OT: DELL SUCKS! Re: PC Gamer, best 50 classic games issue?

From: Doc <doc_at_mdrconsult.com>
Date: Thu Jan 10 18:31:02 2002

On Thu, 10 Jan 2002, Tothwolf wrote:
>
> The real bitch with Dell's proprietary supplies are that they use a
> connector that looks just like the one on ATX spec supplies. If you plug
> an ATX supply into a dell board, expect fireworks. They use a totally
> different pinout, and you'll end up with a dead power supply and or board.
> (I've never done this myself, but I know a few folks who did.)

  Proprietary everything, you mean. I just stripped a client's
Dimension P266 today, put the disks & NICs in a new chassis. I had
forgoten. In a P-II 266, there was:
  No AGP - PCI only, although AGP was common & proven then.
  70ns parity 72-pin DRAM SIMMs. Twice the price of even the ECC 168-pin
SDRAM that was current. And half the speed.
  The DMA bus was, get this, EISA.
  The ever-popular 56K USR Sportster WinModem.
  The fabled Dell non-standard PSU, which *looks* standard
  The fabled Dell non-standard case - which looks like an ATX board
should drop right in - NOT!

  The 90mHz to 366mHz Dells, while well-built, are some of the slowest
dogs in their class. In their determination to force customers to buy
upgrades only from Dell, they frequently used parts & sub-systems slower
than the current technology.

  And we should not fail to mention the equally notorious Dell-badged
3Com PCMCIA Combo cards, that were 3Com seconds and fiddled so that only
Dell drivers worked. You could buy them here for a while for $10 the
handful.

  Bah!

        Doc
Received on Thu Jan 10 2002 - 18:31:02 GMT