Computer giant Dell stunned a Reg reader seeking a processor upgrade when it told him he might want to consider a "Mac".

The El Reg reader had emailed the firm's hardware technical support team asking whether it was possible to upgrade his one year old Dimension 9150's processor to a Core2 CPU without having to also replace other components.

Here's how Dell hardware frontline responded:

Thank you for your response to Dell hardware tech support. It's true that if you want to upgrade the processor to a high end, you need to upgrade motherboard and consequently other devices like PSU, proc fan etc. I would suggest that purchasing a new PC is a better option than to upgrade it on this system as replacing the motherboard and processor is going to be expensive.

It's better you get a new system with duo or quad core processor. Mac is a good option. You may also look at XPS systems of Dell [XPS One is the best in XPS performance line], you may google on this system to get more information.

In case you missed it, we'll give you that quote just one more time, "Mac is a good option".

Now, it's possible that the techie was referring to a 1970s rock band, or to an item of waterproof clothing. But we can't help concluding that he was indeed talking about Apple's Mac.

It wouldn't be the first time the company has spun a donut before going into reverse. In the last year, it has ditched its Wintel roots to embrace Ubuntu (sort of), and reversed its direct only policy by punting its machines alongside pints of milk in Tesco.

We asked the company if this is yet another symptom of its corporate identity crisis. Strangely, it's yet to respond to our questions. ®

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