VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

JTVG · Backstage Pass Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 433

I've been using the same Dell desktop since 2004. Rock solid. But, I'm thinking I should probably have a plan B in case it goes south on me in a hurry.

What manufacturer are you liking these days? I hear rumors that Dell aren't what they used to be. Also, it must be from a company that supplies recovery discs that can wipe a machine down to nothing but the OS.

Has anybody tried to get an Echo Mia to work under Win7 yet?

Thanks!
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Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

Find someone to make a custom system that you can interchange parts on easily. There's a lot of folks that make em these days. I use a custom made 3.2ghz P4 system 6 years old. I've only replaced the motherboard once and that's it. Now that I know what's inside I'll probably make my own next time around. It's fast and reliable.

It's just a box with components that plug in and the motherboard is probably the most important piece and it's already built. Just plug and play. I think if there's a motherboard out there that would take a couple different types of processors that would be best or just pick which processor you want (intel I7) and go with that.

I think you'll save money if you do instead of buying a brand name.
Now laptops.......that's something you should just go out and buy.

JTVG · Backstage Pass Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 433

I did that once. Never again. Had all kinds of strange issues with it. I don't think the parts gelled with one another. Plus the power supply went bad very quickly. But thanks just the same. Smile

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Bish · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 7:42 pm Post subject:

OK... I'll do it. I'm putting on my tin hat and making the suggestion that a Mac is the best Windows machine out there. From a hardware perspective they are built up to a quality and not down to a price (unfortunately the same can't be said for Dell any more). I used to be a Dell buyer, both personally and in a corporate environment, but they're not what they used to be. Since I switched to a Mac, I have been very impressed with the quality of build and reliability. I have occasion to use Windows, and have found the virtual environments (Parallels is my favourite) to be stable and fully configurable. If you are primarily a Windows user (and want to stay that way) boot camp provides for direct booting into a Windows environment. Admittedly, Macs are not cheap, but if you actually find one built to the same quality and spec, the price advantage evaporates. My own solution was to buy the MacPro with the middle range processor and graphics card, minimal HDD and minimal memory... I added my own third-party drives and memory to keep the price reasonable (Apple's prices for large multiple drives and lots of memory weren't the best at the time).

As has been stated before, building your own PC from scratch (if you're so inclined) can be rewarding and give you a lot of bang for your buck, but can be fraught with undocumented incompatibilities. Been there...
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Hart · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 8:16 pm Post subject:

Joe,

Dell has gone down somewhat in quality more so in customer service but they recognize it and are working to improve. I'd buy one today.

I've been impressed with the last 3 hp machines I've bought. Which is funny because I bought 20 emachines a few years ago and they sucked ass.

For what it's worth when I upgrade next I'll probably price shop those two then swap out the drives for quieter ones. I used to build my own but I'm older and more impatient now.
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Always been happy with HP (desk and lap), but you have to research which of their machines are actually good and not just priced to sell.
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georgethetech · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 1:11 am Post subject:

+1 for Mac, love the Mini...
OR
+1 for Dell. Pain in the ass to order exactly what you want, but the support is crucial IMHO, and they provide it in spades. The Inspirons are very quiet, too.
I don't recommend home-built PC's for serious production machines. ZERO support, you are totally on your own. I built a few years ago, and it was always a headache.
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KaseyKruz · Club 300 Joined: 18 Apr 2008 Posts: 336 Location: Michigan

JTVG · Backstage Pass Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 433

Thanks guys. Good info to know!
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Mike Sommer · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 9:00 am Post subject:

Widows on a Mac is sacrilege... Though that's what we did for Cashman's studio computer. Only problem was with the wireless mouse, something to do with the bluetooth connection- I'll have to dig a little deeper to fix that.
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bobsouer · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 9:00 am Post subject:

Joe,

My Dell is about 2 years old and continues to be rock solid. I got the Precision T3400 workstation. It's whisper quiet as well as a great workhorse.
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JTVG · Backstage Pass Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 433

Mike - I tend to agree. If I got a Mac, I'd force myself to use it as a Mac. Though the alternative would sure be tempting.

Bob - Excellent. Thanks!
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kgenus · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 2:03 pm Post subject:

Sacrilege left the building when Mac left Motorola and went Intel. Today, the only thing the Mac really has going for it is the look and feel and given the crap cases and keyboards all these third party companies are throwing at people, look and feel might actually matter. The bottom line is that unless you build it yourself, you're going to get a modicum of second rate parts. Mac isn't immune to this either, but they did limit liability by signing hardware agreements forcing vendors to stock pile specific revisions of each component that passed their acceptance testing ... the appearance of reliability hasn't really been tarnished.

If you want an ugly case in something efficient with better internal hardware, you could take a look at the DUC forums. They have all that information available, it's bleeding edge, but it works.

You can do that then get a Mac display, mouse and keyboard. That's what I did. Sacrilege? Nooo.....
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melissa eX · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 5:29 pm Post subject:

Gp · Guest