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Dell's Misleading Graphics Card Buying Advice
Barence writes "Dell's website includes a guide to graphics cards for PC novices which contains a dangerous chunk of misinformation. The monitor on the left, labelled as a PC that uses a 'standard graphics card,' is displaying a Windows desktop that's washed out and blurry. The seemingly identical Dell TFT on the right, powered by a 'high-end graphics card,' is showing the same desktop – but this time it's much sharper and more vivid. They're both outputting at the same resolution."
... using words like "misleading" and "unfair." It's fraud, plain and simple.
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
There is no such thing as a "standard" graphics card
I can barely read this article, I better get a new video card! Shameless comes to mind.
Maybe Dell is comparing the VGA port of onboard graphics vs. DVI/HDMI of a discrete card. I do notice a difference between VGA and DVI on a 17" monitor.
Why don't they put two naked chicks fondling the expensive card monitor behind it . . .?
And Roseanne Barr behind the cheapo one . . . ?
Then I would know which one to buy!
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Is this really worth any kind of discussion?
The people who would be fooled by this, would not have the capacity to adjust their monitor settings in Windows, let alone possess the skill necessary to Photoshop an image's brightness and contrast.
These are the same people who have a hard time understanding that having black bars on top and underneath your picture when watching letterbox on an NTSC monitor, versus having black bars on the left and right when watching an NTSC video on an HD monitor, is the result of something called "aspect ratio".
I just hate having those black bars on my TV, durrrrrrr...
Let's not even get into an xorg configuration.
I can't remember what software it was, but it included samples labeled "8-bit" and "16-bit" to demonstrate the difference between 8 and 16 bits/sample audio.
I assumed the 8-bit audio file was deliberately made noisy and grainy, because it sounded much worse than the 16 bit file downsampled to 8.
It's still funny how in some product descriptions and user reviews some flat display is described to have "sharp picture" even though that's equal for all of them. (Of course the VGA input might weaken it, but that's not the main point here.)
Dell’s page says that its picture is for “demonstrative purposes only”
Dell should rephrase it and clearly state that this is for "promotional purposes only" instead.
So complain to the FTC, or to competitors who sell lower-end graphics chips. This is what truth in advertising is for.
-- IANAL, this isn't legal advice, and definitely isn't legal advice for you. Also, Squee!
Sales and marketing people will stretch the truth or actually just outright lie to sell a product!
That means that its fake and exaggerated. Dell are just taking this to unrealistic extremes.
An terrible graphics card, outputting 640×480 VGA, at a very low refresh rate, may indeed make things look fuzzy.
the images look the same on my low end graphics card. I guess I should upgrade.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
... send this to various consumer advocacy groups and their lawyers.
This is an OptiPlex, intended primarily for business-type customers and not available on Dell's "Home" section. The likelihood of a novice user stumbling to this is low.
Not saying it's fair of them, but still--and their "help me choose" pages are rarely representative of the actual choices, anyway (this being an exception, except it's misleading).
R.Mo
Images shown are for demonstrative purposes only.
My theory is that both displays are actually showing a bird's-eye view of a Windows desktop, as rendered by a redstone emulation of an X86 processor. The visual difference is because the worse card needed the "Fancy Graphics" and "Smooth Lighting" options turned off.
A company is using deceitful tactics to attract unsuspecting customers! News at eleven.
-1 disagree is not a modifier for a reason. -1 troll, flaimbait, redundant, overrated are NOT acceptable substitutes.
Are we sure this isn't an overreaction? Maybe they're simply trying to show the difference between VGA and DVI/HDMI to laymans in a way layman can understand?
Large corporation uses FUD and misinformation in an attempt to generate more revenue. Film at 11.
They took it down shortly before the reporters got to it, this was what it looked like before: http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8082/dellimage2.jpg
Anonymous Coward
From the look of the two monitors on the 'example' page, it looks like they're showing 27 or 30 inch monitors. If that's true, then the comparison of the 'low end' Radeon 3450 at a max of 1920x1200 to a 3470 or higher with a max resolution of 2560x1600 (the native resolution of a 30 inch monitor) will look something close to the example photos.
Not labeling the examples with the types of cards used, resolutions, sizes, etc is close to unconscionable for a business computer comparison / assist site.
The funny thing is that even if that's true, then the lowest end baseline integrated intel graphics chip would match the high end in display resolution, and therefore, sharpness on any monitor Dell sells.
It's advertising, and because we know better about monitors, it's clearly not for us. But think of, say, laundry detergent commercials. The latest always makes your clothes whiter and removes more stains than the "leading brand". Well, the commercial has been the same for 50 years. And so have the detergents, more or less...
All that matters is the warning at the bottom. Think of cigarettes. They kill you, but as long as they told you so.
Dell super video is much good. Much much gooder than standard picture. Definition is very high! Don't buy cheap standard video!
Buy Dell video, I rating A++++++++++! Very happy very sharp picture!
Maybe Dell is comparing the VGA port of onboard graphics vs. DVI/HDMI of a discrete card. I do notice a difference between VGA and DVI on a 17" monitor.
If the monitor is a flat panel and its native resolution is not VGA, or an exact multiple of VGA, then the image can appear blurry. Every play an old fixed resolution 640x480 game on a modern flat panel?
this is dell we're talking about, why is anyone surprised they'd lie http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/technology/29dell.html?pagewanted=all
or use misleading advertising http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/technology/29dell.html?pagewanted=all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawsuits_involving_Dell_Inc.
the company originally made some very high quality equipment, i've seen dell machines from the late 90s still running in commercial applications.
my current self-observed five year failure rate for dells Scares me.
Most people care about the results, not the specifications. Indeed, most people don't understand the background information required to understand specifications. So the marketeers have to simplify things. Which is awfully hard to do when you're talking about a static image on a website, which would make low end video appear on par with high end video. So they simplify things.
Do I agree with that simplification? Not really. Do I understand that simplification? Absolutely. After all, even though it is fraudulent in the purest sense of the word it is relatively realistic when you are talking about real time rendering of 3-D graphics.
And the sad part is, I remember when Dell didn't have to resort to cheap tricks to sell PCs. Speccing in non-standard and substandard parts, plus rolling over for every sad business brain-fart has destroyed that company. Such a pity, at one time their Just-In-Time business model was seen as a something of a wonder.
Try a new tactic. Go back to doing what made you successful in the first place. Put on a black turtleneck (if you must), and inform your customers that while their money means a lot to you, you simply cannot sell them machines that run like dogs anymore. If that laptop doesn't have at least 8 GBs of RAM and a 1 TB 7200 RPM HD or 256 GB SSD, with a separate video card, it cannot be sold. Your company depends on repeat business, correct?
I am John Hurt.
It even blurs the stickers on the screen!
xD
Showing chicks fondling a monitor isn't an illegal or misleading marketing practice. Misinformation is.
``OK, so ten out of ten for style, but minus several million for good thinking, yeah?''
I know that in Europe we have fairly strong advertising standards regulation and in theory every ad is supposed to be "legal, decent honest and truthful". I see the odd case of outrageous ads being challenged but for the most part we get exactly the same litany of gullible customers being sold products they don't need: €100 hdmi cables, ultimate broadband for Facebook browsing etc.
I am not sure that any amount of regulation can stop it. I have become quite resigned to the whole business and I accept it as a kind of ignorance tax. While I can be smug about the fact that I am knowledgeable enough about tech products to avoid paying this ignorance tax I am quite sure that in other areas where I am less knowledgeable I am probably duped into paying more than I should.
Why don't they put two naked chicks fondling the expensive card monitor behind it . . .?
You're getting it all wrong.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
I'd have more sympathy for them and your comment if their monitors didn't come with Display Port and every model of Optiplex bar one seems to come with displayport as well for their integrated graphics adapters.
Money does not need to be spent for some mythical increase in contrast ratio (which is what they are showing on the website, and contrast ratio is one thing which does not improve going from VGA to DVI/HDMI/DP). There's only a barely noticeable increase in sharpness in many cases.
Misinformation yes, but "dangerous"?? Is someone going to die or get seriously hurt from this?
Jumbo Shrimp
Military Intelligence
and Friendly Fire
Words that have no business being said next to one another for 800 Alex!
Watch any TV advert about a 'no surgery' facelift... Please note the differences on the 'actual patients' before and after photos and videos. They are selling a medical procedure, but showing the results of a make-over including hair style, make-up and jewellery.
What will bring you more 'satisfaction?' The few hundred bucks of the make-over? Or the few thousand dollars of the 'medical procedure?'
The big difference is that in the UK and EU there's an excellent chance that this is illegal. Strange as it may seem, unlike the US we actually require adverts to be somewhat true - and not just by tacking on a timestretched disclaimer sped up to a garble at the end. For example, the Budweiser "Fresh Beer Tastes Better" ad campaign was ultimately sunk because fresh beer does not, in fact, taste better. Although the ASA eventually cleared the advert on the basis that Bud tastes so bad it actually becomes worse as it ages, the damage was done.
I would urge as many of you that summon up the enthusiasm to send a polite email to the Advertising Standards Authority. Since this portion of the Dell website is aimed at UK customers, they must abide by UK laws.
Hooked up my old 386 to a 21" good quality CRT - and the picture was definitively bad (not just the resolution). This card was designed to drive a puny little 14" monitor from the early 90s, not a good-quality (it still beats many LCD's, and I laughed when people started talking about "HD", its max-usable resolution still beats most monitors that's not 2x larger)... Also upgrading my old-old PC from a "integrated" ATI board to a much better nVidia board also yielded similar results: Much better picture quality - sharper with better colors. But this was ~6-7 years ago, with 10-15 year old hardware. And that machine is still running (fedora something) - my mother insists on using it even after I gave her a much more modern machine.
Film at 11!
Seriously, companies have been lying to sell overpriced crap to gullible people who don't need it forever.
strikes again...im having a hard time caring. and for those who say dell is resorting to cheap tricks, its a fact for the big two that anything they sell from ram to monitors is a cheap trick. CPU's get whitewashed as helping twitter run faster, and memory gets the usual 'more tabs' treatment. customers dont notice, but nerds do. The only travesty here is the number of people outraged without realizing they arent the target demographic.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Hi, you must be new here, so sorry for being a meme-nazi, but
TFTFY
I'll see your hokum and raise you a boondoggle.
Of course it's hard to truthfully advertise how "good" or "bad" a screen would look, since they are both being displayed on whatever screen you are currently using... And there is a visible difference between VGA and DVI in many cases, albeit subtle.
Monitor advertisements have a long history of deception, though: back in the early days of LCD monitors, I remember being annoyed at how pretty much every company all of a sudden started advertising their CRTs as "flat screen monitor" -- which is merely a trinitron-type CRT with a flat piece of glass in front, instead of the more old-fashioned curved tubes. But the vast majority of less educated customers would see the "flat screen!" bullet point in their local computer ad and immediately interprete it as flatpanel. Especially since they invariably used photos showing the monitor in question straight from the front, completely obscuring the depth of the CRT tube. (Actual LCD's were typically shown at an angle showing off their thinness of course)
While technically truthful, the combination of the "flat screen" phrase combined with a picture obscuring the depth was definitely deceptive, and undoubtedly a not insignificant number of customers didn't end up getting what they were expecting.
Dell has done this on and off for a long time. (We've used Dell for 12+ years) It was laughable then, it's old news now. I see stuff like this all the time. At one time, the FTC was charged with stopping this stuff, but now they are as effective as the TSA: they only create jobs, they don't actually do much except piss people off.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
Quiet, you! Do you want to alert all workplaces/schools that less powerful machines unsuitable for gaming could still do the job?
Maybe I'm just cynical, but I ALWAYS expect advertisements to lie. Every claim that is not quantified and expressed in numbers is definitely a lie. Claims that are expressed in numbers are probably a lie. Only specs that are very easy to verify and actually define fitness for purpose can be relied on- like RAM size or dimensions. Claims that are hard to verify like quality or reliability or performance or health benefits will be lies. Salesmen who have vested interest will ALWAYS lie to you. You'll never get honest advice from people who stand to profit from your decision. Even independent sources are often biased one way or the other and often won't give advice that is best for you and your situation.
This doesn't just hold true for tech. This is true for everything you purchase from washing machines and pencils to computers and cars. I still don't understand how some people don't realize this and just walk into a shop and ask someone there to help with their purchase.
--Coder
The ASA are actually one of the most capable regulatory bodies within the UK. I've been continually impressed by them demanding peer reviewed evidence from manufacturers to support their claims, and by the decent balance their provide when people complain about adverts that go against their morals/religion.
A few years ago I read that the average number of complaints to the ASA that lead to the advert people pulled was 1.3 . In other words they take every complaint on their merit rather than from public pressure. So if you think an advert violates one of the standards, there is a good chance you can get it pulled.
The badscience forum provides an excellent Activisim section that can help when constructing these complaints.
Although the ASA eventually cleared the advert on the basis that Bud tastes so bad it actually becomes worse as it ages.
That implies that Bud tastes of something... Clearly false! NB: I've actually had some rather nice beers in the US (although they do tend to be from their mother's womb untimely ripp'd).
Back on topic, before USAians start talking about freedom of speech and censorship (personally, I couldn't care less if the adverts are censored as long as the bits in between them aren't) its worth noting that the ASA is an independent body, not an arm of Government, and the sanctions are usually limited to forcing the offending ad to be withdrawn.
Dell, however, should maybe study UK/EU adverts for expensive wrinkle creams to get some tips on how to sell snake oil without actually making any falsifiable claims (in surveys, 8 out of 10 people who's contact lenses we'd flushed down the loo thought the SuperTuboGraphics option reduced the seven signs of pixellation).
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
I'm not sure if that would fall under the ASA's remit, they only cover marketing communications. As it's part of the sales process it's more analogous to a sign posted in a computer store, which would make it a trading standards issue, and I'm not sure how that works online. (Normally trading standards are handled by a plethora of independent offices in each part of the country, and it's up to an affected customer to contact their local one.)
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Isn't windows more appealing in the monitor to the left?
Mostly people are getting upsold into computer systems that they perceive to be "better" for features that they barely understand and hardly need. Every purchase commits you to future purchases. Why would you get a single core processor when you can get a DUAL core processor. Why would you get 2 GB of RAM when you can get 4 GB of RAM? Who wants a 1.73 GHz processor when you can get a 2.5 GHz processor? I would say the average person shopping at Best Buy or on the Dell website has no idea what they are really buying when they are choosing between computers. The way computers and computer parts are sold is designed to be confusing if not misleading. Personally speaking, whenever I am shopping for Graphics Cards I try to pick the package that has the highest numerical value in the name of the card AND has the picture of either a very scantily clad warrior cartoon lady on it OR the package that has the most ferocious looking monster graphic on it because I believe that they put those pictures on the graphics card boxes to give me a general idea of the various performance related features I can expect. I never buy graphics cards that have pictures of fast cars racing on their packages. For example, recently I bought a Radeon HD 5470 instead of an nVidia GTS430 because 5470 is clearly a higher number than 430.
if your life is such a big joke then why should I care?
What part of "Images shown are for demonstrative purposes only" don't you understand?
Your mom says it's time to go to bed.
I mean, how else would you quickly and efficiently explain 3D acceleration to someone who has no idea what it is? Let's same I have a game and I want to run it at 30 frames per second. On a low-end card, I have to turn the details down and decrease the resolution to get the same speed - in other words, make it "blurrier." On the high-end card, I crank everything up and it looks nicer. Dell didn't want to get into the whole give and take of speed / detail / resolution, that's not who this guide is for. Blurrier is a good enough representation of those technicalities.
If there's anything wrong with this, it's that they used a desktop instead of a game screenshot. I supposed that potentially could cause someone to upgrade who had no legitimate need for a nicer graphics card. But with Aero and whatever desktop nonsense there is now, it's not that misleading.
And there you go. The first time, and probably the last time, that I've stood up for Dell.
I cannot switch dual graphics card in Ubuntu, because ATI card always freezes. So I wanted to set it from bios. As dell's driver update page(http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/DriverFileFormats?DriverId=R314952) has update drivers for bios. With fear of screwing my computer, I upgraded the bios software, to enable their number 1 feature (1.enable Discrete AMD VGA fixed mode Support, listed under Fixes And Enhancement). After upgrading, I did not see any change. There is no option to enable or disable single graphics card. So what's the point of letting user download that software.
A 2GB 520M?
lolnothx
The monitors and the PCs may come with DVI ports, but at least in this part of the world, Dell fit VGA cables to all their monitors by default.
I unpacked two today that had VGA cables pre-plugged into the TFT monitors. I immediately removed the VGA cables and plugged in the supplied DVI-D ones.
I submitted the following to Consumerist. I looked for somewhere to tell Dell, "thought you'd like to know, I've submitted the following to Consumerist" but couldn't find any place to submit it. Whatever happened to old-fashioned contact pages? It looks like all the many ways to contact them involve signing in to Dell, Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. Bah.
=== submitted to Consumerist ===
Dell is engaging in faulty advertising. The image in the link is misleading. The different graphics cards would show a Windows desktop the same. There would be other differences between the cards, but that's not one of them. Here are links to Dell, Reddit, and Slashdot.
Dell:
http://content.dell.com/uk/en/business/d/help-me-choose/hmc-video-card-vostro-dt.aspx?ref=CFG
Reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/comments/mle4f/is_this_image_on_the_dell_website_complete_bcks/
PC Pro:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2011/11/23/dells-unhelpful-graphics-card-buying-advice/
Slashdot:
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/11/24/022247/dells-misleading-graphics-card-buying-advice
1) Isn't this plain and simple fraud? We all know it is, but I'm asking if it is this under US law?
2) If so, isn't this something for which a company (or an individual) in the US can be sued into next Wednesday for a bazillion dollars or something like that? ... In Germany they'd get a stern look from the judge, a 'No, no! Bad company!' and some laughable sum (like 100 000 Euros or so) as a fine.
I'm just asking out of general curiousity of how USians expect this to play out if someone took this case of fraud to court.
Anyone care to indulge in speculation on this?
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Why don't they put two naked chicks fondling the expensive card monitor behind it . . .?
And Roseanne Barr behind the cheapo one . . . ?
Then I would know which one to buy!
I wouldn't, Roseanne has the most seductive laugh...
~Syberz
No, say it isn't true..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I see people trying to guess how/why the images are different. You clearly have missed the comment under the image, or don't understand what it means. The images on those monitors were not produced by the monitors. The monitors were photographed while powered off. Then a graphic artist produces a picture for each monitor, and pastes it inside to look like a monitor producing the image. Thus "demonstrative purposes".
It is a standard marketing technique. Every TV advertised in a flyer is shown with artwork pasted in, not a picture of the TV showing the image. It is so common that if you believed that image is real, you would have to be Mr. Bean.
Dell cannot be nailed for this, because they have included the caveat phrase under the image. It means, in a fancy way, "don't take this as real evidence of the difference". It is just like a package of cookies. Big picture of the cookie on the outside, and underneath, it says "product enhanced in size for illustrative purposes".
If you don't get it, then adjust your set. It will be like this until capitalism and lies are replaced with something else.
I don't suppose this applies to politicians when they advertise what they will do once they get into office?
blindly antisocialist = antisocial
"Caveat Emptor"
It's existed since the first caveman traded for something with another caveman.
There are always going to be people who recognize that cheating in a system based on trust will gain them short-term advantage.
We've tasked government to pass laws that can be applied against these people, but the sheer volume of commercial transactions going on means that the huge bulk of cases will never be prosecuted formally. Ever.
Therefore it's incumbent on a buyer to be as knowledgeable as possible about the things they are spending their money on, to the degree of financial risk they care to assume. Otherwise, one method is to shop at companies that earn your trust (either directly, or by trusted word-of-mouth).
It's really not terribly complicated, people just have to stop expecting that the nanny state will or can protect them from all bad things, and accept that they are largely on their own.
-Styopa
Yes there is. "Standard graphics card" means no graphics card at all, and the PC will fall back to your integrated graphics. if your PC has an Intel chipset, this will be the Intel GMA known for its underperformance. AMD CPUs, on the other hand, mean you get an NVIDIA or AMD chipset, which means at least an integrated GeForce or an integrated Radeon.
Every play an old fixed resolution 640x480 game on a modern flat panel?
Yeah. It's called Wii.
Try a new tactic. Go back to doing what made you successful in the first place. Put on a black turtleneck (if you must), and inform your customers that while their money means a lot to you, you simply cannot sell them machines that run like dogs anymore.
Don't compare low-end PCs loaded with bloatware to dogs, or you'll offend the mushers.
I have a new PC, using the second gen intel i7, and the sandy bridge chipset. I can connect my monitor's HDMI-cable to either the builtin graphical connector (the one powered by the CPU, one of the chipset features), or a cheap Nvidia card which I happen to have. The picture quality is very different: the builtin graphics gives me very crisp and clear picture with bright colours, and the Nvidia card gives me a bit blurrier, darker picture. Same monitor, same cable, different HDMI providers.
That or the 8-bit file was made grainy and the 16-bit file was made using state-of-the-art noise shaping dither techniques to get near 10-bit effective performance. If you think such dithering is impossible, consider that SACD is 1-bit; it just pushes quantization noise out to frequencies where the ear is less sensitive.
First amendment rights have been ruled to cover deliberate lies designed to mislead customers. I don't think false advertising laws would hold up in court anymore.
ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
People prefer the mode that expands and distorts instead of the mode that expands and crops because the mode that expands and distorts doesn't cut off the score bar on broadcasts of sporting matches. CBS in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for example, is still in 4:3.
Hi. You seem to be an American, so sit down before you read this.
Are you sitting?
OK. There is a world outside the USA! Really, there is. Out there, the US constitution does not apply. I know, mind blowing, huh? This advertisement was aimed at a country known as the "United Kingdom" or UK. That sounds like USA - it's even got "United" in it - so hopefully you aren't too shaken.
Why am I telling you this? Well, it's because when you write about "First amendment rights" you're specifically referencing the constitution of the USA. Which makes you look rather foolish. Might I suggest that in future you consider reading the referenced article (aka RTFA) and considering a world beyond your limited horizons before posting? If nothing else, this may at least occasionally afford you the opportunity to avoid looking silly before you post again.
With kind regards.
An Anonymous Coward.
Acer does he same thing.
before that they were selected by those very same corporations.
Is there any corporation holding you from running for office? How do they do that?
...marketing people frequently shoot from the hip without having a fscking clue about what they're selling, and sometimes even tell outright lies. Film at 11.
the batteries that last "up to 5 hours" (which is basically a guarantee that they will not last over 5 hours, and is consistent with lasting 5 minutes). All companies are committing fraud.
Yes, well, the US version of the website in question is doing the exact same thing. No, really! Take the link from the story in question, and change the UK to US.
So yes, First Amendment does actually apply here.
Yay America, where we have the right to lie, but no right to expose it without getting sued or arrested.
[End Of Line]
Click on the link from TFA, then change the UK to US.
http://content.dell.com/us/en/business/d/help-me-choose/hmc-graphics-optiplex
Tah-daaaah! US now has jurisdiction, though not sure what good it'll do folks in the US. Play around with it a bit, see what other countries they're playing with.
[End Of Line]
Basically, they did say: Water doesn't prevent dehydration. They said: You can't claim bottled water is better at preventing dehydration than tap water, and you're claim implies that.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
The graphics geniuses in Dell's ad department blurred the entire monitor on the left. Zoom in if you don't believe me-- the edges of the monitor casing, the aluminum stand they copied from Apple... everything is ever so slightly blurrier. Genius.
I had no idea cavemen spoke Latin!
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
If we had much stiffer penalties for fraud (Like jail time for execs) and prosecuted them vigorously, this wouldn't be nearly as widespread.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
We've all known that corporations (and even sole proprietors) engage in deceit to sell more product or sell at higher prices. They manipulate, misframe, mislead, and generally miseducate at every opportunity within the bounds of the law... and those bounds leave a lot of wiggle room.
We know they do it, and do it constantly. Why act indignant and butt-hurt when one gets caught a bit outside the bounds? It's a foul, they went over the line, so call it and let's get on with the Black Friday game.
If we really want to make a difference in how much of this manipulation takes place, how about we enact some laws that drastically tighten those bounds and serve the goals of the 99% for a change? The Occupy movement may not be the precise remedy, but a revolution is definitely overdue.
"Graphics Card?" Are you fucking kidding me? The year 1990 called and they want their obsolete parts back.
What kind of loser dweeb uses a "graphics card" any more for common business applications - or even web development, programming, and so forth? The Intel integrated graphics is more than adequate for such tasks. High end gaming and 3D CAD might be another story.
It's much more reasonable to assume that the parent poster is right. Although the "drive and ambition" bullshit is the usual spiel used to try to blame everyone else for the greed and avarice of these people, so I'm not surprised you fell for it.
Dell "high-end" workstation graphics cards are apparently crappier than cheap gaming cards for your average home/business user, because they include features that are rarely used or required. This works in Dell's favor because they can then claim high performance and reliability (if its never used it will last longer). I use 3D CAD software in my work and we've replaced all Dell cards with gaming cards. Dell cards are good for "high quality" graphics rendering, but most users need "high speed" rendering, with the difference in quality negligible on an average (24") LED monitor. If you're displaying complicated circuit diagrams on a massive video wall where even 1 pixel out of place will stick out like dogs balls, then yeah go for Dell. Otherwise you're wasting your money and probably still lacking the performance you're likely after.
Also, it should be common knowledge that unless you have money to burn, NEVER buy newly available anything because you will face the high likelihood of "infant mortality" (look up "bathtub curve" and "reliability" on Google). Corporations have no qualms about using paying customers for testing new products that they know are full of bugs and defects.
On the upside, I'm beginning to appreciate some of the case design features of Dell workstations. Pulling out a hdd is easy and accessible in most cases, sort of lego'ish in a way. Its a pain when non-standard components don't fit though (which might be by design by Dell).
Corporations and politicians/governments are alike. They can always be trusted to lie, cheat and be incompetent. Anyone who assumes otherwise is living in ignorant bliss and I envy you right up to the point when you get screwed by them.
"Monster Cable".
Look man, it's an error-correcting digital interconnect. I shouldn't have to pay hundreds of dollars for a two foot long cable that I could wire up myself if I bought a crimp tool that would cost less than your entire cable does.
AMD's attempt to mislead the non-techical, a la 'Get The Facts'.
Check out this marketing asshole.
An old version of the Wikipedia article points out the bullshit of their older 'Vision' nonsense:
Some of the divisions made in the classifications seem dubious. For example, the basic "Vision" should be capable of watching DVDs, while "Vision Premium" can "Convert CD to MP3s". But any general-purpose personal computer capable of playing a DVD is also perfectly capable of converting CD to MP3s. So adding "Convert CD to MP3s" to "Vision Premium" instead of "Vision" is purely for marketing, without basis in technical reality.[citation needed]
They're still full of shit - their "Help Me Choose" page would have me buy a mid-range machine to rip CDs, apparently more demanding than watching DVDs. To "be a productivity powerhouse", though, I'd really better shell out for the best.
It's a pity. I really want to like AMD - they're a much-needed underdog.
From Office Max advertisements:
All of their computers are labeled "Basic", "Everyday", or "Performance". The definitions for the labels are as follows:
Basic - These computers keep you connected with friends and family. Browse the Internet, check e-mail, and instant message.
Everyday - Great for all the things that you can do with Basic Computers plus: Multitask with spreadsheets and presentations. Upload and download videos from the Internet.
Performance - Great for all the things that you can do with Everyday Computers plus: Run all business applications with confidence. Upload, download, create and edit photos, videos and more. Get smoother playback when streaming movies online.
Unfortunately, the "Basic" computers can do everything that the "Everyday" and "Performance" computers can do. Shoppers may therefore be fooled into buying more computer than they need.
I know you've posted this same point a lot, so you've probably not thought too hard about the threads you're replying to, but no the first amendment does NOT apply in the UK. First amendment will apply to the sales in the USA, but there are no such protections for lying to UK customers, so it does not apply at all.
If I use prostitutes in the USA and the Netherlands, just because it's OK in NL, I will still get prosecuted in the USA. Likewise false advertising in the UK EVEN IF YOU ARE DOING THE SAME THING IN THE USA is not protected under the first amendment.
Please take a little longer to read what you're replying to before spewing the same answer in every thread next time.
Is nobody else seeing the words 'images shown are for demonstrative purposes only'? It's the same as putting two cars side by side and putting a wind-up toy handle on one. Obviously it's not really a toy car (and obviously a 'low end' graphics card will not display a desktop in any washed out way), but it illustrates the point of marketing that one has more power/better quality than the other.
It looks to me like the display on the left was just blurred; even the monitor bezel and stand look blurry.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
It's entirely possible their image is perfectly legitimate. If their "standard" card uses an analog SVGA connector and a, say, 100ft cable, and the "high end" card is connected with a digital transport of some kind, then I can see how the images might look a bit different...
It's still misleading as hell, though..
what do you expect from them? Fraud is in the DNA of every single Jew.
i thought that marketing something was about selling it and telling its features or about the item , not lying and misleading and committing fraud....at least that is what they actually teach in school last i checked...I'd like to know how you think otherwise and a citation.
ubuntu can fix that
"Please take a little longer to read what you're replying to before spewing the same answer in every thread next time."
Actually, I should be take a little longer to parse my reply.
I was trying to say that because they're doing it in the US as well as UK, it means that the US regulatory agencies can go after them for false advertising. Also, the US is rather friendly with the UK, and we have reciprocal treaties and agreements here and there. If US regulatory agencies are made aware that Dell is doing this in many countries, it's possible they could file joint action against Dell.
So. Not so much trying to say that US law would apply to what initially seemed a UK issue, I was trying-and no succeeding-to say that the US now has an interest it can follow up on.
[End Of Line]
*shrugs*