Dell Dimension 3100

I was hesitant when I leased my Dell Dimension 3100 for small business. I leased mine 14 months ago, and have to admit that I am impressed. My decision to lease was influenced by the rising cost of software. I upgraded my Dell Dimension 3100 with the XP professional, Adobe, and other small business software. The software alone would have cost me almost $2000 if I purchased it independently.
The Dimension 3100 comes with an Intel 4 Processor, Media enhancements, a CD writer, 17" monitor, keyboard, and speakers. You can also choose to upgrade to a 160 gig hard drive, and a DVD player, an optical mouse, and better video and sound cards.
I layout magazines on my computer and have no trouble with 'lag' or overload. I do regret not upgrading my video and sound card. I am not impressed with the speakers or the keyboard. I use to have an ergonomic keyboard, and the dell one left a lot to be desired.
I pay about $50.00 CDN a month for three months. I also purchased the service agreement. I have no problem with the price. The service is excellent. I talked to a phone rep whenever I had a problem. I have not had any problem with my computer, but I did know someone whose CD writer burned out and it was replaced free.
When making the initial purchase, the customer needs to pay for shipping. I received three large, well packed boxes. Shipping cost me $148.00. I did not purchase the service that set the computer up for me, but the Dell people had already loaded the software, and the rest only took me about 45 minutes to complete. Ample cords were supplied, and I received a free microphone.
The only thing that does upset me is that their printers have a unique type of printer plug. This makes it impossible to hook the printer to anything but a Dell computer. However, there are a lot of UBS ports, even a couple in the front, so it is easy to load my web cam, photo printer, modem, Internet telephone, and digital camera, leaving two more UBS ports.
Next time I lease one I am going to upgrade the video and sound card so my son's computer games do not lag so much, and so that I can work and listen to POD casts without lag.
Before leasing the Dell, I always purchased the best equipment I could. The problem was that my equipment became outdated in two or three years. And, I was paying a fortune to upgrade my computers. If anything broke, I had to pay for the repair out of pocket. It cost me $60.00 an hour for technical help. The Dell service agreement covered technical problems, saving me an average of $250.00 a year.
By the time my software is out of date, I will be able to trade my current model in for the latest equipment with updated software. In a five year time span, this will save my company an estimated $1 - 1500.00.
My next computer will be a Dell.