The Computer Thread - Desktops, Laptops, Windows, Mac, & Linux

Payout to Windows 10 user

That's funny because I saw the ladies who do alterations for me have a computer behind the till nagging them to upgrade and a week or so later when I came back to pick up my clothing, the desktop magically transformed.
 
So my $3k Sony Vaio Duo died after less than 3 years... So much for Japanese craftsmanship. Looks like a motherboard issue as the charger is recognised by the system and it says it's charging the battery... only it isn't. Battery health is still excellent, which it should be given it's less than 3 years old, so must be a hardware issue. Already re-installed drivers etc. no joy.

Went to about 10 computer repair places last week and none of them will touch it. Sony's customer support was crap to begin with but can only imagine it would be non-existent now they've sold Vaio off altogether.

So the question is, do I spend $300 getting the motherboard fixed and sell the fucker? Used models still list on eBay for over $1k, and it has been a good machine, ignoring the recent battery issue. Or should I try to sell it with the fault for $100 and cut my losses?
 
prince nez said:
So my $3k Sony Vaio Duo died after less than 3 years... So much for Japanese craftsmanship. Looks like a motherboard issue as the charger is recognised by the system and it says it's charging the battery... only it isn't. Battery health is still excellent, which it should be given it's less than 3 years old, so must be a hardware issue. Already re-installed drivers etc. no joy.

Went to about 10 computer repair places last week and none of them will touch it. Sony's customer support was crap to begin with but can only imagine it would be non-existent now they've sold Vaio off altogether.

So the question is, do I spend $300 getting the motherboard fixed and sell the fucker? Used models still list on eBay for over $1k, and it has been a good machine, ignoring the recent battery issue. Or should I try to sell it with the fault for $100 and cut my losses?
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Fix it and sell it
 
Rambo said:
Fix it and sell it
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Care to elaborate on why? I've already bought a replacement and the Vaio was a freebie from a previous job so anything I can get for it will be a bonus. I just don't want to be left $300 out of pocket fixing a machine that I can't sell. It's got a Haswell i7 so it runs fast but I dunno the market for used PCs - I always thought one day they were the best new thing and 12 months later they were paperweights. Do people spend $1,000 on a 3 year old laptop/tablet?
 
prince nez said:
Care to elaborate on why? I've already bought a replacement and the Vaio was a freebie from a previous job so anything I can get for it will be a bonus. I just don't want to be left $300 out of pocket fixing a machine that I can't sell. It's got a Haswell i7 so it runs fast but I dunno the market for used PCs - I always thought one day they were the best new thing and 12 months later they were paperweights. Do people spend $1,000 on a 3 year old laptop/tablet?
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Check the completed sales. 3 year old MacBook pro's fetch more than half their value.
 
prince nez said:
So I don't actually need to get it fixed to get $1k for it??
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fundamentally, no. but i would, since a keyboard issue is much less of a problem. its relatively easy to fix a keyboard.

why can't you get the parts cheaper somewhere else?
 
I would have thought a laptop that works fine as a desktop is as useful/useless as a laptop that only works as an ungainly 3lb tablet? I honestly wouldn't know what was easier to fix - presumably both involve taking the computer apart and knowing what you are doing in there - two abilities I do not possess nor have any intention of acquiring.

Anyway the problem is you can't get parts from Sony anymore... or so the (many) local computer repair guys tell me. At least it wouldn't be easy. Plus I wouldn't know what to do with it, assuming I knew which part to order (I don't).
 
You idiot - Don't they have hard rubbish collections up your way
 
fxh said:
You idiot - Don't they have hard rubbish collections up your way
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He mentioned $1000 three times. He wants his money.

For the record that's why I stopped paying a premium for computers or in general any electronics. They're all made in China or Vietnam or India or Thailand and like garments have become disposable goods. My father goes through a laptop every two years - all brands - and he at most does Web, Outlook and converting some media. 98% of the time it sits on a table hooked to a charger.
 
Fwiffo said:
He mentioned $1000 three times. He wants his money.

For the record that's why I stopped paying a premium for computers or in general any electronics. They're all made in China or Vietnam or India or Thailand and like garments have become disposable goods. My father goes through a laptop every two years - all brands - and he at most does Web, Outlook and converting some media. 98% of the time it sits on a table hooked to a charger.
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Would he be interested in a lightly used i7 Vaio that would do well hooked up to a charger 100% of the time?
 
Can't you just get same model with a cracked screen or something and swap. Parts?
 
I'm so bad with getting my laptop fixed. I have a 2011 MacBook Air where the battery crapped out in 2012, so it's constantly plugged in. The fix is £100 and takes a week, but why throw good money after bad?

Every year I'd like to upgrade to a new one, but every year I find out they haven't changed much. I guess progress has slowed down a lot since the early 2000s. Moore's law is dead. According to those quantum computer charts that were popular a few years ago we were supposed to have a computer that's smarter than all mankind combined by now, and a computer "smarter than the universe" in a couple of years. Yay for extrapolation.
 
Monkeyface said:
Moore's law is dead.
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It's not dead. Processing power is growing exponentially. Unfortunately, you using Safari or whatever to browse a website isn't really all that much demanding than 15 years ago.

And truth be told - can we really tell difference between 4K @ 100fps or full HD @ 30fps... well, I can't. Maybe I'm just old.
 
Monkeyface said:
I'm so bad with getting my laptop fixed. I have a 2011 MacBook Air where the battery crapped out in 2012, so it's constantly plugged in. The fix is £100 and takes a week, but why throw good money after bad?

Every year I'd like to upgrade to a new one, but every year I find out they haven't changed much. I guess progress has slowed down a lot since the early 2000s. Moore's law is dead. According to those quantum computer charts that were popular a few years ago we were supposed to have a computer that's smarter than all mankind combined by now, and a computer "smarter than the universe" in a couple of years. Yay for extrapolation.
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There have been less than subtle improvements since you purchased your Air. Retina display for one. Actually the MacBook has been reworked to make its sizing/thickness a lot closer to the Air. Had an Air or your vintage and instead of going Air again got the MacBook just because of better processor for a little bit more weight
 
Thruth said:
There have been less than subtle improvements since you purchased your Air. Retina display for one. Actually the MacBook has been reworked to make its sizing/thickness a lot closer to the Air. Had an Air or your vintage and instead of going Air again got the MacBook just because of better processor for a little bit more weight You are a douche for buying an Apple product.
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Repaired.
 
doghouse said:
Repaired.
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I haven't found a laptop that rivals the MacBook trackpad. It's so smooth and user friendly. I only use it for browsing the Internet and watching movies(which I stream to my tv anyways) so it's probably the most important factor.
 
I still can't figure out the one button thing. I had to print my boarding pass once at a hotel and it was a challenge.
 
Rambo said:
Computers who people who don't want to deal with RMA's and shipping their shit back to a depot to be repaired with 3 week turnaround times.
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You can buy PC's way nicer than Mac's or way shittier, the ball is in your court.
 
Windows is quite user friendly. I'm still confused why I need more than a dozen icons staring at me at the bottom of my screen - oh wait, because Unix people do it.
 
Rambo said:
ok, i'll play - name me a computer as nice and as function and as user friendly and as serviceable as a Macbook Pro.
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Well, you have just reinforced my point they are for people who don't understand computers straight away by tossing out that tried and true euphemism "user friendly". Being simple and rigid isn't a positive trait unless you can't be trusted to setup your computer to meets your specific needs.

Quality wise, there are too many to list here. Just one offhand example, my HP Elitebook is definitely a lot more bang for the buck hardware wise.
 
Fwiffo said:
Windows is quite user friendly. I'm still confused why I need more than a dozen icons staring at me at the bottom of my screen - oh wait, because Unix people do it.
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I was seriously impressed by Windows 10, which is literally the first time Windows has ever impressed me.
 
doghouse said:
Repaired.
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Do you see me savaging your posts? No fucking way. I am too polite for that. I like almost everything you post and this is what I get in return? I haz a sad!

I even just bought a fucking Ford F-150 today based on your recommendation.

I am weeping right now.
 
Thruth said:
Do you see me savaging your posts? No fucking way. I am too polite for that. I like almost everything you post and this is what I get in return? I haz a sad!

I even just bought a fucking Ford F-150 today based on your recommendation.

I am weeping right now.
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:challengefailed:
 
fxh said:
Can't you just get same model with a cracked screen or something and swap. Parts?
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You talking to me?

Like I am going to spend $1k on a broken one and swap the motherboard out! Actually went to the laptop hospital today and Dr Israeli dude said "basically, fixing your computer would be like open-heart surgery on a (mostly) healthy patient. It could die on the operating table. Sell it as is and get $700 for it..."

So there you go.
 
Rambo said:
if you can get $700, then of course do that. you posed it as $1k vs $100 earlier and that's what I made my decision based upon.
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Not having a go at your advice buddy, I'd honestly be ok with $100 but then I did as you suggested and looked up some listings and even broken ones go for good coin. Still can't believe anyone would buy a 2nd hand, broken laptop for the price of a decent new one...

As for my estimations, I also thought the fix would be $2-300 going by the advertised rate for motherboard repairs, but today was quoted $8-900 plus labour, with no guarantees it wouldn't be fucked afterward, so the decision has been made for me really.

If anyone is interested, I bought a HP Spectre 360 last week as a replacement - much better as a laptop than the Vaio, and about as (un)useable as an occasional tablet. And at least parts will be easier to come by than for the Sony...
 
prince nez said:
Not having a go at your advice buddy
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i know. never said you were. was just reinforcing my logic.
prince nez said:
Still can't believe anyone would buy a 2nd hand, broken laptop for the price of a decent new one...

As for my estimations, I also thought the fix would be $2-300 going by the advertised rate for motherboard repairs, but today was quoted $8-900 plus labour, with no guarantees it wouldn't be fucked afterward, so the decision has been made for me really.
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one of the reasons macbooks are so popular is because they retain their value so well. look up 4 year old macbooks online and you'll be amazed at how much they fetch.
 
prince nez said:
You talking to me?

Like I am going to spend $1k on a broken one and swap the motherboard out! Actually went to the laptop hospital today and Dr Israeli dude said "basically, fixing your computer would be like open-heart surgery on a (mostly) healthy patient. It could die on the operating table. Sell it as is and get $700 for it..."

So there you go.
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So sell it. You got it on the 5 finger discount from work anyway didn't you?
 
fxh said:
So sell it. You got it on the 5 finger discount from work anyway didn't you?
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Jeezus keep up mate the question was never to sell or not to sell - just whether I should spend money to get it fixed before I did.

On that note: offers welcome.
 
My Surface 4 Pro is a gigantic piece of shit. Replaced twice, docking station replaced once, and still buggy as all hell. Luckily it's my work computer, but I have to keep my iPad around just in case.
 
John Lee Pettimore III said:
My Surface 4 Pro is a gigantic piece of shit. Replaced twice, docking station replaced once, and still buggy as all hell. Luckily it's my work computer, but I have to keep my iPad around just in case.
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Bummer. The 3's weren't too bad, we have a half dozen of them for our supers.
 
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