Dell Laptops any good?

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 16:48

Hi all,

I currently use a HP Pavillion laptop with 17" screen as my home PC, had it nearly 5 years and its been brilliant however its not charging up from the AC adapter since Friday

Have ordered a new mains adapter at wait for it £82.50

but unsure if its the adapter which still lights up but isn't getting warm when plugged into the mains. Other culprit could be the latop socket is knackered.

I'm starting too think time for a replacement laptop and noticed DELL have brought out a new one XPS Studio 16. Anyone have any experience with DELL?

Currently using a tiny Asus Eee with 9" screen and driving me crazy as the keyboard is ermmmm tiny lol

Thanks,

Tim.

PhoenixCoupe · Post by **PhoenixCoupe** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 17:47

I'd rate Dell and Apple among the top manufacturers for quality and service.

smartypants · Post by **smartypants** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 18:12

I wouldnt get anything but DELL these days - couldnt recommend them more highly!

NickDale · Post by **NickDale** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 19:21

PhoenixCoupe wrote:I'd rate Dell and Apple among the top manufacturers for quality and service.

totally agree, by far the best two for customer service. personally a apple is no good for me but there customer service is outstanding. same goes for dell I guess although use them

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 19:51

Thanks guys

looks like thumbs up for DELL although the new XPS is not cheap

and getting close to Apple Mac prices

however it looks a nice laptop so I think I might go for the DELL.

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/produ ... l=en&s=dhs

The HP has been great but customer Service was very poor. The HP laptop cost me £999 and after 18 months the AC adapter failed so when I tried to order a replacement from HP they sent me the wrong one and then told me it wasn't available

Luckily I managed to find www.battery.co.uk who had one in stock but now looks like this one has failed as well lol after 3 1/2 years. I had a Sony VAIO before the HP but that only lasted 2 years before it died.

Tim.

NickDale · Post by **NickDale** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 19:55

does it have to be a new one? just I've used a site in the past (forget the name but I can dig it up) where companies have used laptops for meetings and so on... it tells you how many hours they have been used normally around 8 then they have been sent back then there sold on at a massive cut, I still use one now with not one problem.

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 20:01

NickDale wrote:does it have to be a new one? just I've used a site in the past (forget the name but I can dig it up) where companies have used laptops for meetings and so on... it tells you how many hours they have been used normally around 8 then they have been sent back then there sold on at a massive cut, I still use one now with not one problem.

Hi Nick,

I guess it depends if when I get a replacement adapter the HP fires up if it does then I will probably get a new DELL in a month or 2 time, if not then I will have to get something cheapie to keep me going in the meantime, ideally would want to replace the HP with a new one. Will find out in a couple of days when the adapter arrives.

Tim.

NickDale · Post by **NickDale** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 20:05

okay I'll look this site up I have it on another pc bookmarked, always worth a look. its just not worth buying new when this site does new with 8 hours work on them for almost half the price. they come with all the warranty too.

Titan · Post by **Titan** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 20:06

TitanTim wrote:Have ordered a new mains adapter at wait for it £82.50

It's only money but ........ £82.50
(That'll teach you to take the mick out of Dot Com's dirty car

)

A few other thoughts
Is it the mains unit or battery that's failed?
If you can buy a new HP laptop for around £299, why bother with the new charger?
Any new laptop is likely to pre-ship with Vista.
I found it a nightmare so opted for a downgrade to XP when I bought one for my son's christmas present. Big advantage is that we have maintained compatibility across work and home networks.
(This may not be an issue for you but thought it worth a mention)

Regards
Titan

PS Don't know if Dell do a model with chrome surrounds

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 20:21

Titan wrote:
TitanTim wrote:Have ordered a new mains adapter at wait for it £82.50
It's only money but ........ £82.50
(That'll teach you to take the mick out of Dot Com's dirty car )

A few other thoughts
Is it the mains unit or battery that's failed?
If you can buy a new HP laptop for around £299, why bother with the new charger?
Any new laptop is likely to pre-ship with Vista.
I found it a nightmare so opted for a downgrade to XP when I bought one for my son's christmas present. Big advantage is that we have maintained compatibility across work and home networks.
(This may not be an issue for you but thought it worth a mention)

Regards
Titan

PS Don't know if Dell do a model with chrome surrounds

Hi Titan,

Hehehe what goes around comes around lol I will have to be careful what I say in other threads lol.

Thanks for your advice, the battery in the HP is sound as the laptop still has some juice so i reckon the adapter is shot or the socket on the laptop. HP's adapters dont seem to last long as the last one literally went bang by the side of the sofa lol and plume of smoke shot out of it

I really need a slightly higher end laptop for my graphics work and gaming etc and I've heard good reviews on the DELLS screen for this. The HP Pavillion is excellent for graphics etc. I agree about Vista, its one of the reasons Ive hung onto this laptop for so long as I'm using XP, we still use XP at work as Vista messes up some of the works software.

Tim.

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 20:22

PS I think DELL do Titanium surrounds lol

Tim.

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 20:23

NickDale wrote:okay I'll look this site up I have it on another pc bookmarked, always worth a look. its just not worth buying new when this site does new with 8 hours work on them for almost half the price. they come with all the warranty too.

Cheers Nick, if you could would appreciate that,

Regards,

Tim.

Post by **Robert T** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 20:55

On a 5 year old laptop, which will be well out of warranty, surely a generic laptop power supply of the correct voltage and wattage would be more economical?

http://www.powersuppliesonline.co.uk/ra ... efault.htm

I have had a few Dell machines over the years, and they all had one thing in common - they all run damn hot. One of them roasted my leg through a 1.5" thick MDF desk after only about a hour!

Last machine I bought came from a company called PC Specialist (pcspecialist.co.uk) who "custom" build them - basically they shove in the modules you say - the one I have is a Compal shell, with a Core 2 Duo, 2GB Corsair RAM and 160GB HDD - very good workhorse and they supplied it with XP!

Cheers R.

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 21:35

Robert T wrote:On a 5 year old laptop, which will be well out of warranty, surely a generic laptop power supply of the correct voltage and wattage would be more economical?

http://www.powersuppliesonline.co.uk/ra ... efault.htm

I have had a few Dell machines over the years, and they all had one thing in common - they all run damn hot. One of them roasted my leg through a 1.5" thick MDF desk after only about a hour!

Last machine I bought came from a company called PC Specialist (pcspecialist.co.uk) who "custom" build them - basically they shove in the modules you say - the one I have is a Compal shell, with a Core 2 Duo, 2GB Corsair RAM and 160GB HDD - very good workhorse and they supplied it with XP!

Cheers R.

Thanks for the link Robert, the AC adapter I have ordered is a HP replacement specific to my laptop, this will be my 3rd with this laptop as they seem to last only about 3 years then fail lol. The HP that I currently have runs pretty hot too but has three fans under its base that keeps my crotch cool lol when working

Cheers,

Tim.

///M_aniac · Post by **///M_aniac** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 22:07

I have never had any problems with Dell machines and I have had 4 PCS and 2 laptops of theirs now. Good service too.

whiteminks · Post by **whiteminks** » Sun 22 Mar, 2009 22:08

///M_aniac wrote:I have never had any problems with Dell machines and I have had 4 PCS and 2 laptops of theirs now. Good service too.

Yes but are you still fertile Conor?

NickDale · Post by **NickDale** » Mon 23 Mar, 2009 20:21

Tim, here is that site i was talking about. The link will take you straight to laptops, worth a look i even fancy one or two there myself.

http://www.itcsales.co.uk/acatalog/Seco ... ptops.html

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Mon 23 Mar, 2009 21:19

NickDale wrote:Tim, here is that site i was talking about. The link will take you straight to laptops, worth a look i even fancy one or two there myself. http://www.itcsales.co.uk/acatalog/Seco ... ptops.html

Hi Nick,

Thanks so much for the link

Just been having a nose at the DELL's which are a fair bit cheaper I'm thinking maybe of a Inspiron now as theyre virtually £200 off. Hopefully should get a new AC adapter tomorrow for the HP and will see if it runs OK if not then might just go for the Inspiron off the site.

Cheers,

Tim.

risquenun · Post by **risquenun** » Fri 27 Mar, 2009 18:46

I bought an IBM Lenovo laptop 2 years ago and paid £137 for a next day on site warranty. 4 weeks later it had a new motherboard fitted in my home.
last week the plugon the power lead started to pull away from the cable.
I cheekily rang lenovo and they shipped me a new A/C adapter FOC as a warranty claim.

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Fri 27 Mar, 2009 20:05

Well the good news is the trusty HP laptop is up and running again, turned out the Mains adapter had conked out as thought but why are HP AC adapters so expensive

this is my second on this laptop

As the laptop is running again have decided to save a bit more and go for the DELL XPS Studio 16, expensive at £1400

but worth it for my work and the new RGB screen seems to be getting good reviews.

Cheers for your help peeps,

Tim.

richardjgreen · Post by **richardjgreen** » Thu 09 Apr, 2009 18:48

www.pctechnology.org.uk for repairs

skeete · Post by **skeete** » Wed 24 Jun, 2009 11:29

I use a Business Dell for work.. its a crackling little laptop. GREAT looks, small form factor, more than quick enough for large data handling stuff.

Dell D630 ,, you can pick them up on ebay for a few hundred second hand.
Stay clear of PC world as the ones in there are just plastic crap. (no offense to anyone who has bought one

)

Here is a pic http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_image ... 0_d630.jpg

Its not the biggest screen in the world but its perfect for web browsing. Dont be tempted with giant screens and flashy shiny plastic.. they just get scratched and smeared.

skeete · Post by **skeete** » Wed 24 Jun, 2009 11:31

Here is one now.. £will go for about £300 i reckon

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Latitude-D63 ... 7C294%3A50

skeete · Post by **skeete** » Wed 24 Jun, 2009 11:33

The D620 is the same but does not have a Sim card slot under the battery which I doubt you would use. They are a little cheaper too

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DELL-D620-LAPTOP- ... 7C294%3A50

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed 24 Jun, 2009 22:54

Hi - it looks like you might have already made your mind up but thought I'd let you know our experiences in case you want to consider the options.

Been using computers for longer than I care to think about, about 12 years ago I bought my 1st Dell after partner recommended it, it worked fine. Partner is in IT so it has to be the best machine for him so he paid top dollar and bought a pup in my opinion. He then bought a laptop from them and it was a good machine - again top of the range. Then it came time to replace a 3 machines - he went for Dell again both desktop and laptop I went for Mesh.

If I had a £1 for every time he's regretted both machines I could have bought him a new desk and laptop, constant problems with overheating, noisy fans, hanging and the most frustrating thing, Dell are great when you're buying from them but lousy after service in our experience.

He has just replaced his laptop again so I convinced him not to buy Dell - in my opinion they are trading on an old reputation. I did loads of research on the internet, read so many forum and review pages and they told me to stay well away from the XPS machines - again overheating. My research pointed us towards Acer which we went out and bought 2 months ago and he says it's the best machine he's ever had.

Last week bought daughter a netbook - bought the Acer 10.2 and she is made up with it.

It's only our experiences but I would recommend doing wide research.

unclemart · Post by **unclemart** » Thu 25 Jun, 2009 07:25

Just for balance
I purchase Desktop and laptop machines for my company
The Desktops (15 ) are getting on for four years old now and run almost trouble free, we have a mix of lattitude and Inspiron laptops (10) which our feild engineeers and sales guys work from - only problem we have suffered is theft of two machines. We also resell and install Dell desktops to our customers to run application software for CCTV/Access and Fire sytems again Dell is number one choice with their 3 year on site warranty which we have needed only on four occasions in the last five years their service has been excellent and effective repairs were made on the first visit following a conversation with their tech support. I never buy top of the range new models but always look for an older model PC running Windows XP pro - Stay away from Vista!!
With the Laptops there really is no need to spend the extra on a lattitude over an inspiron unless you need a serial port. The usb/serial converters are a waste of time unless you only need to use for short durations.
Dell will usually supply with Xp Pro if you ask instead of Vista
We have tried Toshiba , Acer(texas Instruments), and HP machines also but find Dell to be the best option for us....

(this post created using a 3 year old trouble free Inspiron 6400)

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Dell Laptops any good?

Dell Laptops any good?

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