Dell Over priced computers, terrible custoemr service and tech support Internet Internet

I've have had my Dell computer for two years now, and I have regreated my purchase since day one. The only positive thing out of the entire deal is it motivated me to learn everything I can about computers to the point where I know build and fix them for friend's and family.

I went to Dell because I thought they were a good company and on the leading edge as far as the best and newest hardware. Things like that are important to me since I am a gamer.

I purchased a a Dimension E520 and it couldn't be worse for playing video games. To make matters worse Dell uses what is called the BTX style for the computers, meaning it is built backwards comapred to how all other components are made. This makes the computer nearly impossible to upgrade. So far I have been able to upgrade the RAM, Graphics Card and Power Supply but have reached the limit as far as what the sytem will accept due to it's backwards design.

Even with all those upgrades, which have cost me almost $500, my computer is still on the low end of what good gaming computers can do these days. This was on top of the $1,400 I payed for the computer to begin with. With the $1,400 price tag I also received the world's worst customer service and tech support.

As with any substandered product, my computer has been prone to problems. As I stated before I have worked very hard learning all I can about computers but in the first few months there were still some issues I could not tackle on my own. For example, I was dumb enough to trust the recommended "updates" for my computer that Dell said I needed. Dell includes a little tool that constantly searches their web site for "updates" that you computer needs.

Well I followed these recommendations and one of those updates was for my graphics card driver. Turns out Dell's "update" was really 3 years out dated and was a version that was even older then the driver that came with my system. (A driver is the software that allows your hardware to work on your system) After this "update" I could not get my resolution to reset correctly and the computer would not accept the reinstallation of the original driver. This prompted a call to Dell's Tech Support line, which you have to pay extra for. The person on the other end refused to actually listen to my issue and kept trying to get me to run some very long system tests that I knew the system did not require. I knew the graphics driver just need to be "rolled back" but I had forgotten how to do it exactly.

After two hours of arguing with the guy from tech support, and running system tests I knew were not required the guy just tells me to use the Dell System Restore, which would erase everything on my computer and bring it back to it's factory settings. This was unacceptable and only after say I would sue did he actually put me on with Level 2 tech support. This guy actually did listen to my problem and told me how to do exactly what I wanted to and it fixed my issue just like I knew it would.

If any one is looking to buy a computer, do not go through Dell. You will pay much more then the computer is actually worth and their 30% interest rate is almost criminal. Save your money and buy a $800 computer from a retail store as it will computer a computer that Dell would otherwise charge you over a $1000 for, at 30% interest.

Also, for you gammers out there, do not buy from Alienware any more as they are now owned by Dell.

Michael
Rosemont, Illinois
U.S.A.