Well, my birthday is on Friday (21! woo hoo!) and my very generous parents have decided to buy me a new computer. I am excited as hell, but also quite confused. I can’t decide if I’d rather have a sweetass laptop, or a really nice home computer. I also can’t decide which brands are better as far as performance, upgrades, options, etc. Any ideas? Horror stories? Recommendations?
I have been looking around at all sorts of sites on the topic, I just wanted to get some input from a few above average folks, and here you all are!
From my experience, if you’re going to buy a premade computer, buy a Dell. They have excellent support. This goes for both laptops and desktops.
I wouldn’t recommend a laptop if you want to be a gamer. Or if you don’t need the portability. Laptops are a lot more expensive than a desktop with similar stats.
Horror stories? All the Compaqs at work. shiver They just don’t like to function. And my lil sis’ HP doesn’t like network connectivity.
A lot depends on what you want to use it for. Laptops are pricier but the portablity can be a godsend for taking classnotes, etc.
But no matter what, do not buy Gateway! My Gateway 2000 Solo notebook is an expensive, high-end piece of shit, and has been from day one. In the 3 years it was under warranty it needed:
2 backlit video monitor replacements
3 floppy drive replacements
2 CD drive replacements
This was on a machine that was used very carefully and only for occassional work notetaking, reports, etc.! The desktop has only needed the CPU shipped back twice. It was returned within a few weeks. Amazing what you can become grateful for.
Tech support is surly–when you can reach them. After a few eons on hold you painstakingly convince them that, yes, the rancid piece of crap croaked again. They grudgingly allow you to ship the computer back to them. It (or a replacement part) is shipped back to you via Ailing Tortise Express. Oh, they also demand you ship the defective part back to them, presumably so they can whap it with a ballpeen hammer to “fix” it so it can be palmed off on some other poor sucker.
With no exaggeration at all, during that 3 years the Gateway laptop was either in the shop or awaiting parts more than it was usable. Save your money. Save your SANITY. Do NOT buy a Gateway anything.
If you don’t have pre-existing PC software you’re already invested in, and don’t intend to use your new computer mainly for Autocad or games, think seriously about getting a Macintosh Titanium G4 PowerBook. They are the best of many worlds, including laptop/desktop (a no-compromises laptop, in other words), Macintosh/Unix/Windows, computer/media playback (great for movies).
Apple makes solid merchandise. My PowerBook G3 Series 'book is 3 years old and is no more than halfway through its useful life.
If you’re not planning on playing any Hardcore games, I’d go with the notebook. You won’t be able to play the Hardcore games, but the portability is priceless, especially if you like the idea of working while watching TV.
How about building one? Spend a little time learning about this stuff and you can pretty much get exactly the computer you want (assuming, of course, that you don’t want a Mac.)
I have a Gateway Desktop with a AMD 950 mhz, 128 ram, and added a CD burner to it. I have had no serious problems and Gateway always provides good tech support. I am a gamer have never experienced any problems related to my PC while playing online, other than I don’t live in an area that has other than 56k availible. I would suggest a Gateway, but if you have the cash and time I would do as CORNFLAKES suggested and build your own.
I wholeheartedly reccommend http://www.compucheap.com – the name sounds kinda cheesy, but these guys have good prices and the best customer service I’ve ever seen.
One place you might check out, especially if buying online is an option for you, is http://www.resellerratings.com . It’s a good resource for checking out consumer responses to any company you’re thinking of buying from.
If you get a desktop, forget the fancy name-brands and buy one online from a no-name company that lets you actually pick your components from an available list of name-brand parts. At the minimum you want/need to be able to pick your motherboard, CPU, videocard, CD-R and DVD drives. Search Google for reviews on each and then pick parts that are known to work well. Also visit the parts manufacturers’ support pages, especially any forums they may have. Note: some well-known name-brand companies don’t have support forums on their sites due to the (–ahem–) large numbers of complaints that get posted…
Verify the technical soundness of your choice of key components, and you will spare yourself many headaches later -particularly if you plan to later add upgraded parts. Some OEM machines proprietary parts make adding upgrades difficult or impossible. - MC
Like everyone else said pending what you do with it my advice would be that you don’t really need a laptop. Get a nice desktop system. If you are going to buy one that is pre-made go Dell or Gateway. I bought my PC from Gateway and I am very happy with the results. I’ve had it over a year and I’ve had no problem whatsoever. I’ve also heard great things about Dell.
Stay away from Compaq or H.P. I cannot give you any better advice than that. They are the absolute worst when it comes to pre-made.
But honestly I second the vote for you building one. It’s really rather easy. There is so much information available on the net regarding this. And if you get stuck at anytime you can shoot me an e-mail and I’d be more than willing to help.
A Pentium IV - 1.3 MHZ - 20 Gig Hard Drive, 128 Megs of RAM, 15 inch Monitor, etc. - $699. And no annoying “this price only good if you sign up for MSN.com for $400”.
Check it out - you can also build your own system, if you already have some parts, like monitors.
Besides, their service is outstanding. My Dell is good, and the ones at work were good, too.
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the advice, I had never really considered putting together my own PC before (or rather, picking the parts and letting someone else do it) but I’m thinking that may be my best option. It’s either that or a sweet ass “take over the world” strength Dell. Thanks for the input, I appreciate it!
[sub]If any of you ever need advice on paintball guns, I’m an expert[/sub]
Well, every manufacturer has their horror stories, and to be honest, I haven’t checked the reviews lately to see who’s service & reliability ratings are up or down.
But if anecdotal evidence means anything, I have a Gateway 2000 Solo laptop that has been the most reliable PC I’ve ever had (the most reliable computers I’ve had are the IBM midrange boxes, micros can’t touch them for reliability). My Gateway laptop is about two and half years old at this point, and I use it virtually every day. Since I’m a programmer for a living, it must support my programming environments, as well as lots of stuff getting copied on and off as I visit customer sites. I have to connect to many different networks, and constantly use diskette, CD-Rom, DVD, and Zip drive. In all the time I’ve had it, I haven’t had to do anything more than re-load the video driver after I tried to configure it to do something that it wasn’t meant to do. All in all, a tremendous value.
That said, I’ve had good luck lately with Dell, and not so good luck with Compaq and HP. Gateways and Micron have been good, not outstanding. If you’re computer savvy, consider building your own, not to save money (you probably won’t) but to get just what you want, and the fun of playing with it.
I say get a Mac. Gorgeous styling, hassle-free usage right out of the box, and the new operating system has a rock-solid UNIX base for major geek points.
Yeah, Windows PCs are cheaper, but then you end up spending all your time actually getting the darn thing to work…
I would stay away from the Dell dimension series, of the 250+ of those machines I have seen /serviced, they all seem to have some manner of stability issue or hardware problem.
I would how ever highly reccomend the Optiplex line, or the build your own.
Despite some customer service issues the last time I bought Dell, I HEARTILY!!! recommend them for the serious gamer. My current computer runs like a dream, and it’s the sixth or seventh computer my family has bought from Dell and they all worked great. Mrs. RickJay’s Dad, who runs his own business, buys nothing but Dell and after three of four machines he’s still pleased as punch.
