TechSpot - PC Technology News and Analysis

Give me your feedback befor i buy... Im not getting this PC for gaming or nothing. Maybe some Guild Wars or something but now anything major. Think it would last a while?

Well what specs do you plan on having for the pc, the Dimension c521 comes in my already configed specs by dell or you can customize it. The c521 is dells lowest priced desktop so it has vista basic, intergrated graphics which arent good for gaming and since its a very small form faxctor this leaves very small room for expanisons which even normal sized oem pcs are limited on upgrades. Even if this system has a pci-express video card its going to be half height which limits chocies for future upgrades.

As for how long th system will last you are you talking about until you upgrade to a better or syste or until the entire system blows out from old age? Dell ususally says there systems last 3-4 years until they blow out. Now thats the average I dont want to start an entire conflict here but some dell systems I'm sure break within the first week they were bought and others are 10 plus years old and still are being used everyday and never had an issue, thats two extremes.

As well as computer techincains are dispointed with dell's quality that fell greatly over the past serval years and how dells older systems were built much better. I own dell systems as well and I have had a lot of issues with them and mine aren't even core base systems and this one is remember you get what you pay for. As with any system you can't say exactly how long its going to last until it dies and you cant keep a system for as a long as you wanted say you wanted it for 30 years it wouldnt last and eah 30 years ha who would keep a computer that long but I'm just using it as a example to prove a point.

You can perhaps expect good luck, but you don't get much reliability for your money with the Dell budget - home class of computers. Due to their higher failure rates, I wouldn't want to own one. But they are far better than eMachines, Compaq, and many other low priced computers... Just get the warranty extended if it remains possible to do so. They still give a 30 day return privilege with no questions asked. I would upgrade to a more expensive Dell... in the top half of thier price range.

Correct dells are basicly built very poorly, I own dell systems myself and I would never purchase a new one, and only one is a budget system, In my case I think the budget system is better than the higher level system as in the system not crashing all the time. Also I had one of dells latitude (business) series laptop and it was junk but wasnt cheap either about a $4,500 laptop back in 2000, itwas very flimsy but I own current dell systems and yeah they suck. And I noticed that you have posted other threads regarding knowing basic computer knowlege which theres nothing wrong with that but I feel you'll also use techsuppot and dells tech support along with hps (as stated in another thread) is in India and its the greatest to put it nicely, the only reason I have to call is to order parts when a system breaks down and then they ask me really dumb question when I already even know what the problem is then after a hour of them "troubleshooting the issue" they discover its the issue that I told them when I first called them an hour ago since I have enough computer knowledge to know most of the time whats wrong.

In your case I would recommend Gateway, which buuld very nice systems, yes they tend to cost more compared to the other brands but they have American based tech support and build very very good products, they stand behind what they make. And Gateways tend to have a longer life spand than Dell's even their budget models so in this case gateway would be a very good choice for life spand.

Yea thank you thats true because what i pulled out the addic a few days ago is a gateway and im using it now lol. It seems to hang in there more than the newer brands of Dell. My Friend has a Dell computer (Basic Demension) and when i go to use it it is quite terrible so thank you.

Your Welcome, I own both gateway and dell brands so yeah I know theres a huge difference, I'm not sure if gateway still does but they used to offer lifetime tech support included with no extra cost, which is amazing and its even in the usa. Dell gives you one year most likely outsourced to india or if you buy an xps its usa or a server or business grade. But yeah if your going to buy an OEM system its worth paying more for Gateway, I am so sorry I ever bought dell products. The only reason I did was a friend told me there really good, yeah sure they are.