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I get contacted regularly recommending a new computer for someone. I always recommend Dell. Why?

I personally own a Dell Dimension 8100, Dimension 8350, XPS-710, two Dell flat panel monitors, an 1150 Inspiron laptop, X5 Axim, and an X3 Axim and as of this writing I am waiting for the delivery of the Dell Inspiron Mini 9.

I have owned Dell computers for the better part of 8 plus years. I have also had the misfortune of owning various other brands of computers, including Compaq, HP, and Sony. In addition, I have worked on a variety of different computer systems from different manufacturers for others, mainly for friends and an occasional stranger.

I have dealt with the memory hogging Compaqs are famous for. Gateway is proprietary when upgrading - particularly when looking to upgrade the co-processor chip (CPU). I have had HP computers (yes I am aware Compaq and HP combined many years ago) that fail out of the box. Sony? They make fantastic cameras and audio/video equipment but in my opinion should stay out of the computer industry aspect.

Why? I had a Sony Vaio laptop that would fail every few months requiring a complete restore and costing all data on the computer. I called Sony several times as the computer was under warranty and received the barely English-speaking card reader who could not answer why the computer would do it, only walk me through the cue cards of how to restore it (which I knew how to do with my eyes closed.) These failures typically occurred when I was traveling for business and could least afford the time to deal with it. Of course, they also made me a believer in backup software!

So why Dell? Dell makes their computers easy to work on. Newer models are equipped with easy-to-open cases, the interior is neat with cables routed to allow access to the most common components worked on.

There are typically green rails inside so installing hard drives and optical drives is as easy as pushing a lever, pulling the green rail pieces and unplugging before sliding out. Installation is usually the reverse. It takes longer to get the computer unplugged and up for work than doing the actual work.

Dell computers are also equipped with a Service Tag ID number. Take this number to Dell's website and it will tell you what the computer's original configuration was, as shipped. In addition, you can have Dell search the computer and tell you what modifications have been made since it shipped.

Locating replacement memory is easy. The model number and Service ID on

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