I did buy a system. I think it is going to work out really well. As Machina said, the only thing I would like to upgade soon is the video card (32mb geforce 5200). I really wanted a system that had microsoft office professional on it and luckily I got one. I need all the applications for my work (Financial Planning). It was either that or get one with the base software pack and buy office 2003 pro later ($300-$400). Everything in between was not worth it because the stand alone sofware packs for one of the programs go for about $150-$200. But I figured that I NEED the software now and only WANT the better video card as well as possibly memory (512, 2dimms) and hard drive 40gb (4200rpm).
As far as the warranty goes, part of the work I do in Financial Planning is Insurance Analysis and the rule of thumb for insuring (which is essentially what a warranty is) anything from your car to your home to your life is that if you can afford to insure it yourself you should especially if it is a smaller item. I thought the post about insuring a $15 mouse for $8 was hilarious. That is obviously an example of something you should self insure. At this point in my career, I haven't begun to make the insane dollars yet and it would definitely hurt to lose $1500 (always hope for the best but expect the worst) so I decided to get the warranty. People don't plan on dying or getting disabled, but s**t happens, and while the percentages might not be very high that it will happen, it can and does happen to many people. The same is true with computers I assume; I'm sure many people have dropped/spilled/or just plain had their computer break, and if you cannot afford to replace it yourself, you need to insure the product.
I HAD a Paim pilot about a year ago for all of 2 weeks. I was in my office and dropped it on the CARPET and the screen broke. I had no warranty and was out about $200. Now maybe, I could insure it myself but I still wish that in retrospect I bought the $20 warranty (I think that was the price).
The bottom line is that of course it sucks to have to spend more money on the warranty and no one wants to do it, but no one wants to pay for car insurance either-until they get into an accident.
As far as the warranty goes, part of the work I do in Financial Planning is Insurance Analysis and the rule of thumb for insuring (which is essentially what a warranty is) anything from your car to your home to your life is that if you can afford to insure it yourself you should especially if it is a smaller item. I thought the post about insuring a $15 mouse for $8 was hilarious. That is obviously an example of something you should self insure. At this point in my career, I haven't begun to make the insane dollars yet and it would definitely hurt to lose $1500 (always hope for the best but expect the worst) so I decided to get the warranty. People don't plan on dying or getting disabled, but s**t happens, and while the percentages might not be very high that it will happen, it can and does happen to many people. The same is true with computers I assume; I'm sure many people have dropped/spilled/or just plain had their computer break, and if you cannot afford to replace it yourself, you need to insure the product.
I HAD a Paim pilot about a year ago for all of 2 weeks. I was in my office and dropped it on the CARPET and the screen broke. I had no warranty and was out about $200. Now maybe, I could insure it myself but I still wish that in retrospect I bought the $20 warranty (I think that was the price).
The bottom line is that of course it sucks to have to spend more money on the warranty and no one wants to do it, but no one wants to pay for car insurance either-until they get into an accident.
