Dell Desktops, Notebooks and Servers Are Overpriced and Overhyped

I've had the misfortune of using Dell laptops in both corporate and personal settings. As a new system administrator for a telecommunications company, I wasn't able to choose which computers we worked with, and after a comedy of errors you'd think I'd have learned my lesson. Instead, I purchased a Dell notebook for personal use within the past year, and the one I originally ordered is not the one sitting here on my lap as I write this.

As a system administrator, I had my work cut out for me when it came to keeping up with Dell fallouts. About three years prior to taking on that position, our company had purchased ten Dell Latitude laptops for use throughout different offices. All ten laptops' hard drives died within the same week, four years after acquiring them. Luckily, I was able to salvage most of the hard drives with a free download called, "Darik's Boot and Nuke". Normally used prior to recycling computers, I used it to wipe out each hard drive and fix errors, allowing me to successfully reinstall Windows XP Professional back onto it.

We also owned Dell OptiPlex desktops and PowerEdge Servers, both of which had longer lives, however neither could live up to the stability and longevity of Solaris servers and workstations. Unfortunately, fewer system administrators are fluent in Solaris operating systems than Windows. Despite Solaris' power and reliability, they aren't as prevalent in the workplace due to the computers' prices and the learning curve of potential end users. Not once in the five years I worked there did we have to replace a Solaris server or SPARCstation. I lost count of the times our Dell servers went down.

About a year ago, I decided to buy a Dell Inspiron laptop to replace my 64-bit Acer laptop. Its motherboard died after four years of solid use. I tricked my laptop out with 2GB RAM, 2.4GHz Intel processor, a tight graphics card and the fastest hard drive available on their site. I paid a pretty penny for my laptop and when it arrived, the first thing it did was shock me as I took it out of the box.

I didn't think much of it due to the Styrofoam packaging. I finished loading Windows Vista Home Premium onto it, and when I picked it up I was shocked once again! After several shocks and newly volumous hair, I had my first ever encounter with Dell's customer service.

Despite being outsourced to India, which led to some accent comprehension problems on my end, I found their customer service representatives to be extremely helpful. They agreed that I had one scary laptop and asked me to send it back for repair, which I did right away and received my current laptop about a week later.

I was dismayed when I received a letter from Dell saying they had not received my original laptop. Their notice advised me to send in my broken laptop within a week or I would be charged for two laptops. I was rightfully freaked out but my worries were put to rest when I called customer service. They told me my laptop had indeed arrived and I was relieved. Ironically, almost a year later, I'm occasionally shocked by this computer because it's missing two screws on the bottom by the memory. I'm sure Dell would send me replacements but I haven't bothered with them since. I've simply changed the way I carry it.

On a brighter note, unlike other computer manufacturers, Dell's website's support section is extremely easy to use, even for beginners. There, you can chat live with a customer service agent, look up the original hardware specifications of your machine by typing in your computer's serial number or find downloadable drivers specific to your computer.

I highly recommend the lesser-known brand Acer over pretty much any other brand of computer, especially if you have a background in IT as a system administrator, or if you have a friend who knows computers. Acer provides solid hardware and lots of muscle for unbeatable prices. Their 64-bit version is perfect for running Linux. The downside is that their website isn't as easy to navigate as other brands such as Dell and Gateway when it comes to seeking support and downloading drivers - it takes a little more digging than one would expect.

Try to avoid Sony Vaio laptops as well because they are tremendously overpriced and you will wind up paying more in the future for their proprietary hardware - hardware that is only compatible on Sony computers (same goes for all Sony products for that matter). I have no other gripes with their laptops as they are lightweight, sleek and work well with Linux. I've formed the opinion that Dell is overpriced and overhyped, but not the worst computer I've ever used. They are quick to put poor-quality hardware inside of their computers to make a profit, so unless you want to spend more for mediocre hardware, I would suggest looking elsewhere.