Toy Story
Went to go online the other day. Turned on computer. Didn’t boot. Hummmm…
The computer was a Dell that I brought in protest. At the time Graphics and Processor wanted big power supplies and the fans made it closer to wind tunnel than computer. What I got was an XPS210. Think puny. But, it was as fast for it times at the normal stuff and all the games I play (dungeon crawling) worked find.
So, what to do. Well, the error codes indicated the graphics card was kaput. That’s a problem. Not sure the power supply will handle much of anything current.
Now, I also buy my Dell computers in the refurbished department. And, I look for scratched and dented in the description. That’s what it said about the XPS210 and it came pristine in appearance. When something doesn’t move they call them scratched and dented. They also play with prices a lot. You can see the same computer the next day either higher or lower. The one I chose was reasonable because there were a ton of them. Evidently a lost PO or failed credit. The next day they’d sold some and the price was up almost $200.
Here is what I got:
Intel I7-2800 Processor (4-core)
1TB Hard Disk
8G Memory
ATI 5770 Graphics Card
It came with the 64-bit version of Windows 7.
It is a screamer. Especially when compared against the old machine. Windows 7 will take some getting used to. It is quite a change in features.
See you in a few more days. I’m now trying to install all the stuff that went away. I’ve a screen shot of the old setup that’ll help a bit.
I’ve already installed VideoLan which I use in preference to other Audio-Video players. It plays just about everything and does it well. It is a program that Google supports with its “Summer of Code” program that pays for interns to work on products they see as worthwhile. Try it! You’ll like it!
Thunderbird for mail. Firefox for the browser. QuoteTracker for my stocks. And Full Tilt for my fix are on the system. Hey, it is a start.
I used to roll my own. Then I found Dells Outlet Store could give me the same cost or close. This one was $899. If I’d built one myself, it’d probably been $200 less. But, I’d have had to buy weaker components to get to that price. If you’re thinking about a computer, give that Outlet a few weeks to come up with what you are looking for.
APPENDIX:
Yes, officer. Please stop beating me.
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Wow, sounds like a great system. Why not? If you’re like me, you use yours both as entertainment and a necessity.
I heard that when you turn yours on, the lights in your neighborhood dim.
I also meant to mention that I’ve had good luck with refurbs. My laptop (Gateway), for example, was one, and it came in mint condition.
Why can’t you geeks just say, “I bought a new computer, ’cause the old one broke.”
So, I should talk about important things like getting a new and similarly priced graphite that added 5″ to my drives?