts in their PCs. Along with this, they often provide little or no expandability in those same desktops.

Their end-user support is indeed not all that good. I have first hand experiences with them. It's not that good...

**BrianTwigley** · 08-02-2006, 06:42 AM

I dont buy brand name computers because they are so overpriced and under performing. I had an Acer Aspire 8000 Desktop I bought in 2002 and it cost me £799! for a 1.1Ghz/128MB/20GB system. I have friends with laptops. An HP Pavilion that can play doom 3 and its pretty good but only on a table. I myself have a Dell Latitude CPi D233ST that cost me £60 but £2,600 back in 1998. Its old, but its in extremely good condition for its age and the battery still lasts over an hour! Im not one for Dell desktops, because they are so cheap and cruddy.

**jnob** · 08-02-2006, 07:26 AM

I've worked with two networks with close to 400 Dells over the past two years and the problems have been extremely low and easy to fix. As far as customer service I've never dealt with any, I solve my own problems or get help here

I wonder if the quality of Dell products is location dependant? A lot of people who really hate Dell are not in America, maybe they just release better products here.

**BrianTwigley** · 08-02-2006, 07:29 AM

Thats probably true. they make enough in America that they dont need to bother in Europe.

ebackhus · 08-02-2006, 11:23 AM

I hate Dells because I have had to service so many over the years. And don't give me that "market saturation" junk, especially for laptops. Acer is currently #3 in the WORLD for laptops sales and despite that I've never had to service a single Acer laptop. Dells? PLENTY. The city I work for uses Dell exclusively and since I've been with them I've seen many hundreds die.

**Ralck** · 08-02-2006, 12:35 PM

The things I've found about Dells, is that they are very sensative. They don't like things like being moved (which makes their laptops absolutely useless in my opinion) and they also are very unhappy when it comes to heat. Even a slight increase in heat (say, 75F or higher) and they seem to break. They are also a bit frustrating with addon cards and such, because they only want Dell propriatary stuff.

**BrianTwigley** · 08-02-2006, 12:37 PM

I have to say, I have burned my legs a few times with my CPi as it gets extremely hot!!! One day im gonna fry and egg on it, i know that would work. I'll post some pics too :P

**Ralck** · 08-02-2006, 01:00 PM

That would be an interesting... um... case mod?

08-02-2006, 06:28 AM	#28 (permalink)
laboye TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Hollywood, FL Posts: 1,246 OS: Windows xp Pro/Vista Beta 2/Ubuntu 6.06 LTS My System	While I have used some Dell PCs which were excellent, the majority have problems. The only problems I have had involve the proprietary parts and partitions that Dell uses for recovery and diagnostics, the low-end parts in their machines, their limited expandablilty and their lack of consumer support. Dell tends to use a lot of Dell stuff. They install that funky MBR and partitioning which won't allow a full format without destroying the diag utility and recovery partition. They also seem to use low-quality or cheap parts in their PCs. Along with this, they often provide little or no expandability in those same desktops. Their end-user support is indeed not all that good. I have first hand experiences with them. It's not that good... __________________ Repair Windows XP Guide --- Resolutions Crazy Computer that I'm saving up for::Antec P180 Case;PC Pwr&Cooling 1kW Quad SLI PSU;Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe;Intel Core2 XE X6800;Corsair TWIN2XP2048 2GB PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM;2xAsus GeForce 7950 GX2;BFG PhysX Accel.;IBM DVD-RAM/Plextor DVD±RW;Seagate 750GB HD 7200RPM;WDX 150GB 10000RPM;Vigor Monsoon TEC Cooler

08-02-2006, 06:42 AM	#29 (permalink)
BrianTwigley Tech Guy/Gentoo User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Shetland, Scotland, UK Posts: 655 OS: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 My System	I dont buy brand name computers because they are so overpriced and under performing. I had an Acer Aspire 8000 Desktop I bought in 2002 and it cost me £799! for a 1.1Ghz/128MB/20GB system. I have friends with laptops. An HP Pavilion that can play doom 3 and its pretty good but only on a table. I myself have a Dell Latitude CPi D233ST that cost me £60 but £2,600 back in 1998. Its old, but its in extremely good condition for its age and the battery still lasts over an hour! Im not one for Dell desktops, because they are so cheap and cruddy. __________________ Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then traveling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. ------------------------------------------------------ If I've helped you, please Donate

08-02-2006, 07:26 AM	#30 (permalink)
jnob TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: CA Valley Posts: 692 OS: XP Pro, SP2 My System	I've worked with two networks with close to 400 Dells over the past two years and the problems have been extremely low and easy to fix. As far as customer service I've never dealt with any, I solve my own problems or get help here I wonder if the quality of Dell products is location dependant? A lot of people who really hate Dell are not in America, maybe they just release better products here. __________________ Everest Memtest86

08-02-2006, 07:29 AM	#31 (permalink)
BrianTwigley Tech Guy/Gentoo User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Shetland, Scotland, UK Posts: 655 OS: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 My System	Thats probably true. they make enough in America that they dont need to bother in Europe. __________________ Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then traveling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. ------------------------------------------------------ If I've helped you, please Donate

08-02-2006, 11:23 AM	#32 (permalink)
ebackhus Asst. Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 12,378 OS: WinXP Pro SP2b My System Blog Entries: 16	I hate Dells because I have had to service so many over the years. And don't give me that "market saturation" junk, especially for laptops. Acer is currently #3 in the WORLD for laptops sales and despite that I've never had to service a single Acer laptop. Dells? PLENTY. The city I work for uses Dell exclusively and since I've been with them I've seen many hundreds die. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

08-01-2006, 07:17 AM	#23 (permalink)
whardman Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 617 OS: Windows XP My System	Dell quality is not that bad. I still have a Dell L series 667MHz that works great. I also have a Dell Inspiron 8100 Laptop that is fine except the keyboard lettering has worn off, and a few minor things that they have fixed. If you know how to talk to their support you can usually force them into sending a replacement, or a technician. However after spending 3+ hours trying to figure out how to get them to send a replacement for a replacement monitor, I would NOT recommend them, even for a monitor. BTW, I called for the 2nd replacement before I even shipped the original one back, as it was defective.

08-02-2006, 12:53 AM	#24 (permalink)
minster9 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 168 OS: windows 2000	Hi all,guess I'll throw in my 2 cents. I'd like to think any mfr. would like to keep a customer who leases a bunch of their products;crazijoe doesn't spec. the qty. He also didn't say how times a service tech shows up within 4 hrs. I see Dell ads more than any other mfr. I wonder why?

08-02-2006, 12:35 PM	#33 (permalink)
Ralck mentor hardware team Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,450 OS: 98SE/XP PRO/FC4 My System	The things I've found about Dells, is that they are very sensative. They don't like things like being moved (which makes their laptops absolutely useless in my opinion) and they also are very unhappy when it comes to heat. Even a slight increase in heat (say, 75F or higher) and they seem to break. They are also a bit frustrating with addon cards and such, because they only want Dell propriatary stuff. __________________ Power Supply Info Everyone Should Read! How to Post Your System Specs

08-02-2006, 12:37 PM	#34 (permalink)
BrianTwigley Tech Guy/Gentoo User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Shetland, Scotland, UK Posts: 655 OS: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 My System	I have to say, I have burned my legs a few times with my CPi as it gets extremely hot!!! One day im gonna fry and egg on it, i know that would work. I'll post some pics too :P __________________ Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then traveling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. ------------------------------------------------------ If I've helped you, please Donate Last edited by BrianTwigley : 08-02-2006 at 12:39 PM.

08-02-2006, 01:00 PM	#35 (permalink)
Ralck mentor hardware team Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,450 OS: 98SE/XP PRO/FC4 My System	That would be an interesting... um... case mod? __________________ Power Supply Info Everyone Should Read! How to Post Your System Specs