What Kind of Computer?
 

Hey, GC Peeps, what kind of computer do you all use?

I am in the market for a new computer. I had a Gateway laptop, but due to an unfortunate accident, it is no longer usable. I'm reading Consumer Reports but I'd like some real feedback.

Well I just bought a new Dell Dimension 8200 and I love it! :D
I previously had a Packard Bell (bought in '96) and that worked pretty well for the time I was in college but it was sooooo slow so I made the upgrade so I can now work from home.
My mom recently purchased a Gateway but it's already giving her problems and stuff. :(
I don't know too much about Compaq but they have great deals on them (along with deals on Dell). :D
Hope this helps. :cool:

I use a Compaq Presario at home. I have had it for a little over 2 years and it has been really good. I use a IBM think pad at work, and can you say HATE IT :eek: This thing has been nothing but trouble since I had it. Mind you I had major problems and I have only had it for 2 years come March. It really sucks, did I say that already...well it does.

Now I just bought my fiancee a Hewlett Packard laptop for Xmas and he absolutely loves it. No problems so far.

Hey:

I have a Gateway laptop as well (although it is kind of old). Not too many problems, expcept for a backlight problem which needs to be repaired.

For my home system, I purchased an Emachines system early last year. Usually sold at Best Buy, the system is pretty good. No major problems. When I bought it last year, it had Windows ME as the operating system. I upgraded to XP about 2 months ago w/ no problems. I got a 20GB, 56K modem, printer, monitor, 8x CDR/CDRW, and other stuff for just under $1,000.

I do have complaints about Lexmark printers... but that is another thread altogether!

Dont buy an IBM thinkpad
 

Well, as I'm typing right now on a Hewlett Packard. It's my family's PC and it's aiiiight, but it's hella slow. I guess nothing that a lil upgrade won't fix.
In school we were required to have IBM thinkpads and I'm with Kim on this one cause those lil machines really put you through some changes.
I'm planning on purchasing a desktop later on as well when I switch schools and I'm looking into an iMac or a compaq presario.

:) Sorry for the novel but here goes...

I work on computers to make my living and here is my take on the "big 4" (compaq, hp, dell, gateway.)

Compaq- depending on where you live, there may not be a compaq technician near you. If you have a major issue with your computer, it is possible that you would have to send it out to Compaq putting you out of commission while it's being repaired. Compaq tends to put the "cheap" components in their system which is good when the price of your computer is slightly lower than a comparing model from another manufacturer. The downside is, these components tend to have problems or their manufacturer's don't support them anymore (I am going through this myself with my own personal computer.) Customer support varies. Sometimes you'll get a person who knows what they are doing, sometimes you'll get somebody who doesn't speak english. I'd say the only thing I would buy from Compaq is the Ipaq PDA.

HP- Many of their machines are not upgradeable at all. For the sake of having a cute machine, HP will cut out extra drive bays and openings for ports on the back of their machines. This can be a problem if you plan to upgrade your machine in the future. Overall HP has good product unless you plan to upgrade your machine. HP also has an iffy customer support service. You call then talk to one person, who sends you to another person who's line is almost always busy. Then you play phone tag with that person for a week. :rolleyes: Ugh.

Dell- Pretty good machines. I personally have a Dell laptop and its great. The only major downfalls I see with it is that their driver releases are few and far between. Also, if you change operating systems (say you upgrade from Windows 2000 to Windows XP) they will not support any software issues that you have. Their customer support is nice. I had an adapter that needed to be replaced and they immediately sent a new one for me and pre-paid for me to send the old one back. :D

Gateway- I'm kind of so-so about these. The machines are pretty stable with very little problems. They also have great features like being upgradable and customer support is willing to send you replacement parts, but I think that is only at the business level. My brother in law has a Gateway designed for home use and he has had nothing but problems with it. Yet all my computers I work on (we mainly have Gateways here) very rarely have problems stemming from the machine itself. If you are looking for an excellent laptop, Gateway can't be beat.

***For all of these machines, please check out the selection of refurbished models. These machines have been rebuilt by the company and come at DEEEP discounts. Usually these are just customer returns since they didn't want the machine or found a better deal. Last year I got a $2500 laptop for $1270 from Dell. When I got it, the computer was great, you couldn't even tell it had been used.

P.S. I didn't even touch IBM because frankly all their stuff is proprietary (you want something new, it HAS to be IBM) and their major market is not PC's. They are all about business level servers.

Compaq-at home

I learned I'm gettin' a new IMAC in my classroom. I hope it arrives before the end of the school year. If so, I'll be online during the day ya'llllllll. :D
I'm not an MAC fan, but hey...it's free. :D

My Take...
 

Imac: Don't get an Imac...my friend has one and they SUCK!!! Enough said, okay (unless you are like 2D, who is getting hers for free--don't spend YOUR hard earned money on it).

Compaq: My Mom has one of these things and, like Techie_girl said, they have cheap parts, which maens that it IS inevitable that you will encounter problems with it (unless you are more blessed than the rest of us! ;)). My Mom has had hers for a few years and has had to have her friend (who is this computer wiz) fix our computer at home 3 times within less than 2 years!! Also, don't even TRY to call their Customer Service line expecting help with your problem, b/c they may or may not know how to help you. :mad:

Dell: I have a friend that has a Dell (and has had it four a couple of years) and he has NEVER experienced problems with it...

HP: My Mom had one of these at her old job and HATED IT with a passion! She says they only make good printers...:confused:

Gateway: Is what I am typing on right now. It's a good computer, except that I think this particular one needs to be upgraded...But I NEVER have any major problems with it. Yay!! :D

My votes go to: Gateway and Dell...Let us know what you decide to buy!

i have a compaq at home and had one at work. for the 2+ years i've used them, the only consistent problem has been freezing. happens about 1x/week (maybe that's normal). i can't comment on their customer service because i've never had a reason to call them. compared to my first computer, i'm in love w/compaq.

Thank you
 

Thanks Sugar_N_Spice and Techie_girl! I'll check into dell!:cool:

Re: Thank you
 

Good choice!! :D

And Stillwater15, it's not normal for your computer to freeze up on you....especially that often (1 time per week). Maybe you should try adding some memory to it or get a zip drive so you can free up memory on your hard drive.
:)

3 Quick Questions:

1. How fast is your computer?

2. How often do you run your PC health programs (Scan Disk, Defrag Drive)?

3. What kind of OS are you using? (Windows 98, 2k, ME, XP, etc...)

If your computer is inherently slow and you run programs with the minimum amount of recommended resources you can have problems. Also, running programs at once can be a problem.

If you have a small amount of memory and drive space on your computer, the comp. can be prone to problems. Running Scandisk or Disk Defrag more often then usual can help.

I am using an HP Pavillion 7940 with Windows ME (Avoid this OS at all costs people!!!)-- I get frequent lock ups because ME's major flaw is the fact that it eats memory and refuses to free up resources after you quit a program. I recently upgraded to 512MB of memory and run the above PC Health programs often. It has drastically reduced my lock-ups and errors.


Question for the Thread:

I want to upgrade my PIII 1GHz to at least a P4 2GHz, does anyone know where I can go? Any cost.

New as in "discontinued verison but never used" or new as in "the new model??" I like IMACs for kids, but I could never get into it.

Pricewatch normally gives me the best prices on computer components.

Reseller Ratings has feedback about different vendors so you know which companies are on the up and up and which companies are sheisty.

I guess I'm the only one who is in love with the Sony Vaio. The're really efficient machines.