Do computer companies use different suppliers to build their laptops?

April 8, 2018 3:34 PM

How can the same computer model/brand seem so different to me when I got them from different locations?

I recently bought an Asus Chromebook Flip C302 but had to return it due to a problem with the charger. I think its the best laptop I have ever owned for a million reasons that I won't go into. The store I bought it from exchanged it but I had to go to a different location to pick up the new one because they were out at my primary location. The same computer from that second location had a completely different feel to the computer especially the touchscreen which felt very different, the display was also worse on my eyes. There were a hundred tiny differences many people probably wouldn't notice, but it was almost like it was a different computer that I really hated to me! Mainly because of the display seeming so different (and bothering my eyes) I ended up exchanging it again, this time at the original location and again the computer they gave me seemed exactly like the first one. I am assuming that Asus is maybe using two different suppliers/etc and different batches might be using different components....is that the way this happens? I discovered that the display models also were also different at the locations. The difference was so vast in user experience that I would not have ever liked the second one I received as crazy as that seems to me, I would have passed over this unit forever if I had run across it first. Also wondering if I can add a follow up, is there a way to ensure I get a computer in the batch I like if I should order a second one in the future for the family?

posted by rfbjames to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

What are these "locations"? If they are different countries then yes, the computers could be sourced differently. Often Asian and Indian models are different from US and Euro models. Also, older models could be different from more recent ones. A low-volume location could have some of last year's computers left over while the high-volume store gets stuff manufactured more recently.

If possible check serial numbers.
posted by irisclara at 4:21 PM on April 8, 2018

I'm fairly sure this happens. I once bought two matching laptops, one for me and one for my wife, and several of the components were different. I recall the DVD drive being the big one, but there were other minor differences. In your case, the two locations likely got shipments from two different manufacturing runs, resulting in some different sets of parts being used.
posted by nalyd at 4:38 PM on April 8, 2018

Hypothesis: Asus is selling these to school districts in batches of tens of thousands. School districts want to have all the same model machine rather than a mixture of models. So when they ordinarily would introduce new, improved models over time, Asus is actually keeping the model number the same while changing the parts inside.
posted by miyabo at 5:46 PM on April 8, 2018

Dell definitely has more than one supplier for a given part, and uses whatever is cheapest/available. They don’t distinguish between the parts at any point in ordering, though, except for things like video cards where people care a lot. So two of a given model might well use slightly different parts throughout.
posted by restless_nomad at 6:25 PM on April 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

Ok, this is probably not all that helpful, but there are two versions of the ASUS C302CA listed on the ASUS website. I can't imagine that one would be mistaken for another, due to the price difference, but anything can happen.

Many, if not most, laptops and other computers that are produced in high volume have parts that come from many suppliers. One of the fun games to play with one's Thinkpad is to go into Device Manager and figure out if you got lucky in the display panel lottery. My Samsung branded television - this model had several possible display panels but not a single one was made with a Samsung manufactured panel. It's a cheap tv, and their panels are too good for it.

For my tv, the way to know which company made the panel inside of the tv in the box was to find the right serial numbers on the outside of the box. If you find the right forum of enthusiasts who are good at this, well, ASUS may have something similar for these machines.
posted by monopas at 6:36 PM on April 8, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: irisclara - the locations were actually only about 30 minutes apart from one side of the city I live in to the other.
posted by rfbjames at 6:39 PM on April 8, 2018

Response by poster: Appreciate the theories, info, and stories on this coming in.....before this experience I never would have thought you could buy the exact same model of something and have it be so different, I would have assumed every one was the exact same! I'm a little fascinated that this apparently is a thing on so many products!
posted by rfbjames at 6:44 PM on April 8, 2018

Best answer: When I was in grad school, our department's computer tech person told me that Dell has two lines (ok, this I know, but here's the key differnece). So I think back then one was called Precision and one as called something else, say Imprecision. I don't actually remember which was which, but for the same of this example, let's say precision was the one marketed as for business and Imprecision was marketed for home use. The thing was, it was quite possible to get seemingly identical configurations with in both lines, but the price was often different.

So our computer tech person said they only buy Precision for the lab computers and encourage people to get precision for their personal computers, too. Why? Here's the difference: Precision is consistent. So if you order the 32X CD-RW (hey, I was in grad school quite a few years ago) on the precision, they have a particular 32X CD-RW that they use for that computer and it's the exact same model from the same manufacturer for every Precision they sell that has a 32X CD-RW. If you get the Imprecision and configure it with a 32X CD-RW they will source whatever 32X CD-RW they can get into stock at the time and that's what they'll use. Same for hard drives, memory chips, etc. etc.

The issue wasn't quality, exactly, said our tech person, but that A) The Precision parts were all known to play nicely together. The Imprecision, who knows (especially in the days before plug and play) and B) If something goes wrong, it's way easier for the tech people if the 32X-RW drive they were dealing with last week is the same one they deal with this week, instead of having every computer in the lab be potentially its own thing.

So to answer your question, I'm guessing you bought a laptop from the ASUS version of the Imprecision line and though the configuration was the same, the exact parts that went into creating that configuration may not have been.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:01 PM on April 8, 2018