My New Marvel

[Mike Wilson]

(For me, anyways!).



[Broken External Image]:



(With an Altec-Lansing 35 watt 3.1 Powered Speaker System to play

all of that downloaded music!).

 

[Jeff C]

Nice clean setup. I just picked up a new 19" widescreen Samsung LCD monitor to replace the Proview that went out in November. I've been eyeing the Bose Series 3 speakers at Best Buy, but at $250, they'll almost cost as much as the monitor.



Any reason you didn't put the tower on the floor in the corner, and move the printer on top in the corner, then you'd have a whole desk for writing, etc...? Just wondering. That sub will also probably sound better on the floor in the corner.



BTW, Proview's customer service sucks. My screen went out 2 days after the 1yr warranty, and they told me I was SOL, and I told them anyone I know will never buy another Proview product.

 

[Mike Wilson]

Jeff C,



On average, how long should a F/S LCD monitor last? This is my first one.

I had the old system set up just like you described, but the tower got dusty, and was hard to load CD's into down in the corner like that.

The power switch for the speaker system is on the back of the subwoofer (Thanks,

Altec-!) so I couldn't reach it if it were back on the floor or in the corner. I am thinking

about hooking up some type of remote, like the 120v. jobs you see at Home Depot

and Lowes, with the little remote. I'm looking for one tomorrow so I can put the sub

on the floor. Just out of screen on the right, I have a big rectangular table that I do

my photo projects and layouts on that is usually empty, so I've got plenty of table space!

 

[Jeff C]

I assume more than a year. My parents bought it on "Black Friday" on sale, so it wasn't like top of the line or anything. It had a one year warranty, and went out a year and 2 days afterwards. My new Samsung has a 3yr MFG warranty and an additional 3yr from BB for $40, so I should not have to replace it for 6 years, in theory.



I had a set of old Altecs, and the power controls were on the sub as well. I just kept it down by my feet. My current Altecs have a wired remote that I have mounted on the edge of the desk. One thing you might try is turning the volume a little over half way, then just using the pc to control the volume.

 

[Jacob Dryer]

Jeff warranties from best buy are in place of or above and beyond not in extension. So you only have 3 years from the date of purchase.

 

[Jeff C]

No, I specified with both the salesperson and manager, because that was my thinking too, and I was not going to pay for the same warranty as the MFG.

 

[user 62851]

sweet setup. but for me, id have to go with a bigger screen. lol i say that b/c i have my puter hooked up to my 55 inch big screen.

 

[2]

Jeff C is correct, I was also told by best buy that their warranties are over and above the manufactures, so if it comes with two and you buy three you have a total of 5 years coverage.

 

[Jacob Dryer]

Sorry not trying to jack this thread, but Jeff as a BB employee you need to go back to the store and get that in writing, because that is not the case for anyone else or any BB store that I have ever worked at which is 3 different ones in 2 different states. So if you talked the manager into that you NEED it in writing or else your going to be SOL if something happens later down the road.

 

[Jeff C]

JD, I will do that tomorrow. Thanks. What is the point of offering the same warranty as the MFG that covers parts and labor?



Sorry, Tracn

 

[Jacob Dryer]

MFG warranties don't cover power surges (including lightning). That is about it when it comes to a LCD monitor.



On other items, they have accidental coverage (laptops), in some cases they are in-home warranties vs having to ship large items out which shipping typically isn't covered either.



Additionally on some items it covers the battery which can be pricey (laptops/digital cameras)



Fine print on many warranties says 3 years on parts but only 90 days on labor or whatever the case may be.



In case your wondering or anyone for that matter I know these things like I said because I've worked for BB for awhile. My current position is with Geek Squad (I'm the guy that drives the bug to your house to fix your computers and such) prior to that I was the in-store GS senior so I handled all the people that came in with broken stuff and complained. So I know the in's and outs of service plans.



I also will/would never lie or overclaim coverages like a lot of other people/stores. So the big question becomes do I recommend them to people outside of work when I'm not on the clock? Sometimes. It is nothing more than an insurance policy and I have seen them personally go both ways. I have had to replace peoples motherboard,processor and power supply all on the same computer at the same time (roughly $300 in parts alone plus I did it at their house so labor would have made it not worth it at all) but they get it fixed for $159/$199 or whatever the case was at the time of purchase and didn't have to do anything to get it fixed. I also have a reciever and printer which have had no issues so the service plan was a total waste. So you have to weigh the cost of fix/replace/warranty prices and make the decision for yourself.



Tracnblack Sorry I know this has gotten completely off topic

 

[Jeff C]

Thanks for the insight. I was employed at BB for less than an hour my senior year. They wanted me to start working the week I had finals AFTER I expressly said that I couldn't start until the next week. They said sorry, and that they had a long list of applicants who could start right away.



I also checked that my screen has 3 years on parts AND labor, and is running through a battery backup surge protector so I'll at least have time to shut everything down.



I chose to purchase the warranty because of my last experience with an LCD screen. I did not purchase the extended warranty on my new DLP TV because after researching that the lamp and color wheel were the most common failures, and I could replace either the lamp and wheel or lamp three times before the cost of warranty was realized. I'm a pretty intelligent person when it comes to electronics, so I'm not worried; if/when it happens, I'll fix it myself.



Again, thanks for the info, always good to hear things from the inside, and sorry again, Tracn.

 

[Mike Wilson]

'Sallright! ...I'm learnin' something!!!:lol:

 

[Tom Schindler]

I recomend against putting you tower on the floor.



Too much dirt gets sucked into the machine and I honestly think it causes the computer to fail.



I have never had a HDD, fan, or a PS fail. My tower sits on my desk. I am still running some of the same case fans since I built my first PC in 1997.



My sister and my wife have gone through two PS's each and countless case fans.



Both of their PC's sit on the floor. Coincidence? I can't say for sure, but all I know is my case fans are 10 years old, run 24/7/365 (366 in a leap year ) and they are still going strong and quiet as a mouse.





Tom

 

[Travis Munday]

I love my BB Extended Service Plan...I've had my laptop sent off no less then four times. About 3 months after I got it, the hard drive failed. A year later the soundcard and LEDs went by the wayside. A few months ago my hinges broke, which then broke the LCD when it flipped wide open. Get it back and I've got no sound...sound card wasn't plugged in. But now the soundcard is acting up again, specifically the headphones port. So now I'm on my third mother board, second soundcard, second HDD, and second LCD. I'm hoping the soundcard or something else fails so I can take it back and take full advantage of the 'No Lemon Policy'. Not even like I abuse the thing, paid more for the computer then wheels and tires...with shipping.