"Please don't say it," I repeated a thousand times in my head as I approached the officer directing traffic. It was move-in day at RU and I was carrying the CPU for my new Dell computer across the parking lot in front of my dorm.

"Dude, you got a Dell," the officer said as his smile stretched from one ear to the other. Damn. I almost made it.

Why would anyone buy a computer knowing that everyone who sees it is going to repeat that stupid catch phrase started by that annoying little kid on the commercials? I can't stand hearing it every time someone sees that I own a Dell. With so many computer companies out there today (not to mention the extreme ease and simplicity of building your own system), what possessed me to purchase a Dell desktop?

To back up my claim that Dell has better quality and price than other computers out there, I went to the web to build a computer similar to the specs on mine to compare prices. I started by rebuilding my computer on Dell's web site to make sure it still cost the same. The specs on my Dell 4500 are as follows: Pentium IV 1.9GHz, 512 MB ram, NVIDIA 64Mb Geforce2 Mx/Mx400, 17" flat screen monitor, 40GB hard drive, DVD-Rom, CD-RW, Harman/Kardon subwoofer speaker system, Soundblaster Live!, 3com Ethernet, and all the normal software bundles including Windows XP. The price on this system was $1300. Today, Dell is offering the same system (now a 2.0GHz P4, 80GB hard drive, Geforce4 Mx) for about $1400.

My next stop was the new HP/Compaq web site. I went to build a similar HP model. With the same specs, the price came out to be roughly $850. While this was much cheaper, there was a catch. No monitor is included, and almost every component is integrated. (Computer buffs, skip the next paragraph; John Doe: here is what integrated means).

The motherboard, which is the main component of your computer, has connectors for every other piece. The Ethernet, video, and sound card (to name a few) all hook to the motherboard like a puzzle. When one of these parts is integrated, it is built into the motherboard. This is bad for two reasons. First, you cannot upgrade integrated components (at least not very easily). This means when the video is out of date, you can’t change it without swapping your entire motherboard. Second, integrated components are never going to work as well as their manufactured counterparts. Integrated sound will never sound as good as a full sound card. There is no room here to explain why. The main thing here is, "Integrated is bad."

On the HP, video, sound, and Ethernet were all integrated into the motherboard. It brings down the cost, but it causes problems, as it did in my old HP and Compaq. Speaking of which, my next stop was the Compaq section. I began customizing the Compaq to the same specs as my current system, and for the most part, it turned out pretty nice with only one part integrated. I was almost convinced this was a nice computer, until I saw my price had risen to well over $2000 for a computer Dell sold me with no integrated parts for $1300. I quit before finishing. Gateway, which I had previously thought of to be nice computers, ended up being worse than Compaq and HP. Not only did it use integrated parts, but the price was extremely high. I was amazed to see a computer with integrated video and sound cost over $1500.

Going back to Dell, I found only name brand parts, non-integrated, with a price that was considerably low. As one of the only computer companies that still only sell online, Dell has made a great name for itself, and never hearing of any problems, I decided to give it a try. I can upgrade if I need to. I can push my computer to the limit, and it still handles great. So maybe owning a Dell is worth hearing "Dude, you got a Dell." After all, I am a dude, and I do own a Dell.