A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Computer brand advice? - RoadRunnerMT

Posted: Jul 30, 2012

I'm on the hunt this week for a new computer. With all the new competitors, I haven't kept up with who is top of the line now or who is outsourcing tech support to where. Any advice for me? If you had a choice, who would you go with? I've been using Dell for years but doesn't mean I need to stay there. HP, Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, Acer?

Computer advice - Curious One

[ In Reply To ..]
As far as I know, they all outsource tech support. They're all assembled outside of the US so tech support is kind of a moot point. Compaq is made by Hewlett-Packard. As far as quality/reliability, they're probably all pretty decent these days.

Computer brand - Tammie

[ In Reply To ..]
I have had 2 Toshiba's in a row and have had good success with them.
Before that had a Dell and wasn't overly pleased with it.

I had a Dell and the motherboard melted after 1 year. - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
The computer guy told me it wasn't worth fixing, as it had other issues as well. Not something you want to happen to a 1 year old computer, so, I would not recommend Dell.

P.S. the computer guy had no ulterior motive, as I wasn't going to be buying my new computer from him and by not fixing it, lost out on money.

only personal experience - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I have had my Toshiba for about 6 years now and no problems. I do use a good virus protection, which may contribute to the lack of problems, don't know.

Check out sites like Best Buy, etc., for customer feedback. (sm) - Bindi

[ In Reply To ..]
I find customer reviews usually pretty reliable and use this method even when buying something pretty simple.

Based on my experience with Dell through my employer, this brand didn't even make my list for consideration. In 4 years, I've been through 4 Dell computers. Of course, I realize that these were probably refurbished when sent to me.

Purchased an HP last week. I've had HP in the past and they are pretty reliable.

Good luck in your search!

My Dell experience - Curious one

[ In Reply To ..]
We use Dells where I work, they have lasted for years. I'm on my second Dell desktop at home (personal use), the first one is about 6 years old and still works but it's an XP box and I wanted Windows 7. My first computer was a Compaq and it was pretty awful but that was years and years ago. HP is fine but most of them arrive loaded with bloatware programs you don't want/need. If I had to do it again and had the money to spend, I'd probably get an Apple or have a Windows machine custom built.

Similar Messages:

Nov 26, 2009

I bought a new Dell back in August and have nothing but problems with it. First I had a ? board error, then for a few days had a keyboard failure. During all this, my font size keeps changing. One day I can barely read it (looks like this) and other days, (it looks like this). The menu bars now are so small, I can barely read them, yet the font size is so large, the words run off the edge of the screen. I have spent most of my time off work trying to figure it out. I went into display and ...

Apr 13, 2014

everything updates to the hilt and I am finding my typing screen has a lag to it. I have tons of ram, etc etc and I wonder if Norton is playing a roll. It isnt a terrible lag but when you type very fast it will locked for a few seconds. It isnt like waiting on words to appear it is more a lock type lag if you type too fast. I find these new computers are most assuredly nothing like the older ones that i have had. Much more chintzy and of course made in China. ...

Jan 05, 2010

When typing a name like Topicort - if it is cream or ointment, are those capitalized? Also Selsun shampoo - is the word shampoo capitalized? Thanks ...

Jan 11, 2010

Yesterday (Sun) was a nightmare. I was struggling to get jobs all day long (see posts below). There were very few last night even, when there are normally an abundance of jobs. I was bouncing all over the place; it was like the cesspool all over again. Look at the backlog this morning; only 400 jobs company wide at 8 EST? I think whatever upgrade they did yesterday morning just sucked more accounts to our ILPs. ...

Jan 08, 2011

I've seen both lidocaine and Lidocaine. Which is correct? Thx in advance! ...

Oct 20, 2011

I'm doing a Wittmann patch procedure and the doc keeps referring to a "a fair" wound VAC. Could be aphthair, afthar, or something like that. Any ideas? I must be hearing incorrectly, but it sounds the same each time. Any ideas appreciated. TIA! ...

Jul 23, 2012

The patient has a left hip replacement. He has a long-stem ( s/l Pel-car) stem with a lateral plate and multiple wires. Thanks for taking the time today ! ME =0) ...

Jan 07, 2013

Have any of you noticed, after months or years of doing nearly 100% VR, that when you get a straight transcription job to type, your speed isn't what it used to be, and you've forgotten half of your shortcuts? Even worse, I was trying to get a typing certificate a couple weeks ago, and it was typing from copy. The instructions also were unclear, and I couldn't figure out whether I was supposed to correct all the mistakes in the paragraph I was typing from, or not edit ...

May 31, 2010

"All 12 mm port sites were closed with the inlet device, using figureâ��ofâ��eight 0 Vicryl stitches. " It's resection of a colon tumor and anastomosis using the da Vinci. I've heard this before but can't find a definite answer: Is it the "Inlet (brand) device" or "inlet (descriptor) device"? Thanks. ...

Mar 07, 2013

Using hemoclipped or endoclipped...... are they still capitalized when used this way? Thanks. ...

Jun 10, 2015

we have now and they keep requesting OT, how is this supposed to work!?! ...

Nov 07, 2009

nm ...

Aug 11, 2011

I was hoping some more experienced MTs could help me with something. I am struggling with remembering which are brand names and which are generics (so I know to cap them or not). Is there some trick to this? A website that can quickly (and obviously) tell you? Perhaps some software you all have? Please, it is driving me crazy and my quality is suffering :( ...

Feb 11, 2010

Hi, What is a good brand/model for a digital voice recorder to recommed to a doctor for recording their voice files? Thanks, Abby ...

Feb 04, 2010

I read that Medmedx supplies computers but you can only have Cable or DSL connection. I live in an area where I cannot get cable or DSL. I have a wireless connection. My question is, do they allow you to use our own computers? Thanks for your time and have a great day? ...

Jul 18, 2011

The reason I ask this question is for my internet I have a USB modem. Do the computers supplied by Q have any extra USB ports so I can plug my Verizon in there? Thanks! ...

Aug 04, 2011

I am in the process of transitioning jobs and will be going from a company-provided computer to my own. Any suggestions on what software programs are needed, virus protection, word expanders, line counting, and hardware like foot pedal? The hospital I am looking into will be using Microsoft Word. Any comments on whether this is a good program or not to transcribe on? Any tips? I have been with the same company for 15 years, so have been out of the loop and need ...

Nov 05, 2010

I have been out-of-town, enjoying being away from Medical Transcription for a few weeks, and upon skimming through the posts that I had missed, I noted that there was recently a discussion on the Word Help Board regarding ACE Bandage and if it should be all caps or not. The debate seemed to center around whether ACE should be used for “ACE inhibitor” and Ace for “Ace wrap” to avoid confusion. if you are talking about the original ACE™ wrap or ACE™ ...

Dec 26, 2009

I need a new computer however I need to have XP for EXText. Wondering which way I should go--- Dual boot or have 2 separate hard drives, one for XP and the other for Windows 7 Professional? Any advice? ...

May 10, 2010

I leave my computer up and running all the time. In the past week every morning I am having to reboot because I get an error saying "insufficient system resources to perform this action." As soon as it finally reboots, then everything is fine, I can log onto DQS and type all day with no problems. Then it sits again all night, and the same thing happens the next morning. Does anyone know what the problem might be? Tech support has already increased the virtual memory capa ...

May 17, 2010

for other things besides work such as another job, internet shopping, banking, facebook, etc.? ...

Aug 19, 2010

I got a new computer today and when my first job comes up the ADT info is at the top of the page. Can you tell me how to get it off. Also how to I make the print on my screen larger? TIA ...

Sep 10, 2010

I was just wondering how old some computers are that are having problems with 6.1 and if there are people with newer computers that handles it better. Mine is a MQ computer that is 4 years old now and it bogs down quite a bit. Everything is sluggish now. I do have 1 GB of ram and 1.84 GHz, so 6.1 shouldn't take a toll on it as bad as it is. I'm just wondering if I should ask the Q for an upgrade, if that is the problem. Knowing the RAM and proces ...

Sep 16, 2010

Need help! I don't use an MQ computer, since they don't want you to put anything personal on it, and most of my life, including banking, is on my computer. My 4-year-old computer crashed and is in the shop for a couple days, and I decided maybe it's time to get a new one. The problem is, DQS requires a 32-bit system, and so far all the new computers I've found are all Windows 7, which is 64 bits. I also want to get a slimline, since it kills my ...

Sep 20, 2010

I turned off the "check as you go" spelling feature to get rid of that distracting wiggly red line. When I upload a document, and a mis-spelling is picked up, what's with all the lame suggestions. I mean either there just aren't any suggestions at all for a simple mis-spelled word with a single wrong letter, or just a simple word. What happened to the old Q dictionary? It seems every 5 years their dictionary gets worse. When I started 10 years ag ...

Dec 01, 2010

I am looking at quitting MQ, and I'm using their computer...do you think they'll let me buy the computer from them???? I can't imagine it's cheap to mail it back to them, and will need a computer for my new job. ...

Jun 06, 2011

Does anyone use a Mac for medical transcription with Windows XP and MT software that requires nothing newer than XP? Also any experience with Windows XP and Medrite XL on a newer computer using Windows 7 and virtual xp? Needing advice before replacing my old computer, which I'm afraid might give out. I would just load XP but supposedly will be transferring to software compatible with Windows 7 sometime in the future. Any ideas appreciated. ...

Oct 03, 2011

Does anyone transcribe on a laptop computer and take your work with you when you travel? ...

Oct 20, 2011

came by FedEx today. Had no idea they were sending this. I quit or decided not to go with them from AT yesterday. Would think they would let me know they were sending a new computer. What a joke, glad I am not staying. Think they got so big they have no idea what's going on. ...

Nov 12, 2011

is there any kind of computer i should NOT consider getting to work for medquist? i think i heard they aren't compatible with MACs, but as far as PCs go....does Windows 7 work? Vista? XP? all of the above? just want to know what to avoid. thanks! ...