Dell XPS 420

As some of you may know from the other thread I was whinged at to purchase Mrs Mod the Dell XPS 420 for her instead of a Sony laptop.

Thus far I'm slowly changing my mind, from past experience, in regards to Dell's service.

So far it's been nothing short of exemplary. The intial spec was messed up by Dell. But before I'd even rang to sort it the sales agent I'd spoken to was on the phone to confirm it was correct.

This sorted, I received a couple of emails advising payment received and then one with my customer number/order number and a link to where I could check it's progress.

The quoted shipping date was the 15th Jan. Just checked now and it's on it's way with the carrier. I realise this probably means they haven't stress checked it or anything but not all builders do and it's something I can do easily enough anyway.

I really wasn't happy going Dell (proprietry BTX motherboard, bad service previously with them) but I am starting to come round.

Also, I simply couldn't beat the spec for the price. Some builders were quoting more with a stock one year warranty than Dell were with the 2yr I took out.

I'll add to the thread once we get it delivered and up and running.

i hate dells the only reason its cheap fpr the specs id because dells use cheap parts that will break

Nail on the head CW.

I''m rather concerned about that. I've seen a number that either weren't configured properly in the factory, or out and out weren't built properly, from Dell.

The service so far is superb though, I'll give them that.

I'll just have to wait and see.

I've ordered an XPS 420 from Dell.

With the savings they are offering, and then using a discount code and going through Quidco, I got this machine for £675 with a 19" monitor. Also it's buy now, pay in January 2009. The thing I'm concerned about is that I went through the online credit check but the process crashed before I could pay the deposit online. I still received an internet receipt and order acknowledgement. That was three days ago but I'm yet to receive any further correspondence? The receipt says I'll hear from the finance dept within 24-48 hours but it's been longer than that. When I call customer services they say I need to wait 8 days or cancel and re-order, but I wont get the same price as the offers have gone now!!!

Here's the spec:

- Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core™ Processor Q6600 (2.40GHz, 8MB, 1066MHz)
- Windows Vista® Home Premium
- SINGLE 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT card
- 3072MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024/2x512]
- 640GB Dual Hard Drive Raid 0 Stripe (2x320GB - 7200rpm)
- 16x DVD +/- RW Drive
- Integrated HDA 7.1 Dolby Digital Audio
- Base Warranty - 1 Year XPS Premium Hardware Support (incl. Gaming and On-Site Support)

waste of parts

Eh, that's pretty good for the price, but I'd have power supply and noise concerns..

I'm not arguing guys! I just ordered what she wanted. Remember, I did try and talk her out of it.

Gonna show her this thread.

If Dell are so crap, why are there not hundreds of threads all over the web about how terrible they are? Look at the failure rate on the 360, you can find info on this all over. If Dell PC's are that bad, how come the same doesn't apply?

If you guys think they are as bad as you say they are, please point me in the direction of some evidence.

I'm not supporting Dell, I just need to see something to back up what you guys think. And how about pointing me in the direction of something better? Comments like "waste of parts" just seem pretty negative for the sake of it with nothing to make me believe what you say is based in reality.

A guy I know who works in IT for a large company that uses Dell PC's across the board tells me they are extremely reliable. Obviously not as good as something that's £2K+, but good nonetheless.

Have you contacted Dell regarding the problem you had ordering, Spaceman?

890.000 to choose from lol :

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...nG=Search&meta=

I'm speaking to you now from the xps 420.

And it's horrible. Runs loud, very. The mini-view is a complete waste of time but props to Dell for trying something new. I absolutely hate intrusive, buzzy fan noise. But if you don't you won't find it horrible.

The set up was a piece of cake, and the 667mhz ram really needs to be 800mhz as, even just with this browser window open and no other applications running, the machine is using a steady 1.07gb ram. Which, even for Vista, is astronomical.

The support built into the machine is superb, i'll give them that. Should I need to make use of it is another matter, which I can't comment on yet, as I haven't.

There's not so much bloatware, only 2 or 3 which are easily removed.

The box came with a keyboard, mouse, xps mousemat, rather large binder for all the discs/booklets (good quality material too), cable ties of the material variety and a xps wiper cloth. Always nice to get a few extra's, so props again.

The stock keyboard has two usb ports built into it which is a nice touch for a standard keyboard.

Booting into Vista fully took around a minute, which I'm not impressed with but that's more the os than the build. (this timed after all the setting up).

The machine was well packaged in a rather thick-walled cardboard box with lots of padding which is nice to see considering some carriers are cowboys. Just don't try to lift it by the provided hand-holes as the box will rip (I know, I did it) and it also weighs a lot (around 19kg).

The fascia and top of the case are a marvellous glossy black and the sides are more a matt silver, almost grey, colour. It does look sophisticated.

That's it for now, I'll report back when I've played with it a bit. Ha, love new toys even if they're not mine.

the first one just says, dell is a quality provider :S ? lol..

I hope you never have to ring their Indian Call Cantre Alex ........ they will not be understanding your providings and will blame it all on your free ring ding

Very good point Phil. That's where my previous comments regarding service came from and included.

But the xps comes with online, realtime support. Almost like msn. I believe it allows 'reach-out' as well for the technician.

Saying that though, what if the T'internet is the problem......