Computer help NOW!

[THE HCP]

Alright, I think my lack of knowledge when it comes to things you have to plug in is pretty well known around here! But my wife has an HP laptop that is only a year and a half and we were just told the motherboard is shot on it. She is in real estate and does some marketing stuff on the side and used the Microsoft Publisher a lot. I tried to get a Mac for her and everything she does is PC related. She does NO video editing or gaming or even use the DVD/CD drive on it. I need to pick her up a new one ASAP and was wondering what you geek........ errrrrr........ smart guys recommend.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Toshiba from Fry's. Get the extended warranty. Fry's actually has a good warranty.

Fry's actually had a nice 3 gig Toshiba laptop for $350 last week. Look in today's ad in the Friday Oregonian.

 

[THE HCP]

What about these NetBooks? I'm looking on BestBuy's website. Do they run Microsoft office? Are they just small PC laptops?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

What about these NetBooks? I'm looking on BestBuy's website. Do they run Microsoft office? Are they just small PC laptops?

No, NetBooks are crap.

 

[THE HCP]

No, NetBooks are crap.

Are they crap for you guys because you do a ton stuff on your computer?

 

[andalusian]

I own a Netbook for travel - and it's decent for email and stuff- would not want to do much more with it. Not enough memory/speed, honestly (and I have one of the fancier kinds with a very fast SSD drive).

Personally, I am partial to Dell computers, especially if you go for the "small business" models instead of the consumer models.

As such, I would seriously look at a Dell Vostro of some sort - (the models change mostly based on screen size).

As for the HP being crap shortly after purchase... not a big surprise for me. This was my company's experience as well and why we went to Dell.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Are they crap for you guys because you do a ton stuff on your computer?

Based on your original post I would get her a laptop. Netbooks are limited.

 

[THE HCP]

Can anybody on here hook me up with Microsoft Office? In exchange for an autograph of course.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Can anybody on here hook me up with Microsoft Office? In exchange for an autograph of course.

You, no. Your wife, yes.

 

[THE HCP]

I'm off to BestBuy. WIsh me luck and I know you guys know those computer geek guys, tell 'em I'm on my way!

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Toshiba or Acer or Asus in your price point.

I've had issues in the past few years with Dell, especially with motherboard and powersupplies...same with sonys. Lenovos are good but are more for biz shit.

Don't buy at frys..they suck balls. the actually put shit that was returned back onto the floor with a sticker on it.

there's a version of MS Office that's cheaper and has 3 licneses....try looking at costco I think its a little cheaper there. Or use open office or something. Publisher is kind of crappy. I used that for a while, now I just lay things out using powerpoint.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Toshiba or Acer or Asus in your price point.

I've had issues in the past few years with Dell, especially with motherboard and powersupplies...same with sonys. Lenovos are good but are more for biz shit.

Don't buy at frys..they suck balls. the actually put shit that was returned back onto the floor with a sticker on it.

there's a version of MS Office that's cheaper and has 3 licneses....try looking at costco I think its a little cheaper there. Or use open office or something. Publisher is kind of crappy. I used that for a while, now I just lay things out using powerpoint.

If you are a knowledgeable consumer Fry's is great. Yes they put returns back on the shelf but like you said with a sticker on it and after they test the item. Their extended service warranties are great. They fix it on site instead of shipping it out and if the item is too out of date they just give you a comparable new one.

Bestbuy is the one that will bend you over and f' you. Watch HCP buy his wife a netbook with the $50 Geek Squid "Optimization package".

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

If you are a knowledgeable consumer Fry's is great. Yes they put returns back on the shelf but like you said with a sticker on it and after they test the item. Their extended service warranties are great. They fix it on site instead of shipping it out and if the item is too out of date they just give you a comparable new one.

Bestbuy is the one that will bend you over and f' you. Watch HCP buy his wife a netbook with the $50 Geek Squid "Optimization package".

I'm a very knowledgeable consumer and would rather run naked in Antarctica before buying a computer from frys. The story is dreary, the employees are condescending assholes and/or lazy as fuck and the people who shop there are fucking losers. I live 10 minutes from Frys and go in there maybe once or twice a year, I fucking hate that store. It just seems like they're shady over there, its a warehouse of crappy, defective old shit.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

I'm a very knowledgeable consumer and would rather run naked in Antarctica before buying a computer from frys. The story is dreary, the employees are condescending assholes and/or lazy as fuck and the people who shop there are fucking losers. I live 10 minutes from Frys and go in there maybe once or twice a year, I fucking hate that store. It just seems like they're shady over there, its a warehouse of crappy, defective old shit.

Thanks for the insult.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

its what i do.

 

[Denny Crane]

Dell Studio 15 with the display upgrade (FULL HD) and 6G of RAM for about $1K.

Gotta buy it online from http://dell.com and wait for it to be shipped...

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

has Dell improved in recent years?

 

[Denny Crane]

has Dell improved in recent years?

I happen to think the studio 15 is an excellent value for the money. I am big on high resolution for my displays, and the 15 has a 15.6" 1920x1080 resolution screen.

The CPU is dual core with hyperthreading, so it acts like 4 cores (it's quick, too).

It gets a windows 7 rating of 4.9 due to the graphics (it's not a gaming machine), but the rest of the system rates at near 7.

 

[andalusian]

I've had issues in the past few years with Dell, especially with motherboard and powersupplies...same with sonys. Lenovos are good but are more for biz shit.

... and that's why I suggested getting a small-business model instead of a consumer version. We have had Vostros for all the employees here for quite some time - and they never fail...

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

our last order was about 10 inspirons a few years back, about 1/2 of them got the blinking amber power button of death. had dell support come in and replace the motherboard and the power supply, some of the fixed ones still did it and we gave up...had the extended (3 year?) warranties on them. also happened to a few optiplexes we had...was a pain in the ass to deal with them.

http://www.techimo.com/forum/technical-support/185730-dell-blinking-amber-light-no-boot.html

 

[andalusian]

Yeah, we had bad experience with Inspirions as well - that's why we tried HP (which was worse). The Vostros however - fantastic. You do not get all the bells and whistles for the price that you get with the consumer models - but they just work.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

we're all apple now, we actually have mac mini's running Windows XP for the computers that need to use PC-specific programs...we do have a Dell Server though.

For the apples we use idisk, which works out really well.

 

[THE HCP]

Got her a Toshiba L645D. 15inch.

 

[THE HCP]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba...Blue/1201235.p?id=1218232916142&skuId=1201235

 

[hasoos]

Your laptop doesn't still have warranty after 1.5 years of ownership?

If your electronics are mobile, get a long warranty on it. The chance of damage over a multi year period is very high. 3 years minimum.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Warranties are rarely worth it.

 

[44Thrilla]

I just bought a Gateway desktop. I didn't want to go with Gateway, but the specs were so much better than all the others at the same price. There's a big difference between choosing a desktop and choosing a laptop. If a laptop breaks, you're fucked. You want the best quality brand you can find.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

false.

laptops can break just by you dropping it. you moving it up and down damages the components every time, even putting it in your bag damages it.

buy the cheapest laptop you can that won't crash on you, will get you by and backup often. Unless its a "desktop replacement" then go buckwild.

 

[44Thrilla]

I've had 2 laptops ever. One about 8 years old, one about 4 years old. Both still work perfectly fine.

 

[Phatguysrule]

If you are a knowledgeable consumer Fry's is great. Yes they put returns back on the shelf but like you said with a sticker on it and after they test the item. Their extended service warranties are great. They fix it on site instead of shipping it out and if the item is too out of date they just give you a comparable new one.

Bestbuy is the one that will bend you over and f' you. Watch HCP buy his wife a netbook with the $50 Geek Squid "Optimization package".

I buy from Fry's all the time. The extended service warranties on laptops can not be beat. You can return anything, for any reason, within 15 days. This is one reason they re-package items to sell. Most of the returns are still new quality and function as such.

Worst case scenario, you get something that doesn't work, and exchange it for one that does. No hastle. I've been shopping there since they opened (15yrs?) and have only had to return 3 or 4 items.