computer question?

[j24jags]

I just saw this thread and thought I'd voice my opinion. I owned a Dell in HS, I got a desktop about six years ago and still have it in my room at home. I feel that I was pretty good with performing maintenance on it and keeping it in good shape, but after a couple of years it definitely slowed down significantly. At this point it is painfully slow to use. I would not recommend Dell based on my experience with it.

I currently use a MacBook, and I have been very happy with it. My MacBook is just three years old, and I have had minimal issues with it and it still runs good as new. My parents bought me this as a graduation present from HS so money was not an issue in my mind. I have had a very good experience with this Mac (runs quickly, easy to use, no major issues).

I have thought ahead to my graduating college (money likely will be a consideration when I am buying my own computer) and was wondering what my next computer will be, so I find this thread very helpful

[scottaa1]

At this point it is painfully slow to use. I would not recommend Dell based on my experience with it.

Well, ANY computer is going to slow down over time, especially over years, as more and more things are installed, uninstalled, downloaded, patched, etc. The registry gets polluted, extraneous crap is loading into the toolbar, and there's just more overhead for it to deal with. Most any computer can benefit from a yearly backup/reinstall of the OS to keep it running at top speed. Back when I was heavier into gaming I'd flatten the drive and reintall the OS and updated drivers every month or two to maintain maximum performance.

[RugbyD]

I'm in the same boat of looking for a new laptop with about the same needs, esp having a 10-key numpad for excel usage. One that caught my eye was the Samsung SF510. I am going to wait a month or so tho b/c the guy I talked to at Best Buy said the new stuff comes out soon and everything I'm currently looking at will be cheaper. He also spoke well of the Asus line.