[clue-tech] Need new hardware (was two monitors)

[William]

erik at ezolan.com wrote:

>You will be waiting for Dell to either come and fix the machine, or you
>have to ship your entire box back to Dell. You cannot fix the machine even
>if you wanted to.
>  
>
This is not true.  When it comes to workstation PCs, buy a Dell XPS.  
With it, you CAN open and work on it.  You CAN replace/upgrade 
components yourself.  Dell provides PRIORITY technical support for XPS 
users that IS responsive.  I've had a Dell sub-contractor at my home the 
SAME DAY I called in for a problem with my video card.  He arrived with 
a replacement card and I was up and running after about five hours of my 
initial call.

Don't knock the Dell XPS owner experience; you're treading on loyal 
toes.  :)  Yes, XPS machines are damn expensive, but the awesome service 
and hot-off-the-line, state-of-the-art hardware is well worth the cost.

>It's really better to be self reliant at this point. If there is an issue
>with the machine, sitting around waiting for someone else to rescue me
>would drive me up the wall.
>
>Can you imagine calling Dell about a problem on your PC, that you have
>Linux running on? I'm positive that they'll tell you to install windows
>and get back to them. Even if you see flames shooting out the back.
>
>In the end, if something breaks, you'll be spending money. Either on
>shipping, opportunity costs, or a fancy Dell warranty.
>  
>
That "fancy Dell warranty" is worth far more than any trouble I could 
ever subject myself to in order to build up and support my own machine.  
I'll never build another box myself as long as Dell continues the XPS 
service commitment.