Dude I Got a Fake Dell.. Computer Question

[jasonl]

The best pc's

Are the custom built ones. The Dells, Sonys, Gateways, HPs, whatever name brand all have some sort of proprietary components in there. Usually the power supply or mobo is not a standard size component, so if that unit goes out, U GOTTA call the manufacturer (good luck) and try to get them to send you a new part.

And forget laptops. They break within 2 years and if you don't have the extended warranty, c'est merde.

 

[exploder3211]

LoL... Mine has very few dell parts left. The power supply has been replaced with something better. But i do like the easy to use and modify case. My optiplex case started life at Duke Univeristy Hospital, it had Windows 2000 Pro originaly. Its far from that now, lol...

 

[westytoploader]

Jason, you mentioned laptops not being very reliable, which prompted me to ask, how is that Sager you bought last year holding up? Is that your main machine, or do you have an additional desktop to supplement it? Or were you simply referring to the 'mainstream-brand' laptops?

I couldn't see myself using a laptop as a daily driver, to be honest...I can't stand the 'form-over-function' mentality that seems to be the norm these days. The keyboard has to be my biggest gripe. For a while it seemed like the displays were much harder on the eyes (and more headache-inducing) than CRTs, but either they've improved or I've simply become adapted to flat-panels (LCD/TFTs). Probably the latter.

Austin

 

[whirlcool]

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad and it's the second Thinkpad I have owned. These things are built like tanks. After going thru two Dell laptops in a short period, I am happy these are well built. It's my connection to home and of course aw.org while I am on the road, so they get a lot of bumping and vibration.
At home I use a desktop I built myself with the best parts I could find. There is nothing like speed when designing web graphics!

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/notebooks/thinkpad?ca=6n5bg&me=e&re=ThinkPad&trac=gs4227&cid=US1A05487&s_kwcid=thinkpad|731093861

 

[rolls_rapide]

Packard Bell...

...is available from Currys/PC World in the UK. It now seems to be an 'own brand', exclusive to these stores.

 

[panthera]

XP is back see end of text

Thought I'd pass this along:
Dear CNET members,
Happy Friday everyone! This week's question from Franklin is probably what a lot folks are experiencing. You went out and bought a new PC with Windows Vista preloaded on it and came to quickly realize that some of your favorite programs and peripherals aren't compatible with the new operating system. And Franklin, I don't blame you one bit for being frustrated and wanting to revert to XP. But before you take on the task of going back to XP, there are a lot of members who suggest giving Vista a chance, to see if any of the software or hardware that you use have updates to them that will make them compatible with Vista. If that fails, talk to the PC manufacturer. Maybe the company will work something out with you by giving you an XP disc in place of Vista. Because ultimately, if you are going back to XP using your recovery disc from your old computer--either it won't work or it will cause you more of an headache attempting to do so. The bottom line is you will most likely have to fork out some dough to buy Windows XP outright again.

On a side note, Dell recently announced it will be bringing back XP on some home systems because of the number of complaints by consumers--so talk to your PC manufacturer, and maybe the company will be able to work with you.

 

[exploder3211]

Yeah for Dell! If i can get XP from Compaq for our laptop that would be wonderful... Hmm

 

[whirlcool]

I was in Frye's the other day and saw tons of Win XP product, all versions and flavors.

 

[westytoploader]

That is promising news; I do hope XP stays around for a while longer, at least until 99% of the bugs and hardware/driver conflicts in Vista are ironed out. A Toshiba Satellite laptop (Office Depot special) we bought this February came with Vista Home Basic, and I was largely unimpressed. Besides the fact that it tried to baby-step you through EACH procedure, with most of the additional software I attempted to install (such as the DSL drivers from 2003), I found that if it was designed for/ran on XP, chances are it was *not* compatible with Vista. Very frustrating.

In the back of my mind I have to wonder if Vista will become the next Windows ME; another short-lived Microsoft catastrophe. Still not as bad as the infamous Windows 95, though...I don't believe ANYTHING can surpass THAT.

 

[jasonl]

Austin

I didn't like the Sager so I returned it for an Asus z70va. It's a daily drive and it's been a great laptop, even for gaming. That was 1 year and a half ago so now the newer games (like Test Drive Unlimited and FSX) can really bring that ATI x700 to its knees. Asus has a G1 laptop with a GeForece 7700 card which does pretty well.

On the downside, Having a lappy is good but when you want to upgrade, uh oh! So my next machine will be a definitely be a desktop with at least a Core2duo, 2gigs ram, 500gig hd, GF 8800GTS. That will play the games nice on my 19" lcd tv (1440x900). And you can overclock a desktop.

 

[exploder3211]

Ughh. Windows 95 and ME.. Both Crap.. Now we can add Vista..