Dell Desktop Dimension 1100

...to upgrade (have to use Dell parts mostly) and that the customer support wasn't great. The prices fitted very well with my budget, so I placed my order..

I received a call from the delivery company letting me know exactly when the system would arrive. It was delivered within 4 days of ordering, and at the start of the given time slot. A day later I was a bit concerned about the temperature, so ran some diagnostics and discovered the ...
...Dell.

Contacting Dell has been the worst customer support experience I have ever had, until I wrote to them and received a call about a week after writing. More about that later though. Speaking generally, emails aren't replied to, unless there is a huge backlog and these replies turn up later down the line. But when phoning, I was transferred to India, then put onto tech support and had to wait for at least 15 minutes while the messages ... more

I did a lot of looking around, saw a lot of good reviews about Dell, and the occasional bad review, but mostly this was about their systems being hard to upgrade (have to use Dell parts mostly) and that the customer support wasn't great. The prices fitted very well with my budget, so I placed my order..

I received a call from the delivery company letting me know exactly when the system would arrive. It was delivered within 4 days of ordering, and at the start of the given time slot. A day later I was a bit concerned about the temperature, so ran some diagnostics and discovered the the video bios is three years old, which threw me a lot at first. The advice tech support gave regarding the heat was that there was an automatic cut-out anyway, so the system is safe to use. I was concerned that in the meantime damage would be done to the parts due to the temperature. The system seems to have settled down now, after me testing it via full diagnostics and a 27-hour run. Also, through posting on forums, I found out that the lowest spec PSU (power supply unit) is sometimes used in systems, and also that this is often the case in budget systems across the board, not just with Dell.

Contacting Dell has been the worst customer support experience I have ever had, until I wrote to them and received a call about a week after writing. More about that later though. Speaking generally, emails aren't replied to, unless there is a huge backlog and these replies turn up later down the line. But when phoning, I was transferred to India, then put onto tech support and had to wait for at least 15 minutes while the messages say to access the support pages (which are hard to understand, and link to US pages very often with information only for US customers). I couldn't get the UK site to recognise my TAG number for about a week. Tech support were diabolical, veering from being pleasant to dismissing what I was saying, to stringing out the call very obviously, to promising a call-back. I was surprised, as this did come much later on that day (I missed the call!), but it wasn't very helpful or clear. Unfortunately tech support abroad just don't seem to know the information needed e.g. addresses to write to, procedures, so I came to the conclusion it was not sensible to spend a lot of money phoning them!, but to write to the UK address instead.

I had been considering a refund, which I have since decided not to do. A few pointers ... you are entitled to ask for a refund within 7 days, without giving any reason; any opened software will not be refunded, and I think the delivery/collection charge would be deducted from a refund. Looking at different forums, it seems it can take at least a month to receive the refund. When signing for an order, mark the items 'not examined' also, as this is another safeguard, as is using Visa. Just incase! Then your credit card company can get involved e.g. if a refund isn't made within the legal time of 30 days.

No backup disks are automatically included, so do remember to click on these options when placing an order ... the resource CD and the Windows XP CD especially, as you really need these. Otherwise, you can make the one allowed backup copy of Windows XP, and can use backup software to find and backup drivers, or use something like Acronis True Image to make a mirror copy of your hard drive e.g. on a set of CDs. Not a lot of paperwork comes with the system, but there is a pdf manual on the system itself that details for example all the parts of the system, how to use the restore CD and how to restore XP, looking inside the system, etc. The cords weren't labelled; luckily I could recognise which was which, so do be careful with that.

Before I describe more about the system itself, some pointers about choosing a budget system. All budget systems have their good and bad reviews, so it's hard to know which to choose. An idea is to send an email to a prospective seller first, to see what response there is, or if there is one. Speak to others you know who have systems; look at forums, and take some time to think and be sure how you feel about purchasing from whoever. It was confirmed to me by a Dell employee on a forum that budget parts are often basic and a little old, but also by another that all budget machines are like this, and companies that sell budget machines very often don't have good customer support.
Bear in mind that possibly Dell systems need Dell parts if you wish to upgrade. I don't know this from my own experience, yet, but have read a lot of posts that say this, and some that say it isn't so. Look fully at what the customer support costs and options are ... is it mostly US advice that comes up, e.g. as with Dell? Can you easily find the information you need on the site? Are the contact numbers based in this country? And take out on-site warranty, unless you have very able computery friends or know how to maintain computers yourself.

I recommend learning a lot more about your system, how to recognise any problems, and how to fix them. This also helps in the event of having to take out a second mortgage in order to phone tech support, as if you have already run the Dell diagnostics fully and also have your own informed understanding of what is wrong, this will save a lot of time on the phone, as you can pre-empt any lengthy questions. The procedure with Dell is that you must phone first, spend whatever time necessary on the phone to diagnose the problem, and then, if necessary, they can book for someone to come out in order to repair/collect the system. Writing down what you want to say first can be really helpful, and maybe save you some phone costs. Run Dell diagnostics before calling and note anything untoward that comes up. Be pro-active in learning, and willing to look into learning more about your system, so you can understand, and maybe fix, anything. Another thing I've learnt is that it is quite a usual thing to fit a second fan/cooler in the higher-spec computers nowadays. Also maintain a good open airflow around the system. I'm looking forward to learning a lot more and being able to do simple jobs myself. It's just the cost of the phone calls that would worry me at any point I think, and being without the system ... but on-site is there if something seriously needed sorting out.

The system itself ... the colour is midnight grey, and my first impression was that the system is a lot heavier than any I have had before; solid. The quality of the keyboard and mouse are better than I expected. I had the option of choosing a DVD-writer drive, but chose the 48x CD-writer/DVD-reader.) I chose 512 RAM (256 mb free), no modem (already have), no floppy drive [NB do choose one of these, as you'll need it], and no speakers, 80gig hard drive, and USB 128mb memory key (brilliant). I didn't choose a graphics card, so the sound is onboard. Suits me fine, for language-learning, watching DVDs. I didn't buy the system as a games system, as I have a PS2, so the sound is more than adequate for my purposes. Windows XP Home SP2 is pre-installed, with the option of creating the one backup CD allowed. The disks that came with the system are MS Works 7.00, and McAfee (15 months free), and the monitor driver disk. Pre-installed on the system were various broadband trials, and trials for Corel programmes. Also Roxio cd-burner software.

There was nothing to do but switch the system on, and let the programs update, e.g. McAfee, and windows updates, then just install your own programs. Included in the order were 30 days of multimedia training online, and 60 days of XP training online. This is really good, and facilitated through the company NETg ... I couldn't log-in at first, and they quickly responded to my e-mail and sorted everything out. You are talked through each page, with illustrations and examples for you to do yourself, and a short straightforward test at the end of each section. I print out each page and keep it in a file, then you can add anything you learn elsewhere too, which is especially useful if you are attending a relevant course or plan to progress with training etc.

I can't compare it with other systems other than the two Tiny ones I owned previously, but so far so good, and it is a joy to use XP on a P4 after ME on a P2 that was slowly grinding to a halt. But this'll turn into a review on Windows XP if I continue in that vein!

To conclude, I was at first really thrown by the temporary temperature raise and the diagnostics reporting some parts as not being new. I realise in hindsight that the temperature increase must have been due to maybe dust or something, the machine being fresh from being transported and packaged? I don't know, but it threw me at first. And, as this is my first machine with Dell, and there were no responses to emails, and tech support wasn't great and cost a lot more than I had even imagined, and I have surgeries coming up and can do without any extra hassle!, I seriously thought about returning the system at first. But then I decided against this, due to realising that on my budget, all budget systems are going to be similar, with possibly similar support.

From reading a lot of forum posts etc, Dell's customer support is one of the worst, but now and then comes up trumps. I've just had one of those experiences, as I referred to earlier. I had thought my letter requesting a refund was ignored, and that my second letter about purchasing the resource CD etc was going the same way ... but I've just received a call that was very polite and helpful (unlike the tech support guy I spoke with the other day!) ... I confirmed I had just written to say I was keeping the system and to ask about the disks, and as soon as I mentioned the disks, she said she can send the full pack (resource CD, XP CD, and others) out to me (no costs mentioned) at my convenience! That's really good, so, as the system has settled and is doing fine, and I've received a really positive response after writing to Dell at the UK address, I'm feeling more sure about the system. As it's early days, I wouldn't feel right giving a 100% recommendation, but things are looking okay.

Another update: the wrong disk pack was sent, although I was impressed how quickly it was delivered. Getting the right disk pack sent proved more difficult, and took about 3 weeks. The attitude of the person I was dealing with changed and I was having to email to get each needed detail e.g. the delivery day confirmed, rather than details just being automatically supplied as had happened the first time, and as is normal practice. I was polite in every contact, so have no idea what the problem was. All I can think is that I was repeatedly sent a survey link regarding tech support experience, NOT customer care who I was dealing with regarding the disk pack. I had to fill the tech support survey in honestly, as it wasn't good at all, but made it very clear that it was not the customer care side that I had complaint with. Anyway, the end result is that eventually the correct disk pack was delivered, and there's no need to contact Dell again about them.  

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