How often do you buy a new computer/laptop?
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My "norm" is to buy top specs which last "effectively" 4/5 years OR something breaks OR a component upgrade requires a system wide change. My main system runs a version of Bill's product that will go without mention ONLY because the OS could not support the newest Adobe Suite and the nVidia GeForce GTX 680 4GB FTW when purchased 2 years ago. Wanted to do a kernel modification but that was a no go, so new setup it was. Actually my first Intel box in several years (i7-3770k). Water-cooled, silent case, RAID drives all around, SSD OS, etc.
Almost never buy PC system as they always rip the customer off somehow. Guess too many years going to the Robert Austin Computer show and other tech shows spoiled me. Last laptop was actually a notebook and just went with the best model the phone company (Acer) had as the industry conspired together and essentially forced me out of my unlimited data CARD. All laptops blow eventually. It's like their speed leaks out.
Really considering some type of tablet, which makes for far greater convenience (hanging out, travel etc) but not impressed with the offerings or functionality available. Just do not want to jump to the Apple Orchard but all x86 allies keep churning out crap or becoming Borg / Droid. If you do buy though, Best Buy has a great warranty where essentially lightening could strike and you're covered. It's not the protection plan they usually offer.
Almost never buy PC system as they always rip the customer off somehow. Guess too many years going to the Robert Austin Computer show and other tech shows spoiled me. Last laptop was actually a notebook and just went with the best model the phone company (Acer) had as the industry conspired together and essentially forced me out of my unlimited data CARD. All laptops blow eventually. It's like their speed leaks out.
Really considering some type of tablet, which makes for far greater convenience (hanging out, travel etc) but not impressed with the offerings or functionality available. Just do not want to jump to the Apple Orchard but all x86 allies keep churning out crap or becoming Borg / Droid. If you do buy though, Best Buy has a great warranty where essentially lightening could strike and you're covered. It's not the protection plan they usually offer.
toshiba is a fucking piece of garbage, i don't give a fuck what tom's hardware says. i like scratch n dents and refurbs, good deals on various brands but never fucking ever toshiba. latest is a core i7 lenovo 15" 1tb for $329. use for a year or two, rinse and repeat.
Macbook Pro running strong for years now (even with alot of semen oozed onto the screen).
PC laptops tend to last about 3 year before gayin' out.
Seems like everyone is hopping on the tablet bandwagon (i have an iPad mini), but I'm not sold on them yet. Weak processors and not able to run programs like photoshop. Maybe one day in the future.
PC laptops tend to last about 3 year before gayin' out.
Seems like everyone is hopping on the tablet bandwagon (i have an iPad mini), but I'm not sold on them yet. Weak processors and not able to run programs like photoshop. Maybe one day in the future.
I'll normally upgrade 1 or more components once a year. Laptops I rarely
upgrade, I buy what I need used, but laptops don't really get used by me.
upgrade, I buy what I need used, but laptops don't really get used by me.
Try having a look for the service manual online, there's a good chance that you'll be able to do it yourself in an hour (CMOS batteries are standard, and not hard to replace, provided they give you access to it)
LOL toshiba satelite. I don't know how they're doing now but back when I worked at bestbuy 5 years ago they had the highest defect rate cause of their retarded fan design: the fan vent was UNDERNEATH the laptop. You place laptop on a table and the airflow is cut off. genius design of peace.
Lenovo if you're a pcfag or macbook if you're an applefag.
Lenovo from 2007-2011, stopped using due to physical neglect. Shattered screen and fucked up power supply. Still booted up and all.
Macbook air from 2011 till present and still running like a beast. Except when I want to watch flash movies, then it runs like a pussy.
Lenovo if you're a pcfag or macbook if you're an applefag.
Lenovo from 2007-2011, stopped using due to physical neglect. Shattered screen and fucked up power supply. Still booted up and all.
Macbook air from 2011 till present and still running like a beast. Except when I want to watch flash movies, then it runs like a pussy.
CCarter, ok here's the deal: when my parents bought a computer back in the early 90ies, they didn't go for the "cream of the crop". They couldn't afford it. They would go for the one "on sale" at the store, and it would still last 6+ years! (with no upgrades, daily usage, gaming, etc...)
So why is it that today you have to go for a high-end $3k gaming laptop if you want it to last more than 2 years? Plus why the fuck do I have to buy a high-end gaming laptop with a gazilliong GB graphic card if all I do is gay webmastering? Why can't I get more than 2 years out of a standard laptop? I don't consider Toshiba Satellite cheap. To me, cheap is those bargain $299 Gateway computers.
So why is it that today you have to go for a high-end $3k gaming laptop if you want it to last more than 2 years? Plus why the fuck do I have to buy a high-end gaming laptop with a gazilliong GB graphic card if all I do is gay webmastering? Why can't I get more than 2 years out of a standard laptop? I don't consider Toshiba Satellite cheap. To me, cheap is those bargain $299 Gateway computers.
Apple guys and PC guys don't agree on the definition of cheap I think. That's where the arguing comes from.
I've got 5 years plus out of all my laptops. You can't beat ebay, you can get a very good deal on a well built laptop with good enough specs from the people who think they absolutely must get the latest i7 and 16GB RAM to check their emails (because they've gone and filled up their old laptop with adware, and surprise surprise, it's running slow)
tldr; Toshiba and Dells are for the masses which are un-educated in quality. Computer geeks shouldn't be using those same standards to buy their own computers.
Long Format: Well since parts are cheaper and cheaper to make, companies use them to increase profits. Then when they come to compete with the next guy, they have to slash prices even more.
But lets say there is a scenario where a guy is making a quality laptop for $800. Sturdy stuff, almost MacBook Pro level hardware - high quality. This guy goes to the market and sells his stuff, but the competition is selling their stuff for $100 less. But their shit is completely bullshit. If our seller wants to compete on pricing, then he's going to have to reduce the quality of his hardware and get into the cheap versus cheap competition. OR he can improve his marketing and explain the quality of his product - which is VERY difficult to convey to end users if they can't see or truly understand the reasoning for the higher quality hard-drives for example. The seller is going to have to stand his ground and market his stuff better than the rest, and will have to settle for lesser sales - that's what happens when you are selling higher quality products in a market that's generally geared towards low quality products. Maybe overtime our seller can gain notoriety like Apple's brand for quality, but that has to be built and marketed to - customer service also comes into play. It's up to the seller, but when you've got shareholders breathing down your neck for more profits, eventually you are going to join the race to the bottom for pricing.
So in the consumer's mind, their only way of determining the laptop's value is by pricing. But they see the same Windoze 7 operating system on machines going for $299, $700, and our guy's $800 - it's confusing to them and they'd rather just not deal with it. Since they weren't clearly marketed to the reason for the higher quality, they are going to make a snap judgement and get the $299 or $700 laptop. That's what the masses do, 90% of them don't understand what it takes for a high quality laptop. Me and you and the rest of the forum have bought dozens of computers in our lifetime and use them on a daily basis, so we can tell higher quality stuff versus cheap.
The vast consumers can't, so it only benefits the Toshiba and dells of the world to market to their vast masses versus the people like us that would be into Alienware or higher end Apple computers - or for the majority will just build their own from scratch. There is really no middle ground for the computer guys cause most would rather just build it. So when you go to the market place, you should expect to be marketed too like a non-educated consumer. Using a top 10 reviews list from some website, i mean let's be serious that's not really a indicator of what's quality from a computer guy's standpoint, that's made for the vast un-educated consumer.
If there is a model of the computer 'Toshiba Satellite' in this case that's $299 and one that's $700, I mean, common sense should tell you there is something wrong with that model if the price range is that big. I always look at the low end model of a product to get an understanding of what the bare minimum the company is willing to put out, and that's an indicator of the corners they are willing to cut. So I can assume the higher end models have a 'little' better hardware and higher margins.
But lets say there is a scenario where a guy is making a quality laptop for $800. Sturdy stuff, almost MacBook Pro level hardware - high quality. This guy goes to the market and sells his stuff, but the competition is selling their stuff for $100 less. But their shit is completely bullshit. If our seller wants to compete on pricing, then he's going to have to reduce the quality of his hardware and get into the cheap versus cheap competition. OR he can improve his marketing and explain the quality of his product - which is VERY difficult to convey to end users if they can't see or truly understand the reasoning for the higher quality hard-drives for example. The seller is going to have to stand his ground and market his stuff better than the rest, and will have to settle for lesser sales - that's what happens when you are selling higher quality products in a market that's generally geared towards low quality products. Maybe overtime our seller can gain notoriety like Apple's brand for quality, but that has to be built and marketed to - customer service also comes into play. It's up to the seller, but when you've got shareholders breathing down your neck for more profits, eventually you are going to join the race to the bottom for pricing.
So in the consumer's mind, their only way of determining the laptop's value is by pricing. But they see the same Windoze 7 operating system on machines going for $299, $700, and our guy's $800 - it's confusing to them and they'd rather just not deal with it. Since they weren't clearly marketed to the reason for the higher quality, they are going to make a snap judgement and get the $299 or $700 laptop. That's what the masses do, 90% of them don't understand what it takes for a high quality laptop. Me and you and the rest of the forum have bought dozens of computers in our lifetime and use them on a daily basis, so we can tell higher quality stuff versus cheap.
The vast consumers can't, so it only benefits the Toshiba and dells of the world to market to their vast masses versus the people like us that would be into Alienware or higher end Apple computers - or for the majority will just build their own from scratch. There is really no middle ground for the computer guys cause most would rather just build it. So when you go to the market place, you should expect to be marketed too like a non-educated consumer. Using a top 10 reviews list from some website, i mean let's be serious that's not really a indicator of what's quality from a computer guy's standpoint, that's made for the vast un-educated consumer.
If there is a model of the computer 'Toshiba Satellite' in this case that's $299 and one that's $700, I mean, common sense should tell you there is something wrong with that model if the price range is that big. I always look at the low end model of a product to get an understanding of what the bare minimum the company is willing to put out, and that's an indicator of the corners they are willing to cut. So I can assume the higher end models have a 'little' better hardware and higher margins.
Well, let's not make wide generalization about Apple versus PC. A vast majority of Apple fanboys used to be PC guys but switched out of frustration. If I were to buy a PC I'd go for something in the 1K+ range, probably Alienware or something that's not really geared towards the masses. I'm an Apple guy after years of hating them until they went full Unix. I get my perl/python/mysql database and *unix integrated from the on set. Got me a complete unix environment, and love the higher quality material. Maybe I'm paying a little more, but I have no desire to build me a desktop or laptop from scratch, I'm not THAT much into computers.
I'll pay more if I can get a good 5 or 6 years from a laptop and for the most part have piece of mind that if there is a problem I can take it back to one company that fixes it, and they have a real store front available where I can walk in and get repairs. I'll pay a little more for higher quality and better repairs and customer support, fuck it's a computer I'm working on for 16+ hours, why not. Call me a fanboy, but my computer works, that's all that matters, I spend more on Starbucks in a year than my total for my computer, so let's be serious, why cut corners on that.
If you are a PC guy, why not spend more on a good high end laptop in the 1k+ range? I mean after all you are on that thing for hours at a time - way more than normal people are and need it a lot more for work. You probably spend more on bullshit Starbucks than the laptop you work on everyday to make a living, doesn't really make sense if you think about it. 8+ hours a day, I'm going to go for quality.
P.S. I actually don't know if Alienware is still the quality it used to be before Dell bought them.
I'll pay more if I can get a good 5 or 6 years from a laptop and for the most part have piece of mind that if there is a problem I can take it back to one company that fixes it, and they have a real store front available where I can walk in and get repairs. I'll pay a little more for higher quality and better repairs and customer support, fuck it's a computer I'm working on for 16+ hours, why not. Call me a fanboy, but my computer works, that's all that matters, I spend more on Starbucks in a year than my total for my computer, so let's be serious, why cut corners on that.
If you are a PC guy, why not spend more on a good high end laptop in the 1k+ range? I mean after all you are on that thing for hours at a time - way more than normal people are and need it a lot more for work. You probably spend more on bullshit Starbucks than the laptop you work on everyday to make a living, doesn't really make sense if you think about it. 8+ hours a day, I'm going to go for quality.
P.S. I actually don't know if Alienware is still the quality it used to be before Dell bought them.
I already pointed out in my post that this isn't true. My desktop is still rocking it out on a 2006 era motherboard.
Also laptops are terrible for gaming. With a gaming laptop, you're paying significantly more for worse performance than you would for a desktop. Stop making bad decisions.
Unless you have a nomadic lifestyle (some WF guys do) or do a lot of travel, there's no reason to have a gaming laptop. Your phone or ipad should be enough.
@CCarter, listen man, you won't sell me the idea that I need a gaming laptop like an Alienware if 90% of my job is done within Google Chrome. If that's what the industry has come down to, it's sad.
I started this thread to see if I was the only one having to replace my laptop every 2 years, and it turns out I'm not. Also most people seem to agree that computers today aren't built as sturdy as they used to be. Everyone wants to make a profit and compete with cheap labour, that's fine... I accept the rules of the game and I'll keep buying a new laptop every 2 years. All my data is in the cloud anyways.
I'm happy that MacBooks are just as great as they always were, but I'm just not a MAC guy and will never be. End of story.
@BCG you argue with CCarter, he's the one that brought that up, not me.
I started this thread to see if I was the only one having to replace my laptop every 2 years, and it turns out I'm not. Also most people seem to agree that computers today aren't built as sturdy as they used to be. Everyone wants to make a profit and compete with cheap labour, that's fine... I accept the rules of the game and I'll keep buying a new laptop every 2 years. All my data is in the cloud anyways.
I'm happy that MacBooks are just as great as they always were, but I'm just not a MAC guy and will never be. End of story.
@BCG you argue with CCarter, he's the one that brought that up, not me.
Do you really need a laptop? Why not use a desktop if you want something that lasts long?