Marvel Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 This is all so funny... School where I work has used Dell almost exclusively for laptops and desktops. We'll hit 20 years with them this year. Laptops have always been Latitude series, which cost more. Dell service has been flat out superb compared to a couple other brands we tried out or a department snuck in on us. Still, some models turned out to be better than others. We also always wipe the drives and reinstall everything we need for our use. Service has usually been very good, but unless you send back to Dell, it's a 3rd prty repair company. Then it can really depend on which technician shows up at the door. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 +1 to go refurb but I wouldn't buy into the "intel only" theory as I've had and have AMD and intel processors and if a computer goes from fast to slow, nothing has changed with the processor, it's other things that are doing that. I've purchased at least 10 refurbs over the years from Tiger Direct, most were great out of the box, but a couple were DOA and Tiger had to send out new ones and the DOA's were Lenovo's so that's not the direction that I go anymore. Not sure what processor is in your current unit but I've also taken older lap tops that had decent processors and installed and wiped them clean, installed solid state drives and done a new install on the operating system and they are absolutely fine for surfing and light duty. I currently have an acer and a couple of dells that this has been done to and they are all more than 7 years old and I run towers at home and at work with smoking fast intel and AMD's but still use the laptops without complaints. Just my .02 worth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 The processor on the current laptop is a Core 2 Duo. Dave had once recommended to install an ssd, and things would be better. I didn't do that, instead I wiped windows off of it and installed Linus mint. The computer has still been decent, except for music play back as there seems to be alot of other noises going on. I think I am just ready to move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 (edited) Use this to get a better idea of processor speeds, value and other great information as well. PassMark Mine is a Core2 Duo T5550 marked at with and average cpu mark of 1042, what ever that means. If I was to upgrade the hard driver, and purchase Win7. I might be able to slide by for a little over $100.00 up to about $150.00. That doesn't take care of my keyboard problems, which may be an easy fix. Just weighing options. The Dell certified refurbished unit from Microsoft has a Intel core I5. Which I tech just informed me it is the I5-2520m which has a cpu mark of 3557. I think I might pull the trigger on this one, just need to talk it over with the boss. Edited March 26, 2016 by duder1982 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 The Dell and the HP both look like solid performers for around the $250 mark. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Dell service has been flat out superb compared to a couple other brands we tried out or a department snuck in on us. Service has usually been very good, but unless you send back to Dell, it's a 3rd prty repair company. Then it can really depend on which technician shows up at the door. You're the first person that I've known to experience that. Might be something to do with business support. I have to count on both hands how many times I've had an Indian tech support analyst say "I don't know what's wrong" on the phone and basically just leave me to figure things out for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 (edited) You're the first person that I've known to experience that. Might be something to do with business support. I have to count on both hands how many times I've had an Indian tech support analyst say "I don't know what's wrong" on the phone and basically just leave me to figure things out for myself. Business support was, for a while, based out of India. They had too many complaints and brought it back to the U.S. Sometimes you get a tech who is clueless and difficult, but not very often. Had a Dell rep tell us to hang up and call back if someone was too critical and not listening to what we had to tell them. First tier is following a script, no matter what company/brand you use. Usually, if we explain the steps we have already gone through before calling, they are more accommodating. Never had to use the non-business support, but my boss has, and she is the Chief Information Officer at our college. She started out running our help desk 20 years ago and worked her way up. She doesn't put up with idiots on the support side. We had a bunch of IBM desktops, before they sold it/turned it over to Lenovo. We have about two dozen Lenovo AIO machines in our library, and support has been pretty good on those, too. HP has been a little harder to deal with. We have been trying some Dell tablets for our maintenance shops, and they are turning out to be a disaster. EVERYBODY MAKES LEMONS every once in a while. EDIT: Should have added, that it really sucks when you just bought 100+ computers of a specific model and they happen to be lemons. Edited March 26, 2016 by Marvel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Just to tell stories about reliability, service, and brand loyalty. In autos: A wonderful professor of mine told about his car, must have been from the 1960s or earlier and the days of his youth. It was stalling and running rough and he brought it to dealer "A". The mechanic told him he needed a new carburetor which would cost $100. He didn't have the money. Then he brought it to dealer "B". The mechanic told him it was just a cracked hose (vacuum?) fixed it and charged him $5. Professor said that he bought all his next cars from dealer "B". WMcD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 That's the way it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 I ended up purchasing an HP 8470p Elitebook refurb. Has the same screen, processor i5 2.5 gigahertz , ram and hard drive as the Dell i was looking at. It doesn't have a hdmi output, but that wasn't one of my requirements. It does have bluetooth, but i dont know if its for sending or receiving. But again not one of my requirements. Purchased locally, with 90 day warranty ( not a hole lot of warranty). But service was good and i dont feel like there was a bunch of BS. $250.00 with taxes. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyOwn Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Happy Purchase on your new laptop duder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) Nick, It ought to be great! I actually don't like the ones with hdmi output and would rather have the old vga. I know that sooner, rather than later, vga will go away as an input on most displays, but I hate the fragility of the hdmi connections. The Elitebooks are good laptops. Bruce Edited March 27, 2016 by Marvel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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