Earlier I posted major problems with Dell; specifically the T7400. After replacing the MB many times and major video card issues, Dell finally came through and sent me a new T7500 with an nVIDIA NVS 450, which I have added the NVS 420 and NVS 290....and it is working very well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Dell, my last purchase and done with them
- Thread starter taclander
- Start date
Both for you and FunMan.....
We often hear from those who have multiple failures with Dell and others. Then there are guys like me who have had virtually zero problems with Dell over the last 10 years. I doubt that "I'm just lucky with hardware and you're not"... the one thing that comes to mind is "dirty power"... electrical spikes in your area which over time take a toll on your computers.
And of course, always heat and dust issues.
If you're having "lots of failures", suggest looking into a UPS... they absorb electrical spikes and run your computer off of their steady and clean battery source.... and blow the dust out of your computers every 6-months or so.
I had a similar 'learning experience' with my dual xenon workstation from Dell. Monitors came from Canada (so not covered by Dell). One of the video cards was installed (so it was covered) and one wasn't. The cards were not the same so they created nightmares but getting the company to deal with both of them as one installation took an amazing amount of work (tech guys were great - they even set up a conference call with the video card manufacturer where they said the system was spec'd against their guidelines, said it would likely always have problems).
Issue was with sales and me being forced to deal directly with the manufacturers of components. After the initial issues were resolved - I had two ATI-based videocards** go bad within warranty - but manufacturer had gone out of business in both cases and I had to eat ~$500 replacements twice (ouch).
American-based tech support is fantastic. Other company's don't even pretend to have any support in USA. When I asked HP sales rep if I could get USA-support --- she said no - wasn't an option.
R
** - one company was purchased by another & the new company refused to honor other company's warranty. The next company went bankrupt a month before the 2nd card failed (no more ATI-based cards for me).
A few lessons here...
1. Dell sales and support staff are really not up-to-snuff on multi-video card rigs. Shouldn't rely upon any expertise you presume they have.
Surprised to hear anyone would even bother to troubleshoot your issues if you have another maker's hardware installed. Most of the time support will troubleshoot only if the machine and OS are in the "original configuration, as shipped".
2. ATI was never in the "multi-card" business until recently for gaming Crossfire and another recent new/expensive line to compete with Nvidia Quadro NVS in the business market. The easiest and safest video cards to use in multi-card are Nvidia Quadro NVS. The NVS line has been designed to be run with multi-cards and to be backwards compatible (up to a point) with their older models. (I know this to be fact as I've tested NVS 280, 285, 290, and 295 in various combinations... they all work just as they should... presuming the mobo cooperates.)
3. If you're running a trading rig with 3 or more monitors... and you buy a Dell computer... you should buy one from the Precision Line. The computers are excellent.... as is Dell's technical support. Dell has a separate support section for Precision Line machines, as they understand these are "business" customers.
Been with IBM since '99. But I am on my last Thinkpad (T61p), have had the T20, another one cannot remember, two A31, R60, R 61, N100, Z61M and a couple of desktops between as well. At one stage upgrading every 8 months. Have been postponing getting a new machine.
I am done with them, service has slowly gone to sh%t.
Just take a look at this report:
http://lifehacker.com/5524704/laptop+reliability-study-highlights-the-most-sturdy-laptop-makers
Cannot stand all these new glossy screens, too hard on my eyes: My eyes are deteriorating and am no longer seeing sharp in one eye and the other eye is having a blind spot so I will have to go back to a bigger screen / desktop.
According this article, "it's all in your head"... glossy screens are not "hard on user's eyes".
Personally, I wish more desktops had them... much better than the matte ones. What about glare? Well, there isn't any if you adjust your orientation to make the glare go away.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/129610/bright_and_glossy_notebook_screens_part_1.html
I believe the reason we don't see more glossy screens in desktop models is because we usually find the "best place in the room", or "must place" in the work environment. Then if there are lights that can't be turned off or windows which can't be covered, glare could become an issue.
But as for viewing quality, the glossy screens are significantly better than the common matte ones. With notebooks, you can always orient the screen or change location to prevent any glare.