For anyone who's willing to grab a seat, some popcorn and read a long post, I'd really appreciate your advice.
So, my three year warranty on my i9300 is finally coming to an end in a few days, and I'm not sure what I want to do. Since I've had a relatively pleasant experience with Dell (aside from fighting for days on end to get a replacement for my dead computer), I've been trying to figure out whether or not to drop $400 or so to extend my warranty for another three to four years. The way I see it, I like my current system, and if I can keep it going with replacement parts, or even systems for another couple of years, it might be worth $400-500 of warranty costs in contrast to spending $1500 or so on a completely new system.
All was fair and well with this plan until I took a peek at the current line of seventeen-inch Inspirons currently offered on the Dell site. After my last complete replacement, I got a pretty nice perk in that my processor and video card were upgraded substantially. The new Inspirons however, seem like they have weaker video cards than what I have right now. The 7800GS that I have under the hood right now allow me to run CS:S, COD4, TF2 and others at full 1920x1200 resolution, and I really love it. However, my computer is starting to show signs of age again and I have a feeling that in the next year or so it might go belly up like my original system. If I get a replacement which is unable to run the games and applications that I want though, the warranty isn't worth it for me. So the big question is: what do you guys think about extending my warranty despite the weaker systems that would most likely replace what I currently own?
It would be a dream if I extended my warranty and Dell eventually replaced my system with a weak XPS that matches my current specs, but I'm certain that's not going to happen since the contract only states that they are required to replace my computer with a notebook that is equal or greater than my originally purchased system.. in this case, the very old and weak i9300 from forever ago. Any ideas, suggestions, or sagely advice?
Thanks in advance!
So, my three year warranty on my i9300 is finally coming to an end in a few days, and I'm not sure what I want to do. Since I've had a relatively pleasant experience with Dell (aside from fighting for days on end to get a replacement for my dead computer), I've been trying to figure out whether or not to drop $400 or so to extend my warranty for another three to four years. The way I see it, I like my current system, and if I can keep it going with replacement parts, or even systems for another couple of years, it might be worth $400-500 of warranty costs in contrast to spending $1500 or so on a completely new system.
All was fair and well with this plan until I took a peek at the current line of seventeen-inch Inspirons currently offered on the Dell site. After my last complete replacement, I got a pretty nice perk in that my processor and video card were upgraded substantially. The new Inspirons however, seem like they have weaker video cards than what I have right now. The 7800GS that I have under the hood right now allow me to run CS:S, COD4, TF2 and others at full 1920x1200 resolution, and I really love it. However, my computer is starting to show signs of age again and I have a feeling that in the next year or so it might go belly up like my original system. If I get a replacement which is unable to run the games and applications that I want though, the warranty isn't worth it for me. So the big question is: what do you guys think about extending my warranty despite the weaker systems that would most likely replace what I currently own?
It would be a dream if I extended my warranty and Dell eventually replaced my system with a weak XPS that matches my current specs, but I'm certain that's not going to happen since the contract only states that they are required to replace my computer with a notebook that is equal or greater than my originally purchased system.. in this case, the very old and weak i9300 from forever ago. Any ideas, suggestions, or sagely advice?
Thanks in advance!
