On the basis the internet knows everything...

[jadesfire]

Tell me, oh wise and wonderful flist, do you like your computer?

I'm asking because ours went kaput last week, and to our considerable surprise, Amazon have agreed to give us our money back. The wretched thing is less than 2 years old, but we thought they'd just ignore us until we went away.

But we are now in the trying position of needing a new one. I have an iPad that is rather tempramental and likes to be synced rather than just DLing directing, and an iPod that doesn't have wifi anymore, so has to be synced. J has an iPhone and we both have Android devices as well. We buy our music on CD and rip it, generally speaking, so an optical drive of some kind is a must.

We've had PCs up to now, but are not opposed to the whole Mac idea, even if the prices are giving me the vapours.

Any thoughts/suggestions/recommendations? I understand the basics, but if you have a brand of PC you particularly like or hate, I'd appreciate hearing about it! Also, how long do Macs generally last for? Given their price, I'd be needing 5-10 years of use from one (whether an iMac, Mac Mini or MacBook). Is that realistic? Given we'll need a Superdrive as well, it's going to be quite the investment if we go for a Mac, and I jolly well want my money's worth!

Tell me all, people!

Comments

[travels_in_time]

My first Macbook lasted for nearly seven years, and I was pretty abusive to it--never ever turned it off (except when late in its life it had to be manually rebooted), rarely updated it, etc. I bet it would have done even better if I'd treated it well.

[jadesfire]

Interesting, thanks. My impression has always been that Macs last longer, mostly because even a 2nd hand 2009 model costs a lot more than a new PC! I'm kind of tempted by a MacBook, so that we could take it on holiday as well as using it at home, but the cost is a lot more for similar specs.

Decisions, decisions...

[nightdog_barks]

I've been very happy with my laptop! It's a Toshiba -- a Satellite L515-S4960, and I've had it for about ... three or four years now, I guess. Super easy to use right out of the box, which was a huge relief to me as previously I had a Lenovo that needed a software update (right out of the box) and I had to call the Unfriendliest Tech Support in the Universe and speak to the Least Interested Tech in the World.

Twice.

So I love my Toshiba. :D

[jadesfire]

Ooh, yes, I'd forgotten Toshiba. J had one of those which got me through my dissertation. It worked fine but was old enough to remember external modems and hated wifi. Still, Office worked and it didn't crash while I was writing, so there's a limited amount more that you need.

Interesting to hear that about Lenovo. I think if we got one, we'd get it from John Lewis (big UK retailer, deeply middle-class and unashamed of it ;)) which gives you 2 years cover for free. Got to be better than talking to tech support :/

[nightdog_barks]

Oh yes, I think a local retailer would work out well. Since my disastrous introduction, I've heard other people sing paeans of praise to their Lenovos, so it's very possible I just got the bad apple in the proverbial barrel. :D

[morgynleri]

I like my laptop, and while it's new enough I've only had it a year and change. The cord isn't as good as the one for the old one (I've already had to replace the cord), but if you do get a fairly new Mac, a bit of tape (electrical or duck tape) around the part right at the brick should keep the thing from fraying. But other than that, I haven't had a problem with it. If you get solid-state with the retina display, you'll have to get an external optical drive, because it doesn't have a drive in it.

I know my previous Mac laptop lasted at least four years, and it was refurbished. So, probably older than that, but toward the end it overheated a lot and wasn't supporting some of the peripherals (like the external fan to keep it cool!). On the other hand, I don't know what all its history was before I got it, and it had several issues probably due to that, and it still did well for me for four years.

My Mac Mini I've had for most of a decade, and it still works well - boots up, runs the programs I tell it to. Not that it gets much use lately, because I prefer my laptop in general.

[jadesfire]

Macs do seem to be the Computers That Will Not Die, which has to be a good thing. And if we buy a PC, we'll have to buy a new monitor, which takes that cost up as well. I think if we could get an external optical drive that worked, we'd be very tempted with a Mac, even given the cost. A Mac Mini comes in at about the same as a Desktop, and sounds like it will go on longer.

*sigh* so many decisions! But it's good to hear more good experiences - with so much to choose from, it's useful to have something else to go on! Thanks :)

[morgynleri]

I think if we could get an external optical drive that worked, we'd be very tempted with a Mac, even given the cost.

The superdrive, which I have for my laptop, has worked very well for me. It actually tends to live with the latest Sims3 expansion pack disc in it most of the time, and doesn't give me fits for it when I plug it in or unplug it.

[pwcorgigirl]

We're kind of a mixed family in that we have/had mostly Dells. Corgiguy has a little white Mac laptop and an iPad, but they're mostly for play. I have a nice big Dell laptop that's been rock solid and a little HP Mini laptop (with a 10 inch screen, so it's tiny) that I bought mainly because it was not expensive and very portable.

We have had excellent luck with the Dells. One of them has even stood up to years of abuse by Corgikid. We did buy an extended warranty on that one and have had Dell come out and fix it at our house a couple of times.

Corgiguy has had some odd things go wrong with the Mac laptop, like the DVD drive crapped out on it a couple of years ago so he uses an external drive.

My wee HP Mini is fun but vastly underpowered and has an odd quirk in that it refuses to connect to our printer, which is also made by HP. I'm not sure the Mini is even made any more, but I could not recommend to anyone who wants trouble-free longevity with a computer. It simply doesn't have enough power to do much more than surf the 'net.

[jadesfire]

Ooh, interesting, thanks. I'm leaning towards Dell or Novatech, both of whom score pretty well for PC satisfaction (Apple always come out top overall for computers, which I think is to be expected!). Having had Acers and Asuses for a while, if we're having another PC, I want something that stands a chance of lasting.

My impression was that Dells were solid machines, but it's nice to hear from someone who's used them :) Thanks!