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The Off-Topic Lounge APPROPRIATE FAMILY-FRIENDLY TOPICS ONLY - READ THE RULES! This forum is for posting anything (excluding topics prohibited by the forum rules) that's unrelated to email. General discussions, in other words. |
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19 Jun 2008, 12:10 AM | #1 |
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Are computers less durable today?
I have a computer that I'm sure is older than anyone else's in this forum - and it was a hand-me-down when I first got it - but it's worked fine. However, I just got a "hard disk controller failure" message, and I'm being advised to maybe finally get a new one. This is a particularly difficult decision because I don't have a reliable repair place (NYC, if anyone has a recommendation).
But I was wondering - has my computer been so durable because it was so old? I know that televisions that are 20-40 years old are much better quality than today. Is the same general idea true for computers? |
19 Jun 2008, 03:30 AM | #2 | |
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I've seen some great "old" computers and some great "new" computers... I've seen some bad "old" computers and some bad "new" computers. To be sure, I'd guess you would have to look at the failure rate (sake of argument I did not use mtbf or mttf lol) of the parts from old computers and compare with the parts of new computers. Of course, that is not to say that a manufacture won't have a bad run and you get a bad power supply, hard drive, or fan.... luck of the draw. |
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19 Jun 2008, 04:55 AM | #3 |
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I only guess. They where extremely more noisy as I remember.
They had lower rpm on their harddiscs. and could that have anything to do with how hot the HD got? If it was 3000 instead of 7500rpm and the bigger fan made it cooler would that not allow the HD to last longer? I could be wrong. |
20 Jun 2008, 12:40 AM | #4 | |
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_Malc |
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20 Jun 2008, 10:33 PM | #5 |
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I suspect that in the long-term, 10-20 years, you wont see modern computers surviving in the way that a lot of 386s, 486s and early pentiums have survived with original components. They push too many things, too close to physical limits.
I suspect that people wont be so keen to keep them anyway because of their huge power consumption. Some people use old desktop PCs for firewall-routers, caches etc, but if you factor in the cost of electricity, it's often cheaper to buy a dedicated low-power server. |
21 Jun 2008, 01:53 AM | #6 |
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Malc, I can't speak for your parents, but any TV guy in the US will tell you the old sets were far more durable. It's true that there is likely less call for repairmen today - but that's because people have been convinced to keep throwing out what they own instead of having it fixed. Have you ever read Brave New World? - "Ending is better than mending."
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21 Jun 2008, 04:25 AM | #7 | |
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Fast forward to the 1990's Italy - Italian cars were unreliable as hell; now we see Toyotas all over the place. Moral of the story: competition is good. |
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21 Jun 2008, 04:26 AM | #8 | |
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How much did a set cost in the 1950's? |
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21 Jun 2008, 05:58 AM | #9 | |
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When TV's were unreliable, it was because they contained intrinsically unreliable components. |
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21 Jun 2008, 08:06 PM | #10 | |
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Heck, even back in 1995 a "good" computer would cost no less than $2000.... today, you can purchase a "good" computer from $500 to $800. If I had to guess, I'd also believe that computers are more reliable now... But it is difficult to make this comparison... back in 95 only a couple of people had computers in their house... now many people have computers... Just because you hear of more issues now than in the past does not mean that computers are less reliable, it may mean that there are more people to complain. So many other variables... |
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22 Jun 2008, 11:56 AM | #11 |
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It's really not a valid point
1950's TV's were crammed full of valves (or tubes if you prefer). These things degrade in a similar manner to incandescent light bulbs, and when a single one of them failed you had to call the repairman. TV's were about the most difficult domestic appliance to transistorize. They got more attention from repairmen because they really were unreliable. |
22 Jun 2008, 04:38 PM | #12 | |
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But that is a bit complex and I know what happens when things around here gets complex... people start getting upset.... seems you are getting into "attack mode" as well so I'll bail out this thread now. To the OP: IMO computers now are not any more or less reliable than they were back in the day... if anything with the march of new technology, the computers today are more reliable. IMO, you were just lucky that your computer lasted this long... And again, someone would need to show a study on this or we are all providing our opinions anyway.... |
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22 Jun 2008, 09:21 PM | #13 |
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Yes, we'd moved on to TV reliability. Try and keep up.
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24 Jun 2008, 12:28 AM | #14 | ||||
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28 Jun 2008, 03:25 PM | #15 |
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Seriously people. Don't you think it depends on what you buy and how you take care of it?
I have a Dell laptop that has worked great for years. Another Dell laptop that is pushing 10 years old. Dropped, hit, etc. no problems. On the other hand, I have a friend that has an Apple laptop - aluminum case. Dropped deformed, overheated, etc. That is not to say which Dell or Apple is better... Just saying that there are many factors involved. I would think that a TV costing 1000 dollars 20 years ago is much more expensivie (in relative terms) than a tv 1000 dollars today. That also influences how people take care of it. I would say that if you look at disk drives and failure rates, hopefully we are seeing a steady improvement on the higher scale lines. On the other hand, people are also pushing for lower and lower cost on the low end. These are probably seeing higher failure rates. Get what you pay for. /cl |
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