Dont throw it out of the window (Dell Dimension XPS T)

Member Name: alistair

Product:	Dell Dimension XPS T
Date:	09/07/00 (242 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good well put together for a reasonable price

Disadvantages: Opening hours of technical support

The XPS range from Dell are a reasonably high build quality product. Better than my current Tiny at work but not as mmm as my beloved but now deceased Compaq. Dell provide a fair package and with a bit of haggling you can knock them down a few bob. A couple of friends and I were buying PCs at the same time and formed a "virtual company" thus securing a further £100 off each, using the all or nothing approach.
Dell's technical support has a good web site with easy downloads for patches, udates, fixes etc. However for the entry level user this might seem a bit daunting.
This doesn't sort out every problem, and a key downside is the opening hours of their tech. support help line. 8am - 8pm Monday - Friday. For committed insomniacs this is a bit of a nuisance. A tip - if you ring up out of hours and tab in that you have an Optiplex machine you will get their technical support in the USA. They are not really allowed to help you but with a bit of silver tounged charm and possibly ringing back a few times to get the "right person" (AKA someone who is bored and fancies a bit of a challenge) you have an almost 24 hour service.
If you have a hardware fault while in warranty you will have to be more than very assertive to the technician you are speaking to to get site assistance. (This makes the initial price reduction negociations seem like childs play.) I would suggest you ask for a supervisor as the tecs dont seem to have the authority to aprove a site visit.

Summary: