I've never owned a Dell. But so far everyone I know who has (close friends, relatives) ran into problems with them. Every computer has problems... so its not particularly Dell's fault or the real issue. The real issue they had was Dell computers use maybe 50-75% of their own custom made components so if something goes wrong there is a lot of bureaucratic hoops they had to jump through to get a very easily fixed part replaced or fixed. Either having to buy over-prices replacements or sending your machine back and forth through the mail which is pricey.
For example a Power Supply unit (PSU) on a friends Dell went bad. He had to buy a special Dell only PSU because they use the non-universal special Dell only kind. This special PSU, (which really isn't special at all, it just has some of the pins on the plugs moved around to match the pins of a Dell motherboard), cost him $100 plus S+H, where as a normal PSU of the same type probably would have been $20 plus S+H. And on top of that, when he was trying to just replace this simple part the Dell people were trying to pitch sales to him! It's not a huge deal but just saying.
I myself have been eyeing computers. I don't plan to build one for a while still, but I like to keep up-to-date on stuff. Back in the day (like, 4+ years ago) building your own computer usually cost you half as much as buying a pre-built one. I've noticed now a days it really isn't the case anymore. My friend picked up a computer from CyberPower (
CyberPower Inc. - building the best Gaming PC is not only our profession, it is our obsession.) and got a real nice computer for a great price. After comparing what he got, I really couldn't build one myself for any cheaper than what the site was selling theirs for. So I'm sure if you do some searching there are some nice places on the net that will sell good PCs, with Tech Support, and not use all custom parts.
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