I just wanted to say that I hope you have good luck with your computer. I worked for Dell Computer Corporation for three years and the things I saw would not have made you want to buy one. I was an inspector for the Dimension line of computers. I saw loose motherboards, loose screws rattling inside, front bezel panels loose, etc. I refused to ever buy a Dell. Everyone I know has had problems with theirs. I own a Gateway and it has been a great computer. Just thought I would let you know.

I have an HP computer and it gives me nothing but problems! I know a few other people who have them and their comps are problem free... We've had ours for 10 months now and every other month it crashes I'm pretty fed up with it... Iluv80s, do you know if the lemon law covers computers?

I think that most of the "plug and play"-computers are lacking something, be it the quality of assemblage or the performance, as most manufacturers tend to built in parts which are cheap and won´t run well with each other.

In my example, the only advantage was that the computer (350 PII, 32 MB, CDR-Writer, CD-ROM Drive) was really cheap in comparision to the equipment...at first.
The graphic card (ATI Rage II) lacked the promised 3d-ability, so it was the first thing to go. When I wanted to replace it, I had to notice that the mainboard and every single card was hotglued to the chassis.
Same was valid for the RAM...I felt like a surgeon when I removed the glue patches with a scalpel, always fearing to destroy something.
The soundcard didn´t record a single note, no matter how much I´d fiddled around with the settings...the next part to exchange.
The chassis itself caused the mainboard to overheat, I´ve solved this problem by drilling some additional holes in it (by this time, all power outlets were in use, and I didn´t wanted to overload the power supply with additional ventilators).
The CD-ROM drive just failed after the warranty was void...

For the money I´ve spent just to fit the PC to my needs, I could have combined a machine which would have rather met my demands.
My advice...spend a little more money and see a dealer who will assemble the computer to your needs and desires. Plus, you can decide if you want to upgrade it in the future...some off-the-rack PC´s won´t allow you doing this, as they´re on the brink of capacity already.

Of course, I hope that everyone who wants to buy a new PC or just did it, won´t catch such a lemon... <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Ours was the 4th replacement we went through and it was a Built to order they told us that the person who bought it just never went through with the sale but they were lying because it had already been registered to him... We had problems with it from the start so we took it back to best buy and they said they couldn't find any problems so we agreed to wait until we got replacement recovery discs from the factory then took it back for them to do a recovery on it, well that fixed it for about 2 weeks but by this time we were stuck with it because time had run out to replace it... That's why I asked about the lemon law I'm so sick of reformatting and replacing all this software when my comp wants to have a tantrum! <img src="frown.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by Blaziegirl:
<STRONG> Iluv80s, do you know if the lemon law covers computers?</STRONG>

I really don't know, Blazie.

Thanks! My PC is doing well. I reloaded everything and all is perfect. I'm a different case - I've only good things to say about Dell. That's why I've chosen to endorse them on this site. I mean, I'm REALLY, really happy with Dell. To be quite honest, I hear bad things from friends about ALL their computers - none of them have a Dell. They have Gateways, Compaqs, and HPs. None of them are happy. I'm on my 3rd Dell Dimension and I've never had a problem...

I've had the same HP for over 4 years now...no problems at all once I upgraded the RAM and hard drive <img src="tongue.gif" border="0"> Still getting a new one next year just to bring myself more up to date <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

Me too Roem... I've had my HP for 5 years... never had any problems...

Well. I built the last system. It is a "Shakey" original. I've been thinking about another one lately, but am feeling to lazy to build it. How is the Dell, Sal? That is kind of what I was looking at. The 8100 benchmarks nicely. Is that what you have? Let me know what you think. I also had a Gateway once. Really decent system, just a little too proprietary for my tastes.

Proprietary is such a bad word! It's the "P" word! Go to Compaq, HP, or Gateway and try to compare prices. Dell will always win - why? Because they sell so many. And their marketing is ZERO compared to Gateway...

You are definitely correct on the pricing. I pretty much am only looking at Dell and Gateway and Dell wins the price war hands down. Just kind of waiting for next month. I have it on good authority that the P4's are going to be dropping in price. Not that I have any inside info or anything though. <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Also XP is supposed to roll out on systems.