Can a standard optical drive be installed on a Dell?

Toy

Hi,

I was looking to get a PC from Dell (the Dimension 5150) but to upgrade to a DVD burner would cost me an extra 70 or so, could I instead get the NEC-3550A from Komplett and have two drives for less than the price of the upgrade, or have Dell messed about with the PC/componants so that I can't?

TerrorFirmer

lol, they aren't THAT bad

Toy

Thanks, just wanted to make sure, I wouldn't have been surprised if I couldn't!!

zilog_jones

You'd void your warranty though, as you'll have to open the PC to install the drive.

Slinky>

When I rang dell tech support they encouraged me to open the case and when the engineer came out he didnt bat an eye lid , I had aslo installed a TV card and slave hard drive,

irlrobins

You don't void warranty by opening a dell.

sceptre

For some machines they install those shorter optical drives. In the case of the 5150 (I have one) there's enough space back to the PSU to pop in an elephant, plenty of room for the standard 3550a.

TerrorFirmer

zilog_jones wrote:

You'd void your warranty though, as you'll have to open the PC to install the drive.

Opening the case doesn't void the warranty with Dell pcs

zilog_jones

Oh right. I'm sure I remember older ones (around 2000/2001) with void stickers on them

SeanW

I was looking to get a PC from Dell

Trust me. You don't want to do that.

Toy

I got worried for a minute reading down but the idea I mentioned above will probably go ahead.

SeanW, are you speaking from experience?

irlrobins

Speaking from experience, SeanW likes to Dell bash at every opportunity.

Depending on what you want from a PC, Dell can either be excellent, or just mediocre.

SeanW

Toy wrote:

I got worried for a minute reading down but the idea I mentioned above will probably go ahead.

SeanW, are you speaking from experience?

Yup, my last computer was a Dell.

SeanW

Some reasons to stay away from Dell.

1. Dell cases. Some of these are a disaster. One type of Dell case in particular has downward angled front side USB ports. If your computer is on the floor, and you want to use an Mp3 player, memory stick or whatever, you have to lie down on the floor and put your head under the flap to use the USB ports.
2. The cases are also terrible at noise surpression, my last Dell had for years made horrible throbbing noises for no reason, these could only be surpressed by putting a clamp on the case.
3. Limited upgradeability. You can add some things to a Dell like optical drives, adding memory can be a pricey endevour but is possible, but some things are so far away from normal standards that changing them is impossible. The mainboard, power supply, case etc, none of these comply with the ATX standard so to change one you'd have to change all 3. Within that things can be upgraded but only to a point, there are other limtations as well.
4. Dell use Intel processors - AMDs are better in so many ways.
5. They flood you with junk mail, you're guaranteed a junk flier promoting Dells crap for the rest of your life, you can call them and tell them to stop but they start again in a couple of months. I had to call them 5 times over 2 years to ask them not to send me any more fliers
6. Their tech support is brutal. It's worse than useless. You would in almost all cases be better off solving any problems yourself.

calex71

LMAO - SeanW

I have had a dell 8400 for 18 months , and it is one of the cases u mentioned with the angled front usb ports under a flap and yes my
pc is on the floor and yes if i wanted to plug a memory key in id have to
get down on the floor. This would be a mega arse ache only for the fact ive plugged an extension cable into the back usb and run to the desk top infront of me so i can plug my camera , mp3 player memory key etc in,

Agreed a bad design in many cases, and upgradeability is an issue in terms of the processor and power supply on my 8400 at least. They all seem to be using pc4200 ram I had no trouble getting 1gb off komplett for €98 some months back so I wouldnt say adding memory was pricey


However this is one of the quietest systems i have ever owned, practically silent!!!! I can even sleep with it switched on. The same can'r be said fro my dad's 9100 they seem to have lost something in newer models.

Tech support is improving but still far from perfect.
Last time I had to use it i used the online chat from the website
which is alot better than trying to make out the indian accent
which i have great trouble with. But u get emailed a transcript
of the chat afterwards , which could be usefull lol

TerrorFirmer

Dell are fine. My 8400 does have that annoying usb design but it also have 4 usb ports on the back, and also, you won't actuallyhave to "lie on the floor" to use the front ones...it's not as bad as it sounds, but admitadly it is an annoying feature. I wouldn't exactly base my purchase of a DELL on 2 of its 6 usb ports locations.

The upgrade thing is valid as well, but 99% of people who buy dell pc's will be completely satisfied with their processor until the entire thing rather then a single component are outdated. This is why dell use cheaper non standard parts. For everybody playing a game on a dell there are probably 1000's just simply browsing the web or typing documents, or similar activities which are a waste on even the cheapest dell celeron bundle.

ps - Memory is both standard and inexpensive, so I dunno how Seanw has come to the conclusion that upgrading the ram is "pricey"

anyway if you plan playing games just make sure you get a good processor - technically amd are a much better platform for gaming but to the average person a p4 is perfectly sufficent for playing even the newest of games, I know I play all my games on high settings with my trusty 16 month old p4, in fact all I ever do on my dell is play games.:)

The memory, hard drive, optical drives, gfx card etc are all standard so once you get a top end cpu, it'll last you for years....dell psus as well are actually pretty decent as well as underrated so again, once you get a decent model you'll have no problems throwing in a fairly powerful card.

edit: But tech support are absolutely ****e. Agreed. The best tech support I ever got was when I was 15 with an old dell pc - it was an indian guy that really knew his stuff! Other then that, never had any good experiences....:D

irlrobins

What Havok said in relation to 8400. I think it's a fine machine. I've no problems with it at all.

As for tech support, I've had no bad experiences with them. Dealt with them with a business account and a home account and service for both was good. Answered my call promptly, agreed with my diagnostic of the fault and that the part needed replacing. Part arrived with 2 days by courier. Room for improvement but I'd rate them better than average.