Earlier this week I was very excited about a new computer that I had purchased to replace the old one (the one I'm using right now) because the old one makes noises and it's really slow. OK...but now, I'm not really excited anymore, because the new one was really crappy, and no, I don't know what I'm doing, so I just picked one that seemed to fit my budget rather than what I needed. I have since learned my lesson, and I am packing that one up (Laura packed it) and I'm sending it back to the seller because you know what, I won't be used like that. I told the seller EXACTLY what I needed and they assured me that it would be all I needed. They lied.
So, this one, the new one, is a gaming computer. I'm told it's on the lower end of gaming computers, but then again, I don't game. I should be OK. I will list its specs at the end. It only has 16G RAM right now, but I'm adding a 16G card to it soon. If I have to have more I'll do it, but I think I should be OK. Again, not a gamer. I sell insurance and write books. (My very unique superpowers include predicting what someone will say when they call in to make a claim or need a quote.) If I think I want to use my new computer to run the world at any given point, I may have to hire an I.T. person to assist me. I am so not techy. I'm a dork, not a geek.
The thing is, I really hate having to buy new computers every three years, but it feels like I have to do that. I got this one in 2020 just before the Pandemic hit, I think. I can't actually remember, but I think that. I want to say that. I could be wrong. It's older than that because when I bought it new in the box it had been sitting in the box for a while; that's what I was told by my tech friend who did the whole "about" thing and could tell me everything I never knew about it. I just learned today how to do the thing where you hold down three keys and find out if your CPU needs upgrading.
My tech friend showed me (over the phone) how to see if my CPU was being overworked. Turns out the new machine was so much worse off than the one I was replacing. It was so so so bad. I'm not having to pay for the shipping label, but I do have to pay a small fee, something like $7.95 for the insurance. I'm good with that. I deserve to carry some of the burdens for not knowing what I needed. My bad. This time I asked my tech friend to write down what I wanted. He went online and found the machine and I applied for the credit line. I got the credit line and added a 2-year warranty package just in case. You just never know. The total cost was $1250 and I can pay that out over the next year if I want to; I won't. I'll pay it off rather quickly, but the good news is, the company reports that you paid as agreed for the next 3 years. That's a bonus.
Another bonus with the thing was, if I paid for their insurance and didn't end up using it, they'll refund 30% of it; that's a perk. A lot of insurance carriers are doing that now. They invest your money for a while, that's how they can afford to give you back a portion of your premium. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I probably won't use their insurance so I'll look forward to that 30% back in 2025.
When I was going for the credit limit the customer service people questioned me about a fraud alert on my bank account from September 2019. Wow, I had forgotten about it. In September 2019 I purchased an online LP from a music artist from the UK, about 1-3 minutes later an additional $99 was taken from my account through the same PayPal account and I didn't know it. My bank called me to say there was an alert of suspicious activity and that they refused to pay the 2nd PayPal charge, only allowing the LP to be paid for. Then the same site tried 3 additional times to get the $99 out of my bank before they were reported by my bank to the authorities. Being the nice person that I am, I let the artist know. He was shocked! He should be, it was WEIRD, to say the least. I found out more, but I never told him. He apparently found out on his own, as the couple is no longer married.
We have a mutual friend, and I called her today (rather late as I think it was nearly 6 p.m. here, so midnight there) and I told her about the questions from the customer service people. She said I wasn't the first one that had happened to but I was the one who alerted the artist to what was going on in his own house. It's sad really, you never think your spouse is doing that sort of thing, but I'm not even techy enough to make that stuff up; it is what it is. It was coming from the SAME IP address; makes you wonder. There's no way he knew. No way.
Well, anyway, the new computer will help me keep up with clients, leads, and things I have to save. I watch videos, movies, television shows, and play solitaire - - does that count as "gaming"? I don't think it should, but hey, I'm edgy, right? I'm just super excited to put this old machine into the closet after it's been stripped and reset. I don't want to gift it to anyone, but I may save it just in case the new one kicks and I have to have a backup. I may not reset it now that I think about it. I'll just take off photos or anything that takes up space. (and this is where anyone with any I.T. expertise laughs at me.)
Here are the specs: I'll add memory next month.
Photo Credit: scbssnj.com
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