Death of a laptop: I need your help

[bleached_drama]

Edited 6:30pmSo as I suspected, my computer is caput. The power port is loose, and the repair shop I called said it would probably cost $200 or more to fix. They said that since the laptop is four years old and bound to break again, I would do better to just get a new and more powerful computer

Comments

[banditess]

i'm sorry about your laptop ;~; it sounds like it had a good long life though!

IMHO:

1. i will ask some friends about this for you!

2. DESKTOP OMG. desktops are cheaper, last longer, and are more easily upgraded and repaired. what you lose in transportation convenience you will gain in every other kind of convenience.

3. the kind of work you'd be doing in vet school would probably not require the graphical/creative prowess of a mac. and really, because you use opera, you're not really at risk for all the types of viruses other PC users are. also, you're actually in luck, because they've stopped selling laptops and desktops exclusively with vista now that it's universally known that it sucks balls, so you'll be able to get one with good ol' reliable XP! :) (also, using virtual PC on a mac to play WoW is...not particularly ideal!)

4. HP LAPTOPS ARE THE DEVIL. both of my laptops were HP, and both were the most fucking expensive paperweights i've ever had the misfortune of purchasing. if you decide on a laptop, i'd go with a dell. if you decide on a desktop, i actually highly recommend gateway. i've had mine since the summer before i started college, and aside from an easily-fixed issue with corrupted RAM sticks (that was covered under my warranty), i have had absolutely no problems with it whatsoever.

Re: Gateway

[banditess]

Gateway has some nice, cheaper computers. I'm considering their DX4200-09, which comes at $509 (plus $139 if I get one of their monitors). How does it look to you?

Specs:
Processor: AMD Phenom™ X4 9100e 64-bit Quad-Core Processor (1.80GHz, 2MB L2 Cache) with AMD64 Technology
Video Card: ATI® Radeon™ HD 3200 Integrated Hybrid Graphics, 256MB
Memory: 4096MB
Hard Drive: 640GB 7200rpm Serial ATA II/300 hard drive with 16MB Cache
Warranty: 1 year parts and

Dell has a Studio Slim-Tower model with monitor for $649 (but hints at rebates - I don't trust, but we'll see).

Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q8200 (4MB L2, 2.33GHz, 1333FSB)
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB supporting HDMI
Memory: 4GB
Hard Drive: 640GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
Warranty: 1 year limited hardware warranty, in-home service after remote diagnosis