Thread: Do dealers stress/burn in test new computers?

I'm in the Philippines and am leaving soon for Thailand. I need to buy a laptop. None of the dealers in town will do a stress test / burn in test for 48 - 72 hours. I consider this essential because of the high infant mortality of new computer hardware and that because I'm a foreigner here there isn't much a chance of getting anything fixed under warranty.

What are your experiences with stress testing new computers in LOS?

Originally Posted by MrPlow42

What are your experiences with stress testing new computers in LOS?

wtf?

Originally Posted by MrPlow42

high infant mortality of new computer hardware

wtf?

Originally Posted by MrPlow42

I'm a foreigner here there isn't much a chance of getting anything fixed under warranty.

wtf?

Hahaha. Welcome to the board, Mr. Plow. Love the name.

^^
No need to be abusive. If you don't know anything about stress testing computers, leave the thread alone.

Originally Posted by Gallowspole

No need to be abusive. If you know bugger all about stress testing leave the thread alone.

Indeed, but he also suggested

Originally Posted by [B

MrPlow42][/b]

I'm a foreigner here there isn't much a chance of getting anything fixed under warranty.

Which is just sheer wankerary!

Originally Posted by MrPlow42

I'm in the Philippines and am leaving soon for Thailand. I need to buy a laptop. None of the dealers in town will do a stress test / burn in test for 48 - 72 hours. I consider this essential because of the high infant mortality of new computer hardware and that because I'm a foreigner here there isn't much a chance of getting anything fixed under warranty.

What are your experiences with stress testing new computers in LOS?

No such thing here Mr Plow. Just make sure you get the warranty/guarantee when you make your purchase. You CAN get things fixed assuming you haven't tampered with the warranty stickers or made your warranty void.

In my experience, I've never bought a bad laptop or desktop. You seem savvy enough to be able to make an educated purchase.

Stress test yourself once you buy.

Originally Posted by filch

Stress test yourself once you buy.

^
I wouldn't quite go that far. Although I would recommend a Lenovo

Originally Posted by kingwilly

Originally Posted by Gallowspole

No need to be abusive. If you know bugger all about stress testing leave the thread alone.

Indeed, but he also suggested

Originally Posted by [B

MrPlow42][/b]

I'm a foreigner here there isn't much a chance of getting anything fixed under warranty.

Which is just sheer wankerary!

Correct he should have said 'for everyone here' rather than a foreigner.

My extended 3 year Toshiba warranty apparently doesn't exist despite having a receipt.

Choose a decent shop and you will have no problems.

My local computer dealer goes over the top with after sales service.
All guarantees are dealt with on the spot but if a unit has to go away then I get a free loan unit.
All software problems are sorted for free for life.

HP Service Centre in Khon Kaen couldn't find the problem with the kid's Presario and kept on saying 'next week' whenever we enquired as to their progress - I believe they were procrastinating in order to let the warranty run out. Eventually we, sent it down to BKK where the original dealer, not HP, dealt with it. It took nearly 2 months till we got it back.

Another dealer sold me a replacement AC Adapter, with a 6 month warranty sticker on it, which buggered up after 3 months. I took it back, he gave me a receipt, and told me to come back in a couple of weeks. When I went back he said it was out of warranty and he wouldn't replace it. The sticker was gone and I had no proof.

Originally Posted by MrPlow42

What are your experiences with stress testing new computers in LOS?

I build PC's to order out here, I run Prime 95 for 48hrs before delivery.

Originally Posted by peterpan

brought from a decent shop and the service has been as good

Some shops are just crap at customer service.

I went into a computer shop and asked to buy some ink for a printer.
They told me that replacing ink was dangerous and would cause an electrical short.
I pointed out that the cartridge had no electrical contacts.
They said the printer might catch fire.
I told them they were fcuking ignorant liars and walked out.
Never been back in 6 years.
That's a lot of business they lost.

Originally Posted by Thetyim

Never been back in 6 years.

so how do you know that they havent changed ?

Shopkeepers only get to deliberately bullshit me once
They don't deserve a second chance

my Dell laptop stress tests me constatntly; 1 week out of 12mth warranty it began a slow self-destruct. Do they build these things to gradually die - or for the owner to mercifully kill the f***ing things out of sheer frustration?
I'm waiting for a blue screen of death with one last message: "well you had a good run, time for a new Dell, ring ........ for our helpful online customer service depot, on a good day you'll strike someone with a vague knowledge of English. Have your credit card handy"

^
'Built in obsolescence'

When my Compaq died on me just after the warranty expired I decided to pay for the 3 year warranty on my next one - 2,750 baht. Unfortunately, Toshiba tell me that it has already expired (after just one year). I'm in 'discussions' with them at the moment.

Originally Posted by Gallowspole

If you don't know anything about stress testing computers, leave the thread alone.

You could say that about KW for any thread, so he would end up not posting at all. How bad would that be?

Looks like same shitake, different country. Oh well, at least from my research it looks like the equivalent laptops are cheaper in LOS than the Phils. Thanks.

Stress testing is the process of determining the ability of a computer, network, program or device to maintain a certain level of effectiveness under unfavorable conditions. The process can involve quantitative tests done in a lab, such as measuring the frequency of errors or system crashes. The term also refers to qualitative evaluation of factors such as availability or resistance to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Stress testing is often done in conjunction with the more general process of performance testing.
When conducting a stress test, an adverse environment is deliberately created and maintained. Actions involved may include:

Running several resource-intensive applications in a single computer at the same time
Attempting to hack into a computer and use it as a zombie to spread spam
Flooding a server with useless e-mail messages
Making numerous, concurrent attempts to access a single Web site
Attempting to infect a system with viruses, Trojans, spyware or other malware.
The adverse condition is progressively and methodically worsened, until the performance level falls below a certain minimum or the system fails altogether. In order to obtain the most meaningful results, individual stressors are varied one by one, leaving the others constant. This makes it possible to pinpoint specific weaknesses and vulnerabilities. For example, a computer may have adequate memory but inadequate security. Such a system, while able to run numerous applications simultaneously without trouble, may crash easily when attacked by a hacker intent on shutting it down.

Stress testing can be time-consuming and tedious. Nevertheless, some test personnel enjoy watching a system break down under increasingly intense attacks or stress factors. Stress testing can provide a means to measure graceful degradation, the ability of a system to maintain limited functionality even when a large part of it has been compromised.

Once the testing process has caused a failure, the final component of stress testing is determining how well or how fast a system can recover after an adverse event.

I think it's not the retailer duty to perform these tests, but it's the responsability of the company who produce the computer. And I think they are testing their products.

I would not buy any computer coming in an opened box. As I would only buy a computer running a genuine Operating System.

Originally Posted by slackula

Sheesh, two posts and you guys have the newbie at a red repo blob already!

My experience is that I have had very good warranty support from Lenovo and Apple in Thailand. OK-ish from HP. I have heard of friends doing OK with other brands.

The trick seems to be to buy from a branded shop or dealership rather than a no-name place, but that probably applies anywhere so YMMV.

Good luck.

It's a good advice, nothing to add.

Originally Posted by Wallalai

I would not buy any computer coming in an opened box. As I would only buy a computer running a genuine Operating System.

I would only buy a computer built by a local store and I always install the hooky OS myself.