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I've ordered two laptops and several accessories through Dell over the last two years. We use Dell PCs at work, but my first experience with Dell was as a graduate student purchasing my first laptop. I took advantage of Dell's generous discounts (free memory upgrades, free DVD-ROM upgrades, free accessories, free ground shipping) and three-year extended warranty, and I'm happy to report that a) my laptop arrived ahead of its scheduled delivery date, b) was exactly as ordered / described, and c) Dell's customer service took care of any problems (including scheduling a next-day appointment to replace the faulty screen after two years).

Dell.com seemed more user-friendly after comparing it to HP; it also offers high-end gaming options on its XPS desktop and laptops not available from other manufacturers. Its PCs and laptops are highly customizable, from chassis color to optional webcams, wireless cards, upgraded Nvidia graphics cards, and Blu-ray drives.

In August, I configured a Dell Inspiron 1720 laptop for a family member after my own successful dealings with Dell.com. Again, there were several free upgrades and coupons, although perhaps not as many as two years ago when I placed my order (also, Dell doesn't allow as many stackable coupons as in the recent past). We also used Dell financing to qualify for 6 months interest-free payments.

As you may be aware, Dell experienced record delays on its new color-enhanced line of Inspiron laptops. Some customers were left hanging for months waiting for a certain color to come in, others had their orders canceled without warning. I chose the black color scheme, and my order shipped on time even as other unfortunate customers who had been waiting since May were still in line for popular colors like Midnight Blue. So I didn't experience any delays or setbacks regarding the paint delays.

I realize that every large company has occasional problems from time to time, including the outsourcing of customer support to India (and now China), ordering glitches, and financial hard times (Dell has been losing money of late), but I'm still a happy Dell camper and wouldn't hesitate to order from Dell.com again.