Drat

[liralen]

My HP slimline has died for a fourth time. And we're pretty much resigned to just recycling it. Taking our the hard disk and a few things we can easily use, but we're pretty much giving up on the rest of it.

I want to get a desktop I can count on, as it's really been messing with my writing this summer to have to keep swapping machines over and over again. If anyone has recommendations, I'd love to hear 'em. I have no need for speed, as I'm not intending on coding with it, at all. I just really want reliability.

Comments

[mysocalledhell.livejournal.com]

poor kid ... that sucks ... but at least you'll get an external harddrive out of it.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Yeah, that's a hundred there, easy.

It'll be something. And I'm just... tired of having to deal with it as often as we have been.

So, yeah, I'm not really online tonight. Sorry about that...

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Why not buy a laptop and dock it, if you don't care about speed?

...perhaps you could buy a Mac Book Pro. They have an apparently well-deserved reputation for reliability & are said to run Vista very well.

[archangelbeth]

I'm on a Macbook Air. My god i love this thing!!!!!!!!!11!!!111eleventyone. I can carry it around in its little slipcase, I can take it to restaurants to edit stuff. I can drag it next to the bed to me. I loooooove this thing.

I'm typing on it right now. O:>

I have always had good luck with Mac reliability, personally, though I know other people for whom Macs just curl up and diiiiieeee.

I and my spouse can also help troubleshoot Mac issues.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

That's useful to know. I keep getting more folks recommending Macs than anything else.

And the Macbook Air looks really amazing. whew... *grins*

[archangelbeth]

If you have a chance to see one in an Apple Store? I would suggest doing so. And not just because the Apple Mind Control Lasers tell me to. O;>

[liralen.livejournal.com]

I shall do so the next time I'm in. *grins* I love Apple Stores.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Mostly because of cost versus what performance I can get.

Plus, I have a good, solid, old laptop already, and it's just too uesful for John or I to just take it out when we need mobile computing to have it be my home machine that is just there whenever I sit down to do stuff.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

But "performance" in the usual sense isn't your issue is it? Reliability is. Problem is, there doesn't seem to be much reason to choose among the major computer manufacturers on reliability: there's Apple, and there's everyone else. (Source: Consumer Reports Annual Product Reliability Survey. You can probably read it online via your library.) On the consumer side, Apple's the only company with reasons to attend to reliability--everyone else is selling on price and "features." But you are right, laptops are expensive, and expensive to maintain. Hmmmm...gamers customize systems, and some of them make pretty good ones: you might try a local gaming computer shop, if you've got one. Leave out the high-end video card & you could probably do OK on price.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

*laughs* But a minimal laptop is in the $500 and $600 range. Dell's minimal desktop is $250 with the same or even faster processor and memory, and it takes twice that to get a mac mini. *thoughtfuls* I suspect that I'm going from "inexpensive" to just plain CHEAP.

If I wanted to build my own, I'd probably hit Frye's and have a field day. *laughs* A gaming computer is already too high-end for putting text into a window.

[cmc42.livejournal.com]

A dell desktop? *shudders* If you want something that may be DOA or at best work temporementally, then sure. But I know none of the dell desktops at my senior school ever worked properly, there's 3 members of my extended family and friends who hate their dell desktops, and my best friend's Dad loathes them because of all the problems their dell work computers cause them.

I know plenty of people who are happy with Dell's netbooks, but anything else? Nope. Ugh.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Mmmm... yeah. Our workplace had a lot of problems with their Dells, so it's good to know what you've experienced with them, too.

[hidden-gems.livejournal.com]

We're Mac nerds in this house so I cannot recommend them enough.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

*grins* I am getting lots of Mac recommendations, but the two remaining machines are both Vista, and mixing isn't that easy.

Though, I do see that the Mac mini can run Vista, too. *laughs*

[hidden-gems.livejournal.com]

Well the thing is that you can partition Mac computers and install Windows on them. I've done that on my MacBook because I need a piece of translation software that only runs on Windows.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

That makes a lot of sense!

And the Mac Mini is based on a PC-style processor anyway, so it should be painless.

[tryptophan.livejournal.com]

I've been very happy with my Acer from Costco. I bought it 6 years ago and have never had a lick of trouble from it *knocks on wood* I had an AMD chipset too - I don't know if it's just me but I've never had the best luck with the others.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

THAT is very useful indeed, to know.

I really appreciate that.

[cmc42.livejournal.com]

I've not had one myself but have heard from others that Acer's desktops are far more reliable than their laptops. (And well, you know my experience with their laptops lol).


*Tempted to echo the mac thoughts* ^^;;

If you definitely want a desktop not a laptop used as a desktop replacement then I don't have much advice to give as everyone I know on my course just says 'build one yourself'. lol.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

*grins* Indeed. I know your experience with their laptops.

But, yeah, I might as well build one myself from Fry's stuff, there's a lot of good things they have... still I'd be too tempted to go overboard. Bah.

[incandescens]

Gah. Very annoying. :P Much sympathy.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Very annoying indeed. Thank you.