HP Vs Dell Questions ?

[Big_Dave]

I had responsibilities to oversee the management of a large data center containing 300+ Intel based servers. Most of the servers were HP but also some IBM.  We used IBM Enterprise Storage Controllers (Raid) to management the most critical data.  All of the equipment was on a three year depreciation cycle at which point the equipment was replaced.

[cmmmt]

It has been a while since you posted your message but the first thing I want to tell you is that you don't need Dual disk drives.  A DVD+/RW will permit you to burn CDs and DVDs, I wouldn't recommend a Blu-Ray drive unless you have a lot of money to throw around.  For home use, you can go with an i5 or i3 processor which would both be very fast, you don't have to purchase top of the line to get a decent system.  My opinion is to save yourself some money and not purchase a 4 year warranty.  Most problems present themselves early on, and Dell offers a year of coverage at no cost.  By year 4, you'll be looking at purchasing a new system anyway. 

I'm in the process of purchasing my 3rd Dell desktop.  Both of my other Dells were very reliable, lasted for years, and I only replaced them because I upgraded to new Windows operating systems (XP and now Windows 7).  I've had HP products, printers and a Compaq PC.  The printers were nothing to shout about and the Compaq was a disaster, which was when I became loyal to Dell.  If you enjoy having advertising and bloatware on your computer, by all means choose an HP.  I've had no issues with Dell delivery.  Any order I have placed arrived ahead of schedule and I've never had anything damaged.  Free shipping, which they offer quite often, also saves quite a bit of money.  Regardless of what you chose, I hope you are a satisfied customer.