People who buy Computers with NO idea whats in them?

[Super Warrior]

Oh man seems like every person I've talked to within the past year and recent, who told me they bought new comps, had no friggin' clue what they bought!!

Guy: "my old pc was crapping out, I just went and bought this new one".

SW: "Cool! So...what kinda CPU does it have?"

Guy: .....*Blank look*

Sw: "umm well, soooo how much ram does it have?"

Guy: ....its...got a good bit...

SW: "Nice looking laptop screen on this thing. Its a 15"?"

Guy: "I...well...i guess so"


WTF? Seriously I've had this near-EXACT conversation occur MANY times. Its like these guys just look on the website and think, "Well its priced as $800-$1000 so it must be good. I'm buying it!".

I find this mind-boggling how so many people feel comfortable shelling out such cash for something, and not *know* what the hell they just bought. In fact the only thing they could tell me about it was how much they paid for it!

[/rant]

Any one else have stories like this?

[yoda313]

I know exactly what I just bought - an hp pavilion with an amd 64 3800 2.4ghz processor for 440.00 plus shipping and taxes at office depot. Will get in one to two weeks hopefully (its a configured system - not in store stock).

I am getting windows vista premium,
lightscribe dvd burner,
nvidia 7300le video card
1gig ram
1 80gig hard drive,
5.1 onboard audio


Those are the main ingredients. I look forward to getting it. I couldn't possibly buy a computer or anything relatively expensive without knowing every possible detail. If you don't know the details how do you know its full potential???

[Super Warrior]

Those are the main ingredients. I look forward to getting it. I couldn't possibly buy a computer or anything relatively expensive without knowing every possible detail. If you don't know the details how do you know its full potential???

Yeah I suppose these types are not even mildly computer-literate or something, and really don't know what they have. I'm just surprised at how many I run into.

I swear they could be buying an old Pentium II junker for $800, and they would not know it.

[SquirrelDip]

You have to remember that most people browse the web, type a letter or two and use email - not much beyond this.

I understand your frustration but if you know exactly what you've bought then this is obviously a hobby for you and you are the minority...

Personally, I know exactly what I've paid for also - the last time I bought a pre-assembled machine was in '93. I don't get frustrated by people not knowing what they've bought - I do find it frustrating when they think they know more than they do.

[budz]

Friends, family anc co-workers will ask me to recommend a computer for them. My first question is what will you be doing with the computer and the likely answer is for basic emailing, ms office and surfing the internet. I suggest to them to get a pc with a AMD processor with at least 1GB RAM. Then the majority of them will do the complete opposite by buying a pc with only 512mb RAM & getting a INTEL celeron, INTEL P4 PRESHOT or PENTIUM D processor because the computer comes with a free freaking printer and 15 inch flat screen monitor.

I was just asked to fix a Dell pc. I asked the guy what were the specs/model number of his Dell pc. He responded I'm not sure but I know it's a dell!

[Ron B]

Most people don't want to play around with a computer any more than they want to fool around with their telephone or car, they just want to use it. Even people who work on computers have somebody else repair and maintain them, providing work for untold numbers of nerdballs around the world.
If you build your own computers and do advanced work on them, as I do and many of the other people here do as well, you're a one percenter.

Like my brother said "Why do we need a computer? We just got a VCR last year."

[lordsmurf]

What is truly amazing is the folks in IT where I work sometimes give me a blank look at a simple question like "So what kind of CPU and RAM is in that server?". The only answer I tend to get is along the lines of "it runs XYZ version of Windows/Linux/etc and is about XYZ years old". Sigh. To their credit, I'm thinking they may have just forgotten, since I doubt it's a question that is asked often. But still.

I didn't learn computers because computers were my hobby. My hobby and my career both heavily uses computers, so I was pretty much forced to figure them out. The only time where I ever played a computer game (computer as hobby?) was when Wolfenstein, Duke Nuken and Commander Keen were the top titles. Once in a while I try something unorthodoxed (CherryOS, PearPC, VirtualPC, hacking hardware), but the end-goal is always tied to software or advancement related to work or hobby, not for the "fun of using a computer".

[yoda313]

Wolfenstein, Duke Nuken and Commander Keen

Ah wolfenstein Great fun. Duke nukem was ok but a bit "rough" for my liking. What was commander keen???

[lordsmurf]

Oh no! Keen was excellent. You've missed out.

And be sure you're thinking of the original Duke Nukem from 1991 or so, the side-scroller with VGA graphic, not that trash Doom rip-off version.

[Conquest10]

A lot of Mac users are like this. Since Apple has tiers users just choose one and pay for it without really knowing what they're getting besides the model name.

[zzyzzx]

People buy other stuff without knowing what's in them. Case in point in the US they still sell TV's and VCR's with analog tuners in them. They will all essentially be trash in two years, or therwise require an external tuner. I tell anyone who is thinking of buying anything here to wait until the new stuff comes out next month with the ATSC tuners in them.

[yoda313]

Oh no! Keen was excellent. You've missed out.

And be sure you're thinking of the original Duke Nukem from 1991 or so, the side-scroller with VGA graphic, not that trash Doom rip-off version.

I've played the original sidescrolling duke nukem. I liked it allright - I think it came free with my old 8bit mono soundblaster. - the three-d version was definitely the rough one I was talking about.

Do they have a windows version of keen around? What was it? A space sim? An action game??

[offline]

I do find it frustrating when they think they know more than they do.

Hubris against the Gods (aka VH Veterans) will not be tolerated!

I find this mind-boggling how so many people feel comfortable shelling out such cash for something, and not *know* what the hell they just bought.

Some people have better things to do. They want certain things to just work. Like surgery. Nothing wrong with that, so long as you can get good advice. What you don't need, for example, is to pick a surgeon who has PEBKAP (Problem Exists Between Knife And Patient.)

[Ron B]

While I enjoy "tinkering" with computers(cars, boats and just about any other gizmo as well), I view them as a powerful creative tool. A video editing bay and digital darkroom on one desktop, as well as a way to display and/or transmit the work worldwide.
Video games are cool, if I was a teenager or young adult with time to spare and no rent to pay, I'd be all over it. The best I can do is CFS2. I tried COD2, the graphics were awesome, but after a weekend of hardcore carnage, the game was over.
Not so much what's in it, it's what it does or can do.

[ViRaL1]

For the people who don't know, would it matter if they did? If they don't have any idea what it means then it's a moot point. If the sales guy told them they had a Sempron 3400+ they'd could assume it was faster than a Sempron 3200+ (all other factors being equal) but would they know how it compares to an Athlon64 3000+?

Here's how your average computer buyer thinks...

Is it much faster than what I have? (it usually is because they generally wait 4 years of more).

Can I afford it?

Can I run / play (insert app or game here)?

To be fair, thousands (if not millions) of people don't have much concern for what's under the hood of their car, they MIGHT know if it's a 4, 6 or 8 cylinder.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

To be fair, thousands (if not millions) of people don't have much concern for what's under the hood of their car, they MIGHT know if it's a 4, 6 or 8 cylinder.

Why are you talking about me uh?, what did I do to you????





I don't know much about cars.....

[SquirrelDip]

...Can I run / play (insert app or game here)?...

This is usually the first question I ask when someone is getting advice on what to buy. "Are you going to play games?"

If the answer is no then I usually point them to a store (usually Staples or Dell) for a pre-assembled. These people usually don't care what's in the box and are the Word Precessor/eMail/Internet people. Pre-assembled are good because if they have any problem what-so-ever they only have one place to go to.

If they want to play games then the next question usually is "How much do you want to spend?" - Most of these people also don't care whats in the box but still need a little help in getting the most bang for their buck. A custom built machine is usually best and I try to get them to buy at one shop (same reason above).

The people who do care usually won't ask for advice on buying a computer but will ask advice on which video card to get, which processor to get and (possibly) which motherboard to get. Often not looking for advice but more a debate.

[tenders]

well i think most people "live and learn". it all depends what you want to use it for. if they want it for games..they will soon find out. my first pc was a P2 which unfortunatly was self contained and not upgradeable , but my second was and since i do play some games(not a serious gamer tho) i learned to do upgrades myself

[MackemX]

I reckon most people who buy Mac's mustn't know what's inside of them

if they did they wouldn't pay the inflated price just for the pretty exterior :P

:edit: just came across this pic and I bet people would still buy it just because it's got an i before it

[Conquest10]

image hosted by Battleangel.org Please do NOT HOTLINK Thank you!

Good thing they didn't do like coalman.

[MackemX]

bah, I hate having to fuss on uploading stuff but I'll fix it