wsbtroyno21

We are thinking about buying a laptop. I have been looking on the internet and as with most things the choice and price range is huge. I had a look at Dell's Australian website and they are offering free delivery, free screen upgrade, free memory upgrade and free hard drive storage upgrade. ( http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/prod...=au&l=en&s=dhs )


Has anyone used Dell before? Are they any good or would we be better just buying from a shop?

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Wendy

Deadmeat

We use Dell at work (desktops and laptops) and they seem to be reliable (I've been in the IT game for 20 years now so I've seen some cruddy hardware). The after-sales support is good in my experience but I'd say they were overpriced compared to some of the other brands out there.

Laptops are notoriously expensive to fix so maybe it's worth paying the extra for good service but I'd rather take my chances with a standard year's warranty from a less expensive option bought elsewhere.

The 'free' upgrades are of course just a marketing ploy ... disk space and memory are coming down in price all the time so do not represent a big chunk of the cost to the manufacturer.

A few key points to look out for:

1) Is the screen clear and does it operate at a resolution you like?

2) Can you stick a floppy in somewhere? ... either in a supplied drive or an extra (more cost) drive ... yup, the disks are still needed sometimes

3) Battery life varies considerably especially taking into account features like DVD writing and watching movies.

4) There will be something twice as powerful for the same price (ish) available next year ... do you REALLY need a laptop that is hard to upgrade?

Basically they are handy to have around but expensive to maintain when compared to desktop system .. go with a decent make but buying at the 'top end' (specification-wise) may be money wasted.

Regards,
Matt

wsbtroyno21

Thanks for that Matt....very helpful

hilary6

Hi Wendy
we got our laptop off Dell, after sales is pretty good. My youngest son is very heavy handed on the keyboard (loosening a few keys)
Sent it back they replaced it and returned it really quick.
The only draw back is that you have to post it off for repairs.

zbettyboop

Hi Matt

We are in the Uk and both my nieces and nephew use Dell.
We bought them on the internet as you cannot buy them in shops.
Over in the UK they cost £499.99 which is cheap but the p&p was £50.00 each .
My laptop is a IBM Think Pad which you will know is ancient but it works great.
We also have a desktop but we were always fighting over it so thats how we ended up getting a wireless laptop so no more fighting.
The Dell has a very good name and is very popular.
It is a highly recommended laptop.


Beth

wsbtroyno21

Thanks Hilary...certainly sounds like their customer service is excellent.

Wendy

BartSimpson

Service is not only costly but crapy...
I used Dell but impressive.
I have IBM T40 (work pc)= Its a excellent piece of machine.
My home is acer low end one 2355NxC... it has all what you need and you wont ask more. It works for me and its for just sub grand.
Good Luck.
-Bart

wsbtroyno21

Thanks Beth

Wendy

wsbtroyno21

Em...thanks Bart...I think. Are you saying Dell are crap or not ??????

Wendy

furkew

as deadmeat says. Dell is good, but they are not cheap.

If you are looking at trouble free computing, and price is not the major factor, Dell is the ideal option.

You haven't mentioned what you need the laptop for, that might help.


I myself have an Acer travelmate 1990 (I think thats the series) It's not a cheap laptop, but from the acers I have seen, and reports I have read, very good value. Screen quality is above average (sharper & clearer)

acer australia

have a look here. The 4060 series is particularly good.

wsbtroyno21

Thanks for the link. We would mostly use it for digital photography....when we are out and about. But we just thought it would handy to have for when we are travelling and can't access a desktop pc.

Cheers again

Wendy

BartSimpson

Dell are great service is crappy...
- Bart

Amazulu

Dell are fine until you have to use the Indian support centre. Then you WILL regret buying a Dell. I like Acer for good value, quality laptops.

furkew

Hi Wendy,

The best option in my opinion would be stick to a PC.

Upgrades / repairs are cheaper, and the original price is cheaper.

Just buy a couple of decent memory card for the camera, and touch up the photo's on the PC.

A PC is always better than a laptop. I have always built my own PC's, and at the moment all I have is a laptop because our hopefully moving to Oz, but I can't wait to get back to a normal PC. Quicker, cheaper and more powerful.

Paul

BartSimpson

Was it imp to put "Indian support centre". nyways people across Europe and in Australia a bit sentimental about India, you are adding fuel to it..

We should stop being sarcastic or being anti religious... This will solve world 1/2 of the problem. Other 1/3 can be solved by environmental problems..


- Bart