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WARNING TO ALL!


Pvt_Jimmah

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About 6 months ago I was looking for a computer at a reasonable price when I walked into my local Best Buy. I found the "perfect" computer, an Emachines T4170 for only $699, for me this was a powerhouse 1.6 Ghz, 60 Gig hard drive, 17 inch flat screen moniter, and a CD burner to boot. I bought the thing in a heartbeat, thinking I had found something too good to be true... indeed it was.

 

I have owned this computer for only 6 months and it did what I needed for awhile, I could download Mp3's and most importantly play CounterStrike/Hallf-Life plus other assorted games (GTA3, Return to Wolfenstein, all the essentials).

 

Last night as I was typing my English report, the screen went blue and the computer wouldnt shutdown or anything, so I unplugged it and now it won't reboot, it won't even turn on the monitor. Turns out that 75% of emachine shipments come with a faulty power supply for which no company makes replacement parts...

 

So I went to look for troubleshooting tips on the net and found www.emachinessuck.com. I wish I had seen this site earlier for I now know I have made the biggest $900 mistake in my life...

 

Moral to the Story: If you see an Emachines RUN AWAY, and if it is too good to be true, it probably is.

 

Anyway, no Counterstrike for me for a long time.

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Guest The Hurricane
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I used an emachine for 3 years. After two years the power supply on it went out on me. To replace it I just bought a new case with a power supply in it which cost about 100 dollars. Overall it was a very good computer to me. But In no way is an E-Machine the perfect computer. If you're looking for a gaming PC do NOT buy an e-machine. :huh:

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btw, HP, Compaq, Sony, Gateway, and even Dell (to a much lesser extent) all suck donkey compared to building your own like hendy said. Its even cheaper to build than to buy, I will NEVER buy a name brand PC (again).

 

Good topic though. 8P)

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Well unfortunately, I am not the sharpest tool in the shed. I let a too good to be true offer from a crappy company eat the guts out of my bank account, and now I regret it! o0o:blink:

 

P.S. By the way, my power supply didnt just fail, it surged and fried the components of my computer. I would have to buy the whole computer over again to fix it.

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Yes, build your own PC...you will probably spend the same but get better components. Example. Priced out a Dell with the same specs for a pc I built. About the same price but instead of PC800 RAM and a 40 gig hd I got an 80gig with 1066 ram. So, no money savings but much better system.

 

The place you make out in the pre-built is software. Building your own you can't touch the price breaks they get. Some local shops now sell OS' cheap when you buy parts. When I built mine I got XP Home for $99 and Office XP for $199. Not terrible but it was cheaper at Dell.

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building your own is a great way.....did it with my last computer. But as Gond points out, software can be key, esp when you need something like Office. Got lazy and bought a Dell a week ago tho 8P) About the 5th or 6th I've gotten from them with much success (for an office environment).

 

btw, I used www.pricewatch.com to find pretty much everything I needed. I had a good experience with each vendor I used from there.

 

Anyone got any secret vendors for parts?

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hmmm if you spend the same and get 2x the comp. couldnt you spend much less and get the same specs as storebaught? answer: yes.

 

also, I get microsoft software through my college campus for $5 per cd, regardless of the program :)

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Personally i hate any prefabed computer such as packardbell,HP,Compaq.My custon built machines such as my 5oclock computer,custom built.And my AlienWare computer i play on,custom built,are so much better than my HP and PB i have had in the past.

Buy Custom Built !!!

or build it yourself.

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i had an EZ machine (not to be confused with e-machine) a couple years ago, POS!!! they went out of business it was so bad.. now i have an HP (i donno what my rents are thinking..) and i hate the damn thing. We are getting a new puter soon.. they wanna get a dell.. someone just kill me already :( I tried to get my brother to wanna build one for me (he built his own) but he convinced my rents it was too expensive and that they should buy a dell (my brother knows puters.. he knows dell sucks.. he's just trying to get back at me for pickin on him :angry: ).. anyway thats my story about puters.. HPs suck esp with windows ME.. grrr

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dell's aren't half bad

Dell uses proprietary power supplies too. They also cheese out in other ways. If all you do is surf the web, email, and IM; name brand computers are for you. If you do anything that requires performance or you want to be able to customize/upgrade you need to build you own box. Its actually very easy and cheap these days. You really don’t have to worry about having to set dip-switches, IRQ’s, and configure hardware manually anymore. The best thing to do if you don’t know what hardware to buy is to read reviews at a place like Tom's Hardware. There's plenty of info on the web on building systems.

 

Click here for info on an emachines replacement power supply.

 

Cane is right on the $ with his first post. You should be able to get a case and power supply for around $50.

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I'll jump in here:

 

Dell's don't suck. ?? You get a lot of machine for the money. But, discounting all that, you get an incredible warranty.

 

I've been building my own machines for about 8 years and will continue to do so for the predictable future - but if you're not comfortable with building your own machine - Dell can offer some nice systems at competitive prices.

 

The real advantage is the software licensing (you know...if you want to be "legal" and all that) and the warranty.

 

If you get a DOA from most online places, you are at least responsible for the shipping costs (there and back). That's money. Plus you are often dealing with OEM parts with limited warranty or distributors that may refer you to the manufacturer. That's a pain in the donkey.

 

With Dell (or most other large, reputable PC makers), if it breaks - they fix it. Period. No cost to you.

 

Get a PC from Dell and it doesn't work? Call them and they help.

 

Order pieces from the Internet and it doesn't work? Sucks to be you.

 

My point being, ordering from a place like Dell has its advantages. It may cost a couple hundred dollars more but, for some people, there's a lot of value in that couple hundred dollars.

 

Don't assume there is one solution that magically fits for everyone. Building has its advantages and pre-built has its advantages.

 

And Gond is right on target on how places like Dell can stay in the same ballpark on price. On licensing and things like Intel processors, their multi-million dollar orders are going to drive the cost per unit down much cheaper than you can get from Internet retailers or Bob's Corner Computer Shop.

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About 5 years ago I purchased a computer from my local computer store (small one room type company). I have had my ups and downs with that computer. Mainly software related. Through these past 5 years I have completly upgraded my computer so none of the original parts remain. I knew exactly what I wanted to upgrade and when. I would reccommend finding a local company were you can get service easily to get a starter computer with the ease of upgrading it as necessary

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Let me re-phrase - building your own is perfect, so long as you are not on a budget and know what you are doing. For the avg. pute user, this won't apply (or those with wives that just won't let them toy around :unsure: ). The avg user is gonna be using something that's on par with most store/internet bought machines. Whether they build or buy.

 

Of course the twinkers could build an uber machine. But who has that money or the time? I'm sure some do, but most don't. But a twinker could build a better machine for the money than buying one.

 

So you live with what you can get. I myself think Dell has a very structurally sound architecture. They use solid, quality materials in building their systems. Maybe not the best; but far from the worst. And there is a lot to be said for the support side of it.

 

Most people could not build a system that is stable for less than what they could buy it from Dell or a competitor. A lot of factors go into building your own. Takes some skill to custom build. That's always a factor.

 

Dunno, for those of you that read this and fear self-builds, you can't go wrong with a Dell. It'll take some software adjustments once you get it, but the hardware is sound and reliable. As for HP, Sony, Gateway, Compaq, and a slew of others, good luck. I've had pretty extensive experience with the four above and would recommend none of them.

 

Wow, i sound like a commercial :)

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The place you make out in the pre-built is software.  Building your own you can't touch the price breaks they get.  Some local shops now sell OS' cheap when you buy parts.  When I built mine I got XP Home for $99 and Office XP for $199.  Not terrible but it was cheaper at Dell.

Unless you feel like me and believe that Red Hat is the way to go!! :-D

 

.....

 

 

Well at least on my next computer it will be.....

 

Or who knows, maybe I'll get Solaris, still much cheaper than M$ Window$. Plus more stable. Just a bit of a learning with Unix/Linux B) .

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amen, adam.

 

But if you are stuck with crapdows, p2p is your friend! :lol:

 

 

Even if you 'fear' building your own machine, you should definitely learn how. The experience is priceless (being able to use your own parts doesn't leave any company 'secrets' (like a crappy power supply or some degraded version of the graphics card)) Plus, you can always charge your friends unbelievable amounts of cash to build machines for them. :D

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There is no way you can custom build a p4 machine for $699 with a flat panel monitor with a license for XP backed by a 1 year trouble-free warranty and customer service.

 

15" Flat Panel Monitor

Intel P4 1.8Ghz

256MB DDR-RAM

48x CDROM

40x/10x/40x CD Rewriteable

10/100 Network Interface Card

56k Modem

40GB Hard Disk

 

Tell me the source if you do.

 

Remember, a decent computer case that is screwless will run about $75. That gives you $624 to work with.

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I don’t build machines for the low price. I could never expect to compete with the quantity deals big resellers get. I get a better, faster machine because I can handpick each part. Plus it’s easy to upgrade. If something breaks, I replace it. Every new part I’ve ever bought came with at least a year warranty (AMD processors come with a 3 year warranty). I’ve had many more problems with Dell’s than the machines I build (including some really dumb quality control issues). Dell’s service is great if you can’t troubleshoot your own machine. But I’ve wasted many frustrating hours on the phone with Dell techs as they page through their troubleshooting binders while I try to tell them what the problem is. :angry:

 

Raise your hand if the first thing you do when you get a new computer is format C:

 

 

Red Hat, the "Windows " of Linux :P

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