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frijoles99 wrote:No matter what happens or whatever you buy, get the square trade warranty with accidental coverage protection. We will be taking our computers to to class every single day. We will depend on them massively for class. I am against company warranties because they are pricier and usually do not include accidental coverage which is the most important aspect. I mean most likely if there is an issue with your computer you more than likely spilled something on it or dropped it. Squaretrade is damn cheap go online and look for coupons. I have it for my cellphone and my laptop and got it for my gf's laptop.

I'm not sure it is that simple. I took my laptop to almost every class for 4 years of UG. Is SquareTrade actually cost effective for a $500-$700 or so laptop if you have a track record of not breaking crap? I'm not convinced it is.

So I just went to the website input a $600 dollar computer then typed in coupon code WIZZARD25
. The cost was 112 for 3 year complete warranty covered against water damage drops everything. For me it is worth every penny for the peace of mind during law school knowing that if my hard drive broke that it would be covered and replaced very quickly without any cost to me. No one ever thinks they need the warranty, until they are fucked hard. I've dropped computers and cracked screens from everyday use. I've had friends drop soup on their computers. It is not uncommon but you are out 500-1000 dollars when it happens.

frijoles99 wrote:So I just went to the website input a $600 dollar computer then typed in coupon code WIZZARD25
. The cost was 112 for 3 year complete warranty covered against water damage drops everything. For me it is worth every penny for the peace of mind during law school knowing that if my hard drive broke that it would be covered and replaced very quickly without any cost to me. No one ever thinks they need the warranty, until they are fucked hard. I've dropped computers and cracked screens from everyday use. I've had friends drop soup on their computers. It is not uncommon but you are out 500-1000 dollars when it happens.

There are certain situations in which it is worth it. But you have to look at the value of the object when it gets replaced. If you spent $500 on a computer and broke it 1.5 years later, how much would you have to pay to get a comparable computer at that time? I bet it is far less than $500.

Make no mistake, SquareTrade is making money off of selling insurance so on average it is a good deal for them, not you. With computers (and especially with phones), I just don't think that insurance is necessarily worth the cost if you aren't someone who breaks things that often. While yes, there are instances where buying insurance will save you money, the question is whether that is the case most of the time. More often than not, I don't think it is (especially for me).

bk187 wrote:

wolverine2014 wrote:So I want to purchase a monitor for my desktop....was wondering what you guys think of this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... llFullInfo

Note: I am not a gamer.

I like Dell monitors (and ASUS stuff generally, though I've never tried one of their monitors). That seems like a good price for a monitor of that size from a respectable company with good reviews. I'd say it's worth it if you want a monitor but I haven't really compared any as of late.

Thanks

bk187 wrote:

frijoles99 wrote:So I just went to the website input a $600 dollar computer then typed in coupon code WIZZARD25
. The cost was 112 for 3 year complete warranty covered against water damage drops everything. For me it is worth every penny for the peace of mind during law school knowing that if my hard drive broke that it would be covered and replaced very quickly without any cost to me. No one ever thinks they need the warranty, until they are fucked hard. I've dropped computers and cracked screens from everyday use. I've had friends drop soup on their computers. It is not uncommon but you are out 500-1000 dollars when it happens.

There are certain situations in which it is worth it. But you have to look at the value of the object when it gets replaced. If you spent $500 on a computer and broke it 1.5 years later, how much would you have to pay to get a comparable computer at that time? I bet it is far less than $500.

Make no mistake, SquareTrade is making money off of selling insurance so on average it is a good deal for them, not you. With computers (and especially with phones), I just don't think that insurance is necessarily worth the cost if you aren't someone who breaks things that often. While yes, there are instances where buying insurance will save you money, the question is whether that is the case most of the time. More often than not, I don't think it is (especially for me).

It's one thing if we're talking about health insurance. I would argue much of your health, genetics and unexpected circumstances aside, is controllable. But laptop failure rates much of the time aren't.

Most people won't be pouring water over their keyboards or dropping their notebooks from 10-story buildings. But the reality is that we're subjecting our notebooks to constant movement. Plus it doesn't help that all those tiny parts themselves aren't exactly fail safe. Whether or not Square Trade profits from their insurance business probably isn't the first consideration when deciding whether you should buy a warranty from them--especially when you examine how good they are about refunding you the entire purchase price of your notebook in the event they find they can't fix it. Check out their ratings on Amazon and resellerratings. And keep in mind that peace of mind is often worth the price tag.

My last Dell's GPU died as a result of a defective design which Dell refused to repair without reimbursement. My Asus's display and the connector cable gave out just over a year after I'd bought it. In the first instance, insurance would've prevented me from having to pay $150 for the GPU replacement, $30 for shipping, plus unstated labor charges. In the second instance, I was lucky to have had Asus repair both parts for free. I estimated that it would've cost me at least $150 for the monitor, perhaps $10-20 for the cable, and a decent premium for labor. Shipping cost me $30 but would've been free if I'd covered the notebook with Square Trade. Note: I took very good care of both notebooks. The Dell is self-explanatory. The Asus rarely left my desk except for a couple of trips to the coffeshop.

That's why for my HP which cost $1,250 before heavy discounts, I paid $130 for a 3-year warranty. SQ provides the shipping label free in the event of a repair, and as I mentioned above, they'll reimburse you the original price you paid for your notebook when they find they can't repair it. Their ratings have been consistently good for the past several years. Yes, they are probably profitable. It's one thing if they're running a ripoff scheme. But is there something wrong with companies turning a profit these days? Do we really need a math major to figure out that an insurance scheme in which 20-30% of notebook owners get some kind of damage will still result in net profits?

zeth006 wrote:It's one thing if we're talking about health insurance. I would argue much of your health, genetics and unexpected circumstances aside, is controllable. But laptop failure rates much of the time aren't.

Most people won't be pouring water over their keyboards or dropping their notebooks from 10-story buildings. But the reality is that we're subjecting our notebooks to constant movement. Plus it doesn't help that all those tiny parts themselves aren't exactly fail safe. Whether or not Square Trade profits from their insurance business probably isn't the first consideration when deciding whether you should buy a warranty from them--especially when you examine how good they are about refunding you the entire purchase price of your notebook in the event they find they can't fix it. Check out their ratings on Amazon and resellerratings. And keep in mind that peace of mind is often worth the price tag.

My last Dell's GPU died as a result of a defective design which Dell refused to repair without reimbursement. My Asus's display and the connector cable gave out just over a year after I'd bought it. In the first instance, insurance would've prevented me from having to pay $150 for the GPU replacement, $30 for shipping, plus unstated labor charges. In the second instance, I was lucky to have had Asus repair both parts for free. I estimated that it would've cost me at least $150 for the monitor, perhaps $10-20 for the cable, and a decent premium for labor. Shipping cost me $30 but would've been free if I'd covered the notebook with Square Trade. Note: I took very good care of both notebooks. The Dell is self-explanatory. The Asus rarely left my desk except for a couple of trips to the coffeshop.

That's why for my HP which cost $1,250 before heavy discounts, I paid $130 for a 3-year warranty. SQ provides the shipping label free in the event of a repair, and as I mentioned above, they'll reimburse you the original price you paid for your notebook when they find they can't repair it. Their ratings have been consistently good for the past several years. Yes, they are probably profitable. It's one thing if they're running a ripoff scheme. But is there something wrong with companies turning a profit these days? Do we really need a math major to figure out that an insurance scheme in which 20-30% of notebook owners get some kind of damage will still result in net profits?

I didn't realize they'd refund the full price of the laptop if they couldn't fix it. It almost seems like people could easily cheat them out of money but obliterating their laptop towards the end of the warranty.

I do think there are instances where insurance is worth it. For most people buying a 500-700 laptop I really don't think it is considering the pace of development and price drops. But to blanket recommend insurance for that type of device is flat out wrong. If you really get peace of mind out of it then sure, buy it. But if you are looking at it from a cost standpoint, I'm not convinced it is worth it most of the time for the average user. If they actually do full refunds fairly easily, then I might think differently.

The thing is, you know about how often your laptop is going to fail based on the history that the company has had with similar products. So if a $500 laptop fails 20% of the time within 2 years, there is a certain price point at which insurance is worth it, but above that point it isn't cost effective.

There's nothing wrong with turning a profit, my point was that not everyone, heck maybe not even most, should buy insurance for a laptop. Showing that the customer is losing money on average was my point.

Unfortunately, I don't know the hard statstics but I've seen a large percentage more than 50% of computers break in some major way between their first and 3rd year regardless of brand. Asus, HP, or apple. I believe for yourself you are very careful but for most people you will encounter issues like I have in the past. I have a leg up in that I know how to repair my own computers and laptops, but usually I get insurance because the replacement parts can be too pricey.

bk187 wrote:

zeth006 wrote:It's one thing if we're talking about health insurance. I would argue much of your health, genetics and unexpected circumstances aside, is controllable. But laptop failure rates much of the time aren't.

Most people won't be pouring water over their keyboards or dropping their notebooks from 10-story buildings. But the reality is that we're subjecting our notebooks to constant movement. Plus it doesn't help that all those tiny parts themselves aren't exactly fail safe. Whether or not Square Trade profits from their insurance business probably isn't the first consideration when deciding whether you should buy a warranty from them--especially when you examine how good they are about refunding you the entire purchase price of your notebook in the event they find they can't fix it. Check out their ratings on Amazon and resellerratings. And keep in mind that peace of mind is often worth the price tag.

My last Dell's GPU died as a result of a defective design which Dell refused to repair without reimbursement. My Asus's display and the connector cable gave out just over a year after I'd bought it. In the first instance, insurance would've prevented me from having to pay $150 for the GPU replacement, $30 for shipping, plus unstated labor charges. In the second instance, I was lucky to have had Asus repair both parts for free. I estimated that it would've cost me at least $150 for the monitor, perhaps $10-20 for the cable, and a decent premium for labor. Shipping cost me $30 but would've been free if I'd covered the notebook with Square Trade. Note: I took very good care of both notebooks. The Dell is self-explanatory. The Asus rarely left my desk except for a couple of trips to the coffeshop.

That's why for my HP which cost $1,250 before heavy discounts, I paid $130 for a 3-year warranty. SQ provides the shipping label free in the event of a repair, and as I mentioned above, they'll reimburse you the original price you paid for your notebook when they find they can't repair it. Their ratings have been consistently good for the past several years. Yes, they are probably profitable. It's one thing if they're running a ripoff scheme. But is there something wrong with companies turning a profit these days? Do we really need a math major to figure out that an insurance scheme in which 20-30% of notebook owners get some kind of damage will still result in net profits?

I didn't realize they'd refund the full price of the laptop if they couldn't fix it. It almost seems like people could easily cheat them out of money but obliterating their laptop towards the end of the warranty.

I do think there are instances where insurance is worth it. For most people buying a 500-700 laptop I really don't think it is considering the pace of development and price drops. But to blanket recommend insurance for that type of device is flat out wrong. If you really get peace of mind out of it then sure, buy it. But if you are looking at it from a cost standpoint, I'm not convinced it is worth it most of the time for the average user. If they actually do full refunds fairly easily, then I might think differently.

The thing is, you know about how often your laptop is going to fail based on the history that the company has had with similar products. So if a $500 laptop fails 20% of the time within 2 years, there is a certain price point at which insurance is worth it, but above that point it isn't cost effective.

There's nothing wrong with turning a profit, my point was that not everyone, heck maybe not even most, should buy insurance for a laptop. Showing that the customer is losing money on average was my point.

I'd hate to sound like an SQ shill, but it's $99.99-$30=$69.99 for a 3-year warranty for a $500 notebook. $30 coupons for SQ warranties pop up all the time. For the oh-so well-known average, reasonable person who doesn't know how to service repairs, it's not a bad deal at all. I wouldn't dare take my laptop to Geek Squad with the arbitrary pricing schemes they have for repairs not to mention the long delays.

frijoles99 wrote:Unfortunately, I don't know the hard statstics but I've seen a large percentage more than 50% of computers break in some major way between their first and 3rd year regardless of brand. Asus, HP, or apple. I believe for yourself you are very careful but for most people you will encounter issues like I have in the past. I have a leg up in that I know how to repair my own computers and laptops, but usually I get insurance because the replacement parts can be too pricey.

Square Trade's 2009 statistics put it at 15-25% over a 3-year period. But I've been unfortunate to have had a higher failure ratio. Here's to hoping my HP doesn't make the score 0-3 within the next 2 years.

zeth006 wrote:I'd hate to sound like an SQ shill, but it's $99.99-$30=$69.99 for a 3-year warranty for a $500 notebook. For the oh-so well-known average, reasonable person who doesn't know how to service repairs, it's not a bad deal at all. I wouldn't dare take my laptop to Geek Squad with the arbitrary pricing schemes they have for repairs not to mention the long delays.

Does the SQ warranty start from day one or from the end of the manufacturer's warranty? If it starts on day one then that's a $70 warranty for 2 years when a new version of that laptop is probably in the $300 or less range.

I mean I'm not trying to say that SQ is awful, really $70-150 isn't that much to most people and if it brings them piece of mind then go for it (and I would personally probably buy a SQ warranty if I were to buy a decently priced flatscreen). I'm just saying that I don't think that it is actually financially beneficial for most people.

bk187 wrote:

zeth006 wrote:I'd hate to sound like an SQ shill, but it's $99.99-$30=$69.99 for a 3-year warranty for a $500 notebook. For the oh-so well-known average, reasonable person who doesn't know how to service repairs, it's not a bad deal at all. I wouldn't dare take my laptop to Geek Squad with the arbitrary pricing schemes they have for repairs not to mention the long delays.

Does the SQ warranty start from day one or from the end of the manufacturer's warranty? If it starts on day one then that's a $70 warranty for 2 years when a new version of that laptop is probably in the $300 or less range.

I mean I'm not trying to say that SQ is awful, really $70-150 isn't that much to most people and if it brings them piece of mind then go for it (and I would personally probably buy a SQ warranty if I were to buy a decently priced flatscreen). I'm just saying that I don't think that it is actually financially beneficial for most people.

SQ from what I hear starts their warranty from the day after the manufacturer's 1-year warranty ends, so yes, it's technically a 2-year warranty. But the whole point of buying a warranty is to cover for problems that arise in the 2nd and 3rd year as most laptops won't encounter anything requiring major repairs in the first year. Laptops are built whether on purpose or accidentally with obsolescence in mind. All those times you plunk your laptop on the table and open/close the lid create wear and tear to parts like the inverter chip and the monitor's connecting cable as an example. It's because of the higher probability of damage by the laptop's 4th year Dell from time to time offers ridiculously expensive 4-year warranties in contrast to their reasonably priced 3-year warranties after coupon codes.

A "new version" of a $500 notebook will cost $500. Apple AFAIK doesn't discount their refreshes. Inflation means the price tag could get bumped higher, especially with the cost of raw materials so high as it is these days.

As for whether a warranty would benefit most--that's debatable. 15-25% failure rate might seem worth the gamble for those who can service their laptops. Me, I think just have bad luck. Even though I know how to operate an instruction manual and now know how to do limited repairs, it's just not worth my time/sweat to do extensive repairs when they're required.

zeth006 wrote:A "new version" of a $500 notebook will cost $500. Apple AFAIK doesn't discount their refreshes. Inflation means the price tag could get bumped higher, especially with the cost of raw materials so high as it is these days.

As for whether a warranty would benefit most--that's debatable. 15-25% failure rate might seem worth the gamble for those who can service their laptops. Me, I think just have bad luck. Even though I know how to operate an instruction manual and now know how to do limited repairs, it's just not worth my time/sweat to do extensive repairs when they're required.

What I mean is that a comparably equipped machine to the one you buy for $500 today will probably be easily under $300 in a year or so.

With a 25% failure rate, you are going to have to get a new one 1 out of every 4 times (on average). The thing is, if you are in that 25% it isn't the end of the world since you can purchase another one (and you've already got one year of use out of it). 3/4 times the laptop will last those 3 years and you will have saved $ on the insurance.

From a cost perspective, I have hard time seeing this as a good value for most people when the majority of the time they will be fine and the product sharply depreciates in value.

PC- Macs are overpriced and there are still potential compatibility issues.

wolverine2014 wrote:So I want to purchase a monitor for my desktop....was wondering what you guys think of this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... llFullInfo

Note: I am not a gamer.

is this a better monitor?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824236117

wolverine2014 wrote:

wolverine2014 wrote:So I want to purchase a monitor for my desktop....was wondering what you guys think of this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... llFullInfo

Note: I am not a gamer.

is this a better monitor?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824236117

bump

My Macbook died a couple weeks ago, and I was planning on buying a new one for law school this fall, anyway. When is Lion supposed to come out? Still just sometime this summer? I believe Snow Leopard came out in September/October, so AFTER school starts. But it would be incredibly stupid to buy a new Macbook when Lion is coming out in a few months, right? RIGHT?! What is the probability of Lion coming out after the summer free-ipod-with-mac deal? UGH bad timing.

minuit wrote:My Macbook died a couple weeks ago, and I was planning on buying a new one for law school this fall, anyway. When is Lion supposed to come out? Still just sometime this summer? I believe Snow Leopard came out in September/October, so AFTER school starts. But it would be incredibly stupid to buy a new Macbook when Lion is coming out in a few months, right? RIGHT?! What is the probability of Lion coming out after the summer free-ipod-with-mac deal? UGH bad timing.

Generally they include a free OS update for Macs that are sold within a few months of the OS release. And if not, if Lion pricing is anything like Snow Leopard, you're only out like $30.

Be a pirate. Arr.

minuit wrote:My Macbook died a couple weeks ago, and I was planning on buying a new one for law school this fall, anyway. When is Lion supposed to come out? Still just sometime this summer? I believe Snow Leopard came out in September/October, so AFTER school starts. But it would be incredibly stupid to buy a new Macbook when Lion is coming out in a few months, right? RIGHT?! What is the probability of Lion coming out after the summer free-ipod-with-mac deal? UGH bad timing.

I just bought a macbook, and they told me that, since Lion will almost certainly be out within 90 days of my purchase, my upgrade will be very cheap, something like 20 or 30.

dakatz wrote:

minuit wrote:My Macbook died a couple weeks ago, and I was planning on buying a new one for law school this fall, anyway. When is Lion supposed to come out? Still just sometime this summer? I believe Snow Leopard came out in September/October, so AFTER school starts. But it would be incredibly stupid to buy a new Macbook when Lion is coming out in a few months, right? RIGHT?! What is the probability of Lion coming out after the summer free-ipod-with-mac deal? UGH bad timing.

I just bought a macbook, and they told me that, since Lion will almost certainly be out within 90 days of my purchase, my upgrade will be very cheap, something like 20 or 30.

It's always 20 or 30 bucks. Even for people who don't own macs.

That's the mark of a good salesperson. You walked away thinking you're special - but you're actually not. Nothing against you, but you gotta love the profession

Looking for opinions on this purchase. PC guy, used to be A+ certified, Adobe CS5 suite user, looking to buy a laptop for law school. Note that gaming will now be on a PS3 since I'm tired of upgrading desktops.

Lenovo ThinkPad X220

• Intel Core i5-2520M Processor (2.5GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB)
  Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
  12.5" Premium HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, 2x2 Antenna
  Intel® HD Graphics 3000
  2 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)*
  No Fingerprint Reader
  320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
  ThinkPad Battery 29++ (9 cell)
  Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN)
  Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable
  3YR Onsite + 3YR ThinkPad Protection

*Will be upgraded to 8GB PC3-10600 RAM via Newegg for $70.

Estimated total: $1,022.11 (w/ free shipping, and I can checkout on Amazon where I have a $50 giftcard)

Not usually an extended warranty guy, but I figure since it ends up being around $150 for basically the whole time I'll be in law school and covers accidents, spills, etc. with onsite repair and free data transfer it might be worth it.

Possible future upgrades would be an mSATA SSD for Windows/programs (think 80GB) which I can use at the same time as my 320GB hard drive it's currently configured with. Also, I like the Lenovo slice battery which adds another 13 hours or so, but it is another $180 and adds 1.6 lbs to the total weight... The 9-cell upgrade from the standard 6-cell was only $9, so I figure I could "make do" with that. Thoughts?

zonto wrote:Lenovo ThinkPad X220

in a perfect world I would also buy this PC. but my own personal question to myself is, "Do I need a thousand dollar machine to take notes in Law school?" I beg you guys for justification over the Lenovo ThinkPad X120e that is slightly smaller but half the price.

ColomboHeat wrote:

zonto wrote:Lenovo ThinkPad X220

in a perfect world I would also buy this PC. but my own personal question to myself is, "Do I need a thousand dollar machine to take notes in Law school?" I beg you guys for justification over the Lenovo ThinkPad X120e that is slightly smaller but half the price.

Yes. You do need it.

You need everything that'll give you an advantage.

Also make sure you start carrying a gun when/where you can. They'll keeel you to thin out the median.

I think I'm either gonna get a MacBook air or a cheaper laptop for school and an iPad for funz. If I choose the latter option, what laptop should I get? Would want to spend $500 or less. Thoughts?

Quick question for anyone that knows. I've heard that I should only get base RAM and upgrade via newegg or whatever, but does that void the warranty (manufacturers or any third party warranties)? I thought it did for the last comp I bought.