Dell, Gateway, anyone else?

[paul0660]

I build my own, but a friend is looking for a high end system with good support. We know about the big two, but are there others that can give in home support? He is in Ann Arbor Mi. Thanks

[elroy]

If I was to buy a factory built system I would definitely go with Dell. Keep an eye on www.techbargains.com they come up with some awesome deals on Dells. I've seen their deals where you could get a new Dell for as low as $320 w/o a monitor.

[killer_teddy]

Dells are good but I find major retailers like PCworld have decent deals and good support with the option to buy extra support for like 40 quid a year and cheap upgrades that they will install for you are really great my bro bought his years ago and its still going strong plus when stuff goes wrong theres no worry.

[Hearie]

Compaq(HP), also some of your best support comes from the Mom and Pop shops. You don't have to wait on the phone forever for support and you actually get a live person to talk too. G'Luck

[TARP2]

Computer Builders Warehouse in Metro Detroit area will spec out a computer for your friend. They use AMD, if thats important to you, and they have a good rep for tech support. These are independent franchises so you may talk to a few owners to get an idea of their policies.
Middle of the road pricing tho better than Gateway.

[Midknyte]

I've dealt with both Gateway and Dell, and Dell is by far the better company when it comes to support.

Compaqs are ok, but they don't give you the restore software anymore. they give you "recovery" cds that aren't really worth anything. HPs are the same way. they have a "recovery" partition on the hard drive, but if you hard drive dies, you are screwed.

All my corporate systems are Dell. I get quick service over the phone and the parts usually arrive the next day.

[stix_kua]

I say BYO(build your own)

[AllGamer]

Originally posted by stix_kua
I say BYO(build your own)

yeah, i say that too

BYO x 2 :t

[Midknyte]

he does build his own. the problem is that he got a newbie friend. if he builds a system for his friend, then HE becomes tech support. not an enviable task.

[Ammok]

Dell if you must, but get him to go to a reputable local computer shop, you give him the specification and he gets a good deal with good stuff in it.

ALL branded pc's are rip off's and cr@p,IMHO.

[killer_teddy]

Ammok I wouldn't say they are all rip-offs they just charge a couple of hundred pounds more than you could build for. For paying the extra cash you know that all your software is legal and its going to get sorted out by a proffessional if anything bad happens. I build all of mine but some of my mates have had great experiences with Dell.

[Ammok]

No offence, but sorted by a professional? you ever spoke to these guys? I could tell you stories, but too late at night. But my advice stands, local pc shop, and you choose the software you want, I must have a dozen copies of microsoft works and family tree round here somewhere. :)

I agree if you got no support from freinds or colleagues it may make sense, but I had a mate who bought a pc from comet and signed up for a £600 five year extended warranty, good God, they should be lined up against a wall and shot. No retraction.;)

[TARP2]

Originally posted by Midknyte
he does build his own. the problem is that he got a newbie friend. if he builds a system for his friend, then HE becomes tech support. not an enviable task.

AMEN, Brother. :eek:

[arkie]

Had my Dell 8200 for 14 months.. only problem was a noisy fan.. they sent a tech to replace it.

Had my IBM Aptiva for 5 years... no problems. :t

[Billforce]

Originally posted by TARP2


AMEN, Brother. :eek:

Like the old American Indian tradition that states, ¨If you save someones life, you are responsible for that person forever¨!:t

[Sealtm2]

HI there,

Check out Monarch Computers they have a real good rating at resellerratings.com. Great people to work with and they have great prices.

[stix_kua]

Originally posted by Midknyte
he does build his own. the problem is that he got a newbie friend. if he builds a system for his friend, then HE becomes tech support. not an enviable task.

build a system for the newbie friend. and tell the n00b friend to join sysopt..register him if you have to and I think we would all gladly help...:D

[stix_kua]

Originally posted by arkie

Had my IBM Aptiva for 5 years... no problems. :t

i wish a friend of mine could say the same thing...she had an IBM Netvista for a year and a half...motherboard doesn't respond, PSU died, processor troubles, software crashes, she went back to BYO(build your own) just recently and is so happy now.;)

[pandaz3]

Monarch is very good systems builder and parts reseller. (Tyan 9700) and other good parts that don't appear at all the sites. the have good support too.

www.monarchcomputer.com

Not everyone cares to build their own. So that is not really a universal answer. :)