I need a New Computer Update: My terrible mail order computer experience

3.25.03 | mlmr

[ThePythonicCow]

From the weekly Infoworld Robert X. Cringley Newsletter of 13 Oct 2003 comes one more Dell tech support horror story:

Pardon Me, Miss, My mailbag is bulging with complaints about English-challenged support techies. The best one: A reader spent an hour talking to an off-shore Dell tech who kept calling him "madam," despite numerous attempts to convince the tech that he was in fact a 56-year-old man. After madam explained his problem (his PC failed to boot due to mismatched RAM chips), the tech offered to send him a new optical mouse. He must have heard the saying, "Are you a man or do you need a mouse?"

[mlmr]

LOL. Thanks!!

[dennisw]

Next get an E-machine at Best Buy with a Best Buy warranty. Any problem, you drop it off at Best Buy.

[Chickensoup]

Three years later:

I started this thread.

I bought a tiger direct machine for less than dell and it has been sterling. So have the two I bought the children.

[dennisw]

I was at Tiger today and there are great deals on re-certified Emachines. As low as 179$ before shipping and you have to mail in rebates. Shipping + taxes is anywhere from $30-$50. In most states Tiger doesn't collect tax

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?Sort=0&Nav=|c:6|m:305|&Recs=30

You walk into BestBuy and in my opinion the HPs, Emachines, Gateways Compaqs there all look very good and well built

[Chickensoup]

In my research back then E's had small fans. They need a fan upgrade to be good machines. But that was three years ago.

[dennisw]

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=339751&pfp=072306sale

[js1138]

You walk into BestBuy and in my opinion the HPs, Emachines, Gateways Compaqs there all look very good and well built

The worst thing about dneap machines is not the hardware -- that cna be as reliable as more expensive stuff -- but the adware they put on the machine to get the selling price down. It would be better to spring for a clean copy of Windows and reformat the things before trying to use them.

[bmwcyle]

I have had great success with Tiger.

[dennisw]

Gateway bought E-machines. Gateway uses BTX in some of it's desktops. BTX makes for very good airflow
http://www.gateway.com/tech/btx_tech.shtml?cm_ven=Vanity&cm_ite=btxtech&rdr=status319

E Machines might use BTX but I'm sure Gateway is on top of the airflow situation. These days exhaust fans are usually variable speed. Rotate faster if the computer is hot inside. The main (usually only) is 80-90mm and right below the power supply as can be seen in this EMachine photo--->>>

[dennisw]

What did you buy from Tiger? They have to charge sales tax in Florida and it usually breaks the deal for me. I buy parts at New Egg a lot

[bmwcyle]

A motherboard and processor

[dennisw]

A motherboard and processor............. Tiger has great combo deals on that

[Mr. K]

that is VERY pricey!!!

you can get that in a laptop for half that

[Mr. K]

OK, I take some of that back about the Costco you described.

it has a nice sound system and remote control (I didnt read ALL the specs)

It is still a little pricey (in my book) but it might be worth it to you to save all the aggravation of having a system you jhust plug in and go with all those goodies- it would take me a week to set all that up if I bought it all seperately

[DouglasKC]

Psst...that post you’re responding to is 11 years old... :-)

[Mr. K]

why the heck am I doing that????????

[DouglasKC]

why the heck am I doing that????????

Because you're a time traveler?????

[Hot Tabasco]

That's a highly unusual experience with Dell. There must be more to the story.

I had a Dell for well over 10 years and any time I required assistance, their support lines always came to my rescue.........

When the motherboard died, they spent over an hour talking me thru the removal of the board and immediately sent me out a replacement. When the replacement arrive several days later, they spent over another hour talking me thru the reinstallation of it............

I have no complaints whatsoever with Dell........

[Chickensoup]

Not in 2003