Ontopic Computer folks, assemble!!!!

Mr. Argumentor

Mr. Argumentor

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Sep 27, 2012
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So, gf's laptop is shitting the bed. She has a backup, but it's ooooooooooooooooolllllllllllllllldddd. Like fly-old.

We have a nice little nooky-niche for a desktop PC. I'm wondering if we could set something up so that we have a central server-type system, with maybe a netbook or a tablet for her to use to take notes on and to edit client's paperwork.

I'd like to set her up so that she can easily do work, light web-surfing, and have a central server-ish setup for the both of us so that I could free up a lot of space on my computer, maybe allow for more heavier duty stuff like some photo editting. It would be fun to be able to play vidya games with some of my friends as well

My concern with all this is that we're cheap. Gf doesn't want to spend much of anything for this, but I'd like to move us a little further into the future than the early 2000s where we are now.





Tangent: how are Chromebooks for document editting? I know that mostly they do web surfing, but maybe one of those could be nice for her
 
So, this is a pretty broad and general question.

What is your price range for the entire set?

Are you looking for just a server and a laptop/book type thing to go with it, or a PC/Server/Book?
 
also, computers dont just "shit the bed"

Hardware doesnt change. Reinstall, refresh, give it a new lease on life
 
Domon said:
also, computers dont just "shit the bed"

Hardware doesnt change. Reinstall, refresh, give it a new lease on life
Click to expand...

dude....

:case:

hard drives can fail. Electrical connections at the point of entry for external power supplies go loose, heat management in an older laptop is more problematic. older laptop monitors had a very limited life. Cases prone to cracking. etc etc etc.
 
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Lots of good ultrabooks can be had for $800-$1200

Is that the range for the laptop you want? Or were you hoping for cheaper?

Chromebooks have the ability to edit office documents, but it won't be on office. That can affect the output if you're planning on sending files to others.
 
Domon said:
also, computers dont just "shit the bed"

Hardware doesnt change. Reinstall, refresh, give it a new lease on life
Click to expand...

Capacitors can go bad. Hard drives have movable parts that fail. Fans fail which can lead to overheating and failure of parts. Memory goes bad all the time.
 
Duke said:
dude....

:case:

hard drives can fail. Electrical connections at the point of entry for external power supplies go loose, heat management in an older laptop is more problematic. older laptop monitors had a very limited life. Cases prone to cracking. etc etc etc.
Click to expand...

yes, but none of those things happened to asa. I almost guarantee it.
 
Okay, so lets assume that the price of a Chromebook ($249) is your budget. A couple things:

1. Chromebook is NOT Windows. I'm sure Google has simplified it, but it might not be as easy to use. That's the bad part. The good part is that it is NOT Windows. So you/she won't have to worry about spyware and viruses.
2. You can get a small laptop or (even smaller) netbook for about that same price. It will be Windows and likely the opposite problems of #1.
3. What's this server going to be used for? Do you have an old computer to be this server?
4. You mention gaming on your machine. Can it handle it? Does it need upgrades?
 
What brand and model laptop does your GF have right now?
Have you checked the system fan for dust? Most laptops now-a-days you have to rip them all apart to properly clean out the fans and heatsinks. You can try, however, and see if using a can of compressed air, blown gently into the laptop fan while the laptop is off to remove dust.

I find that HP laptops are notorious for getting clogged fans, overheating, then dying. Usually around the 1yr end of warranty mark. They're designed pretty much to fail at 1yr old. It's sad.

Also if the laptop has an ATI Vision video chipset, it will probably suffer a complete failure at some point and the laptop will become a door stop. The chipsets, heatsinks, and motherboards are poorly designed in HPs using shitty solder, glue, and thermal pads that don't provide enough cooling and bonding to keep parts from moving. I've seen way too many of these happen. Yes you can take the laptop to someone who can reflow the BGA but it doesn't last, and reality is not worth it on a $299 laptop.
 
Domon said:
also, computers dont just "shit the bed"

Hardware doesnt change. Reinstall, refresh, give it a new lease on life
Click to expand...
Hardware does change, especially on laptops, especially with a gf who doesn't care for one as she should. Connections get all FUBAR an shit, and that's what we're seeing
 
hawk82 said:
What brand and model laptop does your GF have right now?
Have you checked the system fan for dust? Most laptops now-a-days you have to rip them all apart to properly clean out the fans and heatsinks. You can try, however, and see if using a can of compressed air, blown gently into the laptop fan while the laptop is off to remove dust.

I find that HP laptops are notorious for getting clogged fans, overheating, then dying. Usually around the 1yr end of warranty mark. They're designed pretty much to fail at 1yr old. It's sad.

Also if the laptop has an ATI Vision video chipset, it will probably suffer a complete failure at some point and the laptop will become a door stop. The chipsets, heatsinks, and motherboards are poorly designed in HPs using shitty solder, glue, and thermal pads that don't provide enough cooling and bonding to keep parts from moving. I've seen way too many of these happen. Yes you can take the laptop to someone who can reflow the BGA but it doesn't last, and reality is not worth it on a $299 laptop.
Click to expand...
It's an HP, I think she took it to work so I can't tell you the model.

I need to take it apart and clean it and such, it worked wonders for my toshiba
 
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