Had a Dell C640. Towards the end, the DVD drive had stopped working and the Page Up key popped off.
Apparently, they have hard drive failure issues too.
Apparently, they have hard drive failure issues too.
Dell Computer Complaints
- Thread starter brianl703
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I've read a lot of negative feedback about the quality of Dell notebooks. Most people have been happy with their desktops though.
Personally, I bought one of their low end notebooks in 2003, and it's still running fine, although I upgraded a lot of things over time (processor, RAM, HDD).
Apparently their customer support is pretty bad. I guess they relocated the call center to India? But then again, so many companies are doing it these days to control costs.
Personally, I bought one of their low end notebooks in 2003, and it's still running fine, although I upgraded a lot of things over time (processor, RAM, HDD).
Apparently their customer support is pretty bad. I guess they relocated the call center to India? But then again, so many companies are doing it these days to control costs.
I have a Dell Dimension 4600 and so far no problems. The computer is about 2 years old. When this one wears out then I'll probably just get a "homemade" one from the local computer guy. Probably the cheapest way to go and the reliability seems to be at least the same.
I won't buy a name brand computer any more. With the customer service problems over the phone and possibly having to ship the thing to have it fixed, I stay local. I found a place locally that builds systems for small and big businesses and also caters to gamers, though not to the extreme. They have a good reputation and stand by their products. If something goes wrong and I can't fix it, I'm happier knowing I can take the tower directly to them and get it done right in probably 1/4 the time. No extra garbage on the hard drive and no proprietary parts, too.
I'd recommend to anyone finding a place like this in your area.
I'd recommend to anyone finding a place like this in your area.
Obviously Dell attracts the highest number of complaints because they sell the most machines of any manufacturer, and do so in one of the most diverse customer bases imagineable.
I've "built my own" for the past 12 years from parts through mail-order, much like Toy4x4's local computer shop does. My rationale was that the overall lifecycle costs are lower, especially since I can easily replace/upgrade parts individually, rather than replacing the whole machine. However, some of those Dell deals are amazingly inexpensive, and ordering parts isn't very competitive anymore either.
I've "built my own" for the past 12 years from parts through mail-order, much like Toy4x4's local computer shop does. My rationale was that the overall lifecycle costs are lower, especially since I can easily replace/upgrade parts individually, rather than replacing the whole machine. However, some of those Dell deals are amazingly inexpensive, and ordering parts isn't very competitive anymore either.
I've had great luck with Dell computers. The one time my desktop had problems I was easily able to reach tech support and when they couldn't find a solution over the phone they sent a repairman to my house the very next day to replace the processor and several other parts ... bottom line my computer was quickly repaired and customer service was exceptional. In fact I rate Dell customer service as some of the best I've experienced in over 20 years of purchasing goods and services.
JHZR2
Staff member
I have a high end precision workstation... the fans go bad often, the power supply has failed once (and I have it on a circuit that has power electronics to smooth and refine the 'quality' of the power. Though I love the machine, its had its share of problems.... none out of the box.
The machines that Ive built myself have had no issues after longer time... other than an athlon heatsink fan going bad...
JMH
The machines that Ive built myself have had no issues after longer time... other than an athlon heatsink fan going bad...
JMH
We have three laptops in the family unit, two HPs and one Dell. To me, the build quality on the HPs is much superior to the Dell. The Dell keyboard feels like a trampoline, while the HP keyboards are nice and solid. When you open the hinge for the screen on the Dell, it squeaks and binds, like a bad door.
I understand Dell, searching for a new market segment, will soon bring out the "Dell Dementia" computer. The hard disk will have very good, rock solid long term storage capability, but the short term ram will regularly fail and the same data will have to be inputted over and over.
I understand Dell, searching for a new market segment, will soon bring out the "Dell Dementia" computer. The hard disk will have very good, rock solid long term storage capability, but the short term ram will regularly fail and the same data will have to be inputted over and over.
my dads dell has an internal wireless card but it is weak. when he plugs in a wireless notebook card the signal is great. its been this way since he got it. it was a reman
one of my fiances usb ports is pretty much dead. bought it new a few years ago.
these are the only two problems that we have with dells with a total of 5 dells in the immediate family.
ps: anyone know what i can do about the dead usb port, pm me if you know something about it, thanks.
one of my fiances usb ports is pretty much dead. bought it new a few years ago.
these are the only two problems that we have with dells with a total of 5 dells in the immediate family.
ps: anyone know what i can do about the dead usb port, pm me if you know something about it, thanks.
A couple months ago a customer lost a drive in a Dell server that was less than a year old (no raid, their choice not mine). A week later they lost the hard drive in a workstation that was the same age. 2 weeks ago they lost a hard drive in one more workstation (same age as the others).
We're an HP reseller and quite honestly HP is most of what I have at home as well (I also have a couple IBM's). While it does happen, it seems that the HP's we sell are much less prone to hardware failures than the Dells. About 1/3 of our customers have their own Dell equipment and the balance have our HP's. I see fewer hardware failures in the 2/3 of the HP's than the 1/3 of Dells. That's just a "butt dyno" figure though, I've never sat down and run the actual numbers.
We're an HP reseller and quite honestly HP is most of what I have at home as well (I also have a couple IBM's). While it does happen, it seems that the HP's we sell are much less prone to hardware failures than the Dells. About 1/3 of our customers have their own Dell equipment and the balance have our HP's. I see fewer hardware failures in the 2/3 of the HP's than the 1/3 of Dells. That's just a "butt dyno" figure though, I've never sat down and run the actual numbers.
Almost all Dell computers are standard Intel motherboards and CPU's. You can buy these directly from places like NewEgg if you want. Of course, it won't say "Dell" when you power it on. HP's have the same exact Intel parts inside. When I realized that, I switched to buying Dells because the computers were $300 less per unit.
When you configure your Dell for purchase, paying for the "Gold Support" option keeps your service call within the U.S. Try it.
Hard drives are a thorn in the side for any PC maker. It only takes one bad batch to bring down customer satisfaction for all the vendors that install them.
We're dealing with Compaq Evo500's now that had their CPU fans installed upside down. Once enough dust settles around the CPU fan, over time, it overheats and shuts down. Someone was sleeping on the job when assembling these units...
When you configure your Dell for purchase, paying for the "Gold Support" option keeps your service call within the U.S. Try it.
Hard drives are a thorn in the side for any PC maker. It only takes one bad batch to bring down customer satisfaction for all the vendors that install them.
We're dealing with Compaq Evo500's now that had their CPU fans installed upside down. Once enough dust settles around the CPU fan, over time, it overheats and shuts down. Someone was sleeping on the job when assembling these units...
I gotta tell you, my Dell 1.4Ghz ME from 1999 to 2006 never had an issue. Well I take that back, my monitor sucked bad.....but really my DEll was OK, support back then OK, too. In 99 the price delta wasn't too huge.
That said I will go back to cheap homemade, but make it loaded for a bit less $ than Dell plain jane performance.
That said I will go back to cheap homemade, but make it loaded for a bit less $ than Dell plain jane performance.
Where are you buying individual parts cheaper than complete Dell PC's..?
Wife's Dad recently bought a 2.66Ghz Celeron XP box—hardly an impressive machine—for only $400 sans printer/monitor.
I'd much rather build my own PC too but it seems the parts are expensive.
Wife's Dad recently bought a 2.66Ghz Celeron XP box—hardly an impressive machine—for only $400 sans printer/monitor.
I'd much rather build my own PC too but it seems the parts are expensive.
Dell Computer complaints tops all other makers combined. I have one and my daughter has one, no problems period with either one. Now we don't have the top of the line models, but no complaints. Both were packages under $500
Computer complaints
Computer complaints
i currently own 2 dell pc's, had another one a few years ago, and my father owns one. never had a problem with any of them. you'd better hope you dont run into any problems if you own a dell.. their tech support is like no other. its absolutely worthless, i cant believe they actually get paid to "help" people. i just dont like how my dell desktops cool the cpu.. bare heatsink on the cpu with a shroud going to the exhaust fan, and no intake fan.
LOL, I was doing some consulting, helping a local company configure 3 new Dell boxen they bought. We were setting up the Dell inkjet printers, and one of then was printing really crappy. It turns out the black ink cartridge was defective, we swapped them and the problem followed the cartridge in question. So the guy I'm working with calls Dull customer support to complain about getting a brand new defective ink, and the call is routed to Dull's cust serv center in India. The guy on the phone barely speaks english. It took like 15 minutes of repeating stuff, argueing, etc until we had a credit for a bad ink. Unbelievable. I have a hard time patronizing companies that outsource US jobs. Traitors.
All my personal home boxen are homebuilt, and use AMD processors.
All my personal home boxen are homebuilt, and use AMD processors.
A HP is not the same as a Dell inside. 'll do 10-15 million S worth this year allgoing well. HP have far greater testing standards. Kingston who supply 9 of the top 11 vendors visited me recently. Stuff HP rejects is willingly purchased by all the other vendors, straight from Kingston themselves. My biggest client is Defence who will always buy HP when they can with Dell and sometimes Acer. A recent Acer rollout has 50% failure rate on installation. I recently purchased a HP compaq d530 SFF 2.8, 1GB, XP Pro and it's a real quality unit built like a brick sh1thouse as we say here. Dell is a four letter word!
Had I known about the outsourcing of US jobs to India w/Dell, I wouldn't have bought one. But anyway, better a few hundred for a computer than 30K for a car.
I think people's expectations of Dells are way too high. I know several people who talk them up like they are faultless, but then ask them to explain why they are so good and they really can't tell you. When a person hears all this and their Dell has problems, of course they are going to be more upset then usual. I've always had very good luck with HPs. Our old HP is almost 6 years old and has never had a hardware problem. When it came time to buy a new computer I bought a Compaq, since they are almost identical to HPs and a little cheaper. Despite all the bad mouthing of Compaqs I've also had good luck with them.
-T
-T
Bad mouthing of Compaq's? a HP PC is a Compaq. It's actually called a HP Compaq. Trust me I now about this sh1T I was the no #1 HP/compaq partner/reseller sales rep in Australia 2 yrs back. I work for Commander the fastest growing IT company in Australia and every vendor known to man is banging on our our MD's door every day. We can pick and choose who we want and and change the IT landscape here. HP are a PIA to work with but the product is the best by a mile as we say. Even IBM is crap in comparison.
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