Dell

^whitey^

Can you buy a dell box without Monitor & OS and even without a keyboard & mouse if it'll save money.

Syth

^whitey^ wrote:

Can you buy a dell box without Monitor & OS and even without a keyboard & mouse if it'll save money

I don't think they will sell you one without an OS. A friend of mine wanted to get one without an OS, but they said no.

However, if you don't agree to the Microsoft Windows End User Licence Agreement you can return the OS, delete the version on your PC and get a refund. However you will probably have to fight them tooth and nail in order to get your €300 (for XP Home, €400 for Pro) back.

snappieT

You can lose the Monitor, but I think the Keyboard & Mouse are standard. You also have to call them, you can't do it online.

landser

not quite related, but are Dell any good? i've heard some bad reps re them. in particular, that they don't use standard size parts, and charge you an arm and a leg for upgrades... i'm thinking of buying a computer in the next couple of months. i've a PII at the mo, with 322ghz which won't even run my camera program properly.
i know next to nowt re computers btw, so be kind......

Syth

Well in fariness a keyboard and mouse aren't going to very dear so you aren't going to be saving a lot by not buuying them (Mine cost €30).

Mac daddy

landser wrote:

not quite related, but are Dell any good? i've heard some bad reps re them. in particular, that they don't use standard size parts, and charge you an arm and a leg for upgrades... i'm thinking of buying a computer in the next couple of months. i've a PII at the mo, with 322ghz which won't even run my camera program properly.
i know next to nowt re computers btw, so be kind......

I don't realy think they are any good - but if your a user who just wants to do a bit of browsing and checking mail - they will do that just fine.

About the parts the mobo's can be a bit tricky as they are not standard size same for the psu - and the case of course, the rest is pretty much the same as any other desktop.

About the upgrade's not sure.

PII at the mo, with 322ghz ===> Maybe is Mhz and not Ghz

As for getting yourself a new one - Build one at least then you can decide what goes into to and upgades are easier.

Boro

Dell are grand computers for home and offices. If you are in any way techy or like playing the newest games and getting value for money for high end equipment, then Dell is probably not for you.

Dell tend to take the safe route with parts - slow and reliable is better than bleeding edge and potential problems for tech support.

If you want a pre-assembled machine thats the bees knees (and dont mind forking out a few quid for it) then AlienWare is probably the route to go.

If you want a good midrange machine then Dell is fine for that. Some parts are non-upgradeable though (or difficult to do) - they tend to use nonstandard psu's and power connectors and also nonstandard mobo's (or at least the used to anyway - maybe someone can confirm).

landser

Mac daddy wrote:

PII at the mo, with 322ghz ===> Maybe is Mhz and not Ghz

As for getting yourself a new one - Build one at least then you can decide what goes into to and upgades are easier.

ta... i did mean Mhz, not Ghz

^whitey^

Syth wrote:

However, if you don't agree to the Microsoft Windows End User Licence Agreement you can return the OS, delete the version on your PC and get a refund. However you will probably have to fight them tooth and nail in order to get your €300 (for XP Home, €400 for Pro) back.

Yea Ill probably just get XP to avoid any conflict with the Service Plan (I want to get a 3 year one).

Syth wrote:

Well in fariness a keyboard and mouse aren't going to very dear so you aren't going to be saving a lot by not buuying them (Mine cost €30).

Yea thats true.

snapscan1212p wrote:

You can lose the Monitor, but I think the Keyboard & Mouse are standard. You also have to call them, you can't do it online.

As long as I can loose the monitor I'm happy should save a bit.

Zascar

You can't get the Dimension systems without monitor or OS, but the optiplex you can get in pretty much any way you want... Prob best not buy a Dell if your a hardcore modder/tweaker, but for 90& of the people they are a good choice. The motherboards are pretty much the only thing that is not standard; but ram, hard drives etc are all standard and upgreadable.

dawballz

Syth wrote:

I don't think they will sell you one without an OS. A friend of mine wanted to get one without an OS, but they said no.

However, if you don't agree to the Microsoft Windows End User Licence Agreement you can return the OS, delete the version on your PC and get a refund. However you will probably have to fight them tooth and nail in order to get your €300 (for XP Home, €400 for Pro) back.

Another example of Microsoft's monopoly.
Has anyone ever actually got their money back because they didn't agree to the EULA?
That'd be very interesting and has some potential..But a dell for 600 and get 300 back..

axer

Syth wrote:

I don't think they will sell you one without an OS. A friend of mine wanted to get one without an OS, but they said no.

However, if you don't agree to the Microsoft Windows End User Licence Agreement you can return the OS, delete the version on your PC and get a refund. However you will probably have to fight them tooth and nail in order to get your €300 (for XP Home, €400 for Pro) back.

Wow - i thought it was only 125 euro for pro and 75 for home edition?!?

astrofool

i think he's stating retail. You'd only ever get back the OEM price of the OS, at most, and Dell probably don't get charged half that much.

beaker

The Dell outlet store is a good option if you don't want a monitor.

Got good value on a Dimension 8400 there last week for my brother.

Syth

Well if you ever go into any shop or look online Windows XP Home costs circa €300. Can you even buy OEM's legally? Aren't they supposed to be only installed on one machine ever? And isn't the price computer manufactors pay for OEM windows a secret? I found out about the 'Windows refund' through Slashdot, a guy there got it for the full price bu he had to drag the shop through the small claims court to get it.

Fenster

As I understand it, installations of XP are subsidised by Microsoft. Also, you can request a blank machine, or one with a different OS (they support Suse Linux, if you ask them), but you wind up paying more.

Just buy the box and format it with whatever OS you want, from there. Or better yet, get some geek cred and build it yourself.

axer

Syth wrote:

Can you even buy OEM's legally?

Yes you can

Syth wrote:

Aren't they supposed to be only installed on one machine ever?

Yes, they are for a new machine and that machine only. However I have read somewhere if you take a part of the original machine and put it into another machine then you can use the oem windows on it, but obviously not both together.

Syth wrote:

And isn't the price computer manufactors pay for OEM windows a secret?

Yes, and thats why they will argue that the cost without windows brings down the total cost by very little or none at all. In fact one dell customer service told me that windows is free with the computer and thus I was not entitled to any refund if I request the computer without it.

astrofool

i'd say thats probably pretty much true tbh, as in Microsoft probably charge Dell some sort of flat fee, regardless of how many copies dell roll out the door, so to not include windows would involve the extra work of having the hard drive formatted differently to every other machine, so its not in their interest to ship without it.