HEMI6point1
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- Aug 25, 2006
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For those that don't know I work tech support in a call center. We are contracted to answer phones for a certain 24 hour computer support task force and also the retail store that owns them. As such, I have seen many things.
Here are some advise I can give due to my experience and knowledge (and not just computers)....
1. If you're going to buy a Dell, buy it direct from Dell. Not a retail store, and here's why....
I was looking at the retail prices of Dells sold retail versus their website and wondered, "how in the world are the prices lower for the retail units when they have the same stuff?"
My suspicions were confirmed when we started getting an alarming number of calls about these Dells having all sorts of issues. Bad network cards, no sound, hard drives failing after 2 weeks of usage and more issues. Some even had bad windows images right out of the box and had to be reformatted right away.
I found out why: The retail units are not real Dells. They are Dell-authorized knockoffs (Dell just gives them the external cases) that are made in China and from what I've encountered, the qualify control just isn't there. When you call Dell for support on one of these units, they "punt" you back to the store where you've bought it from, they don't even want to deal with it. If you're going to buy a Dell, buy one direct from Dell....
....Or better yet, don't buy a Dell at all.
2. Want a good antivirus? The answer is NOT at your local big box store.
One thing I noticed about being in tech support and being able to see things first hand is that you should avoid the security software sold at big box stores (Best buy, for example). The reason is because the antivirus companies know the usual demographic of big box store customers and will "try to make it easy to use for the average consumer." This almost always translates into "dumbing it down to the point where it's crap."*
Kaspersky and AVG are two examples: they were both at one time excellent products. AVG seems to have lost some of it's effectiveness (not to mention its trademark low memory usage) and Kaspersky just causes too many issues (I swear, every time I get a client who complains of his computer running slow, I just remove Kaspersky and the problem goes away**).
The best antivirus software products are ones you can only get online: Avast, AntiVir, NOD32, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and VIPRE. VIPRE is the scanner I like to run on people's computers where I work, one of the best I've seen so far. Then again it's made by Sunbelt (makers of CounterSpy) so I'm not surprised.
*And no, I'm not insinuating that people who shop at big box stores are stupid. It's just that people who really know about computers prefer to shop online and only go to big box stores if they need something right away.
**When I voice my opinion about Kaspersky people tell me, "Just turn off some of the real-time shields and it won't slow things down." No, sorry. If I have to weaken the protection just to avoid having my computer run like a 486 then it's not software I want installed in my machine.
3. Looking for a TV? Here is a very important piece of info on a certain manufacturer you might want to know....
Visio may be popular by people who shop by price, but there is one thing I learned about them that made me steer away from their sets for good.
I found this out by a salesperson at Sound Advice and was later confirmed by doing some online research. See, Visio is not a manufacturer. They are a Chinese repackager. What this means is that they will find whoever makes the cheapest panels and slap their name on them.
While this in itself is not bad (unless the Visio you get is a rebadged Sampo), it's their repair policy that is. Visio is a chinese company that has a building in California. If a set needs repair, it goes to that building. The thing about Visio is that they make no replacement parts for their TVs, nor do they make any effort to get them. When you send them the unit for repair, because of this, they simply send you a new one. That's great, but what happens if the unit needs repair after the warranty is up? You're SOL, basically.
If you still want to buy a Visio, buy the store's service contract on it. If the unit needs repair they'll just replace it since Visio won't be able to get parts for it.
4. If you're looking for a new desktop PC, don't buy HP or Compaq.
This is mainly because of 2 things. First, the new PCs are made in China and also because HP installs power supplies that are inappropriate for the type of unit it's going into (read: severely underpowered). Plus, their tech support is horrendous.
I once had to replace a power supply and motherboard for an HP that was only 4 months old and wouldn't turn on. This computer had a quad-core processor, 4 gigs of memory and a huge hard drive and other goodies. The power supply was only 350 watts. No wonder it died! I replaced the motherboard as well because these power supplies tend to take out the motherboard with them.
It gets better: We get a lot of calls about HP's "slimline" PCs, mostly because the unit suddenly will not turn on. Well that's bound to happen when the power supply installed is only 110 watts.
Gateway is guilty of the same thing but at least their tech support is US-based. If you really want a good PC however, spend the money on a Velocity Micro or Evadirect.
Hope this helps.
Here are some advise I can give due to my experience and knowledge (and not just computers)....
1. If you're going to buy a Dell, buy it direct from Dell. Not a retail store, and here's why....
I was looking at the retail prices of Dells sold retail versus their website and wondered, "how in the world are the prices lower for the retail units when they have the same stuff?"
My suspicions were confirmed when we started getting an alarming number of calls about these Dells having all sorts of issues. Bad network cards, no sound, hard drives failing after 2 weeks of usage and more issues. Some even had bad windows images right out of the box and had to be reformatted right away.
I found out why: The retail units are not real Dells. They are Dell-authorized knockoffs (Dell just gives them the external cases) that are made in China and from what I've encountered, the qualify control just isn't there. When you call Dell for support on one of these units, they "punt" you back to the store where you've bought it from, they don't even want to deal with it. If you're going to buy a Dell, buy one direct from Dell....
....Or better yet, don't buy a Dell at all.
2. Want a good antivirus? The answer is NOT at your local big box store.
One thing I noticed about being in tech support and being able to see things first hand is that you should avoid the security software sold at big box stores (Best buy, for example). The reason is because the antivirus companies know the usual demographic of big box store customers and will "try to make it easy to use for the average consumer." This almost always translates into "dumbing it down to the point where it's crap."*
Kaspersky and AVG are two examples: they were both at one time excellent products. AVG seems to have lost some of it's effectiveness (not to mention its trademark low memory usage) and Kaspersky just causes too many issues (I swear, every time I get a client who complains of his computer running slow, I just remove Kaspersky and the problem goes away**).
The best antivirus software products are ones you can only get online: Avast, AntiVir, NOD32, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and VIPRE. VIPRE is the scanner I like to run on people's computers where I work, one of the best I've seen so far. Then again it's made by Sunbelt (makers of CounterSpy) so I'm not surprised.
*And no, I'm not insinuating that people who shop at big box stores are stupid. It's just that people who really know about computers prefer to shop online and only go to big box stores if they need something right away.
**When I voice my opinion about Kaspersky people tell me, "Just turn off some of the real-time shields and it won't slow things down." No, sorry. If I have to weaken the protection just to avoid having my computer run like a 486 then it's not software I want installed in my machine.
3. Looking for a TV? Here is a very important piece of info on a certain manufacturer you might want to know....
Visio may be popular by people who shop by price, but there is one thing I learned about them that made me steer away from their sets for good.
I found this out by a salesperson at Sound Advice and was later confirmed by doing some online research. See, Visio is not a manufacturer. They are a Chinese repackager. What this means is that they will find whoever makes the cheapest panels and slap their name on them.
While this in itself is not bad (unless the Visio you get is a rebadged Sampo), it's their repair policy that is. Visio is a chinese company that has a building in California. If a set needs repair, it goes to that building. The thing about Visio is that they make no replacement parts for their TVs, nor do they make any effort to get them. When you send them the unit for repair, because of this, they simply send you a new one. That's great, but what happens if the unit needs repair after the warranty is up? You're SOL, basically.
If you still want to buy a Visio, buy the store's service contract on it. If the unit needs repair they'll just replace it since Visio won't be able to get parts for it.
4. If you're looking for a new desktop PC, don't buy HP or Compaq.
This is mainly because of 2 things. First, the new PCs are made in China and also because HP installs power supplies that are inappropriate for the type of unit it's going into (read: severely underpowered). Plus, their tech support is horrendous.
I once had to replace a power supply and motherboard for an HP that was only 4 months old and wouldn't turn on. This computer had a quad-core processor, 4 gigs of memory and a huge hard drive and other goodies. The power supply was only 350 watts. No wonder it died! I replaced the motherboard as well because these power supplies tend to take out the motherboard with them.
It gets better: We get a lot of calls about HP's "slimline" PCs, mostly because the unit suddenly will not turn on. Well that's bound to happen when the power supply installed is only 110 watts.
Gateway is guilty of the same thing but at least their tech support is US-based. If you really want a good PC however, spend the money on a Velocity Micro or Evadirect.
Hope this helps.
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