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DontBuyDell.com

dontbuydell.com

161–170 of 252 posts

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#161
post #91

"I asked GPT-3" Imagine that in near future we might get an AI powered service that let's you ask for opinion on any product on the market and then have a conversation about it. Manufacturers will then produce special ads just to target the recommendation engine of those AI's. Inb4 we already have google - sure, but having an AI write you personalized opinion with concrete arguments is whole new level of market influ…

Sounds 99% similar to what we have now with Google unable to differentiate SEO-optimized blogspam for real organic human opinions.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#162
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I'm nursing an older Elitebook w/ that side connector along right now. It's wonderful. The people sitting around me with newer models using Thunderbolt docks have been having fits-- blue screens, wild CPU usage, monitors going out, etc. I'll give up the slimline dock when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#163
All I know is that over the many years I been working I have received several Dell laptops. I have not had any issues with them. I even purchased a throwaway Dell laptop that was several years old, has gotten several years older, has been opened up multiple times, to swap out harddrives and RAM, and is some how still working. That has been my experience at least.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I have not had bad experiences with my work Dells, but I do agree the docking stations are complete crap. I found an inexpensive one for home use on Amazon from Plugable and requested the same one for my setup at work. It's been great for several years now!

Another plug (heh) for Plugable. Their docks are wonderful, albeit I've only used their USB docks.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#165
post #98
post #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.

How do you evaluate a used laptop? I never buy used, and am curious how you kick the tires and determine if it’s a good buy or a lemon.

Dead pixels and battery age are probably the only things that matter. The only other part that really ages badly is HDD and you should consider putting in an SSD instead even if it's in good condition.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#168
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have some suggestions on companies whose priorities are better? It would be good to know.

Apple has been rock solid for me for a decade. Their priorities aren’t fully aligned with mine, but they’re as close as any company I know of. I really want to try a System76 or Framework as my next machine.

Starlabs too, plenty of Linux laptops out there. Arguably a little over-priced but can you really put a dollar value on removing dystopian tech like Intel ME?

Old Thinkpads support Coreboot reliably if you feel like a DIY approach as well.

Re: DontBuyDell.com

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Buying Dell's consumer line and having a hard time trying to cash in on the consumer warranty doesn't mean Dell is shit, just means their priorities are elsewhere. This is the whole point of the site: don't buy products from companies whose priorities are elsewhere.

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.

Off topic, but the Z series has gotten me a few ugly side glances in cafes since the Russia-Ukraine conflict started - a bit of misfortune with their brand there...
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