Laptop died... damn!

[Dukeryder]

Originally Posted by Mr_Gone

I'm definitely due for a new one, but I just love this Toshiba. In it's day, it was a screamin' demon! Even now, it's a pretty nice machine.

I just stopped by the computer shop here in town, and I'm looking at $200 total to replace the screen (parts +labor) and that's not too bad. Seems worth it to me.

I'll probably do some online comparison shopping this weekend, looking at new laptops. I really don't want a new machine with Windows 8, though.

Hmm... decisions, decisions.

$200 seems like too much money, that's probably double the cost of what your laptop is worth in working condition.

I got a NEW 17" HP about 2 years ago and it was only $400 on Overstock, nice stainless skin (no mac but hey what do ya want for 1/3 the price) any way it was loaded up with 1GB Ram, 750GB HDD and a 2.xx Ghz AMD processor, ATI graphics, Blu-Ray, HDMI output blah blah anyway a hell of a package for <$500.

For $200 you could get an off lease Dell Latitude, which are damn good laptops. I've had them for 8 years at my Job and the first one worked like new even after 6 years. Oh yeah and if you get a new machine with Windows 8, it should be backwards compatible with Windows 7, you just have to download it and install it, you should be supplied a KEY that will work with 7 (I can't confirm this but I was just told that some new workstations we were buying at work came with 8 loaded but would have a 7 key supplied with them and we'd have to install 7 ourselves)

[josjor]

+1 for checking the ribbon cable. My Dell did that a month ago.

+1 for refurb Dell BUSINESS class. My last one was 7 years old and is still doing duty at the non-profit I donated it to. Only upgraded because some of the stuff I do needed faster processing and firewire. What did I get? Another refurb Dell business class.

[Mr_Gone]

I checked the Dell Outlet, and there are only a few 17.3" laptops on there, all for way over $1,000 bucks. The only improvement would be in the processor. I have a Dual Core 2 now, and I'd be getting an Intel i5.

I already have 4GB of RAM. I have dual hard drives. I have two NVIDIA graphics cards with SLi1 technology. Plus all the other bells and whistles, like a DVD burner, HDMI out, six USB 2.0 ports.

Maybe I'm looking at this wrong, but I'd be paying far more than $200 for an equivalent machine.

[Mr_Gone]

Or maybe I'm just holding on too tight. I have an emotional attachment to my Toshiba.... thousands of hours of porn watched on that laptop!!! That will stay with a guy, you know?

[NikonsAndVStroms]

Originally Posted by Mr_Gone

I checked the Dell Outlet, and there are only a few 17.3" laptops on there, all for way over $1,000 bucks. The only improvement would be in the processor. I have a Dual Core 2 now, and I'd be getting an Intel i5.

I already have 4GB of RAM. I have dual hard drives. I have two NVIDIA graphics cards with SLi1 technology. Plus all the other bells and whistles, like a DVD burner, HDMI out, six USB 2.0 ports.

Maybe I'm looking at this wrong, but I'd be paying far more than $200 for an equivalent machine.

Really?

I just checked and they had this for 450:

Inspiron 15 - 3520
Processor: Intel Core 2nd generation i3-2350M Processor (2.3GHz,2C/4T, 3M Cache)
Genuine Windows 8 Home Edition
Dell Outlet Inspiron 15 - 3520 Laptop
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
4GB Single Channel DDR3 1600MHz
8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Intel HD Graphics 3000

Though that's not a good deal, I got mine for less than that with way better specs.

Costco has a decent deal up on a refurb HP ultrabook:

http://www.costco.com/Refurbished-HP...100016545.html

[MikeFromMT]

I'm using a refurbed Dell Inspiron, I bought it 5 years ago for about $400, it came with Vista, the day I got it I loaded Ubuntu (Linux) and removed Vista, it's been running continuously ever since without any problems, ever.
If somebody offered to pay me $200 per month to run windows I'd say "no"

[jfslater98]

Originally Posted by Mr_Gone

I just stopped by the computer shop here in town, and I'm looking at $200 total to replace the screen (parts +labor) and that's not too bad. Seems worth it to me.

How "settled in" are you? Got all your bookmarks just the way you like them? All your logins saved to all your web sites? The perfect selection of apps? Got your desktop just how you like it? If so... $200 is a bargain.

Get a new laptop, and you'll likely need to start over. I've not had a lot of luck with transferring settings from a separate PC to another. Remember, your time is worth something.

Now... if you've been cursing the current one because it's slow, locks up, etc. that's different. But if you're happy with it, I'd get it fixed. Good luck!

[NikonsAndVStroms]

Originally Posted by jfslater98

How "settled in" are you? Got all your bookmarks just the way you like them? All your logins saved to all your web sites? The perfect selection of apps? Got your desktop just how you like it? If so... $200 is a bargain.

Get a new laptop, and you'll likely need to start over. I've not had a lot of luck with transferring settings from a separate PC to another. Remember, your time is worth something.

Now... if you've been cursing the current one because it's slow, locks up, etc. that's different. But if you're happy with it, I'd get it fixed. Good luck!

Though at this stage his hard drive could go any day wiping all that out. At this age with a 200 dollar repair on the horizon I'd just replace it. Also grab a monitor from a friend and then transfer your files to the new one.

[Mr_Gone]

Well, it turns out I was wrong. I know, I know... it happens. If I shine a very bright flashlight on the screen, I can still see that everything is operating just fine. So I believe that's a cheaper fix, IIRC.

I'm going to get the laptop fixed. It's worth it to me. I'm pretty good with backing up my stuff, so if the hard drive dies in a month, I'll just buy a new laptop then.

[Mr_Gone]

Originally Posted by NikonsAndVStroms

Really?

I just checked and they had this for 450:

Inspiron 15 - 3520
Processor: Intel Core 2nd generation i3-2350M Processor (2.3GHz,2C/4T, 3M Cache)
Genuine Windows 8 Home Edition
Dell Outlet Inspiron 15 - 3520 Laptop
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
4GB Single Channel DDR3 1600MHz
8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Intel HD Graphics 3000

Though that's not a good deal, I got mine for less than that with way better specs.

Costco has a decent deal up on a refurb HP ultrabook:

http://www.costco.com/Refurbished-HP...100016545.html

That is a pretty good deal on a 15" laptop. But... mine is 17" though, which jacks up the price. Plus, my 5-year-old specs are pretty much the same as that new laptop.

Anyway, if I buy a new laptop, I want something better. I want the latest and the greatest, you know, for only $300. Is that too much to ask?

Just kidding. Does that make sense, or am I thinking wrong? I guess I'm hoping to avoid the hassle of transferring everything to a new laptop, installing programs, yada-yada-yada.

I'm not against buying a new laptop, I just think for a couple hundred $ I'm still better off fixing mine.

[NikonsAndVStroms]

Originally Posted by Mr_Gone

That is a pretty good deal on a 15" laptop. But... mine is 17" though, which jacks up the price. Plus, my 5-year-old specs are pretty much the same as that new laptop.

Anyway, if I buy a new laptop, I want something better. I want the latest and the greatest, you know, for only $300. Is that too much to ask?

Just kidding. Does that make sense, or am I thinking wrong? I guess I'm hoping to avoid the hassle of transferring everything to a new laptop, installing programs, yada-yada-yada.

I'm not against buying a new laptop, I just think for a couple hundred $ I'm still better off fixing mine.

If it's a cheap fix that's not too bad, I'd get a quote for just fixing that part first.

Just to see if it really is worth upgrading what are the specs of your current one?

If you have an external monitor or HDTV you could hook it up to go into the start menu and right click on computer and go to properties, then find out what specific processor it is and how much RAM you have. The big thing is getting that CPU model number, like mine is a Intel Xeon CPU W3540 @ 2.93GHz the part underlined is the important part to see how it does in benchmarks.

The reason I say this is you might have an i5 at the same speed as a current laptop but that new one is a few generations more advanced so it could be multiple times faster than your current system.

[Craneguy]

Screen went black on my laptop. I was desperate and took the screen apart. Turns out it was a loose ribbon cable on the back of the LCD panel. It's been fine ever since.

That's worth checking before you scrap it.

[Mr_Gone]

Originally Posted by NikonsAndVStroms

If it's a cheap fix that's not too bad, I'd get a quote for just fixing that part first.

Just to see if it really is worth upgrading what are the specs of your current one?

If you have an external monitor or HDTV you could hook it up to go into the start menu and right click on computer and go to properties, then find out what specific processor it is and how much RAM you have. The big thing is getting that CPU model number, like mine is a Intel Xeon CPU W3540 @ 2.93GHz the part underlined is the important part to see how it does in benchmarks.

The reason I say this is you might have an i5 at the same speed as a current laptop but that new one is a few generations more advanced so it could be multiple times faster than your current system.

So what I've got is a Toshiba X205-SLi1.
2 X 128GB hard drives.
4GB DDR2 SDRAM with 800 MHz bus
64-bit OS
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 / 2.0 GHz
17" screen
2 X PCI Express x16 - NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT - 512.0 MB DDR SDRAM
HDMI
6 x USB 2.0 slots

And it's red. Which, as everyone knows, is the fastest color on motorcycles, so it ought to be the same for laptops, also. Right?

Undoubtedly the new i5 and i7 chips are faster. But my current boot time is less than a minute. Windows Office programs like Word and Excel load in a second or two, and Photoshop CS5 loads in about six or seven seconds.

[Mr_Gone]

Turns out the problem is something called the inverter, not the screen itself. So it should be about a $30-$40 fix. Totally worth fixing, IMO.

This has been a good wake-up call, though, as I realize I should be constantly shopping for a "new" laptop just to keep up with all the innovations and technology. Just in case my current laptop dies ignominiously.

Speaking of new things... did you guys hear about this new OS called Microsoft Windows 8? OMG everyone hates it!!!

[NikonsAndVStroms]

Originally Posted by Mr_Gone

So what I've got is a Toshiba X205-SLi1.
2 X 128GB hard drives.
4GB DDR2 SDRAM with 800 MHz bus
64-bit OS
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 / 2.0 GHz
17" screen
2 X PCI Express x16 - NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT - 512.0 MB DDR SDRAM
HDMI
6 x USB 2.0 slots

And it's red. Which, as everyone knows, is the fastest color on motorcycles, so it ought to be the same for laptops, also. Right?

Undoubtedly the new i5 and i7 chips are faster. But my current boot time is less than a minute. Windows Office programs like Word and Excel load in a second or two, and Photoshop CS5 loads in about six or seven seconds.

So you have an idea of the differences in case it does die on you I just ran the specs and that Costco HP refurb I posted would be ~3 times faster for the CPU and 50% faster graphics.

http://www.costco.com/Dell-Inspiron-...100026400.html

This is a 17" for 550 with a processor just under 4 times faster and the graphics are the same as the refurb so that's a 50% increase again.