Khal

I have an old Pentium 4 IBM laptop and am thinking of getting a new Dell laptop.

I nearly completed my purchase online yesterday on their site when something told me to stop and go to Amazon and see what others have to say about Dell.

I was really surprised to see so many people complaining about their customer service and how much is sucks.

I know somebody is going to tell me to go and get a Mac. The thing is I find them really expensive and I don't want to start learning a new operating system.

What is your experience with Dell support and customer service?

butters

Not sure about customer service or support, never bothered to ring them. I personally use a mac but another member in my family (mother) she has been using a dell for 4 years now... It is getting slow but what do you expect after 4 years but it still works fine. It still does the stuff which is needed and isn't all that bad, I am sure with the newer parts in the new Dell it would last a long time, if treated correctly.

BTW learning a new operation system isn't hard, it took me a week or 2 to adapt to Mac .

tritrain

I had a Dell laptop for 9 years before it died.

I also like Toshiba or Asus.

Andrew Maule

Recently got a Dell Studio 17, HIGHLY recommend. Came with a 9 cell battery, slot loading drive, 3gb ram, 500gb hard drive, 17" screen, etc. etc. It's a great machine. This is probably my 8th or 9th laptop and it's served me great since I've had it, no problems.

Jack Martin

If you go to Amazon, and sort Dell Laptops by rating, you'll find tons of them that have five stars.

Texas_Guns

I have 3 - no joke... 3 dead Dell laptops sitting on
my shelf. I'm one to also agree with what others
have to say about their customer service. I flipped
out at them on more than 47 occasions.

I switched to Mac a couple of years ago and haven't
looked back since. There's no way I'm ever touching
a Windows computer again. However, I do have
Windows installed on my Mac as well because there
are some software programs that are PC only that I
need to access.

Go Mac!!!

zincOnline

Quick browse round some tech blogs/google should find you the best laptop in your price bracket.

why not save up and get a proper computer, once you go mac you never go back

Andrew Maule

Dell has made some huge overhauls. I'm guessing you have very old Dell computers. Dell is creeping up on Mac quality hard ware as well, go check out the Dell Adamo. Their new stuff is way better.

http://www.adamobydell.com/

l23bc

once you get A MAC you never go back

sorry but here are some of the models i have used with dell

dell inspiration c364 pent4 2gig...bust in 4 months with viruses support was rubbish for me,
dell laptop in blue due core2 processor...still working okay but takes a while to load up because of vista,

Mac book pro....no problems support is excellent and virus free unlike windows

sorry had to rant a little,

andy

KenThompson

I did some research for a friend who owns a restaurant in my
area. He knows nothing about pc's or laptops, but he wanted to
get a new laptop for himself.

I did a lot of reading, online, and I also came across a huge amount
of complaints regarding Dell's customer service being so bad. I really
don't think their laptops are bad, though.

I ended-up recommending Panasonic or Dell if he thought he could live
with the customer support issues. Saw him the other day, he got a
Panasonic and is happy with it.

ArticleDirectory

Toshiba is your best bet. HP and Sony come in second. I have dealt with all of them. Spend a few years in retail selling laptops, so I am speaking from experience.

I am not a fan of Dell. Service is horrible and outsourced to outside the country, not very helpful. For the price, you are much better off going with toshiba or hp. Dell is ok if you are going to be customizing your laptop..they give you a few more options.

now you also have the option of a mac...different story all together

Afaneh

Dell laptops are good . I had two over the last nine years . customer service? no idea never needed them

MikeAmbrosio

I have a Macbook Pro and think it's great. But I also have 6 active Dells (4 laptops and 2 desktops) and have ZERO problems with them. I have a 5th laptop from about 4 years ago that I wiped and reinstalled Windows then gave to my son. Still going strong.

On the rare occasions I have had to contact their support I have gotten great responses. One time was for a DVD RW that went bad - after spending about 30 minutes on the phone troubleshooting, they simply sent me a new one and told me to throw out the old one.

The recommendation I usually make is if you don't get into heavy duty graphics, videos, gaming, etc. then you can get like 3 good Dell laptops for the price of one Macbook Pro.

As far as Macbooks having no problems as many loyal users profess, I know from experience that those can have issues too. I find that whether you own a Mac or a Dell, the amount of issues you have is usually directly proportional to how they are used and maintained. Not always, but usually.

My 2c
Mike

butters

True I just looked at a new one for my mum and I was suprised about the quality and the price. £450 for a nice laptop by most standards, except gaming of course. Shame Dell has windows operating system tho, thats what makes Mac so much better then windows

tritrain

So your the guy in all those YouTube videos freaking out at Tech Support!

netraveller

I have a Toshiba satellite celeron powered 5 years now. And it is still running good. It is also good to have a flash drive or external drive backing up your important data and fresh re-install your OS once a while, especially if you have the habit of installing different s/w here and there. It tends to accumulate junk eating up memory some where over times regardless what OS.

InternetMarketingIQ

I've had a couple of Dell laptops. They are okay. I've never contacted their customer service. I have downloaded drivers from their site.

I have a 24" LCS Flat Panel from Dell and it's been excellent.

My first Dell Laptop had a dead motherboard after the first year. The last one has been fine.

ALL Electronics come from Asia, they are all built to last maybe 3 years.

Dell cheats people by using memory schemes that require you to throw out the existing chips when upgrading. Dell add ons are a waste of money. Buy 3rd party memory.

The "Trick" with Dell is to buy the models on special as "Base" models and upgrade yourself.

And Mac's are great.

The Real "Cost" of ownership goes far beyond what you pay up front. All my Macs have always worked. The Only Apple product I had which sucked was a Apple Laser Printer which was really an HP with an Apple logo.

Good luck.

And you'll get a lot better service out of Dell than Amazon. Amazon service sucks big time.

Something to keep in mind:

Dell ships 10,000+ computers each day!!!

Dell does not make the computers they pay other companies in Asia to make them for them.

With the amount of Dell computers shipped there are going to be problems, and people with problems are the most likely to go online and complain.

Lloyd Buchinski

One of the things I think is most under appreciated around here is Lenovo. They don't advertise to individual consumers so most people have never heard of them. Maybe half the threads asking for a computer recommendation around here have someone mention them quietly.

Their corporate section used to say for orders of $100,000 or more. Obviously if you are just spending $90,000 you are just getting computers for a few rooms around the house I guess.

But you can order directly from lenovo.com or lenovo.ca. The choice in laptops is about 10 times as much as any other computer site I've seen, and you can customize as you go along. They do carry choices right down to the very cheap ones, but at least with the mid price range and up you can pick out solid state drive, LED back lit screen (both increase battery life) and a heavier battery, that sort of stuff.

They have beaten Macs in customer satisfaction surveys and did it without advertising or evangelists.

Mostly they supply Gov and big business. I do some work for the city of Calgary and their computers are left running 24/7/365 for years. (all Lenovos) A part of the reason is to let the IT guys to do remote updates at night.

There is a lot more but visiting their site and clicking around is an eye opener.

best wishes, lloyd
.......__o
.......\<,
....( )/ ( )...

netraveller

Check out PC world 100 Best Products of 2009.
6. Dell Latitude Z2600
17. HP Mini 311-1000NR
24. Lenovo ThinkPad T400
28. HP Envy 13

The PC World 100: Best Products of 2009 - PC World

zincOnline

Its not the machine itself its the OS at the end of the day.

OSX is a hundred times more stable than windows - it dont crash.

Erica Leggett

I have a dell laptop and it gets the job done. When I first got it, I kept having alot of problems with it but other than that it is cool.

MikeAmbrosio

Ain't that the truth.

Frankly though, my OS (Vista at the moment) doesn't crash enough for me to care. Every once in a while. Nothing is perfect.

As for OSX DON'T crash? Well, I agree it's rare, but it does indeed crash. I have witnessed it

Mac owners have been saying it don't crash for so long now that even when it does, they go into denial... LOL!

Marketstriker

I think it depends on a model. I've used Dell Inspiron 15 for 3 years and had no problems. One more reason is the age.

Tina Golden

I will never buy another Dell product. I bought a desktop from them a few years back. The hard drive and motherboard went less than two years later. Their so-called support told me the wrong thing and had me order parts that were not needed. Then they told me that I could return the unneeded part (minus the $30 they charged me to ship it fast) and they actually charged me for the call to support (that told me the wrong thing).

Dell has great CPUs and the rest of the parts are the cheapest, lowest quality parts they can put in. The mouse that came with mine actually SQUEAKED! And the keyboard was terrible, too. But the worst is the total lack of support on their part.

When I went locally and had a new hard drive and motherboard (along with a new case because the Dell case would not fit anything but the Dell replacements), I needed the license number for my Windows. Dell refused to give it to me if I didn't have the parts replaced through them for double the money I paid the local shop. Microsoft support even talked to them and they refused. Thank goodness, the support person at Microsoft took pity on me and helped me out.

Can you tell that I don't like Dell?? LOL.

Tina

Lucius

I've had Dell Laptops and never had problems because I buy through the Dell business portals not the home consumer ones and there could be a build quality difference or it might just be luck. In all cases I've spec'd my Dells-that's custom built to to most of you- from Malaysia.
The Dell Inspiron I have now is nearly 5 years old and a quick ram upgrade I was good to go.
It's a brilliant tool.
I vowed never, ever to buy a Mac again after my first Powerbook 170 which cost a small fortune back in the day and it was the most advanced available-became obsolete within 12 months. I still have it. It does the typey typey thing and in Black and White. The design that debuted 20 years ago still looks futuristic today. It's a piece of Art. Pity about the innards.

rainyclayday

I have a Dell desktop, no problems with it for the 3 years I have had it. My laptop is a Toshiba, no problems with that the 2+ years I have had it.

Regarding Lenovo though, I really like those computers, had a refurb ThinkPad one time that I loved. I would definitely consider one of those if I were in the market.

Khal

Thank you so much guys.
Really appreciate all your comments.

Tam Chancellor

I can't say enough great things about Lenovo Thinkpads. I just love
the one I have. I plan on buying a new laptop in about 6 months. I
wouldn't consider not buying another Thinkpad.

Tam

Arfan

I never ever had a problem with Dell Customer service, had a few problems and they fixed them very fast compared to my sisters HP laptop oh man the dreadful customer service they have

nickey512

mac is good, but mac not compatible with software for internet marketer.. microsoft is better. acer have the battery problem. i'll pick toshiba or HP..

Tim_A

Have got a Dell XPS laptop, incredibly high spec and ran like a dream until it started getting hotter and hotter and now runs like a dog, can't even have it on my legs as it burns you!!

have a search around... thousands more like me...

goginoo

i had a dell laptop once and its crap, i have macbook now and its a lot better

ztws

Currently have a Dell desktop, HP laptop for wife, and Toshiba laptop (newest one). Bought a Toshiba for my parents. Toshiba and Lenovo are two of the more reliable brands. If you can catch a Dell outlet sale at the right time, you can find some good deals.

I've had Dell laptops before and had a pretty good experience with them.

Mr.Cash

I'd say no to the dell. Funny enough I just got a new laptop today and spotted this thread. I went for the toshiba satellite a500 17x. Excellent machine with the best laptop speakers that you could ever find over any other laptop in the market!

basefunding

Apart from customer support I think it comes down to the model you end up with. I have a high end Asus and a Macbook Pro and am very happy with them. My dead laptop bin holds 2 Toshibas, 1 HP (lasted less than a year) and a cheap Gateway.

sodevrom

Hi,
I am a programmer and now, starting in the internet marketing world.
I must say that in our times every company has great laptops. In my opinion a DELL/HP/Sony Vaio laptop is really not worth it because you can purchase an Acer or Toshiba at almost half the price.

For example I purchased an Acer 2 years ago that was worth 800 EUR and a Dell with the exact same configuration costed about 1100 EUR .

Good luck with your decision!
Vlad

admin@subashseo.com

Hey,

I am using Dell Laptop for last 3 years and my office also everybody is using Dell Laptop only.As per my experience with Dell, the customer support is really good.

Anonymous Affiliate

Same here with the Dell Studio 17": powerful, quality and affordable. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a desktop-replacement type of laptop.