Dell and Gateway: Superior Computers?

Amie

Amie

Mac Convert for Life
OK, now wait ... before you smack the crap outta me ... I'm an avid Apple lover. In fact, I'm a Mac convert. I can't imagine life without my Mac, and I have no desire whatsoever to go back to Windows PCs. *shudder* Even the thought of it makes me sick.

OK, that said, I was talking to my uncle the other day, and he said that he's done extensive research and that Dell and Gateway are the best computers that exist. He also said that those two brands are the least likely to break down and need repairs.

In my experience, I've found the exact opposite to be true: I've had tons of problems with my Windows PCs in the past but haven't had any problems at all with my iBook (or my old G4 Power Mac at the office, for that matter).

OK, let's hear it. Your thoughts? Comments?
 
I'm not sure whether Dell or Gateway machines break down less, but that doesn't mean that they are the "best" machines that exist. You have to take other factors into account. I'm not so concerned about machines breaking down as I am with what the company does when they do.

Btw, I've heard nothing but good things about Alienware, in terms of both reliability and service. And, of course, gorgeous-looking machines ;) Expensive though, and not really worth it if you're just using Office apps.
 
I am sure there are a lot of surveys that rank Dell and Gateway fairly highly. Wether they are the best or not, is really a hard call.

As far as machines breaking down that is also very speculative. Neither company makes the major components in their systems. I would think they would be just as likely to get a bad batch of hard drives, or video cards from a vendor on occassion.

As Shookster pointed out, it's just as important what a company does do when there is a problem.
 
The only reason Dell is around is because they have a great business model and they have tuned their production so well using Just in Time production that their costs are so low they can charge very little for their computers. Dell knows how to do business.

The quality of their computers is so - so they aren't amazing but what do you expect for the 500 dollars or whatever it is you pay for a computer, monitor and printer. That said, for 500 dollars i could build a way better PC, but it woudn't have a monitor or printer.

I have seen a lot of broken Dells, but that goes for almost any company. Their customer support is pretty good though, after you talk to the idiot on the other end for half an hour and he passes you up the ladder they will probably fix your problem at no cost no matter what it is.
 
Actually Gateway has long been a dog as far as quality machines go and Dell has been in real decline recently with little indication of getting better. They might have outsourced too much and now can't keep their customers happy. Time will tell. In PC land Linovo (nee IBM) are still the big quality players.

If you think about it both Dell and to a lesser extent Gateway are not successful as computer companies per se, rather they are successful at just in time manufacturing. Which is no small feet but it all is about getting you the product as cheaply and quickly as possible, not necessarily the best product.

Really though, I don't know how many people appreciate the asymmetry in the computer purchase situation. For many people it is a significant investment and fairly traumatic when something goes south. But for the companies that make them it is just a failure rate of some percentage of units manufactured. One one level they don't care because they expect it. that is why you really need to look at what happens when the thing goes south. How well will they take care of you? Because for a significant percentage of people you will be in that failure percentage.
 
I built my PC myself, and I've had no problems with it just spyware and some viruse's here and there. But other than that nothing. I did used to have Gateway in 2000, decent computer. When I got my 1st Mac I fell in love with it! :)

But in my opinion I think Dells, HP's, and Gateways are the computers for the "other" people as I like to call them. People who have no idea what a cd-rom kind of people :p
 
I have purchased neither one. I did purchase a IBM Aptiva some time back, about 7 years or so now. My dad still uses it, although it is dog slow. The keyboard is of great quality and the cpu is still old steel case.
My friend purchased a Dell recently, with in a year. He is do displeased with it. When he calls for support, he always get someone who barely speaks English. He says, they spend more time trying to understand one another than get anything accomplished.
 
Shookster said:
I'm not sure whether Dell or Gateway machines break down less, but that doesn't mean that they are the "best" machines that exist. You have to take other factors into account. I'm not so concerned about machines breaking down as I am with what the company does when they do.

Btw, I've heard nothing but good things about Alienware, in terms of both reliability and service. And, of course, gorgeous-looking machines ;) Expensive though, and not really worth it if you're just using Office apps.
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Alienware? Never heard of it.
 
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