DELL Product Reviews
Dell Inspiron 6400
Reliable, sturdy, nice looking and hard wearing.
I have owned Dells for a few years now and overall I am very happy with them as a product.
They are expensive but you do get a sturdy, powerful, reliable machine.
I would wholeheartedly recommend Dell at any rate, for the following reason I bought this laptop in November and I hated the keyboard - it didn't seem to fully press some keys. I thought it was just me, that because I had previously used a smaller keyboard that I just needed to adjust. After a couple of months of not really saying anything coherent when typed and spelling like a moron, I was about ready to throw the laptop at the wall. Despite not being financially well off, my husband saw my frustration and offered to buy me a new laptop it was that bad.
In a last ditch attempt, we looked at the cost of replacement keyboards and they were too much money, at the risk of the keyboard functioning as designed, I didn't want to spend £60 for more of the same!!
So I contacted Dell, within 48 hours (I contacted them on a weekend) they had arranged a courier to deliver me a new keyboard and sent me instructions to replace. It was seamless, fast, and I am impressed!! The new keyboard is great, FREE, and the support staff were so helpful.
All of my old Dell laptops are in peaceful retirement as servers, print servers, file servers, web servers and they just keep plugging on, never needing a reboot, and in my techy household they are still earning their keep after a few years of daily use.
Dell may not be the flashiest out there, but fork out a bit extra for one of the better Dells and I promise you won't be disappointed.
I think it is a little unfair to complain about weight, speed, memory etc when really you get what you pay for. You want fast? Buy more memory. You want it light? Don't buy the mega 17" displays etc. Dells are heavy but that's because they are built on a strong metal chassis, unlike most of the other plastic wonders out there.
My only gripe - Dell partitions the hard drive prior to sale with a hidden partition with diagnostics/restore programs. Great in some ways, annoying in others. Plus also they come bundled with the usual 'unwanted' bits of software so it takes a My only gripe - Dell partitions the hard drive prior to sale with a hidden partition with diagnostics/restore programs. Great in some ways, annoying in others. Plus also they come bundled with the usual 'unwanted' bits of software so it takes a while to clean up when you get your new baby. But these are minor gripes. I love my shiny silver Inspiron.
Source:
http://www.ciao.co.uk/Reviews/Dell_Inspiron_6400__6494167
Dell Inspiron 1501
Budget Notebook
For as long as we can remember Dell had a stance that it would never release a computer that didn’t have an Intel chip inside. But just as you can now run Windows on a Mac, you’ll find that Dell is offering its first AMD chips in the form of the Inspiron 1501 notebook.
It’s not just the use of the AMD chip that makes this a bargain machine. Dell has designed this machine specifically for the budget sector, so you won’t find too many frills. For instance, the build quality isn’t that great. Sure, it gets the job done but there is a definite flex to the chassis when you push it. Ideally, we’d like a bit more robustness in our notebooks.
The same can be said of the keyboard, which is fine for the price but you definitely feel that it’s not the most comfortable keyboard ever. We found the keys a little loose and slow to respond. The touchpad mirrors the widescreen aspect ratio of the panel and was accurate but the mouse buttons, while large, felt a little loose in their mountings.
Where this machine starts to excel is in the performance stakes. Powered by an AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile TL-50 chip, which runs at 1.6GHz, this is a mid-range dual-core offering but as it also supports 64-bit, there is plenty of future proofing to be had. Fitted with 1024MB of DDR2 memory, we found that it ran quickly and with no signs of lag.
Weighing in at 3kg, this isn’t exactly an ultra portable laptop but Dell ships it with two battery packs, the smallest of which gives over four hours of battery life, while the larger pack gave us well over six hours. You wouldn’t really want to carry both batteries around with you but in theory you can take advantage of all-day mobile computing, if you don’t mind carrying the weight.
The chassis needs to be quite heavy to hold the 15.4-inch Super-TFT panel. The screen is bright enough for watching DVDs or simply getting your work done but with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, it’s not the most high-resolution screen you’ll find.
Graphics are integrated, so you won’t want to use it for anything more than watching DVDs or editing digital images but the screen is pleasingly bright and clear. You won’t find too many extras included, Wi-Fi supports 802.11g but the Ethernet is a standard 10/100 Base-T offering. The DVD rewriter supports dual-formats but not dual-layer.
Source:
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/reviews/review.phtml/2136/3160/dell-inspiron-1501-budget-laptop.phtml
Dell Printers
Dell printer that prints dell... I mean well
Introduction:
I got this printer for my Christmas a couple of years ago now. I got it free with my computer (see other review) and I really cant complain. It has done me well for school projects and just printing stuff. I have never used it to print photos but it does say that it is a photo quality printer on the label.
Getting started
It is easy to connect up via a USB cable supplied and a power supply, also supplied. It takes about 3 minutes to install on to the computer via an automatic installation, cant remember if a CD is required but if it is its included. It is really easy to put cartridges in place, Full instructions on how to.
Instructions
The instruction manual is like most dell information, detailed and easy to follow with lots of pictures and easy to follow diagrams. It includes setting up, adding cartridges, dell customer support and all the usual stuff.
Style
Its not one of the most attractive things in the world, it's a kind of greyish colour with black paper feed trays and catch tray. The sides and back are also black. There is a big dell badge on the front and set to the side the power button is on a weird oval type raised platform.
Paper Feed
It has an adjustable paper feed tray with A4 paper being the biggest size. To adjust it you just have to pull the little grey tab along, so easy to do. The only problem I have came across is if you have too much paper it can be hard to get it all in.
Cartridges
There are two cartridges needed for this printer, a Black and a coloured cartridge. They are about an inch wide and one and a half inches high. You will receive 2 "trial" cartridges with the printer but these will run out quickly. You can refill the cartridges with a normal refill pack or you can try to find a new cartridge for it. I spent a whole afternoon looking around Falkirk for a cartridge for it and still didn't find one but luckily my dad found one in PC world in Stirling. I don't know the price but most cartridges are expensive. When you are printing a display comes up showing how much ink you have left in your cartridge. Very handy for knowing when to find a new cartridge.
Print quality
Personally I think the print quality isn't that good, streaky lines appear on the page if good paper isn't used and Picture quality can be dulled. It wouldn't be my first choice of printer if I were looking for something with good quality.
Overview
A good cheap printer, not so good quality and hard to find cartridges but all in all a nice little printer for home use.
Source:
http://www.ciao.co.uk/Dell_720_Inkjet_Printer__Review_5633419
Dell Latitude
Dell Latitude
I absolutely LOVE my Dell Latitude. It is very small and compact (I have the really, really small one), but it outperforms my HP desktop by a mile. My next desktop will be a Dell. "Dude, you're getting a Dell.
Source:
http://www.rateitall.com/i-19111-dell-latitude-series.aspx
Fast Latitude Laptops
This is a very nice laptop. It is a little big in thickness, but length is relatively small, so you don't take up too much space on your desk. Very fast compared to the same mhz Sony laptops. The screen is very crisp and clear. Very easy to use network cards with the Dells.
Source:
http://www.rateitall.com/i-19111-dell-latitude-series.aspx
Dell Forever!
Dell is fast, light, has great software, and the battery lasts forever.
Source:
http://www.rateitall.com/i-19111-dell-latitude-series.aspx
DELL Customer Reviews
Dell, the best of the best
You could say I have had a lot of experience with Dell machines....I work as a freelance medical practice IT support bloke (I don’t really know what to call myself, I suppose engineer would do!) and a lot of the time I’m asked to install PC’s as medical suppliers basically rip practices off with their huge prices, therefore I undercut them and get the work! Now, I’m going to have to tell you to read dave27’s opinion on Dell machines when you’ve finished this one, as he talks a lot more about the company, whereas I haven’t had much experience with the company itself, just the machines. So read both this one and dave27’s op and you’ll get a very good insight into Dell!
Recently Dell have won the contract to supply the medical sector with their PC requirements. This tells you everything really as they have got to be a good firm to win the contract, although you may have little faith in the old NHS! Yes, medical establishments can still buy their machines from anyone they wish, however, they get incentives, like discounts, a great warranty and good customer support. So, over the past few months I have been in and out of surgeries installing brand new machines for them. Out of about 50 machines, every single one of them has been a Dell machine, and so far, the only problem I have come across with one of those machines, was a missing mouse. Now, I have dealt with a lot of other large companies too, namely Time, Tiny and Viglen. Out of 3 Time machines, 2 had to go back as they didn’t work, Viglens customer support was awful and Tiny are overpriced for the kit and seem to take ages to deliver the goods. However, on saying all this, I can’t really blame any of the companies for what’s happened, as medical systems come through to you in a different way to the norm, so it could be something to do with the line it has to come down, but I doubt it. Dell has definitely come out tops over every company we have used so far!
So, what experience have I had? Well, I have dealt with older dell systems, aswell as the brand new P4 systems on the market right now. I have also dealt with the different ‘series’ of systems that dell offer you, including the Optiplex and Dimension series. I have had the LCD monitors, normal monitors, desktop cases, tower cases, different models of different series, windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, CD writers, DVD, backup devices.... I think I’ve made my point!
The Machines
The machines are in a word...excellent. You could say that about a lot of suppliers machines though, and in any case, any machine is excellent when your just opening the box! The thing that gets me with big suppliers is when they make you go back to them for any upgrade or you will void the warranty. Dell are completely different, they make it easy for you to upgrade, with easy to open cases, theres no screws on the latest machines to loose either, just push some buttons and you’ve got a side of the case off. The manuals that come with your machine will even give you upgrade procedures and tell you what will and what won’t void the warranty.
Dell machines now mostly come in a black casing. Now, I do prefer the black, depending on the room that the computers going in. It does actually make a difference, a black machine can look pretty bad in an untidy room, whereas if the desk your sticking it on is nice and tidy, the computer will look really good, especially if you have one of the newer LCD displays. The computers are sturdy and not lightweight, infact I should think the P4 systems are heavier than most PC systems. Why this is I don’t know, but it certainly does give a quality feel to the systems. Another thing which is really noticeable is how quietly the system runs. I’m not going to tell you a lie and say there is no noise whatsoever, but place one of the Optiplex towers down the side of your desk and you honestly won’t hear a thing, even if it’s chugging away with some huge task you’ve set it on.
I so far have had no problems with any Dell machines in about 3 years as a computer engineer. Not even a CPU fan has starting moaning and groaning, and that’s saying something! Why can’t all PC suppliers be a bit more like this?!
Packaging
An important aspect to a lot of people is how well a system is packaged, after all, you’ve probably just shelled out over £1000 for this bit of kit, you want it packaged right don’t you! Well, Dell can stand proud over this aspect of the system aswell. I’m sick of dell boxes, but a lot of the staff at the workplaces like to take the boxes home and use them for storage, one bloke even took a couple of boxes home to keep spare car parts in, so it shows you how strong the boxes they ship the computers out in are.
However, it’s no use having strong boxes if your computers floating around inside. Don’t worry though, they are so tightly packed in with polystyrene that you’ll have a job getting the damn things out! However, at least you know they haven’t been hitting the sides of the boxes while the junky delivery van driver tackles the A roads!
Buying
Buying your PC is another of Dell’s strong points. Not only can you buy over the phone, but you can also buy over the internet. I’ve never bought over the phone or the internet myself, but I have arranged lots of quotes on the net using the buying system and it is extremely good. You start off by choosing what series of system you need or want, from there, you choose a system in that series and then you can tailor your system to your specific needs. For example, you can change the Hard Drive from a 10gb to a 20gb or add a CD Writer etc. The price at the bottom of the page automatically updates itself according to whatever extras you add on. Pure genius! Supposedly once that’s done, you can just buy your system in the usual steps used when buying systems online.
Overall
Dell systems are quality systems. Yes, you do pay more than you would for the same spec PC from another supplier, but your paying for quality, and like we have all found out, buying a cheap PC can end up more costly than spending an extra £100 on it in the first place. Oh, and by the way, you usually get a 3 years warranty as standard with dell systems, although you’ll probably not need it!
Source:
http://www.ciao.co.uk/dell_co_uk__Review_5299469
Bring a new dimension to your desktop
Having encountered a number of problems with our previous PC, which we purchased from a Home Shopping Catalogue, we decided that it was time to upgrade. On looking around a number of sites, we decided that for what we wanted it would be cheaper to buy a new PC rather than spending out getting the old one up to spec. This is where Dell came in.
We decided to look at the Website and see what was available, and settled on a Dimension 2200, as the product fitted both our needs and our budget. The basic system starts at around £585.00 (including VAT and Delivery) with a printer, scanner or digital camera, although when we ordered we were able to chose a system without any of the above as standard, which was what we wanted as we already have a printer and scanner.
One of the advantages with Dell is that once you have decided on the basic model you would like, you can upgrade parts of the machine to meet you specific requirements. For example, you may want a DVD-Rom rather than a CD-Rom, or a Zip Drive, more Hard Disc space, Speakers to go with the onboard sound, Windows XP pro, or more software. We had already decided that we wanted a faster processor, as an increase in RAM had not improved the problems we had encountered with the old computer, a DVD rom so that we could use the PC Friendly software on the DVD’s that we already had, and a CR-writer so that we could save programmes that we have downloaded without having to download them again.
The ordering process is simple, you decide on the basic system you want, and are then presented with the details of the system with a cost and details of the repayments if you decide to take a “Dell Personal Loan”. Any parts of the system that can be upgraded have a drop down box with details of the upgrades available and the additional cost, once an upgrade has been chosen the page reloads with an updated total cost, and monthly payment plan. Once you have finished getting the system you want, you simply add to basket, then click to see basket, click on buy and are taken to the payment details page, where you can choose to pay by Credit or Debit card or apply for a Dell Personal Loan.
There is also a number to call if you wish to pay another way, e.g. Cheque through the post.
We opted for a Personal Loan and completed the form, which was simple and took less than 30 minutes, and then waited. We didn’t have to wait long. We received an email informing us that the Order had been received and that we would hear within a few days regarding the loan. The loan agreement arrived in the post within 3 days, and we sent it back. We were then able to track the order online and were pleased to see that the computer was in transit, we were able to see who the carrier was and that the contact details were correct, it also informed us that we would receive a telephone call to inform us when delivery would be. This came on the Friday, having placed the order on the Saturday, and if it hadn’t been for the bank holiday would have been delivered on the Monday. As it was it came on the Tuesday, we were given a time of between 9am and 11.30am so no hanging about all day, and it arrived soon after 11.00am. All items present and correct and colour coded so it was easy as pie to set up, even if you weren’t sure what you were doing.
Once everything was plugged in, I switched on and within a minute was finalising the settings I wanted and registering the system with Dell and Microsoft.
The computer starts up quickly, and has automatic settings for up to 5 people, great Mum, Dad and Three Kids, but once logged on you can add more. Each setting can be individualised with a different desktop and you can prevent people from installing programmes by only giving them limited access.
We haven’t had the computer crash on us once, even when multi-tasking, and the sound are excellent. The DVD plays properly, but we haven’t managed to get a CD-RW yet to try, although the software included looks ok. The only problems that we have encountered were due to software conflicts from the old Pc which was on Windows 98SE to the new one which is Window XP Home Edition, but we have been able to overcome this with the nifty Programme Compatibility Wizard, but that is another op.
Source:
http://www.ciao.co.uk/dell_co_uk__Review_5274517
Well done Dell - faultless service!!
We bought a Dell Dimension 2400 this week(256MB RAM special offer); 17" monitor; 48xCDRW/DVD Combo; Windows XP Home. £538.30 inc VAT and free delivery(special offer).
www.dell.co.uk has a very easy to use "configurator" where you can design your machine in detail and get an instant price. We looked at it over last weekend and quickly decided what we wanted but had a couple of questions (mainly about the bundled software). You can save your configured machine on line and go back to it with a password. Rang on Monday morning - they called up our saved design, very efficient and helpful answers.
Rang on Monday evening - couple more simple questions helpfully answered and placed order. (The salesman said it was quicker to place the order over the phone because he checked it with us as we talked and put it straight throughwith my creditcard details. If order online then it has to be printed off next day, checked twice and then confirmed). Told 3 days to assemble and up to 7 days to deliver from Ireland. We would receive a call from delivery company to arrange day and time. Order confirmation would be sent by post.
Delivery company called on Thursday and arranged Friday delivery - which happened. The posted order confirmation also arrived on Friday. We had the computer here 3 1/2 working days from placing order - not bad! Mark set it up this afternoon and loaded Office for Students (£85 from Amazon - also arrived on Friday) - all seems to be working.
I had looked at Ciao for reviews - reviews of the Dell pcs are all very good and of the pre sales service but (on this page) there are tales of woe about poor post sales performance (these are mainly a year or so old). Delivery not happening when they promised, parts missing, Dell denying responsibility, months to sort out. All I can say is that is not our experience.
(Only regret - delivery was so quick that we did not have time to look at the delivery tracking feature). Well done Dell!!
Source:
http://www.ciao.co.uk/dell_co_uk__Review_5356339
