I am currently on my fourth Dell computer at home, and sadly to say, it will be my last. The level of quality has gone really downhill in the past couple of years. That said they are still very cheap compared to other computers. But far worse than their quality is their abominable customer service - I have had many run-ins with these inept bumpkins over the past year and will never buy another Dell as a result. My sister-in-laws hard drive was bad from day one and they refused to ship a new one out until it failed eight months down the line (I had to format and resintall everything four times - not to mention all the stuff she lost each time). The last time it went bad (with a total failure - completely non opertational) they tech on the other end wanted her to try to reformat it - they were also calling her back at all sorts of middle of the night hours (after 11:00 PM her time) midweek and one even insulted her. The only way I got any resolution is due to the fact that my company buys a huge amount of Dell computers each year and I got our corporate account reps involved.

So long story short - Be wary of Dell (or anyone else) - Spot built himself a killer PC and I will do the same when I replace mine (Spot - Would appreciate your parts list when you get a chance).

I haven't bought a Dell PC since they were called PCs Unlimited. I'm well aware of the support problems and proprietary parts that made me also abandon Compaq a long time ago (although Compaq is good today again).

The problem is just that I'm unable to find another large LCD monitor with the same quality and features as the Dell 2405FPW. Quality wise there is an about equivalent Sony for twice the price, but feature wise it's not so easy.

One buyer feedback on eBay claimed that Dell doesn't recognize resellers at all, which created my concern over the warranty.

I have found that when I contact support I am initially talking to someone in India. I ask to be transferred to an American support representative and this typically helps get around the script readers.

If you know how to work the system it really isn't too bad as they are all the same, IBM, Dell, Gateway, Toshiba, HP etc.

It can be just as frustrating dealing with a home grown system as there are typically multiple vendors to deal with in the event of problems, MOBO, RAM, HD etc.

Duncan

Did you get a 1-year or a 3-year warranty? Apparently Dell has offered both at different times.

Did you get a warranty card to register with Dell?

If so, does the card ask where you bought it?

I bought one from a local reseller who offered to help with any warranty issues. They too know about how bad Dell support is. It was worth the few extra bucks (800.00). I bought from them in the past and they will simply replace it if there are any problems.

$dayjob recently bought 8 brand new Dells straight from the factory. I just looked through the assorted pile of "stuff" that came with them and there are no warranty cards or warranty paperwork whatsoever even though all came with a 2 year warranty standard. I can only assume that the invoice that came separately is our proof of warranty. I don't know for sure because i haven't seen the invoice. It's filed away in the accounting department and i really don't feel like searching for it.