Rant
What on earth could posses a company to do something so ridiculous? Dell builds and sells personal computers for the average home PC user. Now, apparently, most if not all of their power supplies are of a proprietary design. That's just a shitty thing to do right from the get go. On top of that, they use a standard ATX connector. Which would allow the average user to attempt to save a few bucks, buy a standard replacement power supply and attempt to install it themselves. There after frying their motherboard because they fed the wrong voltages to their motherboard. Now, on top of both of those issues, they have the Dimension 8100 PC. This PC they designed apparently has a one of kind pin configuration. Why? There are companies out there trying to sell a replacement power supply ranging in price from 100 to 200 dollars. If you call dell direct, because you can't find it on their website, they will offer you a replacement for about 60 bucks plus another 12 in shipping and taxes. 72 bucks for a 300 watt power supply. <sarcasm>Sounds like a steal to me</sarcasm>.
Now, I understand why a company would want to use a proprietary design. It forces the consumer to continue to buy parts from said company. Do I agree with it though? No. And I definitely do not agree with going for a proprietary design and then going ahead and using a standard connector. That's just plain stupid. Luckily, I discovered all of this out before I went ahead and possibly fried my boss's computer.
These are the kinds of things that your average computer buyer doesn't know about. So he or she buys their 800 dollar dell thinking they are getting a great deal. And in some respects you are. I build computers for people as a side hobby. And it gets difficult trying to help people understand the differences between that 800 dollar dell and an 800 home built PC. Dell seems to be the better deal because they throw in extra free stuff. They provide you with the technical support. And they have some good warranties. But, after that stuff runs out, if you have a problem or something breaks, that's where you really start to see the cost differences. Because now, instead of going to any random computer store and picking up a 30 or 40 dollar standard power supply and being on your way, you have to order a special one from dell for more than double the cost and wait almost a week just for it to ship. Who knows how long it will take to actually get here. And keep in mind, this is just for a simple power supply, try upgrading other parts of a dell system. See what you're options are and how much its going to cost you.
So the moral of this story is, buy something like a dell if you want, but keep in mind that its only good for about the length of the warranty. After that, its probably not worth repairing in a lot of instances. In my humble opinion, something like a dell is a disposable PC. A home built PC using standard parts is a much better alternative. And don't go getting offended if you own a dell. I'm not trying to say dells are crap and anybody that buys one is stupid. They are perfectly fine PCs aside from all of the proprietary crap. Sony is on my shit-list too for the same kind of thing.
