[denton-scratch]

> get a Dell PC, ones I've read online that were serviceable

When I "repaired" a Dell PC, I destroyed the machine.

Dell power-supplies looked like standard PC power supplies; they connected to the motherboard using the same Molex plug. But Dell's Molex connector wasn't wired the same as normal ones. Dell power supplies only worked with Dell motherboards, and vice-versa.

Things may have changed, but that experience blew away my illusions about Dells being repairable.

[sz4kerto]

You never ever swap cables between PSUs. It's not a Dell thing - you must use the cables that ship with the PSU. Many people have fried their mainboard like you.

[delecti]

You're talking about something different. In the early 2000s, before modular PSU cables, Dell used non-standard PSU power connector wiring arrangements. The 20-pin mobo power plug coming out of the PSU was wired differently than the ATX standard at the time, and swapping hardware could fry a motherboard.

https://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=339053

Edit: Better source https://superuser.com/questions/905705/atx-dell-psu-to-offic...

[SoftTalker]

Nvidia does something similar with their server GPU cards, to prevent people from using cheaper desktop GPUs in servers.

[denton-scratch]

Yeah, I wasn't "swapping" PSU cables; the cable was part of the PSU. I replaced a Dell PSU with a standard one, and <smoke!> No more motherboard.

Manufacturers who pull this type of incompatibility shit risk their reputation. I never went near anything with a Dell label again until last year, when I bought a second-hand laptop (I don't attempt laptop upgrades and repairs).