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[Greiger]

You monster!  Don't you know Microsoft depends on that money to make a living?  How are they supposed to re-release old games with larger textures for as much as they cost brand new if people just pirate them when they don't make them available for sale?

You are taking the platinum spoon right out of some corporate bigwig's mouth and replacing it with mere gold!   Somebody get me the hot pirate branding iron!

[Frumple]

... yeah, Acer seems to have gone to pot in recent years. Sad thing, for me, is that both the longest lasting and most reliable desktop and laptop I've ever owned were Acer computers. It's just, every Acer after those two (okay, all of two more, but still) were shite. S'been kinda' saddenin', honestly.

[Bdthemag]

To be honest, all modern computer manufacturers are going to shit nowadays. They're very much focusing on making them look good and modern, rather than being useful. Even god-tier laptop manufacturers like Lenovo (Many of their think pads models are AMAZING) have been falling to this trend lately.

[nenjin]

Well, think of it this way. The needs of the average desktop user (ie, not gamers, programers or junkies) haven't really changed in the last decade. Windows needs a little more memory, a better processor and motherboard features don't hurt. The price of these things keeps getting driven down too. So for guys like Compaq (are they even still in business?), Dell, HP, Gateway, ect...they have cheap, mass produced hardware that the average buyer doesn't know enough about to be invested in the specifics of. They're paying a premium to supposedly not have to worry about it.

The desktop PC industry has kind of built up a culture of disposable computers. I should know, I have to deal with them all freaking day. Probably 15 businesses I've spoken to in the last year have replaced at least one PC. And they run right down to the store and buy one, come back with it the next day, having done literally nothing to it other than putting their name in.

Meanwhile, I have a closet full of hardware going back 10 years because I just replace what I need when I need it. I really wish there were better recycling options for PC hardware :\ I'm not enough of geek to do something useful with it.

[Descan]

Is your lack of geekdom due to apathy or skill, or lack there of?

If the former, eh.

If the latter... Well I've never touched the stuff, but when I have the money I'm gonna buy a great big heavy desk (on top of the one for my computer) with drawers and lights and everything, and just... Fuck around. Clockwork, electronics, engines and little fiddly bits. I love the mechanical stuff.

But I've never actually -done- it before. I have no idea where to start, and this whole venture will have me for years going "how do i old meme shot web?"

It'll be grand~

All I'm saying is: Do it! Do it anyway! If you want to!

[freeformschooler]

Compaq (are they even still in business?)

Funfact: Compaq merged with HP years ago. I didn't know this until recently. We still have two rows of Compaq PCs in my Security+ cert class.

To be honest, all modern computer manufacturers are going to shit nowadays. They're very much focusing on making them look good and modern, rather than being useful. Even god-tier laptop manufacturers like Lenovo (Many of their think pads models are AMAZING) have been falling to this trend lately.

Oh God, I hope that's not the rule. I was going to get a Lenovo or Toshiba for my next future computer because of hopefully-increased lifespan.

[Aptus]

Sigh, my G930 headset is starting to give up. A week or so ago it started randomly turning off and on again while I was listening to music (off-on-off-on-off-on etc every phew seconds). Now the battery indicator is flipping out going BEEP BEEP BEEP you only have 10 minutes battery left on your fully charged headset, ok wait ten minutes and oh suddenly I have four hours,  then 5 minutes, then 6 hours etc.

This combined with the other retarded driver issues I have had with both the G930 and the G19 keyboard, fuck I am not buying logitech ever again.

I was not quite willing to dole out too much cash so soon but I have gotten used to having a headset with great sound that is also wireless. Guess I will have to start looking around soon.

[Bdthemag]

Freeform, if you want to get a good quality Lenovo laptop get an older Thinkpad. There's plenty of models to choose from (Even one with a tablet-like screen you can use as a drawing pad) and many of them are cheap and give out a good amount of performance for the price/age. Many of them generally have great battery life, and will last you awhile. You need to research into what model is right for you though, as I believe some of them have different kinds of hardware problems, so a general tip for buying older thinkpad's is to just research. For general purpose web browsing and school/office work I belive the T61p is pretty good. Last I remember the battery life is around 8+ hours long, and I also believe most thinkpad models tend to be very resistant against any damage caused by liquids, so you don't have to worry about spilling your drink.

I realized I'm rambling, so just go here for any info on thinkpad models. It's more suited towards the various models and what linux distros work well on them, but you can also find a buyers guide with tips for getting cheap ones, along with any hardware issues you should know of.

New Lenovo is shit, old Lenovo is GOD TIER.

[miauw62]

I've had this Acer Aspire 7740G for 2 or 3 years now. Hasn't failed me, except for the occasional crashing of graphics drivers and overheating when it's warm weather.

The main problem I'm having with this thing is that it has an AMD graphics card, and you get horrible FPS with AMD cards on certain things. (Planetside 2, I'm looking at you.)

[scrdest]

I bought an ASUS X53S two years ago, it's pretty awesome for its price here, it has enough power (Core i5 + GeForce GT540M) to run even the new games at good speed (unless the optimization is a joke - looking at you, GTA 4), reasonably placed ports (2 USBs on the right side, 1 on the left), several air intakes, IceCool system...

One problem it HAS is that getting to the fan to clean it is an utter bitch, and with my laughable technical skills, I'm not going to try doing it myself, because it would probably ignite spontaneously if I did.

[Bdthemag]

I don't see why people get so scared of cleaning out their laptop's fans. It's honestly one of the easiest maintenance related tasks you can do, granted as long as your laptop is manufactured to be easily opened, which isn't always the case unfortunately. At the VERY MOST, you have to unscrew the heatsink. If you're laptop has a good fan though, chances are you'll literally just have to pop open the case and spray a can of compressed air into it. You have to physically try to fuck up your laptop if you're intention is to just clean the fan/insides of dust.

[scrdest]

I don't see why people get so scared of cleaning out their laptop's fans. It's honestly one of the easiest maintenance related tasks you can do, granted as long as your laptop is manufactured to be easily opened, which isn't always the case unfortunately. At the VERY MOST, you have to unscrew the heatsink. If you're laptop has a good fan though, chances are you'll literally just have to pop open the case and spray a can of compressed air into it. You have to physically try to fuck up your laptop if you're intention is to just clean the fan/insides of dust.

No, see, I TRIED. I think it's the IceCool palm rest thing that separates the parts that deal with the heat from the keyboard, it's simply inaccessible unless you unscrew a whole lot of things, without breaking them hopefully.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I don't see why people get so scared of cleaning out their laptop's fans. It's honestly one of the easiest maintenance related tasks you can do, granted as long as your laptop is manufactured to be easily opened, which isn't always the case unfortunately. At the VERY MOST, you have to unscrew the heatsink. If you're laptop has a good fan though, chances are you'll literally just have to pop open the case and spray a can of compressed air into it. You have to physically try to fuck up your laptop if you're intention is to just clean the fan/insides of dust.

Not my laptop. I have to remove the entire case, keyboard, detach the god damn screen, take out all the circuit boards, and then finally, finally will I be able to access the fan. Don't look at me, I didn't design it.

[RedKing]

Been working my ass off on a special project for the last three weeks. Conference calls just about every day, I've had to do reports and speak at length on some of these calls.

Quick conference call with the project manager this morning (who's been on all of these calls). Identified myself, and the first thing out of his mouth: "Have we talked before?" (no, he wasn't being sarcastic...he genuinely didn't remember)

ಠ_ಠ

I WILL CUT YOU, OLD MAN

[Shakerag]

I don't see why people get so scared of cleaning out their laptop's fans. It's honestly one of the easiest maintenance related tasks you can do, granted as long as your laptop is manufactured to be easily opened, which isn't always the case unfortunately. At the VERY MOST, you have to unscrew the heatsink. If you're laptop has a good fan though, chances are you'll literally just have to pop open the case and spray a can of compressed air into it. You have to physically try to fuck up your laptop if you're intention is to just clean the fan/insides of dust.

Not my laptop. I have to remove the entire case, keyboard, detach the god damn screen, take out all the circuit boards, and then finally, finally will I be able to access the fan. Don't look at me, I didn't design it.

Dell?  Because I've done that at least three times with my SO's Dell laptop when replacing the fans.