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I was a bit surprised when you referred to Dell as an excellent product...I guess there are also those who said the same thing about Packard-Bell. Low demand and low expectations will allow a person to be satisfied with lower capabilities.

Just about all the "package" computers have their weaknesses..the same thing that allows them to be lower priced, whether it be a so-so video card, a low end sound card or whatever. I've always had better luck assembling my own so that I can get a combination of the best components.

I currently handle 67 pc's, all of which were built from the power supply and motherboard on up and the downtime is virtualy non-existant. I only wish it were as simple to build one's own car using all top of the line parts. Never have believed in the "one size fits all" system because it always involves compromise at some point.

As far as Dell itself is concerned, I am glad you found someone who got good service from them, especially after reading a laundry list of complaints about them in InfoWorld (Ed Foster column)

http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/01/10/15/011015opfoster.xml

Sounds more like you had good luck than anything else...hey I have a neighbor who has a Yugo and it still runs.

I currently handle 67 pc's, all of which were built from the power supply and motherboard on up and the downtime is virtualy non-existant.

Captain, I handle a lot more than that and, I'd like to say, neither one of us have a sufficient sample size to make any generalizations.

Never have believed in the "one size fits all" system because it always involves compromise at some point.

I agree with you. In the realm of computers, though, I have no savvy for putting them together. For some reason I always wanted to get a Dell. I did, and my experience has been good. Not perfect.

A bit off the path here, your comment reminded me of the Bridgestone bicycle company. Although making mass-produced bikes, their director Grant Peterson was a big believer in cherry-picking various components so that each bike, at each level, had the best mix of parts for that price range. I bought an MB3 mountain bike several years ago for $800 and that thing is as good as new and still gives me satisfaction.

Not on topic, but just to let you know I also like the idea of finding the best possible components instead of using "stock".