Laptop hardware

[Dunenewt]

How cheap is it to get someone to fix laptop hardware roughly?  My laptop speakers and headphone jack have both broken, and the warranty has run out.

[Dragoon Knight]

It all depends on where you go.  Speaking as someone who works in a PC repair shop in the North-East of Scotland, we generally charge a flat fee of

[veK]

If you don't need the - probably crappy - speakers and only use the headphone jack either for a headphone or external speakers, then you should maybe take a look at laptop soundcards. I know of at least 2 ExpressCard solutions from creative. One is for an ExpressCard/54, the other for /34.

You'd also have better sound with that. There are also USB-solutions available. Of course you can't compare these solutions to a good soundcard but I still like the ExpressCard solution for laptops and probably will get one myself when I buy a new laptop. So, maybe they are even cheaper than a repair would be and you should take a look at them if you don't mind the broken speakers as long as you get an output jack...

[Dunenewt]

I am considering getting a USB sound card, because I have 5.1 speakers.

[gryphon]

I agree with Vek. You will get better value for your money if you buy an USB sound card. Repairing a loptop is often a expensive decision.

[Dunenewt]

I just think it would be a pain having to carry around the soundcard all the time, as well as speakers, just to play sound out my laptop.  The speakers are of decent quality, although they seem to have 'popped' after I was playing about with some of the settings on VLC.

[veK]

that's why I find the express cards very handy. you don't have to unplug them and carry around something else besides your laptop. unfortunately they don't support 5.1 systems as they only have a single output jack. but actually I've never seen a laptop which has a 5.1 soundcard with the necessary output jacks. Usually I use my heaphones anyway, my 5.1 system is in the living room (or maybe it should better be called multimedia room) and connected to my TV and my PS3.

If you really want to repair the speakers you should get a cost estimate at a local dealer. But I don't think it's gonna be cheap. Maybe selling the laptop at ebay with the broken speakers and buying a new one might even be better than paying for a repair. But maybe I'm wrong and the costs aren't that high. But ususally it is  :(

[Dunenewt]

This is a pretty expensive laptop, so selling it wouldn't be an option.

[Dunenewt]

Just thought I'd add, I'm going to Germany for 10 months in September, so I don't want to be carrying around speakers with me, so I'd prefer to get the speakers mended instead, if it is financially viable, but even

[veK]

offtopic: where are you going? one specific location or moving around the country?

[Dunenewt]

Somewhere in NRW to be a 'language assistant' and help kids learn English, and maybe French.