Is there a 'best computer buy' thread here? If not, what is your opinion?

[closeupready]

I'm looking to replace my HP Pavilion with something more current - my computer crashes all the time when I'm in the middle of text-chatting/surfing the web/listening to music/playing poker, and I think it's simply a matter of the fact that it's a few year's old.

Unless someone has suggestions as to how to fix this crash problem, I'm going to probably buy a new one. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[rcrush]

1. Have one custom built for you

Maybe run some software cleaner or something on your current one.

[EOTE]

2. Either reimage your current computer or make your own computer.

When a computer becomes slower or more prone to crashing over time, it's not because the hardware is wearing out or anything like that, it's almost always because of malware and fragmented or nearly full hard drives. If you have a flash drive, memory stick or some sort of other external storage, considering backing up your important files and then reinstalling your operating system. Everything should run like new after that.

If you figure it's time for an upgrade, consider making your own computer. You can get exactly the parts you want and it can be a lot of fun assembling your own system. If you'd like any assistance, just let me know, I've been doing it for about 17 years now.`

[closeupready]

3. Mighty kind of you to offer.

:hi: :)

[EOTE]

10. Sure thing.

I'm interested in seeing the route you decide to take. Whenever I do a new build, it's like Christmas for me. Newegg is usually great for shipping, so typically all my parts will arrive on the same day, two or three days after I order. Would it be sad to say that it's usually one of the highlights of my year?

[EOTE]

12. One more thing.

If you do decide to get a pre-assembled computer, you'll probably want to check out slickdeals.net or fatwallet.com for good deals. Dell allows coupon stacking, so often times with the various coupons available on the internet, you can get some pretty incredible deals. The people at those sites will compile all the coupons for you and incorporate them into a single link. Also, you can create a small business account there and get even further discounts. Sometimes the discounts amount to 40% or more off the advertised price.

[closeupready]

14. 40% off would be very good.

:)

[HopeHoops]

4. ANYTHING in a store is old technology for current technology prices.

Go directly to the source and build it online.

I've had great luck with HP that way. You configure it exactly the way you want, they give you a build date, and shipping is free. They usually arrive in about 7 days. The one exception was my mini (netbook) which for reasons beyond comprehension was held up in customs in Alaska. I blame Sarah Palin. It probably wasn't her fault, but I blame her anyway. That's a hazard for any of the machines you order.

Other than the mini, my next most recent purchase was a laptop for my eldest daughter (freshman year in college) back in August. I pretty much loaded a 15" laptop and got both the standard battery pack and the double-battery pack. The total was about $1000. I think the only thing I didn't upgrade to the maximum was the display. I'd seen that a lot of blog entries complaining about glare on the premium display. I don't have personal experience with it, but the standard display is just fine.

We've got a total of four 15" laptops, one 17" laptop and the 10.2" mini (shipped with Linux installed), all HP. My youngest daughter also has a 8" Dell and she likes it, but I can't read anything on it without jacking up the font size. My eyes must be getting old.

Another factor is customer service. I've had to call Dell countless times over the years (for work) and there have been periods where it was okay, but mostly it sucked. My experience with HP has been excellent, including an exceptional case. My 17" lost its WiFi and then the display went away. It was out of warranty, but the very first person I talked to recognized it as a rare problem associated with the motherboard. This was a Monday afternoon. Wednesday morning, a box showed up FedEx. I packaged it (minus the hard drive and battery) and called FedEx for a pickup Thursday. Sunday morning I got an e-mail saying it was fixed and had shipped. The machine arrived Monday morning - just shy of one full week - and I didn't pay a cent. About six months later, they issued a formal recall for that problem. I haven't had any trouble with it since.

For the record, I don't work for HP and never have. This is just personal experience.

[pokerfan]

5. Give Linux a shot

Linux has a pretty good track record for reviving old PC's. At the very least, it will give you some clue as to whether the problem is hardware or software.

[deucemagnet]

6. I usually buy from tigerdirect.com

You can find some great deals on some powerful refurbs there, or, if you want to build a machine as others upthread have suggested, you can get some awesome barebones kits there for really reasonable prices.

[CatholicEdHead]

7. Describe the crashes more

do they happen on a regular basis? Doing the same thing over and over?

It is always a good idea to back up your data and reinstall with the CD/DVD that came with the machine when it was brand new and go back to factory settings and copy your data back and reinstall your apps.

[closeupready]

8. It happens predictably when I am doing many applications at once

As I said, using - for example - MS Text Chat software (forget the brand name ATM), Pokerstars, RealPlayer and/or streaming audio radio station.

Granted, that's a lot of applications, but aren't they supposed to coordinate together using the Windows framework?

Increasingly, I find it crashes when a single application is doing a lot of graphics-intensive, memory-hogging functions.

How can I do a diagnostics on the health of my computer usage/memory?

[hobbit709]

9. How much memory-that's probably the main problem

RealPlayer is a major resource hog.

[closeupready]

11. I don't recall - I bought it on Woot a few years back when HP had a surplus

and they were trying to offload excess inventory. Was a terrific deal back then, and I've never had any other problems with it, so I hesitate to replace it if I can fix it.

[hobbit709]

13. Check Accessories, System Tools, System Information

If you have at least 1 Gb or RAM you should be OK. It might be time to reinstall the system and clear out any clutter. Also check to see what's loading in your startup manager-usually a lot of stuff doesn't need to be in the startup. Did it come preloaded with a bunch of crap, most of that can be uninstalled.
Just make sure all your data files are backed up before you do anything.