Laptops

[The Harlequin King]

Yes, getting a tech-y friend is one of the smartest things you can do, short of being tech-y yourself.

On Macbooks: my girlfriend has one, and the battery swole to the point that it broke the touchpad over it since she never had money to change it. It's still broken.

[Megmary]

I've had Dell laptops that have each lasted about 6+ years without major issue.  The key is that you have to be at or near the top of the line to begin with.  Dell's Inspiron series is their bottom end, but their Latitude series is made to last.  If you are not willing or able to spend a couple grand on one so that you can get solid hardware, memory and RAM, you are going to end up buying them every 2 years or so.  I'm not trying to be mean or judgmental as you know your financial situation and I don't.  However, that's just the way computers, particularly laptops, work.

Ain't that the truth. I think we've made up our minds to stay away from cheap ones. It would save more money in the long run to save for an expensive one and have it last longer.

[The Harlequin King]

I don't know what y'all need constant upgrades for if you don't play games or aren't in IT or graphic design. If it weren't for games, my laptop from 2006 would still be fine, even for programming work. Only thing that ever failed was the battery.

[Penelope]

My siblings and I have had a number of laptops with over-heating issues or with fried motherboard issues.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

[Basilios]

My laptop is an Alienware 17

Mirin.

But on the other hand...

Desktop > Laptop

[The Harlequin King]

Basilios: oh, don't get me wrong, I am a card carrying member of the uber-desktop PC gaming master race. My rig is connected to a jumbo HDTV and 7.1 surround sound system. I wholeheartedly reject the spirit of the age of "good enough" (represented by enjoying music through earbuds and watching movies or playing games on handheld devices).

[OCLittleFlower]

My caution with Dell is that they don't always test how the parts work with one another.  So the more customizing you do, the more risk you take that all the bits and pieces aren't REALLY compatible with one another.  One of my friends went through absolute hell with a $5000 Dell gaming PC laptop.  She needed it for her school work -- she was doing game art and design.

Other friends of mine who have done less customizing had done better with Dell.

To me, I'd rather spend my money more slowly, over time, and buy two laptops (one every 3 years) rather than buy a laptop that lasts for six.  Because, in the end, who wants to be using old technology?

[The Harlequin King]

$5000 for a laptop? Even for professional usage, that's lolworthy.

[Basilios]

Basilios: oh, don't get me wrong, I am a card carrying member of the uber-desktop PC gaming master race. My rig is connected to a jumbo HDTV and 7.1 surround sound system. I wholeheartedly reject the spirit of the age of "good enough" (represented by enjoying music through earbuds and watching movies or playing games on handheld devices).

Picture of your attestation? Stats of pc?

Im running a simple set up until I can afford more. Got a 22inch screen with some simple Logitech 3.1 sound. Inside is an i3 3.1ghz with 4 gigs ram and a GeForce gtx 560. Not great but I can play the new final fantasy on high with no issues.

[OCLittleFlower]

$5000 for a laptop? Even for professional usage, that's lolworthy.

It was a while back and had a lot of custom stuff on it, which in the end, created more issues.   The thing was as thick as my fist!  Granted, I have small hands, but still.

[Basilios]

Battlestation not attestation. Autocorrect of peace.

[The Harlequin King]

Will have to remember to post a picture later. I am hypocritically on a tablet now.

Your GPU is better than mine, I think. I have the GeForce GTX 470. I plan to upgrade sometime in spring next year for The Witcher 3 and Dragon Age 3. Also putting off on playing Rome II: Total War until the upgrade is done and most of their bugs are fixed.

Btw, attestation actually made total sense.

[Kaesekopf]

I recommend saving up for a MacBook of some kind. Neither of my siblings nor I have ever had a PC last more than two years. My only bad experience with a MacBook, however, involved my own stupidity and a bottle of water (shut up, Kaesekopf). My husband purchased his MacBook Pro when he began grad school in 2007 and it's still going strong. There have been some minor issues (the magnet that holds the lid closed has weakened, for example), but nothing major. He had a tech-y friend update the OS last year and everything runs like a dream. Also, I recommend making a tech-y friend.

It also involved at least a few beers.....

[Basilios]

I know, I almost didn't correct it lol.

Dragon Age sucks. No hate. I've seen no nice RPGs in a while. Though there is one called ni no kuni or something, it's a JRPG. Looks niiice. But final fantasy so far is awesome. Beautiful and fun. I've hit level cap already and am currently grinding end game dungeons to get good gear so I can hit the real end game dungeons. When I'm rich I'll be upgrading to i7 with 16gig ram and a graphics card that'll make everything look real life. Can't wait.

[Kaesekopf]

I don't know what y'all need constant upgrades for if you don't play games or aren't in IT or graphic design. If it weren't for games, my laptop from 2006 would still be fine, even for programming work. Only thing that ever failed was the battery.

Pretty much agreed.  I get by on my 8 year old laptop.  Good ol' trusty laptop.