The 4100 and the Dell experience (Dell Dimension 4100)

Member Name: Modena

Product:	Dell Dimension 4100
Date:	10/04/01 (2837 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It’s a Dell, the quality associated with the service and product…

Disadvantages: The 4100 is out of date and offers poor value

I purchased a Dell 4100 series in October 2000, and at that time, PC technology was up to Intel 1GHz and RDRAM, and I was keen to purchase a state of the art PC but not the most expensive one, and from a reputable company.

Are Dell any good?
Of course, Dell are in my opinion is the top PC manufacturer for mid-top range professional multimedia PCs. Overall, Dell offers tremendous value, with the latest components, which you have a limited choice in configuring as well as excellent support.

Configure your PC
The Dell website is magnificent, it has all the info you need about the PC, much better than its rivals and not only can you configure the PC of your dreams, but you have access to support, and documentation.

The Dell site offers a callback service, where I spoke to a very kind and helpful lady who went through my purchase in detail, and put no pressure on me to go for extended warranties or any other upgrades. It might end up costing more than buying from another manufacturer, but Dell simply use better components and the reassurance is worth it.

What’s on offer?
Well the 4100 series is Dell’s mid range series. You have a choice of Pentium 3 processors using SDRAM (133MHz, inferior to RDRAM), there is no choice of AMD processors because it is Dell. The motherboard is surprisingly not the latest one, disappointing, but you have all the ports you need (2 USB by the way).

Ram? 64 Megs to 512 Megs of 133 MHz Ram.
HD? 10 to 80 Gigs, ATA 66 HD’s, inferior to ATA 100.
Monitors? Standard selection, I have a 17 inch CRT Phillips monitor with mine.
CD/DVD? Yes, you have a tiny choice here with up to 12x CD Re-Writer.
Sound? Anything from Soundblaster 64 to top of the range Turtle Beach one, I have a Soundblaster Live Value.
Graphics? Anything from a 16 M ATI one to your 64 Meg Nvida GEForce 2 GTS (no TV-out).
The mice are unfortunately standard MS intellimouse, wit a wheel.
The “slimline” keyboard is as slim as <insert fat TV presenter name here> and is as noisy as a TVR Cerbera being over-revved.
Software? Obviously Win ME comes as standard, with Win 2k available. Other than that you have Anti-virus software etc, (all drivers and back-up CDs are included!!!) you don’t get too much, but I don’t really want GCSE software and useless joysticks do I?
Peripherals? Don’t expect anything free, there is a choice, but I recommend you shop elsewhere, for a wider choice and cheaper prices.

It’s what one would expect, like with buying a PC from anywhere, be careful, but at Dell, you can expect to know precisely what will be in your PC.

Meticulous service
As I said, when they called to answer my order, my order was dealt with effectively and it was all over in half an hour and I was very reassured. I received a letter in a few days time confirming it and soon the details to track my order on-line. (The service did not work for me).

My PC arrived a day late, and was just how I expected it to me, no complications whatsoever, all the manuals and components I expected. I have a (free) 3 year on-site warranty from Dell (£75 plus Vat) but I doubt I will need it, Dell frequently tops reliability and customer satisfaction surveys, so if my Dell ever goes ill, and the excellent on-line resources cannot help, I can be reassured that someone will care about it.

Any problems with my PC?
Nearly half a year now, only problem I have had is a VXD message (blue screen) on booting the PC, this has happened about half a dozen times. Apart from that I have only ever once had a total crash, the occasional “illegal operation”, full marks from me here.

Niggles?
Not really, apart from wishing I have a stylish 8100 series (so if you are listening and want to send me a free PC Dell!). I don’t like the noisy keyboard though.

So to conclude, I
would not recommend a 4100 series, because it is a little too expensive (compared to the 8100 series and rivals) and the components are sadly a little out of date (like motherboards and HDs). I am very happy with my PC and the way it arrived to my doorstep, and know that I made the right choice at that time, so if you want a PC, I can strongly recommend purchasing from Dell, especially with PC prices set to tumble because of poor worldwide prices.

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