Need a Business Laptop

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My advice is to keep your system under warranty for as long as you use it and rely on it. 3 years is a good starting point, since you almost certainly are going to use this system for at least that long.

In my experience, most hardware failures happen close to the 2 year mark. I once had an Alienware Mobile Desktop (notebook) die on me after 2 years, 1 month, with only a 2 year warranty on the machine. I ended up forking out, as I recall, more than $750.00 to get it fixed without the warranty, and they wouldn’t allow me to retroactively bring the system up onto a warranty.

I’ve had some Dell systems have component failures around that time as well, except with a valid warranty, I had a techs dispatched to my house with replacement parts and $0.00 out of pocket.

Without a warranty you really have no safety net. Busy people who need their systems working need safety nets. This is particularly true with laptops, where basically all components are proprietary (and therefore, can’t be picked up off the shelf at your local Fry’s Electronics).

Well, that’s my 2 cents for you. Hopefully the smilies have served to increase my internet relevance factor just ever so slightly!

 

there are a few parts you could pick up from your local pc shop. im talking bout ram and harddrives here mostly.

 

Yeah, that's why I said "basically" all components, but point taken.

 

Does it cover accidents? If yes, hell yes. If no, meh.

 

That is a tricky one. Mostly you get it to avoid the argument that it is your fault. that the device is broken. It also depends on local law.

I would say in your case as being it the number 1 pc of the household: yes. If it is just a toy no.

 

It is a gamble. I have friends who's laptop did not start up after 3 months due to a bad on/off button. After repair the keyboard came loose. He had insurance.
I also have friends that use a laptop without problems.

The question is how important is the data on the laptop for you?

As for the business end, if you loose the option of playing games on it except solitaire, the price will drop after selecting a basic video-card.

like this example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115856 (I would like to advise against this brand most strongly on account of warranty issues)

A laptop price consists out of three major factors 1 processor, 2 screen size, 3 graphics card.

 

Performance wise, even with a basic card the comp will be able to run BG, BG2, IWD and IWD2.

 

Are those 16 or 32 bit programs. As I recall bg2 had a 32 bit option.

Doesn't a 64 bit windows give problems with a 16 bit program?

 

I believe those are all 32 bit apps. I have played most of them on a 64 bit OS without any problems. Although come to think of it BG I played with a TuTu installation. I'm not sure about the orignal Icewind Dale.

Coming back to dmc's question, I guess you have to ask yourself whether you're okay with the risk of not having a warranty in order to save a few bucks today. If you are, then great, don't bother with the extended warranty. If you're not, then by all means buy it and know that in the event of issues they will be repaired without cost to you. Also, you can usually extend your warranty later, as long as you don't let it lapse.

Unless you purchase a really great warranty, in this scenario chances are you will be stuck with nothing even with a warranty. Looking at the warranties of the various laptops posted from Newegg in this thread, they all require you to ship your laptop to a repair depot, and once repairs are completed it will be shipped back to you. Even under the best circumstances you're looking at the better part of a week from the point you call to the point you receive your repaired machine.

If you call on these systems you might be able to get something better than the default warranty. I know that Lenovo sometimes offers 2 hour onsite support for "business systems," but that has a price tag. I happen to have a repair depot within driving distance, so I can actually drop off my Lenovo myself, and sometimes it will be ready the same day. Remember, Lenovo purchased IBM's entire PC business several years ago, so they are a bit better resourced than some other manufacturers (though they certainly have their issues, just like everyone else).

If you're looking at such extended warranty options, you might also want to consider a warranty that covers accidents (as Taza alluded to earlier). This will cover you for repairs if you get some OJ spilled on your system or your display gets cracked due to dropping it on the ground). I have such a warranty on my main Dell XPS gaming machine. It wasn't that much extra, and with young children in my house, it made sense to be covered against their... well, their swathe of destruction!

 

It will certainly cover you well for gaming. I like this part a lot:

Splurge a little. It's Christmas, why not!

 

They've met him?

 

Congratulations dmc!! I think this system will serve you well for business related needs as well as personal. Good call on the extended warranty too.

My next encouragement is not to succumb to any sort of buyer's remorse. I have never regretted spending a few extra bucks to get a better system. But I have regretted skimping. You'll be using this system for years, and you'll enjoy those extra benefits for the duration. The extra money, on the other hand, I'm sure won't be missed for long.

Nicely done. A most worthy Christmas gift you've treated yourself to.

 

Overall a good notebook.

Still i am going to point you to its single weakness: http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-P920-Notebook-Processor.30326.0.html

Anyway congratulations, it is a good sytem. Fast with the 7200 rpm harddisk for office use. The video part is excellent.

The processor will just cut it for games like Dragon Age. the GPU will give you enough eye candy.

 

I actually can't improve on that...

 

Still, it can, and if you can you will. Why? Because it is there.