John C
Reviewed on: 18/Jun/2006
80%
Purchased From:
Dell.co.uk
Price Paid:
?549
Introduction
Well I wanted a new computer after not having one since a 'mate' of mine screwed my old one up about 5 years ago now. (NB never let a friend who says he is computer savy tinker with your computers technical bits.) Anyway I decided to go with Dell as the ease of doing it all through the internet is a joy I must say. DELL has become a world respected company and dealing with them is generally pleasent, however before you go into buying a PC its wise to know what you really need from it. I say this because the website (www.dell.co.uk)where you create your order will ask you if you want all sorts of extras and you have to ask yourself if you need these things. Eg do you really need a wireless keyboard? although I would recommend a wireless(optical) mouse to anyone esp. logitechs. Anyway on with the review...
Good Points
The Dell 5150 is a affordable and yet powerful PC. Mine came with Windows XP media edition pre-installed so there was no need for instaling things of dics. The media edition is perfect if you are into listening to music and watching dvd's. As well as windows' media program the computer comes with a special program, by creative, for listening to music and dell provides its own program for watching dvd's. The speakers provided look great and importantly sound great, suddenly listening to music on your PC doesn't seem 'geeky'. esp. when the days of huge mointors taking up sapce on your desk are gone, yes you heard me right the dell PC comes with a fabulous 17'' FLATSCREEN monitor aahhhhh relax.
The computer has well over 100 GB of space, possibly up to 160GB I think. The computer runs smoothly and quietly.
Genearlly the computer is well built and there are few problems, there is a dell support program built in and the computer comes with Mcafee security centre (as a trial) pre-installed. Mcafee will offer you 50% a years subscription if you buy before the trial is up (~?40).
It comes with a SD and pro stick duo card slot !!
Bad Points
The mouse is pretty basic, I purcahsed a microsoft optical mouse however logitechs mouse is cheaper and just as good.
DELL customer service can get pretty annoying, they'll ring you to see if you want 3 years product coverage in case of computer failure for around ~?70, this isn't a problem except they rang me twice, my advise just say yes or no, although if i'd wanted it I would have requested it when I created my order.
?60 for delievery!!! (not sure if they allow you to do pick ups)
The special offers from dell will come and go, so in the end the computers are usually around the same price whatever deal they've got on. ?549 isn't as cheap as I was expecting, however dell computers are very well built and customer support is something they try hard at. Although a lot of them are Indian and I find it hard to understand them sometimes.
Ordering over the internet means you cannot BARTER.
The Verdict
Overall the dell 5150 is a great affordable PC for a business or someone needing it for recreation. I wouldn't advsie it for prgramming and advanced stuff as they have other PC's for this, but I dare say the 5150 is capable of many things. So buy dell if you want great quality and fairly good customer support, however don't expect the final price to be that great, theres a hefty deleivery charge and you can't barter a better deal on the internet unfortunately.
