Re Which Dell Dimension?
: Subject: Re: Which Dell Dimension ?
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On 10:32, Thu 03 Mar 05, Kamaraju Kusumanchi wrote:
> > To make it short and sweet, it is recommended to build your
> > own system. Dell, HP, Gateway both use sub standard parts,
>
> I dont want to be a PITA here. But one problem we frequently face with
> our custom made machines is service. If the mother board on dell
> dimension fails, fine, the dell guys takes care of it immediately and
> replaces it within the next 2 days. But on a custom built machine, the
> money will be coming out of your pocket.. I am not sure how good HP
> and Gateway service is but I can vouch that Dell service is very nice
> and I would go for it anytime than a custom built machine.
>
> Someone else suggested optilex over dimension. I strongly oppose that.
> We have three dell dimension 4550 and two optilex GX 270 in our lab.
> These machines run 24/7. The optilex are too noisy and their mother
> boards have failed once. The dimension boxes have no problem
> whatsoever. So given a choice, I would go with dimension anytime over
> optilex.
>
> Regarding Pentium Vs AMD machines:
> The AMDs generate a lot of heat than Pentiums. For a desktop it
> probably does not matter. But if you are planning to build a cluster,
> I would go with pentiums than amds or have a good cooling system
> installed.
>
> raju
>
> --
> Kamaraju S Kusumanchi
> Cornell University
> http://people.cornell.edu/pages/kk288/
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flumech/
You must be living under a rock for the past couple of
years. I would suggest you study up on your chips, read the
links provided earlier in this thread.
The average user, who purchases these OEM systems do not get
that kind of customer support, even if they bought the
support two days is not a good turn around. You could have
a server down for two days, that could be a lot of money. In
fact most people who buy OEM systems have the opposite, goes
something like this:
1. Hardware fails, customer has no idea what has failed.
2. Customer calls OEM support, most likely talks to a
non-native speaker of his language. After very long talk
with customer support still has no idea what has failed.
3. Customer then speaks to supervisor, who then walks him
through the same steps as the original person, tells
customer to boot into windows, if a non windows install is
on that system, tells customer that it is a non supported
OS.
4. Customer gets upset and demands recourse, this will get
him an RMA number if its within the warranty period.
5. Customer waits for package box so he can send his whole
system back to OEM to fix the problem. This could be a day
or longer depending on his location.
6. Person packages up system sends it back to OEM for
repairs. He is not given a definite time, but is told
usually takes 2 to 4 weeks.
7. After a long wait customer is upset he has not recieved
his system back from OEM, thinks about purchasing another
system just as a backup for future problems.
8. After recieving his system back from the OEM he plugs it
in and finds that all his information is deleted, this
really makes the customer mad. Since he could not make any
backups of the data due to hardware failure, his work is now
lost.
9. Customer is now so mad he vows to never again buy from
that OEM again, swears that he will be diligent in his
backups. This last about 3 weeks, sometime later his system
is acting funny, so he just lives with it, eventually it
goes out of warranty, customer swears up and down how much a
dung pile his system is, how it was never fixed right.
Now if your build your own, you will most likey know what
part failed, be it the motherboard, harddrive, or some other
part. If you did your due diligence and did your research on
your components, they come with warranties if you purchased
form a good companies you can get a replacement in days. If
its a critical server you should, have a backup plan anyway
for such situations.
You can also buy tested combo's say motherboards, memory,
and CPU's. So the chances of failure of these components can
be reduced. As a general rule most failures happen within
the first few weeks, or upon initial setup. So short of a
DOA most systems work, even with DOA you can get
replacements quick. If its that big of deal you can always
go to the local Compusa and buy a new item, and RMA the bad
ones, some have a 30 day no questions ask policy about DOAs,
and other items purchased within this period.
One thing that was not mentioned was the cost of such
support, if an individual bought such a plan, it could very
easy be more than the system they purchased. Just look at
extended warranties, many times to get more than the one
year warranty, it cost several hundred dollars. Most have
legal clauses that state you have to get an RMA number, and
must due due diligence with customer support. Not to
mention the OEM has the right to use refurbished parts for
the repair, so if your harddrive goes out under an OEM
warranty, you could be getting a refurb. Same goes for other
parts, I hope you have an option to extend that warranty
past the original date, cause you might need it.
Gnu_Raiz
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