Picked up my desktop on Black Friday from BestBuy. Have been on Laptops all along for last 8 years so would like to know any do's & dont's with desktop. Its a basic no frill setup for home computing, Compaq 2039X with AMD 3700+/1GB RAM /250 GD HDD/NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE/DL DVD±RW. The thing is still in box, I haven't had time to open and do the intial setup.

I have always had extended warranty on my Compaq Laptops and all of them have there CDRW drives replace 2-3 times under warranty. I have been thinking is it really worth to get a extended warranty on the desktop. Any idea guys!!

 

Kinda depends on how much you paid for the computer. When I bought my last computer, it cost me a pretty penny, so I paid extra for the protection plan.

 

Extended warranty is for the store to pad on their margins. Most consumers never make any use of it. Perhaps you could purchase your computer with a credit card that offers extended warranty? Never tried to use the CC warranty but at least it gives me peace of mind.

Besides ... if it's only a CD-RW that breaks on your computer -- it's far less expensive to buy it yourself than the warranty cost. Buy the part at a wholesaler ... save a bundle installing it yourself.

 

The desktop + HP 15in LCD + Printer came as a package for $425 including tax and BestBuy was asking about $175 for 3 years of extended coverage which seemed very very high.

The laptop had far toomany item clumped together that made me feel that they were failure prone due to compactness and heat being produced by the processor.... FYI my last purchase was in 2002 when Laptops weren't ruling the roost...back then a CDRW wasn't as cheap as it is today... However I feel that a desktop would be more less prone to failure.

Any one out there with experience with the Compaq Desktops... How failure prone are these...

 

Just say no to the extended warranty.

 

If there is a problem with a computer it's going to normally happen within the first month or so. I've never bought a x warranty on a desktop. Parts are too easy to replace if they break. And if they do break when can always buy a better part for less money.

I have a HP laptop never any problems with it. HP/Compaq same company.

X warranty
Desktop no
Laptop yes

 

Everything is already under warranty through HP. Don't give BB half of what you paid for an extra couple years. By then, the PC won't even be worth $175.

I never buy warraties except on my PS3 I just got. It was $99 and from my experiences with the PS2, I'm gonna need it.

 

 

Yeah warranties are for things like Ipods or PS3's or 360's or HDTV's...stuff you aren't supposed to crack open.

Desktop is like a big box of legos that can be easily be cracked open and most parts in your computer can be had for less then a hundred if they break and by the time they break (few years) parts may be under $50) My dual processor intel only cost me 300 something to build so I would say no on the warranty especially if it is just used for internet and email.

 

That exactly what I was thinking.... Desktop can be easily opened and part can be replaced...So its settled now...No extended warranty for the Desktop....

However with the desktop.. comes a LCD monitor again something new that I never had before. So how good are these LCD monitors..do they last 3 - 5 years or are they prone to break down/damage....Ofcource I have never had any problems with the LCD in my Laptop's but then I always had warranty so I never worried...

 

LCD might be a different story, in my case I got one in 2001 so they were quite expensive and I didnt know shit about computers so I bought the first LCD I got. Ended up turning green in 2 years and bestbuy gave me my $350 back and I got a bigger LCD.

Now heres the deal...expensive LCD...yes
Cheapo LCD...no

I got an LCD on sale for $150...no warranty because it was cheap enough to just buy another one.

This is just my opinion but if you use your Laptop as your workhorse and a desktop just as a secondary thats not for anything specific (gaming, video editing, etc...) get something good and on sale.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=369396

 

All I can think of is this quote from Fargo:
Well, we've never done this before. But seeing as it's special circumstances and all, he says I can knock a hundred dollars of that Trucoat.