Best Buy Sucks

[pakopako]

should we start up the obligatory PC vs Mac thing now ?

Again? Didn't we have a thread go down last week with that stuff?

...he shouldn't have bold faced lied to me about it.

...but from what you have told us, he did not lie. You can, in fact, upgrade it. Was he specific about how you could upgrade it, but lied about the specifics?

If he specifically asked about the video card (which he mentioned doing in the OP), was told it was upgradeable, and the computer doesn't have a slot for it, then it was the wrong answer. Maybe not a deliberate lie, but wrong nonetheless.

Depends on how informed the guy at Best Buy was. (Brushing aside the general bias that their knowledge is always wanting.)
Did they know that BurningDoom's computer model had an expansion slot for a video card? Did they suggest a specific video card to BurningDoom? Did they know all of BurningDoom's memory slots were taken? Did they suggest for BurningDoom to replace the RAM currently occupying his memory slots?

A lot of things can come up. If they knew the computer model, they might have been able to look up the factory-default equipment and make a best-guess. Most machines have PCI or AGP slots for video cards, but sometimes new hardware isn't always compatible. (*coughDELLcough*). And also, any previous upgrades made to the stock machine have to be noted as well.

[noiseredux]

should we start up the obligatory PC vs Mac thing now ?

Again? Didn't we have a thread go down last week with that stuff?

I should've made my text blue. I was hoping we were going to AVOID the dreaded conversation.

[AppleQueso]

bluetext should be amended in the rules and guidelines

[isiolia]

Apple doesn't use higher quality parts to go with their high prices.. Make no mistake. All the manufacturers generally use very similar in quality parts. What they do have is nice designs. Very visually appealing.

Depends on the part in question, and what it's being compared to. Obviously, yes, plenty of individual chips or standard components, such as drives, are off the shelf. Others, like LCDs, are made by other companies, though can be a higher end model than others might use too.

Compared to other companies though, Apple has maintained far more control over their design process, and has secured resources (such as the lion's share of the industrial equipment needed to carve their aluminum laptop enclosures) to the point that other companies simply are not equipped to compete with them in that regard.

Basically, does amount to design, but on a more-than-skin-deep level. From the standpoint of actually keeping things working though...can be mixed results. The ol' half-sphere iMacs were novel to look at, but getting to the HDD was another matter...

Depends on how informed the guy at Best Buy was. (Brushing aside the general bias that their knowledge is always wanting.)

I don't disagree with the cascading issues or the possibility of incompatibility (though, honestly, I see that Dell PSU thing brought up often - it hasn't been the case for close to a decade).

All I mean is that if the guy was asked "can you upgrade the video card" and just waved it off with a "sure", and there's no PCIe slot to put one in, then it was bad info.

Realistically speaking, most machines at Best Buy probably have a ~300W PSU, there's a fair chance they lack PCIe power connectors, and so on. Lots of caveats - but the ability to toss in a low end card would make that confirmation technically correct.

Since he hasn't mentioned the model of the computer, we can't confirm/deny upgradeability

[Breetai]

...he shouldn't have bold faced lied to me about it.

...but from what you have told us, he did not lie. You can, in fact, upgrade it. Was he specific about how you could upgrade it, but lied about the specifics?

If he specifically asked about the video card (which he mentioned doing in the OP), was told it was upgradeable, and the computer doesn't have a slot for it, then it was the wrong answer. Maybe not a deliberate lie, but wrong nonetheless.

Did I miss that?

Can I buy a new video card and RAM and put it in this if I want?" He says "Yeah, no problem."

Opps, I totally did.

Well, I take back me saying that he didn't lie. If there was not extra slot that you could put a video card in, then he DID outright lie. Bastard.

Maybe not a deliberate lie, but wrong nonetheless.

If it did not have a way to upgrade the video card, and the employee said it did, then it is a deliberate lie. Why? Probably either laziness or just wanting some quick commission. Either way, it is detestable.

[Hazerd]

should we start up the obligatory PC vs Mac thing now ?

Well my Mac is coming up on 4 years old with ZERO viruses or crashes

Zero upgrades as well

[GSZX1337]

So is there a PCI-E slot?

[BurningDoom]

It was a Compaq Presario for those that were curious. Don't care enough about it to remember the shitty specs.

I took it back last night and got a Dell Inspiron 570. AMD Athlon II Dual-Core 2900 Mhz processor, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB Hard drive. I have a VisionTek Radeon HD 5450 video card installed. It runs as smooth as butter.

But unforunately, I'm finding out that a lot of my favorite PC games aren't compatible with Windows 7, even with an updated driver for the video card.

[isiolia]

But unforunately, I'm finding out that a lot of my favorite PC games aren't compatible with Windows 7, even with an updated driver for the video card.

Which ones? I've run into a handful that need a workaround, but between native compatibility modes and DOSBox most stuff should be usable. Just might take a little fiddling.

[BurningDoom]

But unforunately, I'm finding out that a lot of my favorite PC games aren't compatible with Windows 7, even with an updated driver for the video card.

Which ones? I've run into a handful that need a workaround, but between native compatibility modes and DOSBox most stuff should be usable. Just might take a little fiddling.

Diablo 1 runs, but the colors are all warped looking no matter how much I tweak the settings in the options. Neverwinter Nights will load the launcher, but not the game itself when you click "Play Neverwinter Nights". Hexen will run as long as you're playing from the CD, but it won't actually install.

And I've tried launching them all in their native compatibility modes with no luck.