Got a new computer. Did I get the right one ?

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

My 9 year old really nice Toshiba laptop gave up the ghost Friday night. It had died twice before and was resurrected. Last time we took the motherboard out and "baked" it in the oven at 250 degrees for 30 minutes. It is said sometimes doing that works because it will cause the solder to reflow a little. It worked. We tried it again on my son's off brand computer when his died about a year later. It worked for his too. But then his had some other problem with the BIOS. We had to figure that out later. So I bought a used Toshiba from ABI Computers to replace it. It is still running well. My son uses it for his gaming group.

So considering my Toshibas age and recent performance and operating problems, I decided to go shopping yesterday. I went to Best Buy and looked at what they had. Apparently they don't sell Toshiba anymore. The salesman said the quality of Toshiba laptops has gone down to crap. They were constantly returned for warranty replacement and repair so they dropped the line. I had heard over the years their quality had gotten pretty bad. All 4 of the ones I owned since 1999 have performed extremely well. Of course the last one purchased new in 2008, you know the one that died Friday night.

So after looking at what Best Buy had, I went to the local computer geek I've been buying from for the last 17 years. Mark at ABI Computers know his stuff and is very fair with his prices and services. He costs a little more than Best Buy but his services are less expensive and he usually throws in something for free. He usually has a pretty good stock of used and refurbished Toshibas on hand. Surprisingly he had none. He too told the same story about their demise and he won't stock them anymore. New or used. So he said that in his mind ACER is the quality brand for his customers. He had quite a selection of new and used available. He had everything from small to big and with Windows 7, 8 and 10 installed. I looked at 3 used 17" units with Windows 7 that were nice from $270 to $350, but for only $100 more he had a brand new 7 unit with even better specs than the 3 used units so I went ahead and purchased the new one.

I like it and it is easier to use than my Toshiba. I can see the keys better and they have just a little more space between them. Makes the typing easier for me.

So after making this short story long, I have some questions to ask.

1) I decided to stay with Windows 7 because I am used to it and like it. I have Tune ECU and have read several reports of it not working so well with Windows 10.
Is this true ? Did I make a good choice ?

2) Do any of you guys have input on Acer Computers quality and endurance ?

 

[Claviger]

1) Win10 hasn't given me any issues since the program was updated a couple of versions ago. Since you're on Win7 ensure you do all updates, including the recent non-standard Microsoft WannaCry patch. Win7 isn't supported anymore so you'll only have to update twice, once to the most recent service pack, then again to do all post service pack updates, and it'll be done for good.

2) Acer, started out as a budget company competing for the very low profit margin market. Over the last few years they've taken strides to step up into the gaming market and a couple of pro level products. I'd not hesitate buying one if the price is right and the specs are right, all brands are made in Chinese sweat shops, including the much lauded ASUS ROG products (the real ROG gear, not the marketing branded garbage).

Enjoy your new PC

 

[A3rik]

Clavier is on point with the Windows 7 issues- it should be fine as long as you make sure you're updated and reasonably careful security-wise. One of my laptops is still on 7, and it's been fine for most things (it's too wimpy for newer games anyway).

I have had an Acer laptop, and it worked like a champ for the 4-5 years I had it. It actually worked fine when I gave it away after I got a newer one. I'd have no qualms buying another Acer.

 

[Old N' Grumpy]

Windows hasn't given me any problems either since 2006 when I left them for Apple!

 

[scot in exile]

Have a couple of old PC laptops lying around just for my Rocket but the big boy in the house is a 27Imac and a few Ipads lying around.

 

[webmaster]

I use an Acer Chromebook, with the brushed stainless steel shell and an HD IPS display. It's awesome. I think the company has similar Windows versions; but this version boots in seconds, runs forever without a charge, and handles many tasks.

Just spent the last couple weekends resolving my wife's issues with Win10 on her older "Black Friday Special" Lenovo laptop. It couldn't do the update to the latest version. Even with a RAM upgrade (found the compatible chip on ebay last year) and a basic Sandisk SSD from Best Buy. It ran fine with the components, but when MS released the latest version I found that the old partitions, which I duplicated in the SSD migration, were too small. Proved this by running Sandisk's dashboard software, and then wiping the drive and running it on Mint Linux for a few hours.

Got up this morning, downloaded an ISO from Microsoft's website, cleared the drive partitions again and re-installed clean. Discovered that this inexpensive laptop has a basic soundcard and a mic Anywho, it's now running great.

If she wanted to stay on Win7, it is likely that the partitions would have been fine, but it doesn't make sense for me to leave her with something that needs TLC to stay updated.

Just my two cents.

 

[HansO]

cant say about the windows vas still use my old 10inch Acer (Dropped heaps of times) with XP on it, I have over time had a couple of Acers and found them tough and reliable I am currently using a Hi Spec Dell ( used only indoors, cost too much to risk damage) and love it and my old 10 inch lives in garage

 

[rocketjohn]

Acer is good, so is Samsung....Windoze stinks bigtime....so if I get a box that has it, it gets Linux put in it's place.

 

[A3rik]

Agreed, I dual-boot Linux on my main PC. Unfortunately, I've not found a good DAW for Linux, and most of my games are windows-only also.

 

[1olbull]

Thanks for the thread, Bill!
Learning lots so far . . .
I'm also in market for a power PC to run my CAD, Video, photos and work related software.