So......

[Mizel]

So, I planned a LAN party for Saturday. Get on my laptop on Fri night.... for some reason it's giving me overheating lag, despite having taken it apart and dusted it and getting a new cooler for it. Take it apart *again* to realize the graphics card fan turns on when computer is booted and then shuts off after about 2 seconds and doesn't turn back on. Now, my gaming laptop is a beast and has been used almost daily for 4 year for heavy gaming. So... after figuring out that spending the money for a new graphics card thats equivalent to the one that came in it was pointless. So, I ended up giving in and buying a deskptop :O I would have preferred to build one, but I found one at BB with almost the same specs as the one I priced to build and since my party was Sat, getting it a BB was instant gratification. So... RIP laptop. You served me well these past 4 years. Hello new PC (which is a Dell XPS- which I am also not thrilled about... Ive never known these to not crash and burn... but at least its easily upgradable and fixable!):

Dell - XPS Desktop - X8300-4004BK (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+XPS+Desktop/4634972.p?id=1218501937788&skuId=4634972&st=dell%20xps&cp=1&lp=1)

If I could have afforded a little more, I would have went a little better. But oh well :P

[LiNuX]

Building your own even if it's the same specs as a Dell is so much better.

And what kind of a laptop do you have? And is the fan soldered in?

My old laptop's GPU had a fan that screws in so if it burned out, I would have been able to just replace the fan. If that's the case, you may be able to save a lot of money and not go with a Dell!

Also look at Newegg, they ship super fast. So even if you order on Tuesday, you should get the parts in time for your Saturday party.

Just a thought.

And side story, this guy brought in a laptop at work a few days ago, brand new Dell Laptop that he bought 3 months ago, and half the keys on the keyboard doesn't work.

/sidestory

[ROFLBRYCE]

Yeah Dell's haven't been known to be too reliable, but a friend of mine has had nothing but good luck with them. He's had it for the last 6 years before it finally died, it was a family computer that he and his brother actively gamed on, upgrading RAM, processor, and the video card when needed for better games. It was mostly WoW, Diablo, Starcraft, CounterStrike, but still. Just take good care of it, maybe buy a better keyboard if you had bought the whole bundle and not just the computer (I bought the Steel Series Cataclysm board, it comes with two keysets, one regular one WoW, you won't regret the $100.) and a new mouse if you don't have either of them.

Sucks about your laptop, I know your pain :( I'm gonna have to retire the one I'm typing on soon, gonna buy a new computer (desktop preferably) sometime in May if I'm lucky enough to make it there, xD

[Mizel]

Building your own even if it's the same specs as a Dell is so much better.

And what kind of a laptop do you have? And is the fan soldered in?

My old laptop's GPU had a fan that screws in so if it burned out, I would have been able to just replace the fan. If that's the case, you may be able to save a lot of money and not go with a Dell!

Also look at Newegg, they ship super fast. So even if you order on Tuesday, you should get the parts in time for your Saturday party.

Just a thought.

And side story, this guy brought in a laptop at work a few days ago, brand new Dell Laptop that he bought 3 months ago, and half the keys on the keyboard doesn't work.

/sidestory

I know, home built is sooooo much better :(

Fan isn't soldered. I got the laptop only because it was all upgradable... only problem is that the video card was so old that replacing it with one that was equivalent (and one that is now way outdated) seemed not worth it. And I cant upgrade the video card without upgrading essentially the whole laptop because it already overheats horribly, a newer card would only make it worse :/

And I did check out Newegg, and also Tiger Direct. Actually the same parts on TD were much cheaper, so I was going to do that because Newegg doesnt offer financing and TD does... but the Dell I bought is the same specs I was going to build so.... I bought the Dell. Honestly, Im really thinking about ordering the parts from TD and returning the Dell haha


Yeah Dell's haven't been known to be too reliable, but a friend of mine has had nothing but good luck with them. He's had it for the last 6 years before it finally died, it was a family computer that he and his brother actively gamed on, upgrading RAM, processor, and the video card when needed for better games. It was mostly WoW, Diablo, Starcraft, CounterStrike, but still. Just take good care of it, maybe buy a better keyboard if you had bought the whole bundle and not just the computer (I bought the Steel Series Cataclysm board, it comes with two keysets, one regular one WoW, you won't regret the $100.) and a new mouse if you don't have either of them.

Sucks about your laptop, I know your pain :( I'm gonna have to retire the one I'm typing on soon, gonna buy a new computer (desktop preferably) sometime in May if I'm lucky enough to make it there, xD

Im hoping Im one of those lucky people! haha Theres no reason a computer shouldnt last if taken care of regardless of brand, so Im crossing my fingers! :P Also, I plan on probably upgrading this anyway so one day it wont truly be a Dell anymore xD

Tis a sad day when they go into retirement.... but I still remember and cherish all those years it served me well :)

[Synge]

Honestly, Im really thinking about ordering the parts from TD and returning the Dell haha


If you have the option of sending it back and building your own, definitely do it. And I'd swap out the 6450 for a 68xx, you'd probably still meet the price of the Dell. HDD prices still seem to be a bit high though (result of Thailand flooding), so you may have have to adjust for that.

[Mizel]

Yea, that's what I think I may do.... I really don't want to settle for something that's not exactly what I want when Im paying so much for it :/