MY COMPUTER TOOK A DUMP!! SUGGESTIONS FOR A NEW ONE? (BUDGET FRIENDLY!!!)

[skip68]

So the other night I get home from work and find out that my computer froze up. (BLUE SCREEN-ITIS!!!)  Tried to fix it in safe mode, .........nothing!  Called Dell, and after being hung up on fourtimes and going through all their bullsh*t voice prompts, I get a live person. After an hour and a half of being instructed to unplug everything, open the cover, take out a green board, putting it back in, I said screw it!!!!! They told me that they could reset it for me, but I'd lose all my data and photos!!! So we took it to a local guy in town last night. He did some magic to it and the C.P.U. had a sleepover at the shop. Go to pick it up today, (They said it would be ready by 10am)......."HARD DRIVE IS SHOT!!!"  Needless to say, I'm ticked off!!!

I stole our sons old tower to use temp. but need info on what we should look at for a replacement. I need lots of memory for our photos, and the faster the better. Needs to be small budget friendly, for right now. Any suggestions??

Mrs.Skip68

P.S. Thanks for letting me rant! 

[BigRed66]

My wife just bought a Dell laptop for around $600 that kicks ass! Tons of memory, DVD drive/burner...A lot of people don't like Dell, but they have a lot of good systems for good prices...something for everyone...I'd hit a Dell store...

[Arthu®]

Uhm so what exactly was the problem? Was it only a harddrive problem? And why did the CPU have a sleepover? There are a ton of experts out there that can recover a lot of data from failed hard drives at a certain price. If it was just a hard drive problem I would not give up on the PC just yet. How old is it and were you thinking about replacing it any time soon anyways?

Arthur

[skip68]

Uhm so what exactly was the problem? Was it only a harddrive problem? And why did the CPU have a sleepover? There are a ton of experts out there that can recover a lot of data from failed hard drives at a certain price. If it was just a hard drive problem I would not give up on the PC just yet. How old is it and were you thinking about replacing it any time soon anyways?

Arthur

It was the hard drive. They said they could still get my data out for me, but I need another comp. to transfer it to. As far as it staying overnight,.......Chuck dropped it off after he took me to work at 4pm. I guess they must close at 5pm. They said they were going to plug it in overnight and runs some tests. They did tell Chuck that they could replace the hard drive for $100.00 and the labor would be another $75.00. Now were talking dropping two hundred bucks on a 6 year old computer. Rather put the money towards a newer one. (We weren't planning on this right now, as we just bought a house!  ) It also doesn't have a burner in it!

Gotta get ready to go to work! Chuck will be monitoring the suggestions!! Thanks in advance!

Mrs.Skip68

[mikepmcs]

best buy, 18 months interest free. I'd stick with dell myself. They have all kinds that will meet your needs.  Dell has a real nice desktop with all kinds of options under $600.

[Forza]

I personally will not recommend dell to anyone. Dell only gets the business they do because of their prices and well established name. Their customer service is bullshit and the parts they use in their systems are of the cheapest quality. Go to bestbuy and browse, I'd offer a suggestion but I usually build my own.

[472 R/T SE]

For every person who dislikes Dell there's usually two or three who feel the same about Gateway.

But we'll own nothing but the Holstein cow.

Might I suggest whoever you buy from that you also purchase an external hard drive for all the pix you say you have.  Long, long time ago my first puter, a Compaq, died a month past warranty & I learned my lesson then.  External HD will help keep the puter running on the fast end too if you keep all the pix & video there.

I don't know how many pix I have on mine but I didn't start noticing space being used up until I put my daughter's 60-70 or so videos on it.

[Mike DC]

                    
Remember to dispose of any old computer hardware in an appropriate & environmentally friendly fashion.  





 

[71ChallengeHer]

I agree with the external hard drive. We have one for all our photos.

[mopar_nut_440_6]

I would recommend Dell as I have been in IT for a number of years and have no complaints. I have always had good service, prices and minimal warranty problems and we have thousands of them in our facilities. I also have built my own water cooled overclocked PC's but for a stock unit Dell is great. Just my two cents.

I also highly recommend an external hard drive for your pics.

[Khyron]

I would recommend Dell as I have been in IT for a number of years and have no complaints. I have always had good service, prices and minimal warranty problems and we have thousands of them in our facilities. I also have built my own water cooled overclocked PC's but for a stock unit Dell is great. Just my two cents.

I also highly recommend an external hard drive for your pics.

what he said :-)

My Desktop PCs are all custom built, all my laptops are Dell.

[FLG]

Yep Dells are fine IMO.

BTW, about the water cooling bit...i went WAY overboard a few years go with my water cooled PC

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v231/-FLG-/

Granted the hardware is much outdated now and its kind of in pieces, im sure ill rebuild it one day. Was a great experiment!! Even painted the exterior electric blue BC/CC I eventually ditched the radiator fan and went passive.

[bakerhillpins]

I agree with the external hard drive. We have one for all our photos.

External drives fail too. If you are trying to save photos/music/etc go for a NAS solution. They are reasonably inexpensive, are networked, and can be setup to be redundant. I picked up a ReadyNAS Duo and 500GB of storage (RAID configured) for $300.  That was like 5 months ago. I bet you could get closer to 1TB for that $$ if you looked for stuff on sale.. Buy the diskless version and add your own disks to save $$.

They make big ones and small ones. The key is RAID which gives you hardware failure protection. The ReadyNAS is hot swappable and has all sorts of cool features like timed up and down, supports lots of streams...

I picked up my NAS from www.newegg.com

Oh, Im not a Dell fan either.

Bryan

[The70RT]

When I called about my Dell they didn't do shit for me( some idiot from Indonesia) he said my HD was shot (3 years ago) I took it to a buddy of mine and boom he got it up again. I have two computer repair buddys that do all my work for virtually nothing. If you don't need desk top you can get a Acer laptop for like 300 at wally world. I will never by a PC new again. I can get a 2-3 year old IBM from my work (school) when they upgrade for only 25 bucks! PC, monitor, K.B.

[Troy]

I use multiple hard drives: the OS and programs are installed on one, one is for all data (pictures, video, music, projects, and program data), and one to back up the second. I have no need for Raid as a straight (regularly scheduled) differential backup works well. I also use another computer or an off site storage system to back up the data drives daily. For a "normal" user, an online sync/backup like Mozy or Carbonite is cheap insurance. Sure you're computer can die but you don't lose all your important stuff. Reloading an OS and some software is easy.

I like Dell but everything I buy is business related - not home. My parents have 2 Dell PCs and have had 5 total with no problems - and they're totally non-technical.

Troy

[LeadfootBob]

Watch out for heat issues with the external drives.
They just don't get the air circulation that an interal disk does, and the internal ones are cheaper. If the computer dies, it's about five minutes of work with nothing but a screw driver to remove one.
I've got two external 500 GB's, one is starting to conk out (clicking and whirring, slow to access etc.) so I took that as an excuse to add another TB disk and move all the junk onto that
Now I've got 2.7TB's on four separate volumes, I keep a backup of the vital stuff on each drive JIC. The car chase movie folder just HAS to live!

[ChgrSteve67]

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11495739&whse=BC&Ne=5000000%204000000&eCat=BC|84|56670&N=4017745%205000107&Mo=24&No=5&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|0||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

Even has normal 10 key keyboard.

Then to save or backup your files you can get one of these
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11315964&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|84|31022|4298&N=4017767&Mo=10&pos=4&No=6&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=4298&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC10626-Cat31022&topnav=

[ChgrSteve67]

I do 98% of my work on a notebook and I use one of these for data storage, remote services, web services, ftp and backups.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11498069&search=home%20server&Mo=13&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=home%20server&Ntt=home%20server&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

[TruckDriver]

I'd stay away from Dell personally. I know a few people that bought them new, and have nothing but major problems with them. I even had a P.C. chain here in the state tell me they used to be the best, but all they are now are the best pile if junk you can buy. I never had problems with HP at all.

[472 R/T SE]

Then to save or backup your files you can get one of these
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11315964&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|84|31022|4298&N=4017767&Mo=10&pos=4&No=6&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=4298&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC10626-Cat31022&topnav=

What's the difference compared to this one?  This one's Hard Disk Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM

Costco one is 5400 RPM

[ChgrSteve67]

Since the hard drive in the notebook is also a 5400 rpm drive the external 7200 rpm drive will not give you any performance increase. Of course there is the whole USB bottle neck issue that reduces the performance of the external drive as well.

If you are going to buy a notebook at Costco then buy the portable drive at Costco.
If you are just after a portable drive and are looking for a cheaper price then the one on eBay may be a good choice.

I trust Costco to resolve any problems I may have since most electronic failures due to manufacture defects happen in the first 60 days. eBay sellers are always a hassle when problems occur.

There are other stores that carry similar products so the two I provided can be used as a reference and price point comparison.

Buying computers are like buying cars. They are all equipped a little differently and you have to choose the one that has the features you want.

I guess I should have asked if Mrs.Skip68 prefers a desktop PC over a notebook.  I may be totally off in what she is after.

[472 R/T SE]

I ask cause every once in a while opening a file drags out forever.  Just started though.  It's close to 10 years old so I guess it's to be expected.

[jeryst]

Just go to Walmart and buy whatever they have on sale. THe same companies make the components for all of the computers, Dell, Gateway, Acer, etc. An Acer or an eMachines will run just as good and be just as reliable as any other. Been in IT for 25 years, so I know what I'm talking about. You can pick up a system at Walmart for $300-$400 with a good processor, 17"-19"  LCD monitor, 320GB hard drive, etc. Dont spend your money on the brand names, they're pretty much all the same inside. You can get a nice Acer laptop for around $400 if you are thinking laptop.

Here's a case in point. When my daughter went off to college two years ago, she bought an HP laptop($1200). At the same time, I bought an Acer laptop ($350). Hers had to be fixed twice, and finally just died about a week ago, now that its out of warranty. They told her it will cost $500 to fix.. My Acer is still running like a top, and I use it a lot more than she used hers. Tried to tell her, but she just wouldnt listen. Kids!

The moral of the story is, buy it cheap, use it for a couple of years, then replace it with newer technology. Most PC's are obsolete as soon as you buy them. THe more you spend for it, the longer you will want to keep it running, thereby depriving yourself of better, cheaper, technology.

[Khyron]

wow, if your in IT for 25 years don't ever come to my shop for a job.

[FLG]

I agree and disagree with jeryst post granted some of the lesser name brand PC's are quite good. Alot of people hear "Dell" or "Gateway", "Toshiba" and they "know" those brands. But unless your in the field of technology people look at "Acer", and "Asus" are are think "Oh i never have heard of them so they must not be good".

Honestly for ALL my computer builds i only use quality components, and that means EVERY build i do is with an Asus motherboard. As for Acer i dont use them regularly, but i have used plenty of Acer monitors and have had great luck (no dead/stuck pixels, and pretty good resolution)

But the one thing i dont agree with is eMachines....what bags of crap. Great for a cheap computer that you just "need" but i would NEVER point a customer near one. Cheap components!!! Especially the power supplies. And im sorry but all PC's are NOT the same inside...yes same components but heck no not the same quality.

They skimp on basically everything, as for MOBO's ECS, Biostar, or Foxccon garbage, and no name PSU's, Hitachi deskstar (or shall i say "deathstar") HDD's and crappy DVD drives.

I always tell my customers, if you want CHEAP go to the store and buy one. I refuse to build PC's with inferior components. Mainly all my builds consist of Fortron Source PSU's, ASUS mobo's, and im a little bias towards seagate HDD's, though i will go with Maxtor, or Western Digital if their on sale, any good quality DVD drive that's on sale, and a quality monitor.

Ive been registered to www.pcmech.com/forum since 2003 (im 21 now so yes ive been doing this since im 15 years old) i havent visited in a LONG time since i finally got my mopar and really have a very good grasp on PC's.  I started working on PC's by grabbing whatever i found in the trash, then being able to mess around with things without having to worry about breaking stuff.