Hi again Mark,

I've never owned a Dell before - so no Dell experience and I have no affiliations with that organization.

After purchasing my Inspiron 7348 2-in-1 there were several problems with it:-

* Touch screen not working
* Wouldn't recognize external DVD

When I reported these problems to Dell support they, the next day, sent a technician 200+km from Melbourne to my house (I live in the bush up unsealed roads) and fixed all issues - then ran extensive diagnostics on the laptop. That's at least 6 hours driving to keep me happy. I rate their support very highly.

Cheers,
Phil

I don't know how these things are generally handled in Australia, but in Germany you have to pay attention to the type of warranty included in the purchase: normal consumer laptops have a bring-in warranty, i.e. the customer has to send the laptop to the manufacturer. But some products (like luckily my Toshiba Portégé, which was a B-Ware business model originally purchased by a company) have a warranty which includes a technician coming to one's home and exchange or repair on site.

I am also happy with Dell support. I had a minor software glitch, and e-mailed them. I got a response the next day with some fixes to try, and if they don't work to let them know my phone number and a convenient time to call, A senior support Technician would give me a call, at my convenience, to handle the problem.

The e-mail also apologized for the 1 day delay due to heavy volume of requests.

Regards,

Jerry

If you get a Dell buy a standard 'as advertised' configuration. The headline prices are usually competitive but the delta cost of upgrades always looks expensive. I think Dell also run an outlet store with last-year or refurbished models at a discount.

all my computers are built locally so I don't have to deal with commercialized run of the mill units problems .....I pout in only what I want for my needs, without all that garbage they put in from the factory, and service, upgrades, questions, etc, is easily done by the builder with one phone call...

good luck

Who builds those for you, Donny ?

Tony, most independent computer stores will custom make any kind of PC you wish. My son has not purchased a PC in 30 years - he built every one of the 20 or so he has owned. You can purchase all the components from a number of online stores, then it's just a matter of plugging them in and installing the software, which is pretty much self installing.

Gary

yeah ... it sounds like one of those things any three year old could do with 20 years experience ...

Although now, probably any 10 year old COULD do it !!!

Most computer parts are not tested, so you need to keep in mind that about 10% of your ordered part will fail you, you will have to figure out what part failed you and send it back for replacement..

Also the combination of memmory, CPu, mainboard is critical when it comes to timing, you can not just use every CPU with every type of memmory on a mainboard.. this combination is what used to create many of the BSOD's.. and still hangs your PC..

In this time, its probably even cheeper to buy a Dell then build your own, Dell comes with great warranty and service, well worth the few extra dollars.


Building computers is more then just plugging all parts in.. Sure if you're lucky everything goes okay, but if you are not, then you are in trouble.

In the olden days you could end up with problems, however these days all the compatible CPU, Ram details etc. are available on the Motherboard manufactures website, so no problems there.

The main hiccups (If they do occur) are with graphics cards, however for a music machine the on-board graphics are all that is needed.

Since Windows 7 the OS pretty much sort’s things out on its own, (As long as your connected to the internet when installing (Or shortly after) only occasionally asking for a driver disc.

Been working with all types of computers for over 35 years and been building PCs since the late 80s (When you did have to know the ins and outs) and these days you can pretty much build one blindfold. (The main thing these days is tweaking the software/firmware (Overclock etc.) to get the last ounce of performance out of the machine)

The OP will probably be better off with a laptop/hybrid (Which you can’t really build yourself) and there are plenty of manufactures that have base laptops which you can specify what you want and they will fit the parts in the laptop for you. (The most sensible route unless you know the ins and outs of laptops)

Bill