The Petra Zone

I'm in bad need of a new desktop - just the tower (thank goodness I have a laptop as a backup)! I talked with a computer repair guy - he said he's been seeing alot of slim towers showing up because they're so small and they overheat because the fans aren't big enough.

HOWEVER, his store also SELLS custom-made machines (none of which are slim towers).

My question is: has anyone had any experience one way or another with overheating troubles on slim towers?

sue d. wrote:I'm in bad need of a new desktop - just the tower (thank goodness I have a laptop as a backup)! I talked with a computer repair guy - he said he's been seeing alot of slim towers showing up because they're so small and they overheat because the fans aren't big enough.

HOWEVER, his store also SELLS custom-made machines (none of which are slim towers).

My question is: has anyone had any experience one way or another with overheating troubles on slim towers?

I know that you are a PC person. Buy a PC from one of the major manufacturers. There is no performance or monetary benefit to a custom computer. In fact, all of the majors have their version of MS OS streamlined for their hardware.

This is one of the most respected review sites: http://reviews.cnet.com/desktop-computers/?tag=hdr;snav

I agree that you should just buy from one of the major manufacturers. I recently picked up an Acer laptop from Staples. It was around $500.00 and very happy with it. Acer seems to offer the most performance for the price, and the reliability seems to be high.

Well, the ONE benefit I see from buying local is that there is a real PERSON I can go in and talk to if I'm having trouble.

I was looking at this Gateway machine, and there isn't even a PHONE number on their website! Customer service reviews are horrible, and for someone who has NO knowledge of repairs and such - that scares me.

I don't have a whole lot of options when it comes to stores unless I go to Green Bay or Milwaukee. Other than that, I'm stuck to ordering online.

I did this with my laptop, and yes - I had some problems and had to do a remote fix. How much EASIER it would have been had I been able to drive downtown and say HERE - FIX THIS.

That's the benefit of buying from a little store... course the downside is that it's more expensive.

I just don't know which outweighs the other...

One possibility would be to take some classes so you can fix the dang thing yourself if you need to... Not an option for everyone though. I think I'd rather pay a little more so I could take it to someone local, it would save a lot of headache in the long run. Not everyone would want to do that either though.

Gateway used to have good service. Since they were purchased by Acer, I don't know that this is still the case.

Buy it from a Best Buy. Best Buy is going to have the best price for PCs, because they sell the most. They have optional service packages. They have the Geek Squad. If you buy a good computer, you should not have a need for someone to service it much, if at all. You are more likely to have need of a guy who builds custom computers.

I got my last desktop from staples. It's an HP, and it has served me well, without a problem. One feature of a store bought pc, that you might not find with a custom built, is the ability to easily recover the PC; meaning to revert it back to its out of the box state. This can be very useful, especially if you get hung ho with adding lots of stuff and customizing it right away, and something gets messed up and you don't what you did or how to correct it. Your store bought PC will likely come with a lot more software for the price. My father-in-laws last PC was a custom built, but from a guy who didn't know what they were doing. He paid $1100 for it. That was just the tower, and no DVD drive like he wanted. I told him he could have bought an up to date name brand with all the features he wanted for the same price, and it came with a flat panel monitor and printer. Sometimes he doesn't listen.
I don't have much experience with buying computers from best buy. My mother-in-law bought an HP laptop from one of the big box stores and she overpaid by a lot. I have the same laptop, only with better specs, and I didn't pay anything close to what she did. It may have been Circuit City that ripped her off.

I'm gonna go the other way and recommend getting a custom computer with one caveat: can someone you know and trust build it for you? Buying from a manufacturer is cheaper, but you're also getting a mishmash of average parts that may or may not work well together. Getting a custom computer (if you trust the person building it) ensures that you get better parts that work together optimally.