Anyone here like Dell's????

[SaberX]

I know this is a thinkpad site and people here will lean towards the thinkpad.I do too,there great laptops.
Here in my city all the PC shops that do repairs on laptops will all say the same thing.For every 100 laptops they get in ,one of them will be a thinkpad.
The same shops all say Acer is the most common to break.

If i had the money i would get a new thinkpad without even thinking about it.
BUT the past few weeks i have had a Dell Latitude D820(see sig).
It has great spec's inside.....
Intel i945PM chipset , Core2Duo T5600 , 256megs Nevida video(not shared) , sata 100g 7200rpm,ect.Even has a touch pad and a track point(like the thinkpad.) It's a dark gray,holds upto use very well.
I have to say this Dell D820 is the closeest laptop i have used to my buddys T60P widescreen.This Dell is very well bulit.It has alot of featchers that i never seen on a laptop befor.Like under the keyboard theres a slot for a cell phone sim card for cell phone internet if you cant get onto a hot spot Wi-Fi.

Also on the side theres a "Smart Card" slot . The cards are the size of a credit card but can store users info for loging onto a bussness network,Still dont know all the info on the use of smart cards.

So far i like this D820.It runs vista great.Very silid bulid and feel to it.It's not a gaming laptop with the Nvidia Quadro NVS Dedicated video(about the same as the Geforce GO 7300).
I can take out the dvd burner and put in a 2nd battery or a 2nd hard drive.

So heres a big question....
Whats the best non-thinkpad laptop you have used?

[tfflivemb2]

For me, a Dell is ok for short periods and sitting on a table.

In addition to how sturdy Thinkpads are, I look at laptops based on how easy they are to work on. IBM and now Lenovo provide everything that you need. Thinkpads are easy to get in and get out of.

As for competition on the sturdiness level...I'd have to say Toshiba. HOWEVER, Toshibas are my LEAST favorite to work on, because there are just so many different size screws, that it gets easy to mix them up...no matter how careful you are being...lol

[jdhurst]

The Dell's I have seen at clients (mostly desktops; 1 laptop) have been OK, but not anywhere near as good as the IBM's I replaced them with. In terms of cash from my own back pocket, I would never buy a Dell, or any other like computer - only IBM. ... JDH

[SaberX]

If i dident get a great deal on this D820 i got , i would have gotten another thinkpad.
But the Dell i just picked up with the spec's it has.About the same as a T60 with the video card the biggest change.For a nice T60 with the same spec's it would be about 600 or 700.00.
I got this Dell for 350.00.
For the spec's it has with the cpu power and dvd burner ect and for 350.00 i had to try it out.

[marlinspike]

I have to work with my bosses Dell XPS. It drives me batty. Absolute garbage, overweight, oversized, noisy, has no redeeming qualities.

[Stan]

I've never owned anything Dell and so I can't comment other than to say I wouldn't mind trying one.

Especially if someone else paid for it.

[ajkula66]

I've never tried a Dell that I liked. I've set enough of them for other people to last me a lifetime, and have never actually wished I had one.

If I were banned from using ThinkPads, my choice would probably be something from HP's business line, or possibly a ToughBook.

[ag_inspector]

My employer spends millions on dells each year. They work well when they work, and when they don't we call tech support. I have to say that I am very happy with this my first thinkpad. I would be willing to bet that I will be buying another soon!

[iamdmc]

Personally, after the experiences I've had with Dell I would never go back (even if I did get a deal on the laptop- you pay in other ways)

Still, that is a great deal. I would have sold it to buy a Thinkpad but to each their own. Hope you don't run into problems. Enjoy!

[KristianJ]

I've only ever used one Dell and one Toshiba in the midst of my multiple TPs.

The Dell was an old Latitude which was pretty rough and had terribly tight hinges that caused cracking around the bezel and hinge plastic. The Toshiba was a little 11.3" Portege that I only had for a month or so, but it was very light and pretty good quality - just a bit too slow for what I needed back then and ran on MicroDIMMs.

I'm thinking about picking up another ultraportable in place of my Z60m (which I'm selling), and based on my budget of about $350US (and my desire for something a bit different), I'd say that Toshiba's my first port of call at the moment. As much as I love the X3x series, I want something with an integrated optical drive.

[gator]

I was not a big fan of Dell, but their recent D820/830 latitude series is not bad at all. I'd never buy a inspiron though, have seen too many break and crack. The new E4200/4300/5000/6000 latitude series that are supposed to come out later this year seem to have a nice design upgrade externally.

As for Desktops, I'd rather build one myself than buy anything other than thinkcenters.

[dietpepsiaddict]

Believe it or not I am typing on a dell latitude d830 right now!!
It is my teachers, I am the class tech and I am the only one he trusts to use it. My school has a fleet of latitude d520's for the school comp admins. My teach is an admin so he gets one. It is rather large but fast quiet and somewhat stylish. I don't like the widescreen though.

I still don't like dells a lot!

[rek]

Inspirons are plasticky junk. From what I gather of their XPS machines, they are gaudy, plasticky junk

The Latitudes are another story though. They're nicely weighted and sturdily built. For a few months, I used a Dell Latitude D620 as my main workhorse. It was a good machine, very similar to how I'd expect a widescreen T to be, and spec wise it was pretty much identical. The contrast and viewing angles of the 14" 1440x900 screen were shockingly bad though! Docking options were excellent, and very nicely thought out. And unlike ThinkPad, the dock DVI ports actually worked on all models with Intel integrated graphics!

Somehow, though, they have made the pointing stick as un-ergonomic as possible. The buttons sink right into the case, making it impossible to effortlessly tap them with the thumb like a TrackPoint. The middle "scroll" button of a the TrackPoint was sorely missed. Final issue, the pointing stick nib seemed to have two settings: too sensitive, or not sensitive enough. I just never could get used to it.

If Lenovo (and the complete installed base of ThinkPads) disappeared overnight, I'd be able to use a Latitude without much complaint. But put one side-by-side with a ThinkPad, and the extra thought and engineering that goes into the latter shows..

One nice plus of the Dells is that like TPs, the hardware manuals are widely available, and spare parts are plentiful and cheap on eBay. They (Latitudes, at least) are also just as easy to work on.

I REALLY LIKE Dell's Optiplex and Precision desktop range. (I appreciate the effort they take in making them quiet and easy to work on)

[pianowizard]

I love Dell desktops and like many Dell laptops. For many years, Dell made horrible consumer laptops (i.e. their Inspiron line) and mediocre business laptops (i.e. the Latitude line). In the last 2 to 4 years, they suddenly and dramatically improved their Latitude line (especially the D620/630), and the Inspiron line also got noticeably better (I love the Inspiron 700m released in 2004). Unfortunately, their bad reputation caused by the crappy laptops they made in the previous years has lingered, and many people still avoid Dells like the plague, unaware that many of today's Dell Latitude laptops can measure up to the Thinkpads. And IMO, Dell's widescreen laptops look much prettier than any of the widescreen Thinkpads.

From what I gather of their XPS machines, they are gaudy, plasticky junk

That's true for the first-generation XPS units. The XPS m1330 released several months ago is very thin and light (just under 4 lb) and feels quite solid.

[t20user]

Anyone here like Dell's????

NO!

Dell is the reason I got a Thinkpad in the first place. I had a Dell craptop that was flimsy and built like dung. So I started researching the best built laptops and here I am, not looking back.

[pianowizard]

I had a Dell craptop that was flimsy and built like dung. So I started researching the best built laptops and here I am, not looking back.

This confirms what I wrote earlier: "many people still avoid Dells like the plague, unaware that many of today's Dell Latitude laptops can measure up to the Thinkpads."

[The Spirit of X21]

I too have been impressed with Dell's recent offerings. The Latitudes look great, and from what I've read on Ars Technica they are quite durable.

If I had to buy a new laptop I would still likely buy a ThinkPad, but the desktop I'll just keep building myself

[Kaervak]

The first laptop I ever bought was a Dell Inspiron 8200 nearly six years ago (still have it too.) After that was a Latitude LS, a little 12" ultraportable that had a magnesium alloy casing, external optical drives, barely weighed 4lbs. Only drawback was the 800x600 screen, otherwise it was a great little laptop. I sold the LS after I bought my T23 from craigslist and now I'm an IBM head. My mom has a T23, a family friend has a T23, another family friend has a 570e . But I've always liked Dell's and I haven't had much in the way of problems with mine. The video card in my 8200 did flake out on me and had to be replaced which was rather dissapointing since the replacement wasn't all that cheap. Aside from that, I've never really had an issue with Dell hardware.

[pianowizard]

The first laptop I ever bought was a Dell Inspiron 8200 nearly six years ago (still have it too.)

That's also my first laptop! I must say I didn't like it that much though, because it felt very flimsy. But of course, big machines like this can flex more easily than smaller ones. My current R50p's and an A31p (also 15.0" standard aspect ratio) that I had for two weeks aren't much better.

[gator]

If Lenovo (and the complete installed base of ThinkPads) disappeared overnight, I'd be able to use a Latitude without much complaint. But put one side-by-side with a ThinkPad, and the extra thought and engineering that goes into the latter shows..

Very true. Thinkpads used to be heads and shoulders above the rest in quality, and now other manufacturers are catching up. Thinkpads still do have the edge but Dell's latitudes have gotten much better compared to the past. Lenovo has realized that the only way to win customers is by going to the old thinkpad formula - offer cutting edge design and a full set of features. The X300 is a fantastic example, and we'll see what the T-series gets in a 3-4 months.

One nice plus of the Dells is that like TPs, the hardware manuals are widely available, and spare parts are plentiful and cheap on eBay. They (Latitudes, at least) are also just as easy to work on.

Right on, again. But we gotta give thinkpads the credit, they had it from start!

[Miller88]

I love my Dell Inspiron 1520.

Its been good to me so far and is a good gamer.

[ulrich.von.lich]

Generally I don't like to use laptops without the trackpoint. Some Dell laptops do come with the trackpoint (but only blue ones?), even though I heard the feel is not quite the same. The new Dell tablet looks stunning too with its all black finish.

If I ever need a home computer, I will consider Alienware, which is owned by Dell. I always like their designs (especially after Die Hard 4.)

I've had some really good experience with the support of Dell France here. They are nicer people to talk to than lenovo guys. It seems the best lenovo customer service is in the United States.

[qviri]

I use a D630 at work. It's not bad, although I personally find it ugly. (I posted more extensive comments here on forums somewhere.) If I had to buy a laptop with my own money, I'd take a Z61t over a D630.

[K. Eng]

The D620/630 and D820/830 are well built machines with good keyboards. Aesthetically they are not quite as refined as ThinkPads, but I would have no problem using one.

[SaberX]

The D620/630 and D820/830 are well built machines with good keyboards. Aesthetically they are not quite as refined as ThinkPads, but I would have no problem using one.

This is what i'm finding out.
All Dell's are NOT the same.
The Latitude line seems to be very good.The Inspiron line seems to have a few more problems with them.
When i look at a laptop i look at what the laptop is made of,what spec's are inside it.I like Intel over AMD.
Not saying AMD is trash.I just like intel better.

[Miller88]

Generally I don't like to use laptops without the trackpoint. Some Dell laptops do come with the trackpoint (but only blue ones?), even though I heard the feel is not quite the same. The new Dell tablet looks stunning too with its all black finish.

If I ever need a home computer, I will consider Alienware, which is owned by Dell. I always like their designs (especially after Die Hard 4.)

I've had some really good experience with the support of Dell France here. They are nicer people to talk to than lenovo guys. It seems the best lenovo customer service is in the United States.

Yes, I miss having the trackpoint on my Dell. The other problem I have with it is I keep hitting the touchpad by mistake while typing. I don't have that problem with my T60.

Easily solved by disabling the touchpad since the Dell is my desktop replacement.

[j-dawg]

I had a Latitude C400 for a month, and I rather liked it. It was small, light, and unobtrusive, but relatively powerful. I had bought it on eBay, though, and it broke within a month, so I got a refund and bought an X24 instead. The X24 was a little more expensive and a little less powerful, but I prefer the build quality, design, and features. My dad has a Latitude of some sort, which is pretty solid and has served him well for the last few years.

Before buying my present TP, I strongly considered the Dell XPS M1330. They are well-built, good-looking, and capable. Ultimately I decided to stick with the Thinkpad line, but Dells aren't bad machines.

[meh]

Actually, I'm using a Dell Latitude D600 right now. I gave my R50e to my brother as a present (whoops, I guess I should edit my sig.)

I've seen and held the newer Latitude laptops, and I have to say the build quality of the newer (Dx20, Dx30) Latitudes are much, much better than the older D series and C series. Also, the keyboards are also much improved, when compared to this D600, which has plentiful flex due to the keyboard being held in place by only two screws.

Therefore, while this D600 was a mistake, I would buy a D630 if the price is right (and if I need a new laptop, which I do, as this D600... is literally falling apart.)

[pianowizard]

Actually, I'm using a Dell Latitude D600 right now....I've seen and held the newer Latitude laptops, and I have to say the build quality of the newer (Dx20, Dx30) Latitudes are much, much better

Yep, I helped a coworker add RAM to and reinstall Windows on her D610 and it felt like a piece of junk, as bad as the Inspiron 600m. The sudden improvement in quality with the D620 is astonishing indeed.

[NS]

Laptops/notebooks = (I prefer Thinkpads!)

Desktops = (I prefer Dell or HP) Dell is cheap and HP wide LCD screen is fantastic!

Building a desktop computer on my own is far more interesting than buying the whole computer off the shelf. At least, i can customized the whole computer accordingly to what i need.