Nah... I've had a lot of Dells, typing this on one now in fact. But like anything in life, everything is a trade, and its better to have eyes wide open than wide shut before taking the plunge, yes?
The normal logic should be: never go to a new operating system the first 1-2 years. Most of the time, even after a long time, bugs are found or certain things are not working properly. To avoid all risks it is better to stick with W7 because that OS has already been tested for several years, proved it's reliability, and will be valid for years to come. Change to W8 only 2-3 years after the introduction to avoid unpleasant surprises. I bought a new computer 1 year ago and insisted to have W7 pro and not W8.
A long time ago, I was of the view... "I'll never own a Dell". Then one day when I needed to replace a computer, Dell's price was an "offer I couldn't refuse". (Was on a Dimension model). Since then, perhaps 15 years, I've bought Dells almost exclusively... Dimension and Precision lines. The only Dell I've had where I had any disappointment at all was on a Vostro.... but then I bought it at a big discount with a dedicated function in mind, and expected it would have "el cheapo" limitations of some sort. It had some video limitations, but I didn't have any room to complain. I mostly knew what I was getting into when I bought it. And today... I still have 5 Dell Precisions in my home network.... all working "smooth as a gravy sandwich" on Windows 7 Pro. I'm hoping these will last through the end-of-life on W7. But if not, Dell's latest Precision model (T5810) has W7 available.
Please dont misunderstand me, I am not knocking Dells as such, I would not have kept buying them over the last 20 or so years otherwise. But I have had some good ones and also some not so good ones. The last couple of Dimension Desktops I owned were noisey, and had various failures - but they were used heavily, and probably any mid priced machine from any manufacturer at the time would have struggled - the Intel chips ran very hot. When I finally replaced them with my own custom fanless machines, the silence they brought to my office (and the sound of birdsong outside the window) was a massive shock and relief. I guess the point I was trying to make is that before just jumping in and getting married to the latest cheapest reliable (probably) machine, it might be worth considering what the machine is going to be used for and how it is going to change your every day work experience - for better or for worse (for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health...), whether that is noise, the keyboard, latest UI, bundled bloatware, etc
Dell, like any manufacturer has various "lines". I've never advocated any trader buy "cheapest" Dell. The Dimension line has been discontinued, so it's not a topic any longer. However... I believe the Precision Line offers the best all around price/value in the marketplace today... especially considering their Technical Support, if needed. I've never said "Dell is great" (overall)... they're about the same as HP or Lenovo. However I do HIGHLY recommend the Precision Line of Workstations... about the same quality as HP (I know Foxconn makes the mobo for both... might even be identical..., but Dell is priced better.)
I was with you until you said Windows 95 and 98 were good. Both were extremely unstable, malfunctioning operating systems. MS has made 3 good consumer OSs - 2000, XP and 7; the rest have been quite atrocious for a variety of reasons. There's not many reasons nowadays to buy a desktop PC, a moderately powerful laptop can do the job well, with an external screen, keyboard and mouse.
Cheap buy can become expensive buy. Watch for good priced quality. I always buy PC's assembled to my specifications. Never regretted this way of buying. And price is only a little bit higher. But what's 100-200 dollar to be sure your pc is the best for the job to do. For elitetraders price cannot be a problem at all.
I guess that's the 90's nostalgia in me talking...that Windows 98 was so good. I'm a Gamer. so I like...to build/buy/use...the latest,greatest,coolest stuff. A well-built/high-end PC...is a Magical thing...great speakers...sound card...big quality monitor...Video card...CPU...memory...Razer keyboards and mice...etc misc peripherals...when it's all working in sync together playing the latest greatest games....is a place of Euphoria and Bliss~....Boy, do I sound like a geek about to cream his shorts... it's impossible to capture all this...magic...or experience...in a measly laptop. A high-end gaming PC is like feeling/driving a Ferrari or Lamborghini...that thrill and emotion. Standard PC's and laptops...are like Toyota Camry's. (sorry, if i'm deviating from this thread's topic)
The choice of OS is dependent on the apps you run. In 1998, we still had a lot of mission critical DOS apps. Today, no development company will turn out anything less than a 64bit program. In that sense, not much has changed making incremental OS version updates unnecessary. Until, we start moving to the next level...Random bit processing. jk. I made that up. Made you google!