I love my laptop; I take it with me nearly everywhere I go, and I don't know how I would write without it. But while my HP Pavilion dv6000 "Entertainment PC" has been my constant companion for some months now, I always had one little issue with it that I couldn't get past – the power cord.
The official power cord was heavy, bulky, and ridiculously long (I liked the freedom that provided, but not the added bulk of the cord in my bag). Worse, it got terribly, terribly hot all the time. While at home, I often had to angle the cord so that the little box thingy (that's the technical term, you know) was directly in front of a fan. I burned myself more than once on the blasted thing, but that wasn't the worst of it. Occasionally, while playing a game or watching a movie, the cord would get so hot that it would malfunction and surge on me, killing the computer. I could always unplug and boot back up the system, but whatever I was doing was irrevocably lost. I hated it.
And, of course, like all such "official" junk, the power cord began to fray and tear after only 8 months of use. I felt cheated and frustrated, but what could I do? My choices were limited; I could either break down and replace the cord, or I could replace the computer. I put the task on my 101 goals list, and tried to forget about it. Unfortunately, it would not stay forgotten. Within days of me noticing the problem, it had escalated to the point where I was spending an hour or so at a time trying to angle the cord just right so that it would connect and give me a charge. I knew I needed a new cord ASAP, but wasn't looking forward to shelling out the 90 or so dollars HP wanted for a replacement. Instead, I turned to our friend, eBay. What I found was an eBay store called sib-usa.
The store had excellent feedback, and a record of shipping quickly, so I didn't hesitate to order my power cord. Where HP had wanted almost $100, sib-usa charged $9.99, with $10.99 shipping, for a grand total of $20.98, and they offered a longer warranty than HP's. Can't beat that, huh? Even with shipping more expensive than the item itself, it was still a great deal. I placed my order on a Friday night, expecting that, because of the holiday weekend, I'd get it late the next week or even early into the next, just in time for the first day of my challenge.
Wrong! I opened my front door the next Tuesday (Monday being a holiday) to find a little box waiting for me, my new power cord inside; the package had been over-nighted to my doorstep.
And the cord itself? I love it; it's lighter than the original, and while it does get hot, I've never been burned and it has yet to shut down my computer. It also seems to keep a better connection – I don't have to adjust it as often as I did the other. It even came with a convenient Velcro strap for wrapping it up, so that I can keep it neat without damaging or tangling the cords.
My experience with sib-usa on eBay was a great one, and I highly recommend them if you're looking for replacement parts or accessories. You can check them out here: http://myworld.ebay.com/sib-usa
1 goal down…100 more to go!
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