5 minutes after buying a laptop, already taking it apart lol.

RainMotorsports

RainMotorsports

Leadership
Leadership
Joined
Mar 6, 2011
Messages
8,649
So I am really tired of lugging around a 4 year old gaming laptop that has a dead battery. I ran up to MicroCenter first thing this morning and picked up the cheapest thing they had! $230 bucks for a Quad Core "Celeron", nope its not some cut down Sandy, Ivy or Haswell. Its basically a netbook on steroids as its a Bay Trail Atom series with the worst available of the modern Intel graphics. http://www.microcenter.com/product/429702/Aspire_E1-510-2602_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Clarinet_Black My gaming laptop prior to modifications pulled 2.5 to 3 hours of battery life, maybe 1.5 after. This thing is apparently good for 4 to 6 hours.

It has no optical drive and before I got to far into installing anything I decided to see what was behind the blanking plate. Sure enough there is a sata port and I will probably drop a caddy in there and run a second hard drive:
DSC_2310.jpg

Can't really see the port even if I shoot straight in as its too far.

But the whole idea is something light, with a battery that can at a minimum login to Star Trek to manage crap on the go. Its a little thinner but honestly as big as my "15.6" inch gaming notebook is, this new one doesn't seem all that smaller or lighter:
DSC_2311.jpg

DSC_2313.jpg


It also makes me giggle to think the 4 cell battery is going to outlive the 9 cell from the old laptop. I couldn't get the new battery back out, apparently it requires some ritual to remove:
DSC_2314.jpg


Honestly buying from MicroCenter was a bit weird, the guy asked me if I didn't mind to tell him what i would be doing with the computer. What is this the new method of finding terrorists? Also they call a manager to the floor to come thank you when you buy a new computer... Sad for something they make such little profit on.
 
Honestly buying from MicroCenter was a bit weird, the guy asked me if I didn't mind to tell him what i would be doing with the computer. What is this the new method of finding terrorists? Also they call a manager to the floor to come thank you when you buy a new computer... Sad for something they make such little profit on.
Click to expand...

It may seem weird, but Microcenter does a very good job of learning their customers wants and needs. They ask because they keep track of the most likely reasons buyers are getting a new laptop versus destop, tablet, etc. so they can customize their inventory to their region/buyers.

They've been very good at listening to their customers but lots of times people do not fill out online surveys so they've taken to asking a couple of quick questions at the register. Anyway, as you saw they have very good customer service.
 
This response, is for the LuLz. I love microcenter, I uh just hate going to stores. Quite honestly I am the type that knows what I want and also want the sales people to get the hell away from me lol. I mean what was I supposed to say "I'm going to tether it to my cell phone and watch porn while driving down the highway"? I dunno what I am going to do with it... computer stuff. Maybe I am rich and am looking for the cheapest laptop at the fastest availability because I intend to throw it off the balcony onto my neighbors porsche. Sales people trying to make me think... aren't I supposed to give them a hard time.

Then there is the whole TY bit, I mean thats exactly what they called over the phone. I need a manager for a TY, became obvious this stands for Thank You. If they had done this when I bought my CPU I would have... i dunno what I would have done. Mac Book Pro... okay, cheapest laptop you sell (less than you paid for your CPU six)... wow.

I am a realist, I see the bullshit walking around. Obviously that manager did not know whether I bought a 200 laptop or just dropped 2 grand on the MSI I was standing next to. Nor should he care, business is business. But I am just not a fan of the excessive blow jobs when really that mans time is more valuable elsewhere to me.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, but most people are clueless about what they want or are buying. They're looking for canned answers like office work, web surfing etc. I'm sure porn would work too. I would have told them stop wasting my time with the manager and a thank you. You want to thank me, keep supplying good products at good prices.
 
sixer9682 said:
You want to thank me, keep supplying good products at good prices.
Click to expand...

Hells to the yeah. I want to walk around there one day and get a few pictures just so some people can understand what this place is like. I mean its like a mini newegg in your hood.

I did snap a couple horrible shots while I was there:
IMG_20140410_104924.jpg

IMG_20140410_105037.jpg


Just a couple isles way in the back, nothing special. I can never find any pictures of the inside of one of these stores to show people. There is an isle for everything, hell one entire isle dedicated to water cooling.

Guy tried to talk me into buying office and I told him you know Im cheap I use open office and then he gets into the whole compatibility bit and I am like yeah thats what i tell people if your work uses office, buy office. The best part is where they want to sell me a $119 dollar protection plan on a $230 dollar laptop... My father smashed the screen on his 300 dollar laptop. He brought it to me 60 bucks later I had it back to him. Ill stick with my own protection plan. Thats just me on such a purchase.
 
I wish I had an aisle for water cooling at my Microcenter. They've paired that down to nothing at my local one. lol@ protection plans that's funny as fuck. Generally, though Microcenter has everything you could want.
 
I have to drive 60 miles, to a Best Buy no less, too see miniscule fraction of what both these images contain.
 
Too bad you don't have one near you. The one by me has a section as long as the last photo for just PC cases :)
 
I have a Fry's electronics down the road about 20 minutes away, sounds a lot like microcenter. I love going there, I bought a lot of the parts for this rig I am using from them.
 
Fry's is okay, but it has about 1/3 of what Microcenter does and that's no exaggeration.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top