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Post by flyinkiwi on Nov 4, 2013 10:46:57 GMT 12
As an IT professional, here is the spiel I give to my clients (which for the most part have average to poor technology skills) when they wish to buy a computer: - Have a clearly defined budget and stick to it
- Ensure that what you are buying will do what you want it to do. Think of a list of 5 MUST DO's before you even look online or step into a store. It will assist the sales people in helping match a machine to your budget and needs
- Buy from a store which specializes in computers. Generally speaking they are able to provide after sales support. Department stores don't do this so avoid them like the plague.
- Carefully consider your warranty. You are normally guaranteed 12 months via the Sales of Goods Act, but sometimes these trumped up warranty extensions stores will try to sell you are not worth the paper they are printed on, let alone your hard earned cash. Read them and understand the service you are buying.
A word about SSDs. All the above advice is true, but be mindful that SSDs have a finite life i.e. they can only be written to a fixed number of times and when (not if) they fail, unless you have a backup all your precious files will be GONE FOREVER! Forensic recovery from SSDs is a dark art that costs lots (and I mean LOTS) of money. Happy hunting and good luck! |
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Post by phil82 on Nov 4, 2013 15:56:01 GMT 12
My ACER desktop of indeterminate age packed a sad a few weeks ago, and was irrepairable [cooked] and my computer guru [everyone should have one!]advised a Toshiba Satellite ultrabook as the most reliable. I have found it brilliant, silent, and efficient,though I had to buy a "Windows8 for idiots".It's very fast too!
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Post by suthg on Nov 4, 2013 19:39:41 GMT 12
Carefully consider your warranty. You are normally guaranteed 12 months via the Sales of Goods Act, but sometimes these trumped up warranty extensions stores will try to sell you are not worth the paper they are printed on, let alone your hard earned cash. Read them and understand the service you are buying. I purchased daughter an HP laptop from Noel Leemings. Obtained the 2 year extension to make it a three year warranty. After 2.2 years, the M/B started locking the 5v down - the HDD made a nudge and then stopped. No progress whatsoever. NL handed it to HP, returned it a month or so later with a new MB, faster cpu and it accepted faster RAM which I upgraded and doubled, oh that was after they repaired the charging socket connection on the corner of the MB an earlier time. Never paid an extra bean. Their warranty was worth everything I paid for. It was only 15% of the full price, and we got another new computer out of it for an extra life. |
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Post by beagle on Nov 5, 2013 18:55:42 GMT 12
man this windows 8 is a weird thing
yes playing on new laptop
got a new smartphone mini for tethering plus keep mrs happy
got a bag thrown in for 1/2 price as well as 2mr hmdi cable to connect to tv
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Post by suthg on Nov 5, 2013 18:57:51 GMT 12
I nearly suggested asking for W7 instead... then it would be easier to relate to.
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Post by baz62 on Nov 5, 2013 19:09:33 GMT 12
man this windows 8 is a weird thing yes playing on new laptop got a new smartphone mini for tethering plus keep mrs happy got a bag thrown in for 1/2 price as well as 2mr hmdi cable to connect to tv Teresa doesn't swear much but when she does its usually because she's using Windows 8! Not sure if your new computer has it or not but Windows 8.1 is supposed to be better. |
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Post by beagle on Nov 5, 2013 20:21:53 GMT 12
yeah, there's an update here somewhere for it
not sure where to look as yet but will figure it out soon enough.
just cleaning up scratches from trying to get the cat inside
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Post by baz62 on Nov 6, 2013 11:49:32 GMT 12
just cleaning up scratches from trying to get the cat inside No means no Beagle!  |
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