Amazing DELL deals!

Rico · October 08, 2009, 06:58:13 AM

There are some incredible deals and sales going on over at http://www.dell.com right now. For example, you want an excellent 24" widescreen monitor for less than $200? See ad below. Dell makes some great stuff, so check out the savings right now.

billybob476 · October 08, 2009, 07:05:25 AM

Boo the screen deal was 2 days ago in Canada.

I'll have to keep an eye out for a good LCD deal. I want to replace my 20" widescreen considering I just ordered this: http://www.doghousesystems.com/v/armor_es.htm (the 4850c with Crossfire and an upgrade from the i5 to the i7 CPU. Quad core hyperthreaded!)

Kind of my gift to myself in celebration of the new job.

Rico · October 08, 2009, 07:08:17 AM

Looks like a solid computer Joe. Hope you got some kind of discount via "The Instance." So, you don't build your own?
Dell has sales quite often, but that 24" monitor deal above is really great.

Bromptonboy · October 08, 2009, 07:11:10 AM

Yes, that 24" is a sweet monitor...I am sorely tempted.

I actually am looking forward to getting my free Win 7 Ultimate Signature Edition in a few days. My reward for hosting one of the MS Win 7 'Houseparties' on 10/22.

Rico · October 08, 2009, 07:15:14 AM

How do those house party things work? How many people do you need to invite, etc?

billybob476 · October 08, 2009, 07:18:24 AM

Quote from: Rico on October 08, 2009, 07:08:17 AM
Looks like a solid computer Joe. Hope you got some kind of discount via "The Instance." So, you don't build your own?
Dell has sales quite often, but that 24" monitor deal above is really great.

Yeah I got some discount from both the Instance and chatting with doghouse via twitter and email. I kind of go back and forth between building my own machines and buying higher end pre-builds. My last 'main' machine was a Dell XPS 600. I just find lately I don't have the time to:

a) do research on every part
b) purchase them all
c) wait for them to arrive
d) put it all together
e) deal with whatever issues crop up in the build

In this case especially because the power supply in my Dell gave up the ghost so I'm slumming it on my laptop.

Also, though I don't have the machine yet, at this point I can't reccomend doghouse enough. You pay a premium, but so far I have been treated like one of their buddies instead of as a customer.

The only automated email I have recieved from them was my order confirmation. About 5 minutes after I placed the order, I got an email from John Pryor who founded the company. He was answering a question I had posted in their forums about what support they'd offer for the windows 7 upgrade. We exchanged about 8 emails talking about various things relating to the machine.

I also received a very nice phone call to confirm an order modification. Again, you can really tell that these guys believe in their products and will really go that extra mile to help you out. There are no call centers in India, no scripts, just a group of people who all know their stuff.

Rico · October 08, 2009, 07:23:10 AM

Customer service goes a long, long way for me too. I personally like to tinker and build my own, but it sounds like Doghouse is a good place if you want to buy. That machine you're getting sure is bright - hehe. Hey, what did they say about Win 7? Easy upgrade on top of Vista? That's always been a little bit of an issue with Microsoft and I tend to like to do clean installs.

billybob476 · October 08, 2009, 07:30:43 AM

As it stands right now they will do one of two things.

They may be getting OEM access to Windows 7 as early as next Tuesday (Oct 13th). If that is the case, and my machine is still in the shop being built and burned in, they'll just do the install and ship it with Windows 7 off the bat. I mentioned that this would be my preferred option and if it delayed the machine by a week or so I wouldn't mind.

The other option, pending approval of Microsoft, is that they will simply send out a new system recovery disc tailored to your machine. You pop it in and boom, fully configured Windows 7 clean install with up to date drivers etc. If this is the case, I'll have vista for a week or so, avoid putting anything major on the machine and then just do the re-image.

Of course, the option of doing an upgrade install is there, though I most definitely will NOT go that route. Basically they said that they would do whatever they could to ensure a smooth transition.

Bromptonboy · October 08, 2009, 07:39:15 AM

Quote from: Rico on October 08, 2009, 07:15:14 AM
How do those house party things work? How many people do you need to invite, etc?

I was sent an invitation to apply to be a host, which I sent in - and was selected. They will be sending a 'party pack', and the software in a few days. My houseparty has about 5 people attending - mostly coworkers who are techies (like me).
There are various PDF party guidelines on how to lead the demo - discussion for your party - and you are encouraged to post pics of the event on line.
We are just going to do an install at my party, and then each poke around with the OS. Most of the guys here have already played with the OS via earlier trials, or through MSDN subcriptions.

X · October 08, 2009, 07:39:36 AM

Quote from: bromptonboy on October 08, 2009, 07:11:10 AM
Yes, that 24" is a sweet monitor...I am sorely tempted.

I actually am looking forward to getting my free Win 7 Ultimate Signature Edition in a few days. My reward for hosting one of the MS Win 7 'Houseparties' on 10/22.

Ditto! I still haven't gotten my tracking number on that, but I hope the don't lose my 7

X · October 08, 2009, 07:42:02 AM

Quote from: Rico on October 08, 2009, 07:15:14 AM
How do those house party things work? How many people do you need to invite, etc?

I got seven or eight people lined up for my party, mostly family here to see 7 because I'm more than likely going to be the one to put it on their computers when they buy.

Go to Houseparty.com to see what other parties are going on. You just have to have a few people over and just have fun with ti in exchange for some free stuff and they get word of mouth advertising.

X · October 08, 2009, 07:43:24 AM

Quote from: bromptonboy on October 08, 2009, 07:39:15 AM
Quote from: Rico on October 08, 2009, 07:15:14 AM
How do those house party things work? How many people do you need to invite, etc?
I was sent an invitation to apply to be a host, which I sent in - and was selected. They will be sending a 'party pack', and the software in a few days. My houseparty has about 5 people attending - mostly coworkers who are techies (like me).
There are various PDF party guidelines on how to lead the demo - discussion for your party - and you are encouraged to post pics of the event on line.
We are just going to do an install at my party, and then each poke around with the OS. Most of the guys here have already played with the OS via earlier trials, or through MSDN subcriptions.

I got that invitation too ... were you on the beta for 7? I think that's how they got my info, but I'm comfortable with that.

Bromptonboy · October 08, 2009, 07:44:49 AM

Quote from: Just X on October 08, 2009, 07:43:24 AM
Quote from: bromptonboy on October 08, 2009, 07:39:15 AM
Quote from: Rico on October 08, 2009, 07:15:14 AM
How do those house party things work? How many people do you need to invite, etc?
I was sent an invitation to apply to be a host, which I sent in - and was selected. They will be sending a 'party pack', and the software in a few days. My houseparty has about 5 people attending - mostly coworkers who are techies (like me).
There are various PDF party guidelines on how to lead the demo - discussion for your party - and you are encouraged to post pics of the event on line.
We are just going to do an install at my party, and then each poke around with the OS. Most of the guys here have already played with the OS via earlier trials, or through MSDN subcriptions.
I got that invitation too ... were you on the beta for 7? I think that's how they got my info, but I'm comfortable with that.

That would make sense, I had downloaded a few of the trial copies of Win 7. Now if I can just get a trial of MS Office Pro 2010....