First dell purchase..your comments?

A

AmyMarie

New Member
I am new to the forum, as well as not very computer savy. I am hoping for some help here in regards to my recent purchase.

I have only ever purchased 2 computers and they were both HP products. They have been more than reliable and I have only ever had to have my desktop looked at once (older Pavilion Desktop and I had it for over 10 years) and the computer I am on now, which is over 7 years old (an HP Compaq Presario C714 Laptop) for which a friend of mine had to re-install Vista due to a virus and I had the keyboard replaced. This laptop is ready to go. Very slow and lagging, only about a 13' screen and the updates for IE are no longer available for Vista, so, I have been using Firefox but dislike it.

Anyways, I saw this Dell and thought it was a great price for all the features. I purchased it with the option of returning it (free return shipping & no restocking fees) by January 31st, 2015. I should have the computer in hand by November 28th. This link shows a discounted price, but, it was a special buy for around $670 (no including tax). I included the link below and would like some input in regards to Dell products.

http://www.qvc.com/Dell-17-Laptop-A...574,&channelCode=QVC&bundleProductsId=E226577

The only difference between the above product and what I purchased is that I paid the extra $50 for the 1 year of MS Office. If you scroll down, it will tell you the specifications. It also has a video of the broadcast. I also know that this computer is not available on the Dell website or through Dell at all, for it was specifically manufactured for QVC. Your comments and input are greatly appreciated! :)
 
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Okay...you bought a new laptop. What exactly do you want to know from us?
 
voyagerfan99 said:
Okay...you bought a new laptop. What exactly do you want to know from us?
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Sorry for being so vague. Here are some questions.

Was curious as to what you thought about the specifications of this laptop, for I included the link for others to take a look.
Is Dell a good brand?
Are their products reliable?
Do they last like HP's?
Would it be smart to buy an extended warranty to include spills, drops, etc?
How is their customer service/tech support?
AMD A10 Quad-Core..have heard only good things..any bad that come to mind?
 
1 - I think for $650 it's not bad, maybe a little overpriced.

2 - Yeah they're fine generally but 'good' is relative I guess.

3 - 'Reliable' is also relative I guess. If you abuse them then no, but if you look after them then like any other brand, yes.

4 - Again, if you abuse them, no, otherwise yes I guess.

5 - Up to you. Depends if you want to to spend the money on it. I usually don't bother. Better to just look after it than pay Dell for something you may never use or need.

6 - Never really had to use them to be honest.

7 - Not my cup of tea but for a low-end quad-core it's probably OK.

It sounds like you're a little insecure over your purchase?
 
I cannot stand Dell stuff. My dad likes to buy there stuff, but I hate them. They are full of useless programs, and my HP from 7 years ago still works, but my dads dell from 3 years ago already isnt doing too well. An a10 is pretty good, they can even play some games at low settings.
 
Speaking for the customer service end of it, I always found Dell to be among the better ones in the pre-built PC world. I never had an issue with their service/support on the business end of things, I would imagine it's typically the same for consumer systems.
 
AmyMarie said:
An AMD A10 Quad-Core is low end?

$650 is overpriced for this computer?
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Its not low end, just that intel cpus are faster, and a dedicated graphics card would be better. Its not that overpriced, just that if you built it yourself, it would be around 500$. Not a bad deal though
 
What kinds of things do you plan to do with the laptop? The one you ordered is more than capable of doing normal computing tasks such as internet surfing, email, word processing, spreadsheets, etc... As long as you aren't wishing to do high demand stuff like hard core gaming or editing large videos the laptop will perform fine.

Dell is a mid-range brand, neither high nor low end. Be leery of the retail price quoted by TV vendors such as QVC since those numbers are derived by over valuing the junk software packages they include in the "deal". $650 is an OK price for that laptop but not spectacular. Dell's support is OK but you will be dealing with someone in India when you call.

We have a couple of Dell computers in our house, a 5 year old desktop and a 6 year old laptop, both of which have never needed any service and are still running strong. I don't have experience with any HPs to make a comparison.

I've always considered extended warranties to be a ripoff and unnecessary so I wouldn't consider it a smart buy.
 
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strollin said:
What kinds of things do you plan to do with the laptop? The one you ordered is more than capable of doing normal computing tasks such as internet surfing, email, word processing, spreadsheets, etc... As long as you aren't wishing to do high demand stuff like hard core gaming or editing large videos the laptop will perform fine.

Dell is a mid-range brand, neither high nor low end. Be leery of the retail price quoted by TV vendors such as QVC since those numbers are derived by over valuing the junk software packages they include in the "deal". $650 is an OK price for that laptop but not spectacular. Dell's support is OK but you will be dealing with someone in India when you call.

We have a couple of Dell computers in our house, a 5 year old desktop and a 6 year old laptop, both of which have never needed any service and are still running strong. I don't have experience with any HPs to make a comparison.

I've always considered extended warranties to be a ripoff and unnecessary so I wouldn't consider it a smart buy.
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No, I do not plan on doing high core or demanding things with this computer. Basic internet, email, surfing, some word processing, watching netflix or xfinity movies/videos, etc. This is my first computer in over 7 years and yes, this Dell might be a little "to much" for my current needs but I'm willing to learn and experiment all it has to offer. I'm also new to Windows 8/8.1.

Well, I did not purchase it for the software that came with it. I saw the on-air presentation and was impressed with the graphics, free lifetime anti-virus and tech support, the speed and memory as well as the integrated scroll and gesture feature through the camera. This comes in handy when using a recipe and my hands are mixing a meatloaf and I need to scroll to another screen. Also using your hands through the camera as the mouse is clever.

Remember that I am not a computer geek or savy so something that might seem frivolous to you might not to me (so called "junk" software). The only thing I could do without is the MS Office. I absolutely LOVED MicrosoftWorks. It is outdated but very easy to use and I could do everything from letters and envelopes to flyers for fundraisers. Now called Microsoft 365, they have made it a yearly subscription instead of a one-time download.

So, what junk software do you see in the package that I will not need?

Also, would it be better for me to cancel the extra Microsoft 365 and maybe go for a free version of something similar like OpenOffice or LibreOffice?
 
They ship a lot crap with the computer that justs slows it down and it's stuff you'll never use. I would recommend using PC decrapifier (make sure to deselect things you installed or might want), then you're good.

Dells are great in my opinion. They seem to last a long time (longer than HPs in my experience). And, A10s are pretty good CPUs especially for your uses. Oh and you can still buy Office if you don't want Office 365, but from what I've heard, Office 365 is really nice.
 
PCunicorn said:
They ship a lot crap with the computer that justs slows it down and it's stuff you'll never use. I would recommend using PC decrapifier (make sure to deselect things you installed or might want), then you're good.

Dells are great in my opinion. They seem to last a long time (longer than HPs in my experience). And, A10s are pretty good CPUs especially for your uses. Oh and you can still buy Office if you don't want Office 365, but from what I've heard, Office 365 is really nice.
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I know that Office 365 goes for $69.99 and then you have to subscribe on a yearly basis for the same amount. I got it because they are charging $50 with the package, but, I honestly do not use Excel, PowerPoint and some of the other programs they offer. That is why I asked if maybe I should cancel the Office 365 even though it is only $50 with this offer and download a free version like OpenOffice or Libre.
 
Why didn't you ask all of these questions before buying?

It isn't bad and isn't low-end. As with anything, it depends on how you use it. For general productivity it should be a decent machine for a good while.
 
beers said:
Why didn't you ask all of these questions before buying?
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First of all, if you read my whole post, I purchased this on QVC and it was a special buy. Asking questions during the on-air presentation is almost non-existent. Secondly, the customer service reps are just order takers when you call. They are not computer experts. "IF" the customer service reps were, in fact, capable of answering my questions, would they answer them truthfully? They want to sell the product whether I need some of the programs or not. It's not Staples or Best Buy.

Sorry, for I thought this computer forum was to discuss computers and get some questions answered. I guess newbie questions, like mine, are bothersome. At least to you it is beers, but, I appreciate those who are answering my questions.

My latest question was about the Office 365 and if it was worth the $50 I am paying extra for it. Even though the only program I see me using is Word and maybe skype when I can cancel the 365 and download a free alternative like OpenOffice or Libre.
 
AmyMarie said:
No, I do not plan on doing high core or demanding things with this computer. Basic internet, email, surfing, some word processing, watching netflix or xfinity movies/videos, etc. This is my first computer in over 7 years and yes, this Dell might be a little "to much" for my current needs but I'm willing to learn and experiment all it has to offer. I'm also new to Windows 8/8.1.

Well, I did not purchase it for the software that came with it. I saw the on-air presentation and was impressed with the graphics, free lifetime anti-virus and tech support, the speed and memory as well as the integrated scroll and gesture feature through the camera. This comes in handy when using a recipe and my hands are mixing a meatloaf and I need to scroll to another screen. Also using your hands through the camera as the mouse is clever.

Remember that I am not a computer geek or savy so something that might seem frivolous to you might not to me (so called "junk" software). The only thing I could do without is the MS Office. I absolutely LOVED MicrosoftWorks. It is outdated but very easy to use and I could do everything from letters and envelopes to flyers for fundraisers. Now called Microsoft 365, they have made it a yearly subscription instead of a one-time download.

So, what junk software do you see in the package that I will not need?

Also, would it be better for me to cancel the extra Microsoft 365 and maybe go for a free version of something similar like OpenOffice or LibreOffice?
Click to expand...
I was talking about the listed retail price:
qvc.png


Shown here as $1,712.92. They arrive at that price by over valuing the software that they include in the package or the value of the lifetime tech support. Those things aren't worth nearly what they value them at.

Since you say you don't use things like Excel I don't see why you would purchase the Office 365 subscription. OpenOffice or LibreOffice sound like they would even be overkill for you. You could probably use the free Google docs or even the free on-line version of Office software via OneDrive. Both of these will allow you to create documents, spreadsheets or presentations for free and only require a browser, no other software to install. Skype is free to download and use and only requires you to pay to call mobile/landlines from your computer.
 
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