Testimonial from Lisa at Warrior Momma:
Hubby and I used to pay top dollar for just about everything. We always bought the best when it came to computers — the best memory, the best processor, the three-year warranty, the works.
Last spring, as my laptop started to fade, I tried to keep it limping along. We had it worked on. We replaced the battery. And I had to manually crash and reboot it multiple times every day just to be able to use it.
Obviously, I needed a new laptop. My brother-in-law is in the IT world, so I asked him what I should get. He told me to buy the $500 Dell deal that was currently available.
What? The thought had never crossed my mind. We always bought a custom Dell (our last computer cost over $1800!).
Then I thought about it: If I could get a computer for $500 and I had to replace it every year, I would still save $300 over the price of the last computer I bought that lasted me three years.
So, guess what? I bought a Dell computer with the exact same upgrades I put on my laptop three years ago. And it only cost $440! I am hopeful this computer will last a long time, but if it doesn’t, I will not have invested our life savings in it!
Lisa is a Cincinnati mom who has struggled the last 10 years to give her kids the best education, food and treatments money can buy. Raising special needs kids is taxing emotionally, relationally, financially and physically. Her dream is to break down the walls isolating special needs families and providing them with information to help them achieve their goals. Lisa blogs at Warrior Mama.
I have used Macs and PCs and am mostly a PC user simply due to the fact that most of the programs I use were/are PC only, which I realized has changed over the years. My sister loves her MacBook Pro and I like it too. I have a Dell desktop that I paid $600 for 10 years ago, use it daily, and it operates beautifully! Yes, it’s a little slow now that the hard drive is nearly full and can’t upgrade the memory any further, but I will be purchasing another Dell to replace it. I also have an HP laptop that I got for $300 on Black Friday sale in 2009. I have had more issues with that thing in a year and a half than the Dell in 10 years! I will never purchase HP anything ever again. I need both a desktop and laptop so while I will buy a Dell desktop, my next laptop will be a MacBook…or maybe an iPad.
I was coming on here to talk up Macs, but it looks like several people beat me to it. I love my Macs!!
Another little electonics tip is to find out when the new models are coming out and then buy last years…better yet buy the store model. I did this with my camera, it was missing the lens cap and camera strap. I bought it anyway (holding onto my receipt) called Nikon and explained the type of puchase I made and they sent me these two items for free. We saved over $200 on a really great camera this way!
Ive had my $1000 macbook for 6 (SIX!) years now and have never put a single penny into it otherwise and it is still going strong! As of right now, thats $166.66 bucks a year….sounds a lot better than $500 bucks to me!
Our last two laptops have been Dell Refurbished ones. The first one last us 6+ years! I just recently bought another one to replace it (it still works fine, just really outdated) and I love it. Cost me under $600 and I have up to date everything….including Windows 7! I’ll never buy a brand new laptop again.
i hear what you’re saying, HOWEVER, if you buy an Apple computer, you will be spending more, but you will not have the issues that you have with other computers, and you will have a FAR BETTER product. Apples run for YEARS without ever slowing down or giving you half the headaches you have with others.
My husband is a programmer/IT manager (and I used to be a techie in my pre-kids days, too). We always buy relatively inexpensive laptops froma good company for me, too. The one I’m using now is an HP. We’ll also buy Toshiba, Sony, or Dell. (I’ve never had a Sony, since they hardly ever come priced low enough for me, but my husband will buy them for himself, since he needs more powerful machines.)
Apples just don’t do it for us. I need to buy homeschooling software for my kids, and I want to buy exactly what I want without having to worry if it runs on a Mac. We do have one Mac with Windows installed on it, because my husband needed to do some video editing he couldn’t easily do on a PC, but that’s a hassle.
My current PC is 4 or 5 years old and still running fine. It did have one major crash after I left it in a car during below-freezing temps for 3 days, but my husband reinstalled Windows, and it’s fine now.
You do have to be a bit more careful when purchasing a laptop over a desktop, but we travel, so a laptop isn’t optional for me.
Being a computer technician and network administrator. I cannot even fathom how people consider Mac to be the end all be all for computers. Its extremely overpriced and underwhelming.
“Oh but they don’t get viruses” – wrong.
“The operating system is far superior” – compared to what? Windows? Try ubuntu or OSx86 (Run apple’ os on your pc)
Spec for spec comparisons show the exact same hardware for much less, why pay for the shiny logo? http://outkastz.com/macfail.jpg Don’t be an isheep, research.
I’ve been a Mac user for 10+ years. I’ve given PCs a chance and they have completely underwhelmed me, especially after having to replace them repeatedly after only a couple of years of use. My Mac never ceases to impress me. PCs remind me of office jobs that I hated, error messages, and computer-related stress , so I’m more than willing to shell out extra money for something that is aesthetically calming and enjoyable. That’s not important to some people, but it is to me. Some people don’t care what their shoes look like, others do. Some people don’t care about a car’s design, others do. Me? I think PCs are utterly boring, bland and far more trouble than any monetary savings could ever make up for. That’s just the opinion this “isheep” has formed from her research.
So I’m just stopping in to say that I purchased an inexpensive Dell for about $550 just over three years ago and aside from the battery life being gone and having to replace one power cord (which could have been fixed, but I didn’t have the tools!) it has run and still runs wonderfully. I have used it heavily for work–8-12 hours a day consistently and it is showing some wear and tear but I have gotten my money out of it by far. My husband has bought more expensive, higher end computers and they may be a nice, but mine has actually given us a lot less problems than the ones we paid more money for.
I do plan to replace my laptop in the next year or two, and I don’t plan to spend a lot of money on it!
I hope you have as good of an experience with your new dell as I’ve had with mine!
$500 is definitely a savings if she usually spends $1800. However, we paid under $200 for our emachines laptop at Walmart 1 1/2 years ago and are very satisfied for what we got for the money. In addition, my husband “builds” his own desktop computers, spending just a couple hundred, as well. Huge savings over Dell, for sure.
Computers are machines and eventually they all will crash and die at some point. Apple, Dell, $300 deal or $2500 deluxe model. Make sure you are backing up your hard drive regularly because you don’t always get a second chance to save something important. We have both a PC and a macbook in our house, we have found a few programs that won’t run on mac so the mac user is on the pc at regular intervals. Honestly I don’t like the macbook all that much, and you know what it’s our second because the first one crashed and died, with alot of information on it that will never been seen again because someone, ahhem not me, fell into that line of thinking that Apples are somehow superior computers and that sort of thing doesn’t happen to them. Now there is an external hard drive on that computer backing things up at at set interval.
There are 4 desk tops at our house (everyone has their own) and another file server we share (running Linux) and my husband and I each have a laptop. I had a expensive Toshiba laptop and it was in for service more than it was with me. It finally died completely. That’s when I bought this cheap Compaq. I don’t do much programming on the laptop, that’s mainly for coupons and emails and such. But It has been working fine for over 18 months. The only thing I had to replace was the AC adaptor.
My husband and oldest son usually build our PCs so they are cheaper. Except for the gaming PC. What a lot of expensive stuff games require!
I too disagree..Apple may be more pricey up front, but it is so worth it. My parents bought an Apple LC II when I was 12 (1988) and my dad FINALLY got rid of it the early-mid 2000’s. Obviously by then that dinosaur of a computer was so completely outdated, but it still worked and ran just fine until the day it finally died (it literally just wouldn’t turn on one day). My husband and I have 2 Macs and a PC laptop in our home. The (2007) PC laptop has been having issues for the past few years, and my husband has given up wasting too much time trying to keep it running. He’s in the IT field and has lived and breathed computers since he was very young so if he can’t fix it, I know that poor thing is hopeless! When my daughter was born in 2007, I was put on bedrest for 5 weeks after my c-section incision reopened. We purchased a Mac (his PC was primarily used for work) for me to use, and even though it was only a few months newer than his, I never had any problems with it. He on the other hand, after about a year (and after the warranty ran out of course), started having issues with his PC laptop and had to spend SO MUCH TIME trying to get it to run better. I’d still have that macbook, and I’m sure it would still be running just as fast as when I bought it, except for the fact that last year my daughter decided to dump a cup of juice on the keyboard. Thankfully it was covered under a protection program, so it was replaced, and we’ve also purchased a Macbook Pro to replace the PC laptop. In the 4 years that we’ve owned a mac we’ve yet to have to fork out any $ on software of any kind, we don’t have issues with viruses or programs locking up or crashing, the software upgrades ALWAYS work…and the tech support is fabulous. I remember having to call for some minor issue with my first mac, and even though I was out of warranty, they still bent over backwards to help me out, to the point that I actually was given the number to call one of the tech people directly.
Even better? A refurbished Dell! $200-$300 and it’s the best laptop I have ever owned!
who needs to replace computers;o) Just buy a Mac!
exactly. Macs last forever and run like the day you bought them.
My husband had a custom Dell made too. 1800 down the drain if you ask me. I bought my Dell (400 back to school sale) and it’s the best computer I’ve ever used. Congrats!
I would never buy a Dell, but I also can’t stand Macs. Dell’s business model is to sign contracts with businesses and governments, and to get replacement computers for those businesses and governments every three years. So it’s not shocking to discover that they break every three years.
There are plenty of other “off-brand” computers out there that can be inexpensive if you do some research on sites like ZDnet and PC World. I save my “quality” computer to be my desktop, and I have a ZT computer and I love it – it’s twice as old as my work laptop from Dell, and easily out-perform it.
Go DELL!!!
I’ve had 3 PCs (two desktops and 1 laptop) in the past 16 years. I keep the anti-virus software up to date and, ever since I’ve had hi-speed internet (through either Comcast or Verizon FIOS) I have Windows set to automatically download updates.
I’ve never paid for anti-virus software. I’ve been using AVG Free for years and have also heard good things about Avast’s free version. Both are available at download.com. For spyware, I use Spybot.
But don’t take my word for it. Check out slickdeals.net. For one, it’s another great source for deals, but for another reason, whenever a ‘deal’ comes up for McAfee or Norton, the experts always chime in with what freeware they like better and they always name AVG or Avast.
Good luck!
one other thing about AVG free. you know those commercials you see on TV for ‘myfastpc.com’ or ‘finallyfast.com’? AVG makes such a product and you get one free use of it when you download their antivirus software. at least this was the case back in November when I did this for my in-laws and it really helped their PC.
I’ve also read it’s a good idea to open your ‘case’ and vacuum the dust out of the fan. read your manual so you do this correctly. you don’t want static electricity to fry your motherboard.
Several years ago we got a Dell desktop model for about $500 or so. Within a year or so, an electrical spike during a storm ate it. So we replaced it with an identical REFURBISHED one…that has been 3 years now…and it is used a LOT…still going fine. I have heard that Apples are the best…but I think Dell must be of the other brands. Hubby went through laptops about every other year…finally got a Dell laptop and so far so good.
I wonder if the author’s advice may depend somewhat on whether one is buying a laptop versus a desktop model.
My understanding is that laptops take more of a beating since they are moved around more, and that they wear out more quickly — so that the author’s advice makes more sense for the laptop universe where replacement every 3 years or so is expected.
If you can expect to use a desktop for 7-10 years, it may make more sense to buy a computer that has a chance of holding up technologically for that amount of time. For us that’s meant a more powerful CPU, etc., rather than a basic computer.
But then maybe I’m a real outlier — my 2001 desktop is still working!
Deborah –
I do use laptops.
🙂
Warrior MAMA
We own three Dell laptops. Our “old” one (the one I am using right now) is a 17″ and works great. It is somewhere around 5 to 6 years old and we use it A LOT. I just finished my Bachelor’s degree and am now pursuing my MBA online so I am on the computer a lot. Our second Dell laptop is a 15″ and I bought that three years ago for school bc I needed the new Windows and my husband was tired of me hogging the laptop all the time. Then about 2 years ago I finally bought a Dell mini so that I can take it with me. It is small enough to fit in my hand bag! Our computers are all different price ranges and levels of “quality” and they all work great.
We LOVE our Dells. I haven’t had any problems on any of them. One nasty virus but we googled the issue from the other laptop and found a quick solution. The only thing wrong is that this computer (the “old” one) needs a new battery. It’s fine when it’s plugged in but won’t last 15 minutes off of the charger. No big deal to us bc at 17″ it’s too big to lug around anyways. 🙂
I highly recommend Dell!!
I had to laugh (albeit somewhat bitterly) when I read this article. In 2007 my husband and I purchased a $200 Acer (not as good as Dell, mind you) for him and my company bought a $2,000 IBM thinkpad for me. My laptop barely made it three years before completely dying and his Acer continues to limp along. Not the fastest machine ever, but it hasn’t died. Maybe it was a fluke for us, but it seems ironic.
I do not necessarily agree with this post. Here is why.
My husband and I had always bought bargain computers. The computers were generally very cheap and they crapped out on us soon, so within a year we were buying another new one. We were only spending a few hundred at a time on the computer because we didn’t want to invest a lot of money into one. In a 5 year period we probably spent about $3,000 on computers.
Five years ago we decided we were going to go for a good computer. Our idea was that we were buying the cheap ones, so if we bought a more expensive computer it would last us longer. We got a customized Dell computer with a huge monitor and all the perks for $1200 shipped to us. We didn’t like paying that much money all at once for a computer, but we decided to take the chance.
Fast forward five years. This computer has seen a LOT of wear and tear. It is used almost every day exclusively all day long. It has seen lots and lots of use. It still works great! If we had just bought computers “as needed” before when the older ones crapped out we could have easily spent another $3,000. Sometimes spending a bit extra initially winds up saving you in the long run. Unless something horrible happens I easily see this computer lasting us another 2 or 3 years; it will probably easily last us another 5. We really tricked it out, got lots of memory and hard drive space on it, and a really good processor.
I have found alot of Mac users want them just because they look pretty. Having owned both and deciding that each have qualities I wanted I went back to PC.
PC’s have a much higher compatibility with programs, if you buy a Mac you will no doubt one day run into the fact that Apple don’t like competition products and customers suffer for that, if it isn’t apple the chances of it running as well as it does on a PC are limited. This makes PC’s much more powerful.
Mac’s are 100% more sturdy and you can count on your mac not to give you as many errors as a PC, they are just built better . I switched my Photography business over to a MAC (with many adobe products that need alot of power AE, Photoshop etc) and I was underwhelmed.
I don’t know why people buy Macs and think they wont ever have to upgrade, you upgrade with the times regardless of if you have a 2000 computer or a 400 computer you are still going to come to a point in time products need more Ram, CPU & Disk space to run. Look into the price difference between upgrading a pc and upgrading a 2000 MAC
Jennifer definitely get an external Hard drive, they are great I put all of my images on mine incase they get lost!.
I love my Mac! It is totally worth the extra $$. I bought mine from a Mac store in my area and with my teacher ID, I got $100 off! Apple offers other teacher/student discounts on many (if not most?) of their products. Search google for apple education and you’ll get linked to the Apple educators site. Just another perk!
How old is it Meredith if you don’t mind me asking? $100 off is not bad at all.
My computer is almost 3 years old. The one I had before this one lasted about 4 years before it really started to be too slow for all of the newer types of websites, downloads, etc. that we have now.
Just an aside – Mac also has a military discount as well! Sounds like the amount is about the same depending on the item purchased, but just giving people another option of what you can ask for in terms of a discount. Most military exchanges (and online) also sell Mac computers and of course, then you save the tax as well!
I had a Gateway laptop that was top o the line at the time and lasted me for 7.5 years. It did have a few repairs and 2 battery replacements. I bought an HP Mini in 2008 and am still using it. I like a laptop because I too freelance write while nursing the baby to sleep.
Reading that and I’m going to have to try and type while nursing now. : ) I don’t have a laptop, but my keyboard is wireless so that should do, right? : )
I feel about sunglasses the way this author feels about computers! Hubby swears by “expensive” sunglasses $100-$150/pair! Me, I stick with $10 ones. He says he takes better care of his because they are so expensive. I say we have 3 kids and I often forget to bring basics like an extra set of clothes when we go somewhere, so expensive sunglasses are wasted on me! I suppose it’s one of those things that is different for different people/families.
ouch that’s expensive. I could have bought like 100 pairs for one of his using graveyardmall.
Mary –
I do too!! Hubby bought me expensive sunglasses and they got lost! I buy the $10 Walgreens pairs!
🙂
Warrior MAMA
We use desktops as they make it easier to replace what breaks or is outdated rather than replacing the whole PC. Also, unless you really need a laptop, you’re much less likely to cause damage to a desktop PC in handling. I just replaced my main PC last week. The previous one was a Dell that lasted me 8 years (daily, 8+ hour use). It was still working fine, but I wanted something new.
Also, PC prices drop all the time. You really can’t compare prices between what “top of the line” cost 3 years ago and what “cheap” costs today. Software can also be pricey. The $1,800 machine probably came loaded with more programs than the $500 machine — that could be a good thing, but know the price isn’t only about the hardware.
I think the author oversimplified a bit.
Jennifer-
I see your point, but I didn’t get software on either computer. 🙂 I had the old specs in front of me when ordering the new one, and they really were identical!
🙂
Warrior MAMA
You bought a Dell without Windows! Good for you! I didn’t go back to Dell because I bought Windows & Office with my last machine and they didn’t give me the discs I needed to load the programs on my new PC. Just because I buy new hardware doesn’t mean I need new software.
I may have recieved windows, but I did load my own Microsoft office and anti-virus package. I finally got wise to the software scam!
🙂
Warrior MAMA
I always build my own PC. Cost half the price and I get better parts.
I have to agree. I paid $1500 for my Dell almost 4 years ago. It does still work and I use it when I need Microsoft for something but I just bought another computer and got an Asus. It seems to work just as well as my Dell did in the beginning and I paid $399 for it at Best Buy. The reason I had bought it was my 4 yr old poured a glass of water on my Dell and I thought forsure it was fried (because it was on at the time of bath) but the next morning it turned on just fine, so I kept the new one also for extra coupons. This is just my two cents.
I love, love, love my Dell laptop. I work online and I’m on my laptop so many hours a day that I actually start to wear off the letters on the keys in a year or so. I used to burn through about one computer a year before I bought a Dell. And that laptop lasted more than 5 years. I’d still be using it, but the “o” key gave out (which makes it hard to type “.com”). I just bought a new Dell for less than $700, and I’m hoping for the same performance out of this one. I’m sold on the Dell.
Thank for all the comments guys~ I will be enrolling in on-line courses this fall & will be purchasing a new comp & or laptop. Will definitely check out the MacBookPros which are getting great reviews here. I never thought much outside of Dell but it Macs are an investment worth making then it;s something Ill totally look into!
Yeah they are the way to go. And if you are looking to save a little, buy it off refurbished (you can still the get warranty and all if you want) plus tell them your a student (you said you were taking classes?) and I think that saves an extra $100 or you get a free ipod (not sure which deal they are running now). If you don’t want the ipod you can always ebay it.
How timely! I have had my laptop and kids’ desktop die in the past week. I can see either side of the argument, continually buy lower priced PCs that die in a few years or buy in a Mac that will probably last a long time. But what about the environmental impact of buying cheaper inferior products that don’t last as long? Yes, you can “recycle” computers but I think we will be saving out pennies for something that lasts and lessens our carbon footprint. I love a good bargain but I also don’t want to junk up the earth, either.
exactly. i read the book “the story of stuff” recently and realized that cheaper isn’t always better in terms of the human and environmental cost. i always check out electronics on-line to make sure that their components come from conflict-free areas and are recycle-able etc.
Once you go Mac…..
that’s the motto in my house. My husband is regretting his Sony Vaio purchase and I always see him sneak on my precious MacBook.
Computers are one of those things where it’s best to buy “middle of the road”. You don’t want cheap, nor the most expensive gadget. You know the old law that computer technology doubles every 18 months? It’s true. Our old PC lasted about 4 years, before it was too slow and old to download any new programs. I think you should pay for quality, but with technology improving so rapidly, I agree that computers are not going to last 10 years, so you should try to stay in the middle of price.
I agree completely with everyone saying that it’s worth it to buy a Mac. They truly are not difficult to adjust to, and mine has been worth every penny. Every PC we’ve ever purchased has not lasted long and continued to cost us money after its initial purchase with the need for updated antivirus software, new power cords, etc. My hubs and I both have MacBook Pros and anticipate them lasting for a long time. Macs are totally worth the upfront expense!
I totally agree with the author of this article! We bought a cheap (I think it was like $349 or $399) Toshiba laptop when it was on sale during back-to-school season a few years ago. It’s served us well for the basic computer things we do. When it dies or we have the money and want to buy a new one in the next few years, we will likely do the same thing. We have gotten our money’s worth out of this one and can have a faster, newer one. I think computers are almost becoming “disposable” especially for many people who do a majority of their internet on their smartphones (I don’t have one, but most of my friends do and they are rarely on their “real” computers) so I don’t see the need for the fanciest, most expensive home computer unless you are doing very high-tech things.
I paid about $500 for my laptop 2 1/2 years ago and so far it’s working fine. I will admit though that I much prefer working on my work laptop better than my home laptop. It’s quicker and navigates better, not sure if it’s because it’s a better model or if our IT keeps it free from all the internet clutter.
I don’t know about this one. Bought my secondary Mac in 2005 – she’s still working A-OK. My main Mac – bought in 2008 – is the same way. Probably paid just over $2,000 for the two of them for going on 6 years of service and running. I think it depends a lot of the computer, how you treat it and the like. Never had an issue with my Mac’s either (minus the cup of coffee and cracked screen…oops). Can’t say that with my old college Dell.
I finally retired my 1999 iMac about a year ago. It was a present from my parents to go to college with me. I later gave it (back) to my mom for her personal use. Finally gave up on it last year because the outdated software/operating system was not playing well with my mom’s ISP.
I’d say that’s pretty good longevity!!
I can’t stand Macs. Every time I have to use one (I am a PTV board member and the school has all Macs so when I have to go in to do something on the computer that is my only choice), I have such a hard time figuring out how to do this or how to change that. PC girl all the way because the headache is not worth the longevity for me. And our computers last us 6-10 years so that is long enough for me before I want something newer anyway 🙂 But it is all about preference so I’m definitely not saying my opinion is any better or worse than anybody else’s 😀
I am glad there are those of you out there who hate them!! = ) You make it worth it for us that are Mac users so the viruses never make it over to us!!!
thanks for all those comments…I am about to purchase a laptop. I am still using an HP desktop that is 10+ years old! It still works fine-has it’s moments though! I have thousands and thousands (not exaggerating I love photography) of pictures I like to keep on my computer. Should I just keep them on thumb drives instead of the laptop?
You’ll get better “tech” answers than mine, but at the very least I’d recommend you upload your pics to Snapfish or Shutterfly. You can keep them there indefinitely (Snapfish does require one purchase per year, but even a 4×6 print will do). I know it’s important to back them up to an external drive of some kind, but I also think it makes lots of sense to put them on the internet somehow, just in case “everything” is wiped out somehow–like in a tornado or fire. Also, I’ve always figured it would be relatively simple to replace them through Snapfish or Shutterfly in the case of a total loss, and insurance should cover the replacement.
I have thousands of pictures as well. I store a limited number on my hard drive, like the last 2-3 months or whatever, then I store the rest on an external hard drive which connects through a USB cable. It is easy to transfer them over, and they are all together rather than on lots of thumb drives all over all the place. I transfer them every couple of months in a batch. If I want to scrapbook them or need one, I can easily connect the external drive back to the computer to look through the older ones. I do keep a folder on my desktop with some of my favorites from each month to have on hand.
I was going to recommend an external hard drive as well. Cheaper on a unit basis (per Mb memory), more memory, harder to lose!
The truly paranoid will backup data (including photos) three times: to a hard drive kept at home for convenience, to protect against computer disaster; to a hard drive kept in another town in case of major disaster; and online for convenient backup and universal access. The merely very prudent will pick two of these and rest easy.
Yous should keep them on your laptop and the external HD. Right now, you’re only putting them on one HD and HDs fails all the time. You might consider burning them by year and/or six months to DVD and putting them in a safety deposit box or something.
Thousands and thousands of photos would have a hard time on a thumb drive but you should get an external hard drive. This would not take any extra time because when you are transferring them to your computer, you just put them in the hard drive folder instead of a folder on your computer. I have mine organized by year then month but you can organize it however you want. Backing them up online somewhere is also a good idea. Or having a backup hard drive that is kept somewhere else. I usually buy 2 TB ones. On sale you can find them under $100. I got mine on sale for $69.99 each at Target on black Friday but often see them for $79.99-$89.99 each throughout the year.
If you don’t mind the initial investment of about $70, an external hard drive is the way to go. I have a Lacie and love it.
I try to buy the “cheapest” PC I can find w/ the features I want on it, knowing that it will probably be outdated by the time it dies and I’m ready to upgrade. I’d love to be able to buy a Mac, but financially, the cheaper PC is usually the better option. I just replaced my 10 year old PC last year, and it still “worked” – was just outdated in processing speeds and such.
I too think I disagree…we switched to apple about a year and a half ago and I would never go back. There entry level is MUCH better than a standard pc, doesn’t come preloaded with annoying “extras”, and still is super fast and not outdated. I did send it in a few weeks before my year standard warranty was up as I didn’t buy the extended warranty. I couldn’t be happier with their customer service. They went ahead and replaced my battery, cleaned it up, and replaced my hard drive. (the reason I sent it in was I wasn’t quite getting the 7 hour battery life I had gotten in the beginning. To me it’s worth it to pay 1000 for an apple and have it still in date for years to come. Of course this is just my personal opinion but to us it’s worth it to pay for it and we save money in the long run. I has a PC that died just shy of a year old (right before we bought the mac) so that may have some baring but I have never had great luck with PCs lasting or at least lasting and not being dated within a year or so.
I agree with you. One thing I love about Apple is their wonderful tech support. I was having trouble with my iPhone last year, walked into an Apple Store, showed them the phone, and 5 minutes later, they are bringing me a new phone and apologizing over and over to A. keep me waiting so long and B. for the problem with the product. Apple makes a superb product and I’d much rather spend $1000 on a great product that I know can be fixed by knowledgeble people if it ever needs fixed. I’ve had my MacBook since Jan 2008 and it’s still going strong. My husband, in the meantime, seems to always have trouble with his Sony Vaio and he can’t wait for me to buy my new MacBook so he can steal my old one (I hate to break it to him that my Mac is staying with me until it can’t run anymore).
haha! well maybe you could at least get him an ipad 😉 we are actually going to buy one for my hubby this fall just b/c he dosen’t use the computer near as much as me
I have had an iPad since they came out. I had an old pc and my husband had his MacBook pro. We got me this because I was just on to email and do random things because my computer was old. I love it and it is so easy to use and fun! Your husband will love it. It was totally worth the money.
Where did you find the Dell for $400????? Is it something I have to do in a store or can we do it online???
Challice the deal was online. Dell has a “deal of the day” everyday.
🙂
Warrior MAMA
We too use to spend top dollar for computers. When my Dell computer crashed last fall, we ended up getting a refurbished Compaq Presario CQ60 laptop for $250. This “new” laptop was bigger, larger and better then my old computer and WAY less then what I paid for my original Dell computer. I have not had any problems with this “new” laptop. Technology changes so fast these days. I am so done paying top dollar for a computer.
We always buy refurbs and have had very little trouble with them.
I buy something reasonable (my last laptop purchase was 18 months ago and cost $549) and expect it to last 3-4 years. When it dies, we just replace it. I’m not a power user, just internet, photos & office stuff, so buying anything high end won’t make a difference. My husband is a power user, IT-loving dude (CAD, video editing) and still normally can make due on a middle of the road laptop (last purchase was one year ago at $1100).
Hmmm, I’m not sure I agree with this in regards to computers. 🙂
Seven years ago we made the switch to Apple computers. Before that we had purchased PC’s and they never seemed to last more than a couple of years without needing major upgrades or repairs.
Over the past seven years we have purchased several apple computers and they are still going strong.
Three years ago we purchased a macbook for our daughter for school for $1000 and it still outperforms many of the new pc’s. I don’t think we’ve done much to upgrade it either. About the same time my husband ( a loyal PC user) purchased a laptop (can’t remember the brand). Needless to say he went through two PC laptops over the past three years and finally switched to an mac laptop this Christmas. He spent less on the two PC’s compared to our daughter’s Mac, by about $100- but both those computers are gathering dust in the closet and my daughter is still using her laptop every day.
And the first Apple we bought seven years ago still works great!
So anyway… just my $0.02.
Toni
I switched to a Mac last year after being a diehard PC fan for all my life. I was spending so much time, effort and money repairing the PCs that I began to wonder if possibly the Mac “geeks” were onto something. 🙂
The Mac cost more upfront, but I’m holding out hope that it will pay off in the long run since I’ve heard over and over that Macs are the most reliable computers out there and will outlast PCs by at least a few years.
We’ll see! So far, it’s been very reliable and I’ve been very happy with it. But time will tell…
I’m glad you finally came over to the dark side Crystal. 🙂
Hubby owns a mac and I have a PC. After using the mac for over a year, the computer runs just like new. We love it and hopefully we will switch my computer sometime in winter. Mac win me over :0)
I made the switch to a macbook in 2008. My husband kept his PC. The only money I have had to spend on my macbook is a new battery a few months ago, and it is working GREAT. In 2009, hubby bought a new IBM laptop, a cheaper model. The day after the 1-year warranty expired, the display gave out. He called, and since it was “out of warranty”, they would not fix it. His external hard drive also crapped out after about a year (my mac product has been going strong). We couldn’t afford to replace his laptop so quickly, so we ended up buying a used computer monitor for him to plug the laptop in to. More $$ down the drain. He just bought a new pc laptop a few months ago with a bonus check from work. We’ll see how long this thing lasts…..He said we couldn’t afford to pay for another macbook, but in all honesty, I’m not sure we could afford all these pc products!
Oh, and another thing. I know you’ve spoken on this before Crystal (I seem to remember homemade tortillas??), but saving money is not always better if your time/sanity is lost. The HOURS & DAYS that my husband spent trying to fix things that were broken, backing up, uninstalling, downloading drivers, going in for repairs, etc. Such a headache.
I think you will find the mac to be a worthwhile investment. During college I had a PC which was constantly in need of some fixing. My husband on the other hand has always had a mac, and since we’ve been together (about4 years) I have never seen the mac need any maintenance at all ( it’s about 6 or 7 years old, and has accompanied my husband on many rough excursions).
Unfortunately the hot weather over here in Taiwan is killing the battery, and it’s time to put out some dough for a new one. But I don’t mind paying up front and knowing I won’t have any of the headaches accompanied by PC’s
I truly despise Apples. But do understand where you are coming from. But as far as PCs, this cheap one (less than $500) has lasted us a few years now. Our old ones that were more expensive didn’t last this long.
I don’t despise Apples, but I am a long time programmer, and there are just more tools and languages available for the PC world. I started out on Main Frames that filled a warehouse in 1970, and now my $248 Compaq has more computing power than that huge computer did.
I guess I just like the more open architecture of the PC world. Apple keeps things pretty closed as far as programming tools.
I live my life this way – I try to buy the cheapest thing whenever possible, especially when I know I could replace it several times over for the cost of a pricier one.
I grew up on Macs and like them, but my hubby is vehemently against Apple. I’m too cheap to buy a PC and Mac, so we’ve stuck with cheap PCs. We’ve owned two in the $300-$400 range (laptops) since we got married and each has lasted about 3 years. Not too shabby.
I sort of agree, Toni. My husband is a programmer and I am an online instructor, so reliable computers are a necessity for us. In our experience, when it comes to PCs, the more expensive models don’t really offer much more than the “cheap” models. Our experiences with high end and low end laptops have been about equal in terms of computer life expectancy and performance.
We recently switched to MacBook Pros, though, and the difference is fantastic. It was a hefty investment up front, but we haven’t had to replace or reformat anything in the few years that we’ve had them. In particular, I love the backlit keyboard on the Pro. I used to do a lot of my work at night while I nursed a baby to sleep, and being able to work with all the lights off saved me a ton of time!
I agree. I had a dell for college and after 2 and a half years later it wasn’t working. I had to replace it. I got a mac (which I run my small business on (it’s an online store, so I’m on it constantly) and lately I’v wanted a new computer (just something fresh and all pretty and new out of the box). But I can’t seem a reason to replace my mac. It’s in great condition and I have no problems with it after 5 years. I love MACS!
P.S. mine was always refurbished from Apple.com so I got the complete warranty and only paid $750 for a $999 computer. If you check the apple site everyday, they put up refurbished computers all the time and they are totally covered the first year (and you can buy the extended warranty if you like.
I bought my Dell laptop in 2004 and it is still going strong… I’ve replaced the battery once and I did upgrade the hard drive and memory, but other then that I haven’t had to do anything to it… I look at the Macs but I’m not sure I could make the switch, seems pricey considering what I typically use mine for…
I agree, I’m just finishing college, and I was finding that throughout my degree it was not worth it to mess with buying a new computer every year. They always broke and were not able to withstand being used for 8-12 hours everyday. I found myself using our desktop for one thing, my husbands mac for another, and my laptop for another because I didn’t have a reliable laptop I could use all the time. Even though my husband is in the computer industry, and purchases dells for the company he works for, he still recommended a mac for me because I am the type of personality who just wants it to work without a lot of maintenance and without having to learn about how to fix it. I finally bought a mac last year, and it’s been very nice to have a computer work reliably every time I need to use it. It takes a lot of stress out of the equation when you have a 10 hour battery life and I’ve still not gotten a virus on it. I don’t like shopping for computers, so I hope my mac will last me about three -four years and I know I will continue to repurchase them for years to come.
I have always used Mac’s and recently spent $600 on a new computer….
The trick, not being too picky and buying used and being satisfied with maybe not the top of the line stuff, but works well! We have three computers that work quite well. I spent $30 for one at a yard sale, the other one was free and my “new” $600 MacBook laptop……
I grew up with a dad who sold computers though and knowing when to buy and when not to, is a huge key.
I agree. I’ve used Macs since the early 90s, and I’ve found they usually last a decade (by which time they are obsolete). My last 2 Macs (1 tower, 1 laptop) have been used/refurbished – ie. not the latest and greatest, but much cheaper than a brand-new Mac from the Apple store.
And nowadays, you can easily run Windows on your Mac if you don’t like the Mac OS.
I took Lisa’s post to mean she sees the frugal wisdom in not buying the newest version. I’m a semi-professional geek and do NOT buy the newest “best” version of hardware. For several reasons:
– The newest/best version is usually bleeding edge: I want the bugs worked out on someone else’s dime.
– Hardware and software are updated quite frequently. This year’s “best” becomes next year’s second best. It’s still the same product as it was when it was the best, but now it’s typically 1/3 less (or more!).
– 15-20 years ago, which version you got made a big difference in capability. That’s no longer the case. For most people most of the time, most computers have all the power they need to run the programs you need. Buying the “best” means paying for capabilities you probably don’t need and won’t use.
– For software it’s a little different. You don’t want to buy the initial version of any package because it’ll be the buggiest and most vulnerable to malware. The initial version will have a version number ending in zero, such 3.0. You do want to get updated versions, because the updates should address (at least some of) the bugs and close holes that will allow malware. These versions will have numbers not ending in zero, such 3.1 or even 3.0.4. In this circumstance you want (if you decide to follow my advice) either 3.0.4, or 2.x.x.
Two more reasons to go Mac: Apple customer service is awesome and Macs can hold their value. A few years ago, my (then) one year old peed directly into our MacPro tower (that we paid about $1500 for). Yes, you read that right–he peed into it. He was directly at fan height, so it spread the urine throughout the CPU and main computer parts. The computer was fried and was out of warranty, but Apple replaced everything inside it *for free*. We just sold that computer (which was about 8 years old)–for $1500. Bought a brand new MacBook Pro and replaced an 8 year old computer at no out of pocket cost.
I also just made my first photo book through Aperture, Apple’s photo software. I printed the book and mistakenly included a low-res photo that didn’t print well. I contacted Apple customer service, and even though it was completely my fault (there had been a warning sign on the page, but I didn’t see it), they reprinted a $100+ photo book….again for free.
I was a PC user until I married my husband (a die-hard Mac user)…..now I’ll never go back. The computers are superior and the customer service is incredible.
My husband is in the IT world, also. He owns and operates a computer business. He also recommends the lowest priced dell computer. He says that unless you’re a business owner or heavily into gaming anything more is really unnecessary.