I just ordered a new computer from Tiger Direct. I built my last two computers, but the price on this one was too good to pass up.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0&srkey=fx6831
i7 860, 8 gigs RAM, 1.5 TB HDD, HD 5850, 750 Watt PSU.
The problem is . . . well, there are several problems.
1. I've had bad luck with Tiger Direct before,
2. It's a Gateway, and
3. It's refurbished.
From what I can tell looking at reviews of the machine it's basically pretty good. But it's not completely uncommon for it to arrive DOA, or with the videocard just banging around in the case, or with unplugged cables, or with a broken motherboard.
Supposedly, the machine will be delivered by Monday. Oh! That's another possible issue:
4. It's being delivered by UPS.
I want to make absolutely sure this thing works well, and as quickly as I can. If it's busted in some way, it's going back to Tiger Direct. I know better than to attempt negotiating with Gateway's "customer service" or trying to send it in for "repairs."
Obviously the first thing I'll do is make sure nothing's actually broken and that everything is plugged in. I can check whether the DVD burner, DVI ports, USB ports, and such things work fairly easily just by plugging things into them and making sure they work. But what should I do to check the CPU? RAM? HDD? Motherboard? Videocard? How can I test these things hard enough to be reasonably sure that I haven't been sent a half-broken machine?
Thanks for your help.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0&srkey=fx6831
i7 860, 8 gigs RAM, 1.5 TB HDD, HD 5850, 750 Watt PSU.
The problem is . . . well, there are several problems.
1. I've had bad luck with Tiger Direct before,
2. It's a Gateway, and
3. It's refurbished.
From what I can tell looking at reviews of the machine it's basically pretty good. But it's not completely uncommon for it to arrive DOA, or with the videocard just banging around in the case, or with unplugged cables, or with a broken motherboard.
Supposedly, the machine will be delivered by Monday. Oh! That's another possible issue:
4. It's being delivered by UPS.
I want to make absolutely sure this thing works well, and as quickly as I can. If it's busted in some way, it's going back to Tiger Direct. I know better than to attempt negotiating with Gateway's "customer service" or trying to send it in for "repairs."
Obviously the first thing I'll do is make sure nothing's actually broken and that everything is plugged in. I can check whether the DVD burner, DVI ports, USB ports, and such things work fairly easily just by plugging things into them and making sure they work. But what should I do to check the CPU? RAM? HDD? Motherboard? Videocard? How can I test these things hard enough to be reasonably sure that I haven't been sent a half-broken machine?
Thanks for your help.
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