A day after we dealt with the server and forum issues, my desktop computer decided to take a dive.
It would run for about an hour and a half, then the screen would go blank while the CPU kept running. On one occassion I watched as the computer tried to reboot itself while I was in the middle of working on something.
UGH!
Although I immediately suspected that the video card was pooched, my computer techie guy, Ori, suggested that it was time that I should perhaps consider buying a new desktop – after all, my Dell Dimension 8300 is more than 5 years old.
Ori tells me that the average lifespan of a desktop is now 5 years and for laptops, it’s a paltry 3 years — unless of course airport security throws your laptop around and then you’re down to about 3 months. His theory is why spend a hundred bucks or more on something that might not work when chances are that you’re going to have to replace the computer sooner than later anyway?
Sheesh, when you spend 5 grand on a Dell Dimension desktop, shouldn’t it work for at least 10 years – provided that you do basic maintenance and don’t overload it with huge ram-sucking programs? 
Ori also mentioned that I should buy the new computer through his affiliate link. I guess he forgot that I was the one who told him about affiliate programs and the fact that Dell has an affiliate program. LOL.
Then Ed – who buys everything online and always forgets to use my affiliate links – told me that if I logged into AirMiles, I could collect AirMiles on my purchase, which ultimately was worth more than Dell’s commission.
I searched at Dell, but unfortunately, they were only offering one model that could be downgraded to XP from Vista (or ‘Beasta’ as forum moderator Griff calls it) on the Canadian site – and it wasn’t one that I wanted. I learned that what I want can’t be had. A big gaming model with 12GB of memory AND XP.
By the way, take a look at the huge differences between selection options and make and model availability between Dell.ca and Dell.com and then be glad if you live in the States for that reason alone. On the Dell.ca site, there are no “Vista with Downgrade to XP” or other convenient selection boxes.
Over the course of a day, I exhausted my tolerance for reading through all the nitty gritty details about new computers, and then told Ori that I really did want to try replacing the video card on my old computer and see whether that worked before I bought a new one.
My theory is that I’d rather spend a hundred bucks or two to try and fix the problem first, rather than blow several thousand to find out that my old faithful programs (Homesite, Paint Shop Pro, etc.) might not work with Vista – thereby forcing me to spend even MORE money to upgrade those programs. And as far as I’m concerned, the time (days, weeks, months) that it takes to set up a computer and new programs to your liking is an even bigger nuisance.
And guess what?
The new video card ($150) worked like a charm.
I have a feeling that Dell won’t like me much but I am going to keep this beautiful old machine running for at least another couple of years — or at least until Microsoft Windows 7 has been released and been proven a significant improvement over XP… we won’t even mention Vista.
About Rosalind Gardner
That’s the way I roll, 3-5 years behind the curve. It sounds like you and I run the same type of programs and they don’t need allot of power. Now days the chips of a few years ago are still fast and programs load quick enough. One of the best things about it is you can hit ebay and buy computers/parts cheap from people that have to have the latest thing and have upgraded. and your right about changing and setting up all the custom settings.
Steve B..
Hey Steve,
I think our way has more value in the long run. Or, at least it saves a lot of money and frustration and we don’t pollute any more than need be.
Likewise, I wouldn’t buy a first-year car model, but when I find something really good, I keep ‘em for at least 10 years.
Cheers,
Ros
Hi, Great topic. What is CCleaner? It sounds as my computer could use a little, something.
I have to agree with you. i am a tech guy and have a few computers. I am not about to buy anything brand brand new becasue it just costs too much money for what it will be worth next year.
I find that one piece of hardware and some good cleaning with a free program like CCleaner will keep my machine in better shape and without the headaches of buying new and then reloading and setting up all of my software that I want and need.
Hi IBB,
Seems like everyone is appreciating your CC Cleaner tip… thank you!
Cheers,
Ros
I’m typing on my Gateway laptop, that I bought in 2002. It’s a little slow and the hinges are broke, but I had to get it out of retirement when my less than a year old Dell laptop stopped working. That’s still under warranty so I should be able to get it fixed, but I hate how new computers are considered so disposable.
Hi Carrie,
Drag about your new Dell. Hope you get it fixed without too much hassle.
And I agree, new computers and too many other things in our society are way too disposable. Time to take a lesson from our parents and grandparents, methinks.
Cheers,
Ros
I’ve been buying and recommending Dell’s for years. Although, even though I no longer recommend Dell *laptops* to others (have heard too many stories of laptop problems), I still buy Dell laptops for myself and, being the geek that I am, fix the problems that I encounter.
Why am I such a Dell fan? Because Dell is one of the few OEM’s that historically includes a clean Windows CD with the purchase. Many other OEM’s include “restore CDs” that bundle the OS alongside all the usual batch of bloatware and you can’t really install a clean copy of Windows. But with Dell OEM Windows XP CDs, I can dive into the first thing I do with a new Dell – I format the hard drive and install a clean, relatively-unadulterated copy of Windows XP (and it doesn’t even need to be activated).
One of my Dell laptops (which I’m bringing to AffSum) is almost 7 years old and on it’s 3rd hard drive. It’s a clunker, but what I take with me on the road.
Me too: I plan to skip over Vista for Windows 7.
Hey Jake,
Interesting that you confirm what everyone is saying about the Dell laptops – but are able to make them work for you. Nice to have talent.
I had a Dell laptop for a very short while, never ran very well, then replaced it with a VAIO. On my second VAIO now and love it.
Hope to catch up with you at Affiliate Summit.
Cheers,
Ros
Only 5 years? Oh, the horror… my desktop just turned 4! I love her and the thought of her dying makes sad… I’m off to find out where to get CCleaner.
Hi Epiphany,
You DO love your computer… personalizing her and everything!
May she live long!
Ros
Ros,
You can always buy the dream machine of choice and have Ori downgrade Beasta to XP, as XP is still available retail. Just read your warranty fine print first
Personally, I just moved down under and could not take my PCs. After a great deal of research and demos and deciding on a Toshiba gamers laptop, I, a dyed in the wool PC geek, now own a MacBook Pro. Where I can run XP and Mac OS X simultaneously… seamlessly. IE 7 and Beasta converted me.
Hmmm… I guess when you’re forced to deal with the situation, you can make just about anything work.
But are you running XP with more than 4GB’s of RAM on your new system?
Ros
Never mind… I suppose that doesn’t matter with Mac.
I may have to start doing some research in that direction.
The Mac only has 4GB. I give the XP 2GB and Mac OS X 2 GB. This allows me to run Photoshop, Homesite, Skype, Win exploxer(a pig), MS Office, a programmer’s editor, Firefox and a cadre of others at the same time, no sweat. And the amazing part is that it runs faster on this platform than on any PC laptop I’ve seen! Using Virtual Box as the platform on the Mac for Windows to run as if it were on a stand alone hardware. It’s not perfect, you do lose a few conveniences like button shortcuts.
But, the absolute BEST part! No more anti-virus software robbing your performance. If a nasty shows up, it takes less than a minute to revert to known good checkpoint and you’re back in business. I used to lose work doing this til I moved my work space to an external eSATA drive. It’s fabulous! And as an aside, the MacBook Pro laptop looks…. well sleek and s*%y.
BTW, with your captcha plugin, you lose your post if you don’t get the captcha right.
I’m happy to see that I’m not the only affiliate who is working with an old computer.
My laptop is almost 4 and I would have bought a new one already if it weren’t for Vista
I hope that windows 7 comes soon, as this computer could die any moment :-S
I guess I’ll claim the oldest-computer-being-used-on-a-daily-basis with my 11 year old Micron desktop running Windows 98. It’s on it’s third hard drive and has cost about $50.00 each of the last three years for this and that. I just got so used [read comfortable] with my favorite programs and lack of security issues and knowing I can not upgrade them to work on XP, I decided to keep on chunking with Myron Micron as long as possible.
The temptation to upgrade got me this Christmas when I found a genuine IBM ThinkCentre refurbished, off-lease deal on Tiger Direct for $201.00 delivered and a great Samsung 19″ widescreen LCD monitor. Total package was under $350.00. I finally joined the twenty first century and run both systems with one monitor, keyboard and mouse thanks to a cool a-b switch from Radio Shack.
I am using the IBM box the most and enjoying the features XP permits that 98 did not like Picasso and Google Earth and Docs but the security blanket of having my design programs a switch click away is priceless.
I store everything on a 350 gig external drive that can USB between both machines. Life is good. I can ignore Beasta, keep up with the times and enjoy the best of both systems.
My laptop is a Thinkpad T-22 with windows 2000. It needs a new battery but I hope to nurse it along for a long time to come. My backup here is my wife’s Transport laptop with XP.
Did I mention I hate change and really don’t trust Microsoft very much?
Hello David,
You are indeed our winner so far! That’s amazing and you should win the award for smart shopping too.
I love those stories. They just prove that you don’t have to have all the latest and greatest gizmos to do what you want to do as an Internet Marketer. As long as you’ve got a relatively fast internet connection, it doesn’t matter what computer you’re running.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Ros
Hi Ros,
In fact I don’t like to say this, but chances are that when you did take out your old card and put it FIRMLY back, it also should ‘work like a charm’… May be not, but I wonder why your techi man didn’t mention this ‘solution’ first of all.
Anyhow, let this be a lesson for EVERYBODY in case of computer-failure (if not a software-problem…!!): after several years very often it’s ONLY a matter of BAD CONNECTION(S). Disconnect – eventually clean with contact-spray – and re-connect can really do wonders… and save a bunch of dollars!!
And it ‘s so simpel: watch carefully, if necessary write down the location of the connections and when everything works fine like last week, you can play the tough guy … eh…girl!
Enjoy your savings!
Leo S.
P.S. In case of an incorrect CAPTCHA (I simply forgot) people lose their complete text! Quite frustrating. I think most of them wouldn’t start all over…that’s why I always make a txt-copy first…
I’m with ya there: I’ve gotten into the habit of, before I hit submit, I quickly hit 3 things in order:
1) Click once in the text box (like where I’m typing right now).
2) Ctrl-A (selects all)
3) Ctrl-C (copies all to clipboard)
In case I have to step back and lose my form entry, I can Ctrl-V to paste it in.
I do this for almost all forms, not just Ros’s here. It’s a prevalent but occasional nuisance around the web.
-Jake
Hi Ros,
I too tired of the ridiculous prices of powerful desktops and started building my own systems. It can be a struggle, I’m not an IT, hardware or software pro but with a little digging most anyone can do it. My last $1,000 desktop has an AMD Phenom Quad core processor, 4Gigs of RAM, 2, 500Gig hard drives and a lot of other good stuff. One big and difficult choice was the OS and I went with Win XP Pro x64. It was a good choice though a few ancient software programs needed replacement. All in all I’m a very happy camper and I have a few thousand dollars left to play with!
You should try it sometime…
Phil
After being out of touch with the computer world for a couple of years I abandoned my old Dell Petium (upgraded) with windows 95 on it and bought a acer with Vista on it. Wish I hadn’t wasted my money and just bought a second hand computer with XP on it as I had used my daughter in law’s newer Dell that she had with XP. I just thought that it was because I hadn’t upgraded my computer skills for the first week or so……now I know better! I can’t believe that Microsoft gets away with things like Vista. Switching to Firefox helped loads! Thank God for them and their add – ons!
I enjoyed this post and the comments. Older isn’t always bad, and what a good way to help the environment.