Dell complaints

[1995Supra]

I have a Server 1600SC and all I have to say is I am sick of their proprietary parts.

It was a single xeon CPU. Wanted to put 2 CPU's in it. So, after ordering 2 new heatsinks, neither work. WHY????

Because they use their proprietary clips to hold the fan's wires onto the board. So what do i do next.....

I break the clip off so i can then use the STANDARD wire's / clip for heatsinks that everyone else uses. Plug it in, start it up, and....

NOTHING, neither fan works, so i try 4 DIFFERENT fans, none work. I then see that the F***ing pins that they use only support THEIR fan. The pins are probably about 3 cm tall while STANDARD ones are abotut 5-6 so the connectors don't work.

I hate dell.

[FallenAngel]

Like most companies, they will continue to make parts proprietary to ensure that all future parts upgrades or replacements will come only from the source at quadruple the cost.

Proprietary = guaranteed revenue.

[Commendatore]

[FallenAngel]

[diashto]

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

It's best to understand how and why things work, before setting about to alter them.

Dell's fans are off-the-shelf. The connectors are too, they're just not the ones everybody else uses. You could make your own adapter either of two ways, buying the male/female that matches the two different plugs and wire them together, or splice the fan wires into an existing Dell connector. But don't splice two reporting fans together, the report lines will interfere with each other and sometimes report fan failure when there isn't any.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[Commendatore]

[FallenAngel]

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Folks, we're addressing each other rather than the issue. Issues are what we're here for. Do not escalate in this direction.

Let's face it, you can't put a Chevy waterpump in a Ford, or vice versa, though both are available in aftermarket--typically rebuilt--versions. I say again, Dell parts are off the shelf, they're just not off the SAME shelf as everybody else's. If you WANT to aftermarket retrofit a Dell, you CAN, but it takes some finagling. If you WANT an aftermarket-compatible system, BUY one. Meanwhile, if you want to substitute Dell's plugs, or their fan control, or their fan monitoring, there are solutions to all of those but most require a degree of ingenuity, and soldering.

Some aftermarketers even sell Dell-specific parts, but it takes WORK to find them. One needn't curse Dell for their design choices, any more than they should Chevrolet. The only distinction is that Chevy parts are available on every other streetcorner, and Dell parts are not.

There are even aftermarket solutions to TRULY proprietary things like ink cartridges. For every business attempting to profit from proprietaryosity, there is another business attempting to profit from circumventing it. Cussing doesn't help you FIND ONE.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[Commendatore]

@ FallenAngel
So you're saying consumers should just humbly accept Proprietary and waste their money because it's good business for Dell and other OEM's? Proprietary is bad for consumers, plain and simple. And Dell or any other OEM should not be implementing it because even though it's good for them financially, it harms consumers. It robs them of choices, and eliminates competition.

I didn't see any Proprietary back in 1999 in my Dell computer that lasted me 8 years and 3 operating systems. Over the years I upgraded it and replaced with parts from different stores and suppliers because when I called Dell and got a price quote for parts, it was always unacceptably high and I got better deals elsewhere. I benefited. Now, Dell and the other OEM's want to take that away from consumers and force feed this Proprietary crap down consumers' throats because its going to make them more money. People ain't gonna buy it. They're going to go elsewhere because it doesn't benefit them.

Economics is not just about money, profit, trade, production, cost, efficiency, labor, supply and demand, prices and quantities. The main purpose of Economics is to improve peoples’ lives and standards of living.

@Rocke_T_Sinetist,
You said

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Dell overall is abominable. There is no justification whatsoever for an individual to purchase from Dell. The only market they genuinely serve is the institutional market, which under budget constraints often requires delivery of thousands of systems within one fiscal quarter.

I still run a 1998 Dell. It's not 'proprietary', but it wouldn't make a flying f**k if it was, as it works the way it was originally intended.

Once again, even if you think Ford waterpumps are superior, you can't retrofit them onto a Chevy engine.

And guess what? The company which sets industry standards, Intel, has made it so that you CANNOT upgrade chipsets, effective about 5 years ago. You cannot operate a 2006 WXP image on a 2007 Intel chipset. That's not just brand-proprietary, it's generationally proprietary, and manipulative strictly to the advantage of Intel and their OEM customers. So if you want to curse proprietation, there are worse propagators than Dell. And AGAIN, Dell's parts are NOT PROPRIETARY, they just differ from the standard. They're still off-the-shelf parts, with perhaps the exception of heatsink and power supply mechanical configuration.

AGAIN, if you want aftermarket compatibility, buy aftermarket to start with. I am NOT defending Dell. But compatibility is the LEAST of their grievous issues.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[FallenAngel]

[Commendatore]

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

The only Dell parts which are truly proprietary, exactly for the purpose of making you pay more to buy replacements from them, are laptop batteries and AC adapters. They have ID chips in them, so even the exact same product from an aftermarketer--minus the chip--will not work.

It is OUR business here, to make customers aware of these quirks, so they can make an informed decision. NO salesman is EVER going to list for you what the product will NOT do, and anyone expecting such is dangerously naive.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[FallenAngel]