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DontBuyDell.com

dontbuydell.com

71–80 of 252 posts

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#71
post #27

There's a lot of one-off nonsense in here, but then there is also: > Another example is using a 4k screen ona a 13” laptop. Much better in terms of battery life and price to use a 2.5k screen. Humans can’t tell the difference. Why did they use a 4k? What? Citation for sure needed. That's ~330 ppi, which is about where Apple's "retina" marketing ends up, so even with that optimistic view on things, it's still "just en…

Only for the phones, which seems like a poor comparison point. Their current laptops are ~230ppi; they base the desired PPI on viewing distance as I understand it. So by Apples standards 330ppi is FAR too high for laptop viewing distances.

Laptops are often in a 2-in-1 form factor that convert to a tablet. Sure, sometimes they're a bit further away, but this doesn't mean the resolution is never needed. The smaller iPads certainly hit 300+.

But Retina is more of a marketing term than anything. I want higher DPI displays. They're good independent of the marketing. And to say that a human can't tell when it's dependent on viewing distance even for average eyesight is clearly wrong.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#72
post #49

Might be an example of how an AI just integrates whatever biases are out there (as there are probably more people complaining than saying they are happy) My experience with Dell was great. I have a Dell Latitude (business line) that works without issue for more than 10 years (ofc, now it's only for browsing). And I also have a more recent Dell XPS 15 that got a full glass of water on it, and still keeps working - wit…

> Might be an example of how an AI just integrates whatever biases are out there (as there are probably more people complaining than saying they are happy)

Definitely. I expect that, were they to try the same experiment with other manufacturer brands, the resulting text would be roughly the same.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#75
post #21

On the contrary I've had great experiences with Dell's business line (Latitude, Precision models). Likewise the business warranty is excellent - log into TechDirect and I can submit a ticket for any one of the machines in my fleet. Dell will either send a technician out to service it in the field, or they'll mail me an empty box so I can send the unit in for repair. Consumer _anything_ is going to be hit or miss. Thi…

We have had terrible problems with the Precision 3000 series overheating/blue-screening on our engineers while using SolidWorks and AutoCAD, and Dell’s response to us was that they couldn’t recommend that series for that purpose, after their rep had done exactly that. Also their WD19TB docks have been terrible. The display ports randomly crap out, the power supply randomly craps out, the ethernet ports randomly crap…

Those docks are a mess. USB-C/Thunderbolt is an AWFUL connector for a dock. The strain on the cables (docks are always shoved in weird corners with tight turns and pressure on the cable) and the ports get worn out very fast with the stress. HPs slimline docks with the retractable plug on the side was probably the best/most reliable dock I've ever seen in production.

And the Precisions have bad heat management. All it takes is a little dust and the temps go nuts. I have engineers using them on shop floors and they have to clean them constantly so AutoCAD doesn't overheat (especially when they're on the dock running full tilt with a couple of external monitors)

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is same for other manufacturers too. HP: Pavilions are bad, Pro/Elite/Z series are awesome. Servers are good too. Lenovo: Ideapads are eh, Thinkpads and servers, completely different. The only company which builds all their hardware with comparable quality to other manufacturers' pro lines is Apple.

Then again Ideapads can be dirt cheap.

I'll rather buy an expensive machine and use for a decade without problems instead of buying a dirt cheap machine and suffer indefinitely.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#78
I usually tell family members that if they’re dead set on buying a new laptop (as opposed to used), then don’t buy anything under $1000 since it’s going to be a piece of shit.

The only exception to that rule is Dell. Don’t buy Dell at all, since it’s always going to be a piece of shit.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#79
post #21

On the contrary I've had great experiences with Dell's business line (Latitude, Precision models). Likewise the business warranty is excellent - log into TechDirect and I can submit a ticket for any one of the machines in my fleet. Dell will either send a technician out to service it in the field, or they'll mail me an empty box so I can send the unit in for repair. Consumer _anything_ is going to be hit or miss. Thi…

We have a fleet of Dell servers, and they are the fastest booting, most enduring, easily configured and managed machines. This is true for many generations we have. We also have servers from other usual big manufacturers, and while some are close, Dells are much better. Ah, also they're much more silent w.r.t. other servers even when you don't enable acoustic management.

They used to be fast booting before switching to the UEFI monster they have now.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#80
I have a 14 year old Dell laptop. It still works pretty well. Replaced the hdd with an ssd to speed it up.

I would say that Dell hasn't really been something I've found to be competitive lately. I recently bought a refurbished HP for a family member.

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