Now this, IS Quality

In the image above Chaithanya is sitting beside the Dell XPS T450 Dimension PC that I bought in 1999, while in the U.S.A. The reason I put them together in the picture is because they are almost of the same age. The day the Dell PC arrived home was also the day I took Jaya to the hospital where she was admitted and later delivered our son. Chaithanya turned 9 this September and the Dell has provided yeoman service in all these years now in its 10'th year. For one entire year it was also stored away in a Storage in Riverside, California. These days I don't use it much. In 2006 I wanted to donate it but I am glad I didn't.

In 1999 Windows 98 SE was both stable and popular. The labels on the PC still reads, made for Windows 98 SE. In 2002 I installed Windows 2000 SP4 and subsequently no other updates or OS's. It also has had no BIOS updates since I purchased it in 1999. It is a heavy PC for the 196 MB Ram, Original Intel Motherboard, Original Intel P3 450 Mhz processor, 13 GB hard disk, 1.4 inch floppy drive and a 16MB 3dfx graphics card. The system has run literally problem free. After 2002 I added a CD burner, a 40 GB hard disk and recently a networking card. I have removed the networking card after it gave me some problems. Maybe the card was a faulty one.

In the meantime (after 2002) for want of a more faster system I had two systems assembled and both of them crashed. During these days the trusted Dell continued to support my work. In August 2007 I purchased a new Dell Vostro and I am sure it is going to serve me well if not like my former Dell XPS T450. Now that I own a Dell Vostro I am going to donate the Dimension XPS T450. The Dimension cost me $1300 in 1999 but for one third or a little more than that of the 1999 price you could buy one of the latest Dell Vostro's.

It is also wonderful to know that Dell support and now manufacturing is being done from India. Very friendly customer service makes Dell one of the most trusted brands in the world. I must take the opportunity to mention Bharath V at the sales and customer sevice centre at Bangalore for his fine service. Also Lavina Phoebe for her help in resolving my graphics problem which I eventually corrected by getting an Nvidia Gforce Graphics Card.

By the way if you are looking for a graphics card for your Dell Vostro n slim series of desktops go for the slim cards. They also go by other names such as half-size cards, half cards etc. Only one company makes these cards that are reliable for the DELL and they are ATI Radeon. I realised that only after buying the Nvidia card. But I liked the Nvidia card so much that I stuck it into the PCI Express slot and let the side door open. In fact that way you provide for more heat to escape. However I would recommend you go for the ATI Radeon cards.

If you are considering buying a desktop I will highly recommend DELL. These guys know computers best.