General question from a computer idiot

[Michaelson]

G'day all, I'm not incompetant with computers, in fact I have a pretty good intuition with them, but I also hate them, take no general interest in them and I don't keep up with the times. For those reasons this question could be dumb...

Are some computers just better constructed and more reliable than others? I have had several Dell computers over the last 8 years or so, and they've all ended up slow and unstable relatively quickly. My current machine I bought at the start of last year and was, I thought, pretty snazzy. Dual Core and all the rest, not a beast of a machine, but much more powerful than anything else I have had.

So anyway, a year and a half later, it stalls all the time, sometimes over really mundane tasks. I've had several blue screens with it. Sometimes programs will just spontaneously crash. I get weird error messages quite often. Loading the startup items takes a freaking eternity.

Basically it is the bane of my existance. I have formatted it a couple of times, but that only sorted things out for a week or two (the last time not even that long) before all the same stuff starts creeping in.

Now, i compare this to my thinkpad laptop I bought almost 3 years ago with specs nowhere near as impressive as my desktop, and it is a little trooper of a machine. No inexplicable error messages. Runs smoothly almost always. Startup items are loaded in about 15 seconds. The DVD player doesn't work anymore for some reason, but apart from that it's great!

So anyway, I'm looking to buy a new computer soon to replace the lemon I currently own. Are there certain brands that I should look at which should be more reliable, or is it more important that I look for certain specs or something? Basically I'd like to know the best way to go about getting a workhorse machine that can handle the relatively basic demands of an online poker player, and continue to do so for years to come without causing me headaches. or is it just luck of the draw?

Anyway, I've rabitted on too much. Any advice will be appreciated though!

Cheers,
Mik

P.S. For some reason I always format posts in this forum like emails. Weird.

[choccypie]

Dell computers are generally very good; the only thing with them, is although they come with windows preinstalled, you want to format and reinstall it youself, as the version Dell installs comes with all sorts of Dell software most of which you don't need and will only bloat your system. Dells also come with a recovery disk as opposed to a windows CD, so you can never have a bloat free version of windows unless you uninstall everything you don't need - which can be hassle++ as well as leaves traces in registry.

If you want to buy another Dell (or any other manufacturer preconfigured system for that matter) make sure you get a hold of a copy of windows on its own, perhaps borrow a disk from a friend, and use the serial that comes with your new PC. Only install the drivers/software that you need, and you'll find it runs a lot faster.

Make sure you install an antivirus like NOD32 or for a free version try AVG. NOD32 is the best antivirus I've used (and I've had qutie a few), I've not used AVG free but it's apparently one of the best free antivirus programs you can get [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

If you don't mind the hassle of building a PC, I'd say that's the best way to go. It basically means you get to choose everything from motherboard to DVD drive and you can pick the most reliable makes. I've built two shuttles so far (with a bit of help [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]) and they've both been rocks.

Edit: forgot to mention Spybot S&D - get this too

[psionic storm]

Michaelson,
who is that girl in your avatar, shes smoking

[PropMike]

[ QUOTE ]
Dell computers are generally very good; the only thing with them, is although they come with windows preinstalled, you want to format and reinstall it youself, as the version Dell installs comes with all sorts of Dell software most of which you don't need and will only bloat your system. Dells also come with a recovery disk as opposed to a windows CD, so you can never have a bloat free version of windows unless you uninstall everything you don't need - which can be hassle++ as well as leaves traces in registry.

If you want to buy another Dell (or any other manufacturer preconfigured system for that matter) make sure you get a hold of a copy of windows on its own, perhaps borrow a disk from a friend, and use the serial that comes with your new PC. Only install the drivers/software that you need, and you'll find it runs a lot faster.

Make sure you install an antivirus like NOD32 or for a free version try AVG. NOD32 is the best antivirus I've used (and I've had qutie a few), I've not used AVG free but it's apparently one of the best free antivirus programs you can get [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

If you don't mind the hassle of building a PC, I'd say that's the best way to go. It basically means you get to choose everything from motherboard to DVD drive and you can pick the most reliable makes. I've built two shuttles so far (with a bit of help [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]) and they've both been rocks.

Edit: forgot to mention Spybot S&D - get this too

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for your post, very helpful. I'm Michaelson btw, I just use a different account on my awesome Thinkpad.

I saw in the FAQ this thread about reformatting a new Dell computer. Now although I didn't create new partitions and stuff, this procedure is pretty much what I have done in the past, or at least I couldn't recognise any radical differences. Is this all that should be required to get the junky Dell stuff off my machine? Because it seems we're just installing from the same Dell disk... Or is the junky Dell stuff only included on the comp when it first arrives, and cleared up by a reformat, because I've already reformatted a few times.

Going through that guide, another problem I think I might have is that I have some redundant drivers installed from a reinstallation attempt where I wasn't certain about some of my hardware specs. I pretty much took a trial and error approach until the things seemed to work okay, and only after a while did I work out that I could find a list of what I needed at Dell.com.au. Pretty stupid.

Anyway, so if I give another reformat a go, do you recommend that I buy a fresh version of windows, or will following the steps in the above guide be enough? I figure I should have one more crack at reformating and getting everything set up properly from the get go, and if that is likely to work then the cost of a new Windows cd will be insubstantial.

Once again, thankyou very much for your response.

[PropMike]

[ QUOTE ]
Michaelson,
who is that girl in your avatar, shes smoking

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know, honestly. One of those girl next door models. Found the pic on some random girlie blog.

[choccypie]

I've never actually used the Dell reinstallation CD, but assumed it would come with some bloatware; as my bf had a Vaio laptop which came with a reinstallation disk, but it kept prompting you to insert the application disk (with more bloatware) and wouldn't stfu until they were installed, so to avoid this happening I've been using a retail copy to install windows on my XPS laptop/family's new Dell PC.

Just make sure you have the correct chipset, video and network drivers (to be installed in that order) before you format, so you can download other drivers you need straight to your formatted PC. Alternatively you could just download everything in one go and transfer them to a removable harddisk or write them to CD.

If you have your service tag you can enter it at Dell's website so you can get the right drivers here, if not you can select the model and go from there [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Michaelson]

Great, thankyou very much. Just about to have another crack at this, hopefully I can save myself a few grand which I can squander in some other way instead!