Dell

[Drew224]

Most PCs I've owned have been Dell. I am not a fan of either Dell or HP. Prefer to build my own.

 

[longan]

I'm on an insprion 1300 that I've had from new and I love using it, the keys are big, the screen is a decent size so that I can fit things comfortably on it but small enough so that it doesn't eat the battery

 

[rcole_sooner]

Most PCs I've owned have been Dell. I am not a fan of either Dell or HP. Prefer to build my own.

I build my gaming systems, but it is hard to build a laptop (as in not really possible).

 

[Kashmir]

I always buy Dell. I have 5 in my house now. My newest, an XPS 420 (4 years old), opens right up on the side so I can get at everything pretty easily if the need arises. No complaints at all. I'm technical enough that I can take it apart and put something in it and put it all back together. But I never bother with that, as I'm busy enough using the software and have no time for the mechanics of the machine these days. I love my Dells.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I used a Dell laptop for about 18 months. Other than power supply issues -- the jack was apparently pretty fussy and easy to prang -- it was a fine computer.

 

[bertzie]

Yup. Aside from a new car (which we all love to buy), I can't think of another product that loses it's value more quickly than computer hardware. Everything changes too quickly - performance standards, connector (PCI, AGP, PCIE,...) standards, memory compatibility, etc. Just a few years ago, if you told me that I'd have an extra 500GB internal drive sitting around because I hadn't bothered to install it in my tower because I wasn't hurting for disk space, I'd have told you you're nuts. But, there it sits until I get around to tossing it in for some as of yet undetermined purpose (I'm thinking software CD/DVD iso images for backup). The stuff becomes obsolete so quickly that whatever you drop a pile of money on becomes a middle-of-the-road machine 12 months later.

Buy hardware that performs well for what you need and maybe a little beyond that if yer feelin' saucy, but there is little point in overspending as it's nearly impossible to know what your future software demands are going to be - and even if you have an idea, you'll probably already have the itch to upgrade again when that software finally becomes available.

I'm gonna have to disagree with this.

Buy the best hardware you can afford. With the speed of software development, what's good enough one day may not be able to run something tomorrow. So buy the most powerful components you can afford, and they'll last longer. (assuming you don't overclock the shit out of them and burn em up.)

 

[KSG_Standard]

Almost all of the laptops I've used over the past decade have been Dell. They've been dependable and tough enough to travel the world with me.

 

[budd]

My work has tried Dell, HP, Lenovo and Acer...

They are all the same in terms of components etc. The biggest difference is in design/looks and the warranty offerings. Dells warranty service is head and shoulders over what we have previously experienced with the other vendors.

 

[Ledheadforlife]

I've got a Dell laptop that's only 4 yrs old and it's got one foot in the grave already, everytime I try to convert an avi to dvd, it overheats and turns off, same if I try to watch a youtube video that's longer than 6 or 7 minutes.

 

[Sinmastah]

Try keeping it propped up at an angle, so the bottom has more air under it, than if it was laying flat.

 

[lespaul01]

I've got a Dell laptop that's only 4 yrs old and it's got one foot in the grave already, everytime I try to convert an avi to dvd, it overheats and turns off, same if I try to watch a youtube video that's longer than 6 or 7 minutes.

Have you taken off the fan cover and cleaned/blown it out?

All kinds of stuff can get caught in there and completely overheat/ruin your machine. You have to clean out laptops just like you would dust a desktop.

Alsom you can take the battery out, place your mouth over the exhaust fan and blow hard. It can release eome of the clumps lodged in. That is just a easy/quick try. but you should really take off the fan cover and make sure that there are no built up chunks of dust/lint clogging up your fan,

Regards.

 

[Rich]

I'm gonna have to disagree with this.

Buy the best hardware you can afford. With the speed of software development, what's good enough one day may not be able to run something tomorrow. So buy the most powerful components you can afford, and they'll last longer. (assuming you don't overclock the shit out of them and burn em up.)

There is merit to going with the highest performance if you really do need horsepower (gaming, CAD, etc.) regardless of how long you plan to keep the machine. But, for me - and I do some gaming as well as running Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.) - I just don't need the most badass machine on the block. Where I do spend extra is on the graphics card (right now, I have some sort of branded nVidia with 1GB of onboard memory) and amount of RAM; the CPU and primary disk drive is where I trim costs plus I'll carry over my previous graphics card if possible. The rest of the machine (basically, the mobo) is a few steps down from whatever was the king of the hill at the time I bought it.

It really boils down to what your needs are and how long you plan to hold on to the machine. Generally, I replace a tower every four years or so which is a pretty good stretch for a computer if you're any sort of power user. During that time, I might upgrade the graphics card or throw some more RAM in it if I want to extend the life and the the graphics slot standard hasn't changed.

Don't get me wrong, I do buy cool machines, they're just not THE most badass ones. I got this one for $625 with a rock star discount back in the middle of February:

Intel Core i5-650 3.2GHz 4M LGA1156 Processor
6GB DDR3 PC3-10600 1333MHz Memory (2GB x 3)
250GB 7200RPM 3G SATA II Hard Drive (have my own 2T secondary)
24X DVDRW SATA Drive
3.5" Internal Card Reader
Integrated Intel HD Graphics (added my own)
500 Watt 80 PLUS Power Supply
SYX Mid-Tower ATX Chassis
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64bit
1 Year Parts & Labor Warranty

 

[lespaul01]

Buy the best hardware you can afford. With the speed of software development, what's good enough one day may not be able to run something tomorrow. So buy the most powerful components you can afford, and they'll last longer. (assuming you don't overclock the shit out of them and burn em up.)

As said previously/// The most common mistake of new buyers is overbuying. I know many people that have bought $1300.00 systems for email and surfing
They tell me how great their system is and I ask what their main processing needs are....they look at me like this. I ask what do do you do on the computer. Email and surfing I hear all the time. I don't have the heart yo tell them that they pretty much got suckered by the salesman.


Knowing the uses I have for my processor, personally I know exactly what to buy for me. As for the software surpassing the hardware, possible, but I have never had the problem. When I buy a computer I always buy something that can be upgraded in the future. First thing I usually do is but and install the maximum ram, but at this point I have absolute no need for 8gb ram.

 

[Ledheadforlife]

Have you taken off the fan cover and cleaned/blown it out?

All kinds of stuff can get caught in there and completely overheat/ruin your machine. You have to clean out laptops just like you would dust a desktop.

Alsom you can take the battery out, place your mouth over the exhaust fan and blow hard. It can release eome of the clumps lodged in. That is just a easy/quick try. but you should really take off the fan cover and make sure that there are no built up chunks of dust/lint clogging up your fan,

Regards.

Thanx man, I'm on it.

 

[Joeydego]

MacBook.

Close the thread.

You cannot understand computing effortlessly until you've done so on an Apple.

 

[bertzie]

As said previously/// The most common mistake of new buyers is overbuying. I know many people that have bought $1300.00 systems for email and surfing
They tell me how great their system is and I ask what their main processing needs are....they look at me like this. I ask what do do you do on the computer. Email and surfing I hear all the time. I don't have the heart yo tell them that they pretty much got suckered by the salesman.


Knowing the uses I have for my processor, personally I know exactly what to buy for me. As for the software surpassing the hardware, possible, but I have never had the problem. When I buy a computer I always buy something that can be upgraded in the future. First thing I usually do is but and install the maximum ram, but at this point I have absolute no need for 8gb ram.

I'd love to run 8gb of ram, but my mobo can't handle it. >.<

 

[bertzie]

You cannot understand computing effortlessly until you've done so on an Apple.

Till you try and install any of the many programs that wont run on a mac.

 

[lespaul01]

I'd love to run 8gb of ram, but my mobo can't handle it. >.<

I know, I am dying to try it.. But, I have no real need at the moment.. But I have RAS.. Ram Aquisition Syndrome .. So who knows what will happen.

 

[bertzie]

This is the system I'm saving my pennies for.

Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

 

[Sinmastah]

You cannot understand computing effortlessly until you've done so on an Apple.

I would have to say Windows 7 is as effortless as it gets.