dell has the worest customer service, and they has the worest tech support team. the only reason for me to buy a Dell is they give u a lot of discount so the price is rediculously low..
www.dealslist.com, check it out urself.
for example:
$463.73 - HOT!! Dell Dimension E310 P4 Intel P4 HT 2.80GHz, 1GB RAM, 80GB, 17 inch LCD, CD Burner/DVD
$906 - Hot ! Dimension E510 Pentium D 2.8, 1GB DDR2, 80GB SATA, CDRW/DVD, 2405FPW 24 inch LCD, X300SE
or
$664 Dell Inspiron E1405 Core Duo T2300, 1.66GHz, 14.1 inch WXGA, 1GB RAM, 60GB, 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability, 802.11b/g, 1yr Warranty
anyway. the point is, if i am going to buy a notebook 1500+, thinkpad will be my choice since their price don't drop that much.