Big C Selling Dell

[mraitchison]

My local Big C is selling Dell Inspiron Laptops.

26k for a 512mb, 60gb ram 1.8 or 2.0ghz processor.

Appears to have windows XP Pro with licence.

3 years warranty

The shop assistant says they are import but they can be serviced in Thailand.

I thought the closest service center was Malaysia

Any ideas if this is a good buy?

[Florin]

That's not too bad, but could you give some more details like the what model Inspiron they are? Also, which BigC are you talking about? This could be quite interesting indeed And I think it is possible to service them locally, my university has a large quantity of DELL desktops, I believe they use a local reseller as an authorized service center.

[mraitchison]

Big C Chacheongsao of all places.

I will need to go back and get the model number.

[tutsiwarrior]

That's not too bad, but could you give some more details like the what model Inspiron they are? Also, which BigC are you talking about? This could be quite interesting indeed And I think it is possible to service them locally, my university has a large quantity of DELL desktops, I believe they use a local reseller as an authorized service center.

there was a thread a couple of years ago regarding servicing for Dell products. I you are corporate customer with lots of Dell desktops then there is servicing available in Thailand. For an individual with a measly laptop the nearest Dell service place is Malaysia. This was a factor in buying the piece of shit HP laptop that I currently have (HP has a service center in BKK). Dell has quality goods but in Thailand you're out of luck...

[mraitchison]

Their website quotes THai prices now as well.

[Vespa]

That's not too bad, but could you give some more details like the what model Inspiron they are? Also, which BigC are you talking about? This could be quite interesting indeed And I think it is possible to service them locally, my university has a large quantity of DELL desktops, I believe they use a local reseller as an authorized service center.

there was a thread a couple of years ago regarding servicing for Dell products. I you are corporate customer with lots of Dell desktops then there is servicing available in Thailand. For an individual with a measly laptop the nearest Dell service place is Malaysia. This was a factor in buying the piece of shit HP laptop that I currently have (HP has a service center in BKK). Dell has quality goods but in Thailand you're out of luck...

Hmmmm , I remember a Dell Store on lower Sukumvit in Bkk.

Wonder if it is still there.

[astral]

I would check the details of that warranty VERY carefully before parting with any money.

[bannork]

My uncle brought me a new Dell from England plus some Rory Gallagher DVDs in October. All went well until last week when first of all the sound disappeared, but no problems with VCDs, and then it refused to play the DVDs altoghere, citing copyrights, even though the DVDs are legal.

[lopburi3]

My uncle brought me a new Dell from England plus some Rory Gallagher DVDs in October. All went well until last week when first of all the sound disappeared, but no problems with VCDs, and then it refused to play the DVDs altoghere, citing copyrights, even though the DVDs are legal.

That sounds like software problem and the DVDs may not be legal in this part of the world? Not sure if they are region coded like games or not but suspect they might be.

[bannork]

My uncle brought me a new Dell from England plus some Rory Gallagher DVDs in October. All went well until last week when first of all the sound disappeared, but no problems with VCDs, and then it refused to play the DVDs altoghere, citing copyrights, even though the DVDs are legal.

That sounds like software problem and the DVDs may not be legal in this part of the world? Not sure if they are region coded like games or not but suspect they might be.

Thanks Lopburi but the DVDs were bought in England too and I'm sure they're legit. That's why the region theory throws me.

[JimsKnight]

My local Big C is selling Dell Inspiron Laptops.

26k for a 512mb, 60gb ram 1.8 or 2.0ghz processor.

Appears to have windows XP Pro with licence.

3 years warranty

The shop assistant says they are import but they can be serviced in Thailand.

I thought the closest service center was Malaysia

Any ideas if this is a good buy?

If they're selling the Dell Inspiron XPS then I'll be really interested. Is that Big C in Bangkok???

[Totster]

If they're selling the Dell Inspiron XPS then I'll be really interested. Is that Big C in Bangkok???

Big C Chacheongsao of all places.

totster

[mraitchison]

Inspiron 610

1.7ghz Celeron

512mb Ram

60gb HDD

Windows XP Pro

26k

They don't sell bloody marzipan there though

[JimsKnight]

If they're selling the Dell Inspiron XPS then I'll be really interested. Is that Big C in Bangkok???

Big C Chacheongsao of all places.

How much video memory is onboard? Is it shared or independant (Independant is faster).?

Ok next question for you Tots, Where the hel_l is Chacheongsao? In Bangkok or outside it??????

Cheers

Edited December 20, 2006 by JimsKnight

[Vespa]

If they're selling the Dell Inspiron XPS then I'll be really interested. Is that Big C in Bangkok???

Big C Chacheongsao of all places.

How much video memory is onboard? Is it shared or independant (Independant is faster).?

Ok next question for you Tots, Where the hel_l is Chacheongsao? In Bangkok or outside it??????

Cheers

From those specs. it seems Dell is dumping their old stock in Thailand .

[mraitchison]

The guy said imported to maybe they got a cheap deal on their old stock

[lingling]

The guy said imported to maybe they got a cheap deal on their old stock

Get the service tag from one of them, it is 6 or 7 characters long and printed on a sticker under the computer, and on stickers on the outside of the shipping box. Next, call Dell and ask if that service tag is covered by warranty in Thailand and if so what level (onsite/offsite etc). It is all tied to the Dell service tag. If they all "fell off the back of a truck" somewhere in Malaysia and mysteriously reappeared in Thailand the warranty may not be valid at all...

[Upcountry]

I have been a fan of Dell. I even bought a new one from Dell Thailand/Singapore last year.

But now have lost faith in them. I have a three year old machine that I bought in the states. It still works great, but the fan suddenly began to make noise, indicating that it may be ready to fail. Turns out that ...

a ) I need to get the fan with a housing and cover for the CPU heat sink,

b ) I can't get it here because Dell can't supply this part - the Dimension is not sold here and the part can't be found

c ) My local repair guy can't find a decent fan to replace the fan itself.

It's an issue of proprietary parts, and, I think, a tendency to make their systems obsolete too soon. Now, I do like the design inside (the fan was very quiet until recently, thanks to rubber parts that are now broken thanks to my tech's efforts to get the fan out), though the desktops are limited to two hard drives - another downside, even though drive replacement is a breeze.

If I had to do it again, I would not buy the new Dell. The main reason I did was that the price included Windows, and the "free" upgrades to a bigger drive, and LCD monitor, etc., made the price reasonable compared to other options.

I recommend thinking carefully about repairs down the road, because Dell's approach ties you into their part supply system. It's not easy to get generic parts when things go wrong.

UC

Edited December 20, 2006 by Upcountry

[Veazer]

there was a thread a couple of years ago regarding servicing for Dell products. I you are corporate customer with lots of Dell desktops then there is servicing available in Thailand. For an individual with a measly laptop the nearest Dell service place is Malaysia. This was a factor in buying the piece of shit HP laptop that I currently have (HP has a service center in BKK). Dell has quality goods but in Thailand you're out of luck...

Unless things have changed from 2 years ago, this is not the case. My previous employer had a Dell laptop purchased in the states with the "complete care" package and they sent technicians to his house outside of Chiang Mai on more than one occasion for repairs.

[friend2]

If I had the choice between buying a Dell or a HP in Thailand, the choice is a pretty easy

one.

Offcourse you buy the HP, since they have a service center in Thailand.

Both these manufacturer's use proprietary parts (to some extent) so when shit hits the wall,

The one closest is always the best.

If I were to buy a desktop, i'd never buy a brand name though.

Not because the quality (HP and Dell is actually quite ok compared to thai brands), but because the proprietary crap.

Offcourse, buying a laptop is different.

Edited December 21, 2006 by friend2