Best Computer Brand?
April 2, 2010 9:47 PM Subscribe
What is the best computer brand?
I hear a lot about how such and such computers suck while such and such computers are awesome, and it seems like depending on who I ask, the answer regarding certain brands is always different.
So I'm wondering, are there any computer brands that have consistently shown themselves to be dependable or undependable, or is the stuff I'm hearing just anecdotal judgment?
I hear a lot about how such and such computers suck while such and such computers are awesome, and it seems like depending on who I ask, the answer regarding certain brands is always different.
So I'm wondering, are there any computer brands that have consistently shown themselves to be dependable or undependable, or is the stuff I'm hearing just anecdotal judgment?
Compaq. You don't want one.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:00 PM on April 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Sys Rq at 10:00 PM on April 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
In my experience...
Avoid: Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway.
Consider: Sony, Toshiba.
posted by davejay at 10:02 PM on April 2, 2010
Avoid: Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway.
Consider: Sony, Toshiba.
posted by davejay at 10:02 PM on April 2, 2010
Dell's computers are probably averagely reliable, but their customer service and tech support are abysmal.
posted by ishotjr at 10:08 PM on April 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by ishotjr at 10:08 PM on April 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
Depending on product line, product cycle, actual manufacturer, support and a whole host of other issues, most of the top tier computer manufacturers will have comparable product quality/construction for respective price points though customer service and quality of support can vary widely. It's fairly variable. e.g. I have a $300 Compaq laptop that's chugging along fine with plenty of abuse while my Macbook Pro and Asus laptop have required servicing in the same time period.
Generally, the corporate/business lines are not as nice to look at but offer more reliable and tested hardware, e.g. Dell Latitudes, HP Elitebook, or the venerable Thinkpads.
posted by palionex at 10:09 PM on April 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Generally, the corporate/business lines are not as nice to look at but offer more reliable and tested hardware, e.g. Dell Latitudes, HP Elitebook, or the venerable Thinkpads.
posted by palionex at 10:09 PM on April 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
There's a lot of anecdotal judgment out there, for sure. I've had people bring dead computers to me of every brand, swearing they will never buy another X. All manufacturers have products that die. That's what warranties are for.
Look for sales and buy based on the specifications.
I usually try not to buy the bottom/budget line (eg: Inspiron for Dell) as well, but even then there are going to be failures.
posted by ODiV at 10:11 PM on April 2, 2010
Look for sales and buy based on the specifications.
I usually try not to buy the bottom/budget line (eg: Inspiron for Dell) as well, but even then there are going to be failures.
posted by ODiV at 10:11 PM on April 2, 2010
ishotjr--
Dell support is incredible, if you remember to actually purchase it. International 24 hour we-don't-care-why-its-broken support is pretty amazing, and they even have a 24/7 4 hours onsite 2 minutes on hold guarantee service if that's not enough.
Dell makes OK machines, but the key is when things go wrong, they are on it if you get the warranty for that. So they get my top recommendation.
(Just never, ever run the version of Windows the OEMs put on.)
posted by effugas at 10:11 PM on April 2, 2010
Dell support is incredible, if you remember to actually purchase it. International 24 hour we-don't-care-why-its-broken support is pretty amazing, and they even have a 24/7 4 hours onsite 2 minutes on hold guarantee service if that's not enough.
Dell makes OK machines, but the key is when things go wrong, they are on it if you get the warranty for that. So they get my top recommendation.
(Just never, ever run the version of Windows the OEMs put on.)
posted by effugas at 10:11 PM on April 2, 2010
As you see already, you're going to find a difference of opinion here too. I was going to post my list as well, but it contradicts both of the above posts.
That said, I've had laptops from dell, ibm and lenovo. The IBM laptops were awesome, and then lenovo seemed to degrade the quality quite badly.
No major issues with my Dell laptop. I've also worked with hundreds of Dell desktop machines, and their biggest issue is failing power supplies.
Google for "laptop reliability study", which shows there is some minor differences in dependability - I haven't seen a similar one for desktop machines.
Remember that most people you hear from will not have experience with 100's of computers from each manufacturer, their sample rate will be tiny and inadequate for making a decision on which manufacturer is best. If you can find a study that compares reliability on a large scale, that is your best bet.
posted by Sonic_Molson at 10:18 PM on April 2, 2010
That said, I've had laptops from dell, ibm and lenovo. The IBM laptops were awesome, and then lenovo seemed to degrade the quality quite badly.
No major issues with my Dell laptop. I've also worked with hundreds of Dell desktop machines, and their biggest issue is failing power supplies.
Google for "laptop reliability study", which shows there is some minor differences in dependability - I haven't seen a similar one for desktop machines.
Remember that most people you hear from will not have experience with 100's of computers from each manufacturer, their sample rate will be tiny and inadequate for making a decision on which manufacturer is best. If you can find a study that compares reliability on a large scale, that is your best bet.
posted by Sonic_Molson at 10:18 PM on April 2, 2010
As someone who has worked for a major OEM and other component manufacturer, I can say that a big part of the equation is price point. Just like cars. A Yaris and a Lexus are made by the same company, yet the fit and finish and the workmanship and overall quality different.
A $400 notebook from any OEM will be piece of shit compared to a $2000 notebook. A lot of the time on the lower end, the OEM will just rebadge an ODM's sku and sell that. There's very little engineering involved in that. Sometimes you'd even see a Gateway that was almost 100% a Dell unit. The only difference was the badge, the bitmap in the BIOS, software image and the documentation.
Remember, that Compaq is HP's value brand. Gateway is now part of Acer. Dell owns Alienware.
Dell's corporate Latitude notebooks are better engineered than their consumer brands. But the cost more (there's a lot of cross pollination between the Latitude, Vostro and Inspiron brands though...again, look at the price point).
The higher priced systems will have engineering dollars thrown at them and those are manufactured by the same ODMs, but with higher standards. Better engineered systems will be more reliable. The other higher priced systems will have better warranty coverage.
I've had great experience with $2000+ Dell, Toshiba, and Apple products. I've had nothing but trouble with anything that was under $1000.
posted by birdherder at 10:20 PM on April 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
A $400 notebook from any OEM will be piece of shit compared to a $2000 notebook. A lot of the time on the lower end, the OEM will just rebadge an ODM's sku and sell that. There's very little engineering involved in that. Sometimes you'd even see a Gateway that was almost 100% a Dell unit. The only difference was the badge, the bitmap in the BIOS, software image and the documentation.
Remember, that Compaq is HP's value brand. Gateway is now part of Acer. Dell owns Alienware.
Dell's corporate Latitude notebooks are better engineered than their consumer brands. But the cost more (there's a lot of cross pollination between the Latitude, Vostro and Inspiron brands though...again, look at the price point).
The higher priced systems will have engineering dollars thrown at them and those are manufactured by the same ODMs, but with higher standards. Better engineered systems will be more reliable. The other higher priced systems will have better warranty coverage.
I've had great experience with $2000+ Dell, Toshiba, and Apple products. I've had nothing but trouble with anything that was under $1000.
posted by birdherder at 10:20 PM on April 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Desktops, I buy Shuttle bare-bones. I've owned about 25 since 2002 and 95% of them have been awesome.
For laptops, you can't beat Apple.
posted by cowmix at 10:43 PM on April 2, 2010
For laptops, you can't beat Apple.
posted by cowmix at 10:43 PM on April 2, 2010
I was wondering the same thing myself while shopping for a new desktop a couple years ago. When I asked, rather than having any particular brands suggested, an idea rather strange to me was introduced: Build your own computer. Upon first hearing the idea, I thought it'd be too hard, or something just for techies. But they convinced me otherwise, and I haven't regretted the decision since.
The great thing about building your own PC is that you get to choose each part that will go into it, and you can rest a little easier knowing that every part you chose was a quality brand name part, rather than some generic piece of crap part thrown in it on an assembly line.
Building your own PC can be pretty fun and easy to do, as well as offer a great value, but I'd warn that it's a better option for someone who's looking for a high-performance machine, and best of all for gaming. If you're just looking for a PC that will perform basic tasks adequately, such as word-processing and web-browsing, then building your own PC probably isn't worth it.
If you're interested in the idea, you'll find a very helpful and enthusiastic community on the subject here. They can guide you all along the way through choosing the best parts for your PC, to even building it, should you need any help.
posted by Ryogen at 10:53 PM on April 2, 2010
The great thing about building your own PC is that you get to choose each part that will go into it, and you can rest a little easier knowing that every part you chose was a quality brand name part, rather than some generic piece of crap part thrown in it on an assembly line.
Building your own PC can be pretty fun and easy to do, as well as offer a great value, but I'd warn that it's a better option for someone who's looking for a high-performance machine, and best of all for gaming. If you're just looking for a PC that will perform basic tasks adequately, such as word-processing and web-browsing, then building your own PC probably isn't worth it.
If you're interested in the idea, you'll find a very helpful and enthusiastic community on the subject here. They can guide you all along the way through choosing the best parts for your PC, to even building it, should you need any help.
posted by Ryogen at 10:53 PM on April 2, 2010
So I'm wondering, are there any computer brands that have consistently shown themselves to be dependable or undependable, or is the stuff I'm hearing just anecdotal judgment?
The things you're hearing are just anecdotes.
Sure you'll get the occasional lemon, but the biggest difference in how well a computer works is USER quality. The things that make for a good computer experience are:
posted by anaelith at 10:54 PM on April 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
The things you're hearing are just anecdotes.
Sure you'll get the occasional lemon, but the biggest difference in how well a computer works is USER quality. The things that make for a good computer experience are:
- Being able to diagnose a failing part. Some computer parts just have failure rates, regardless of manufacturer, most failing parts have recognizable symptoms, and most of them are easy to replace...if you know what's going on. Otherwise you have to send it to someone, who has to run tests on it (because they're not sitting there using it for hours on end), and it takes weeks to mail back and forth, and they probably charge you if you didn't already shell out for the good warranty.
- Upgrading what matters. Out of the box, most cheaper computers don't have enough RAM. It's easy to take that into account and add some, but people often don't. Also, if you go into a big box store and look at the tags on different computers, the numbers in the biggest type are not always the ones that matter (but they're the ones people look at). Know how to pick the right specs for your usage and you can get away with a cheaper computer that will work better for you. Otherwise, like people said up thread, don't get the cheapest one you can find.
- Remove programs that run at startup, don't let it get infested with malware, and so on. The kind of people who have this problem do tend to blame it on the computer, as in "every Dell I've ever owned has gotten so slow!" Well, yes, but it wasn't a hardware problem.
- Don't drop it. Don't spill stuff on it. Don't put it in your bag when it's turned on, and don't put it in an enclosed space with no airflow and a lot of dust. If you're planning on doing any of those things, then there IS a definite quality difference between brands, you want something "ruggidized". For most people, it's sufficient to just treat the thing with a little respect.
posted by anaelith at 10:54 PM on April 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
I've been very pleased with the performance of my high end HP laptop. I would never buy a high-end laptop without an extended warranty. I bought the 3-year, no questions asked warranty for $350 on my $2,100 machine, and it turned out to come in handy, as I've had 4 machines breakdown on me and sent them back for a new one. Everything from bad motherboard, to bad videocard, to glitched keyboard to a broken screen hinge. One of the times, they just refurbed it. The other 3 times, they sent me a brand new machine. So the last 3 years, I've basically received a free, top of the line replacement laptop, thanks to broken-down parts and an extended warranty.
posted by Happydaz at 11:02 PM on April 2, 2010
posted by Happydaz at 11:02 PM on April 2, 2010
The best computers in the world are still made by IBM.
posted by koeselitz at 11:02 PM on April 2, 2010
posted by koeselitz at 11:02 PM on April 2, 2010
I would like to 2nd Sonic_Molson's point. Both the part about most advice being anecdotal and the part about looking for some hard numbers in an unbiased study. I think Sonic_Molson meant that, of course. I merely wanted to stress that point because it appears to me that a lot of these "studies" are of dubious nature.
One of the problems I've found with comparison studies, though, is that I'll rarely find the study while the computers tested in it are still state of the art. By the time I see the studies, most of the machines have ceased production already. That's just me, however. I may simply not know the best place to look.
My advice, FWIW: Generally, you get what you pay for. Not always, of course. Every major manufacturer is going to produce some junk units or even lines of units from time to time, IMHO and personal, anecdotal experience. The support advice is nice as well, and it truly is great when you have it and end up needing it, but it's also a crap shoot, IME. Good luck!
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 11:08 PM on April 2, 2010
One of the problems I've found with comparison studies, though, is that I'll rarely find the study while the computers tested in it are still state of the art. By the time I see the studies, most of the machines have ceased production already. That's just me, however. I may simply not know the best place to look.
My advice, FWIW: Generally, you get what you pay for. Not always, of course. Every major manufacturer is going to produce some junk units or even lines of units from time to time, IMHO and personal, anecdotal experience. The support advice is nice as well, and it truly is great when you have it and end up needing it, but it's also a crap shoot, IME. Good luck!
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 11:08 PM on April 2, 2010
koeselitz: "The best computers in the world are still made by IBM."
At US$133-million, I'll take two. One to use, one for a spare when the first one is down. I take my gaming seriously. (I'd love to see a documentary of what that thing and others similar to it are used for and capable of. BTW, I'm currently posting from a 733MHz PIII with 768MB PC133 RAM, heh. I open a modern browser and CPU utilization is pegged at 100% for about 1.5 secs or so.)
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 11:19 PM on April 2, 2010
At US$133-million, I'll take two. One to use, one for a spare when the first one is down. I take my gaming seriously. (I'd love to see a documentary of what that thing and others similar to it are used for and capable of. BTW, I'm currently posting from a 733MHz PIII with 768MB PC133 RAM, heh. I open a modern browser and CPU utilization is pegged at 100% for about 1.5 secs or so.)
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 11:19 PM on April 2, 2010
For laptops, you can't beat Apple.
My Macbook Pro has had two new batteries, one new graphics card, one new keyboard, one new power brick, and one new power button in 2.5 years, all covered by AppleCare.
My previous laptop, a Macbook, died 18 months in due to a well-known hardware defect. Apple wouldn't cover it.
So yes, you can't beat Apple laptops, if you get AppleCare.
posted by zippy at 11:44 PM on April 2, 2010
My Macbook Pro has had two new batteries, one new graphics card, one new keyboard, one new power brick, and one new power button in 2.5 years, all covered by AppleCare.
My previous laptop, a Macbook, died 18 months in due to a well-known hardware defect. Apple wouldn't cover it.
So yes, you can't beat Apple laptops, if you get AppleCare.
posted by zippy at 11:44 PM on April 2, 2010
I've never met anyone who regretted switching to Apple.
I'm aware these people do exist, but I have yet to meet one.
posted by ardent at 11:48 PM on April 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
I'm aware these people do exist, but I have yet to meet one.
posted by ardent at 11:48 PM on April 2, 2010 [2 favorites]
It really depends on what sort of computer you're buying. The best laptop manufacturer is not the best desktop manufacturer.
I think Lenovo's ThinkPads are still by far the best laptop around. The SL series isn't great, for a ThinkPad, but they're not terrible. You can get a much better speced computer that's built just as well, if not better, than you can with Apple for less money. (and with better styling, IMO) No OSX, though. I've had a crap ton of ThinkPads, and other than the usual hard drive failures I get with any computer I've only had one issue. My T60p had a fan go out, so I had to have them send me the part.
That brings me to the other bit of ThinkPad greatness: They're stupidly easy to disassemble and reassemble if you can follow directions at all. All of the more common upgrade/replacement items are designed to be removable with one or two screws. Most everything else can be exposed by simply removing the keyboard.
Also Lenovo is kind enough to retain the IBM policy of setting up the recovery partition such that you can pick and choose what software other than the OS is installed when you do a recovery. Thus, I can boot into recovery mode and have a bare desktop without any crapware installed in 15 minutes or less. No uninstalling nearly uninstallable antivirus, none of that crap.
Now after raving about ThinkPads for a bit, let me next say that Lenovo desktops are not great computers. They're merely OK. I can't personally name a desktop brand I'd buy. They're all pretty mediocre.
posted by wierdo at 11:51 PM on April 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
I think Lenovo's ThinkPads are still by far the best laptop around. The SL series isn't great, for a ThinkPad, but they're not terrible. You can get a much better speced computer that's built just as well, if not better, than you can with Apple for less money. (and with better styling, IMO) No OSX, though. I've had a crap ton of ThinkPads, and other than the usual hard drive failures I get with any computer I've only had one issue. My T60p had a fan go out, so I had to have them send me the part.
That brings me to the other bit of ThinkPad greatness: They're stupidly easy to disassemble and reassemble if you can follow directions at all. All of the more common upgrade/replacement items are designed to be removable with one or two screws. Most everything else can be exposed by simply removing the keyboard.
Also Lenovo is kind enough to retain the IBM policy of setting up the recovery partition such that you can pick and choose what software other than the OS is installed when you do a recovery. Thus, I can boot into recovery mode and have a bare desktop without any crapware installed in 15 minutes or less. No uninstalling nearly uninstallable antivirus, none of that crap.
Now after raving about ThinkPads for a bit, let me next say that Lenovo desktops are not great computers. They're merely OK. I can't personally name a desktop brand I'd buy. They're all pretty mediocre.
posted by wierdo at 11:51 PM on April 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
What weirdo said. I've recommended people buy off-lease ThinkPads for a long time here, and they're just bloody solid things that, if they go wrong, you can fix. That's rare in a laptop.
posted by holgate at 11:59 PM on April 2, 2010
posted by holgate at 11:59 PM on April 2, 2010
Oh, and I forgot to mention that Lenovo has gone to a default 1 year warranty, but you can buy a better warranty at any time during the warranty period for the same price as it would have been when you bought the computer. And after the warranty is up, you can pay more and still get an extended warranty. (There's about a 50% premium over buying the extension while it's still under warranty)
The warranty is surprisingly good, too. It claims not to cover you if you drop it and break the screen or whatever, but many of my clients have destroyed their laptops and gotten new ones from both IBM and Lenovo. Also, there are still a lot of local repair shops that you can get warranty service at if you don't want to send it in and aren't comfortable replacing parts yourself. (Lenovo will send you the parts to replace yourself, if you're willing, unlike most other manufacturers)
Oh, and they used to use the absolute best overnight carrier, DHL. When I had to replace my hard drive, I called DHL to come pick up the drive, figuring I'd have at least 15 minutes to box it up. 6 minutes later, the damn DHL driver was at my door wanting the box. :p
IDK what they do now that DHL doesn't do domestic shipping.
So yeah, having both used and supported many different laptops of many different brands, I'd say you've got HP and Dell, Toshiba, and Lenovo, in order of the reliability I have personally seen from them. The other brands I haven't dealt with enough to form an opinion with any basis in experience.
Toshiba and Lenovo are at the top of the list largely because I've seen both of them run over with forklifts and still function. Well, I didn't see them get run over, I just saw the aftermath and was surprised the system was still bootable. (although an external monitor and keyboard were needed in both cases)
posted by wierdo at 12:00 AM on April 3, 2010
The warranty is surprisingly good, too. It claims not to cover you if you drop it and break the screen or whatever, but many of my clients have destroyed their laptops and gotten new ones from both IBM and Lenovo. Also, there are still a lot of local repair shops that you can get warranty service at if you don't want to send it in and aren't comfortable replacing parts yourself. (Lenovo will send you the parts to replace yourself, if you're willing, unlike most other manufacturers)
Oh, and they used to use the absolute best overnight carrier, DHL. When I had to replace my hard drive, I called DHL to come pick up the drive, figuring I'd have at least 15 minutes to box it up. 6 minutes later, the damn DHL driver was at my door wanting the box. :p
IDK what they do now that DHL doesn't do domestic shipping.
So yeah, having both used and supported many different laptops of many different brands, I'd say you've got HP and Dell, Toshiba, and Lenovo, in order of the reliability I have personally seen from them. The other brands I haven't dealt with enough to form an opinion with any basis in experience.
Toshiba and Lenovo are at the top of the list largely because I've seen both of them run over with forklifts and still function. Well, I didn't see them get run over, I just saw the aftermath and was surprised the system was still bootable. (although an external monitor and keyboard were needed in both cases)
posted by wierdo at 12:00 AM on April 3, 2010
"I've never met anyone who regretted switching to Apple."
I have to work with Macs and PCs. Every time we have to buy a new Mac my wallet cries and the OS and hardware are not as perfect as big Steve would like your to believe.
posted by homodigitalis at 12:58 AM on April 3, 2010
I have to work with Macs and PCs. Every time we have to buy a new Mac my wallet cries and the OS and hardware are not as perfect as big Steve would like your to believe.
posted by homodigitalis at 12:58 AM on April 3, 2010
If you don't want a Mac, consider Lenovo ThinkPad and Fujitsu. (My home computer is a six year old Apple PowerBook - had one hard disk failure covered by AppleCare - at work I use a Fujitsu LifeBook. I'm satisfied with both.)
April 17, 2009:
"In a new Forrester report, I examined results for the five PC brands in Forrester’s customer experience index (CxPi): Apple, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, and HP. The analysis examines feedback from more than 4,500 US consumers about their interactions with these firms. Here’s some of what we found:
Apple came out on top, with a “good” rating of 80%. Compaq, HP, and Gateway ended up between 63% and 66% while Dell came in at the bottom with a “poor” 58% rating."
CNET May 6 2008:
"Apple has the best technical support in the PC industry, according to the most recent issue of Consumer Reports."
March 11th 2010:
"Apple tops Consumer Reports' tech support survey, second place not even close."
A 2009 study regarding laptop failure rate:
"SquareTrade analyzed failure rates for over 30,000 new laptop computers covered by SquareTrade Laptop Warranty plans and found that one-third of all laptops will fail within 3 years. SquareTrade also found that netbooks are 20% more unreliable than other laptops, and that Asus and Toshiba are the most reliable laptop brands." Not everybody agreed with the numbers from SquareTrade. A method problem for this study is that it's based on SquareTrade's own numbers, and they have not reported how many computers of each brand they actually had in their survey. My guess is that most Apple customers choose AppleCare, not SquareTrade, for extended product warranties.
posted by iviken at 3:38 AM on April 3, 2010
April 17, 2009:
"In a new Forrester report, I examined results for the five PC brands in Forrester’s customer experience index (CxPi): Apple, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, and HP. The analysis examines feedback from more than 4,500 US consumers about their interactions with these firms. Here’s some of what we found:
Apple came out on top, with a “good” rating of 80%. Compaq, HP, and Gateway ended up between 63% and 66% while Dell came in at the bottom with a “poor” 58% rating."
CNET May 6 2008:
"Apple has the best technical support in the PC industry, according to the most recent issue of Consumer Reports."
March 11th 2010:
"Apple tops Consumer Reports' tech support survey, second place not even close."
A 2009 study regarding laptop failure rate:
"SquareTrade analyzed failure rates for over 30,000 new laptop computers covered by SquareTrade Laptop Warranty plans and found that one-third of all laptops will fail within 3 years. SquareTrade also found that netbooks are 20% more unreliable than other laptops, and that Asus and Toshiba are the most reliable laptop brands." Not everybody agreed with the numbers from SquareTrade. A method problem for this study is that it's based on SquareTrade's own numbers, and they have not reported how many computers of each brand they actually had in their survey. My guess is that most Apple customers choose AppleCare, not SquareTrade, for extended product warranties.
posted by iviken at 3:38 AM on April 3, 2010
Since no on else said it, I am going to mention that the best desktop brand can be the one you build yourself. Brand name desktops are a collection of parts that meet the manufacturers' supply, price point, and functionality needs, pretty much in that order. Quality/performance usually comes somewhere after that.
Your criteria may be completely different. There are plenty of guides suggesting solid configurations (arstechnica, anandtech) at different price points, and these always feature very solid motherboard and memory manufacturers, which goes a long way towards stability.
If you don't want to learn this stuff yourself, there are probably plenty of people within reach that would build it for you for a small fee (small computer shops or smart teenagers).
Building your own can often mean you keep the computer much longer, as you can incrementally upgrade for a long time.
posted by SNACKeR at 3:43 AM on April 3, 2010
Your criteria may be completely different. There are plenty of guides suggesting solid configurations (arstechnica, anandtech) at different price points, and these always feature very solid motherboard and memory manufacturers, which goes a long way towards stability.
If you don't want to learn this stuff yourself, there are probably plenty of people within reach that would build it for you for a small fee (small computer shops or smart teenagers).
Building your own can often mean you keep the computer much longer, as you can incrementally upgrade for a long time.
posted by SNACKeR at 3:43 AM on April 3, 2010
Best Brand?
Hmmm, I would always check any manufacturers return & replacement philosophy first. Even the most expensive piece of hardware can break down.
Overall I would prefer buying a cheap midrange notebook / pc over a premium offer, since product cycles are so short and upgrades are hardly worth the money. Often it makes sense to buy a new machine ...
Unless you need the newest processors (i5/i7) and graphics cards I recommend to buy last year's model. Usually MUCH cheaper and there are many user reports out there to filter out the good from the bad.
posted by homodigitalis at 4:57 AM on April 3, 2010
Hmmm, I would always check any manufacturers return & replacement philosophy first. Even the most expensive piece of hardware can break down.
Overall I would prefer buying a cheap midrange notebook / pc over a premium offer, since product cycles are so short and upgrades are hardly worth the money. Often it makes sense to buy a new machine ...
Unless you need the newest processors (i5/i7) and graphics cards I recommend to buy last year's model. Usually MUCH cheaper and there are many user reports out there to filter out the good from the bad.
posted by homodigitalis at 4:57 AM on April 3, 2010
I have broken the hinges on my Asus laptop four times, two of which were after the end of the 2 year warranty period. Asus repaired the hinge both times free of charge.
posted by BeaverTerror at 5:17 AM on April 3, 2010
posted by BeaverTerror at 5:17 AM on April 3, 2010
Your question was about which was the best brand of computer. Most of the answers above have been about technology and customer support. That is a fairly narrow definition of a brand these days - particularly when a lot of the technology used by different manufacturers is quite similar. For a more marketing centric view this 2009 survey from Interbrand - based on this fairly non-frivalous methodology would give you this top 5:
1. IBM
2. HP
3. Samsung
4. Apple
5. Sony
posted by rongorongo at 5:23 AM on April 3, 2010
1. IBM
2. HP
3. Samsung
4. Apple
5. Sony
posted by rongorongo at 5:23 AM on April 3, 2010
To further confuse with anecdotal evidence:
Dell support was awesome to me, and the reason I bought another Dell when it was time to upgrade.
posted by the bricabrac man at 5:36 AM on April 3, 2010
Dell support was awesome to me, and the reason I bought another Dell when it was time to upgrade.
posted by the bricabrac man at 5:36 AM on April 3, 2010
My Macbook Pro has had two new batteries, one new graphics card, one new keyboard, one new power brick, and one new power button in 2.5 years, all covered by AppleCare.
And I've had a Macbook Pro for four years that has been great, aside from needing a new battery last year. That's to be expected, however. AppleCare did replace my battery despite the fact that it doesn't cover normal wear and tear. I called them up and they shipped one out. Awful nice of them.
Disclaimer: I will not be buying an iPad, though.
posted by InsanePenguin at 7:05 AM on April 3, 2010
And I've had a Macbook Pro for four years that has been great, aside from needing a new battery last year. That's to be expected, however. AppleCare did replace my battery despite the fact that it doesn't cover normal wear and tear. I called them up and they shipped one out. Awful nice of them.
Disclaimer: I will not be buying an iPad, though.
posted by InsanePenguin at 7:05 AM on April 3, 2010
If you buy the "business line" from any manufacturer, you will get better support. I love my Dell Latitudes.
posted by gjc at 7:22 AM on April 3, 2010
posted by gjc at 7:22 AM on April 3, 2010
Dell support was awesome to me, and the reason I bought another Dell when it was time to upgrade.
Yes, and Dell support was painful and problematic for me, I lost my hard drives, they replaced them, but the clowns couldn't be bothered to get the PC to actually recognize them once again. Consider also this poor guy too, who paid for the 24/7 no-questions asked warranty but they couldn't be bothered to actually help him.
OP, just forget about Dell. Honestly, forget it. "Just say no".
Within probably 30 minutes of where you live, are a dozen one or two-man PC shops. Find one by word-of-mouth recommendation and have them put a system together for you. The components will come from the same factories as other brands, it'll receive direct care and attention, and follow-up support, for a reasonable price.
posted by thermonuclear.jive.turkey at 7:27 AM on April 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yes, and Dell support was painful and problematic for me, I lost my hard drives, they replaced them, but the clowns couldn't be bothered to get the PC to actually recognize them once again. Consider also this poor guy too, who paid for the 24/7 no-questions asked warranty but they couldn't be bothered to actually help him.
OP, just forget about Dell. Honestly, forget it. "Just say no".
Within probably 30 minutes of where you live, are a dozen one or two-man PC shops. Find one by word-of-mouth recommendation and have them put a system together for you. The components will come from the same factories as other brands, it'll receive direct care and attention, and follow-up support, for a reasonable price.
posted by thermonuclear.jive.turkey at 7:27 AM on April 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Computer sales are incredibly competitive, so pricing is market-driven. If you shop wisely, you'll get what you pay for. Pay attention to the components that can be compared. RAM, CPU, Operating System, how many USB ports, and where are they. Many of the components, like hard drives, come from the same sources, so mostly ignore claims about how the Treefrog brand has better built-in grooviness than the BoatAnchor brand.
Don't buy a computer at Best Buy; shop at NewEgg, geeks.com or another reliable online seller, or from the manufacturer. Or check sites like Ben's Bargains.
Business class computers are built better and use better components, i.e., the hard drives and RAM from the lots with the lower mean failure rates. Home use computers are cheaper for a reason.
Pay for the warranty with really full coverage. Dell's full warranty will cover a laptop screen, Apple's will not. Not the seller's warranty (again, I'm looking at you, Best Buy), the manufacturer's warranty.
I've been using a Mac for the last few months, after many years using pcs. It's a beuatiful piece of equipment, but I'm going back to a pc. Macs are pretty reliable, but it's a lot more expensive. Building a pc will teach you a lot, but buying components individually loses economies of scale, so I didn't find it to save money.
posted by theora55 at 8:01 AM on April 3, 2010
Don't buy a computer at Best Buy; shop at NewEgg, geeks.com or another reliable online seller, or from the manufacturer. Or check sites like Ben's Bargains.
Business class computers are built better and use better components, i.e., the hard drives and RAM from the lots with the lower mean failure rates. Home use computers are cheaper for a reason.
Pay for the warranty with really full coverage. Dell's full warranty will cover a laptop screen, Apple's will not. Not the seller's warranty (again, I'm looking at you, Best Buy), the manufacturer's warranty.
I've been using a Mac for the last few months, after many years using pcs. It's a beuatiful piece of equipment, but I'm going back to a pc. Macs are pretty reliable, but it's a lot more expensive. Building a pc will teach you a lot, but buying components individually loses economies of scale, so I didn't find it to save money.
posted by theora55 at 8:01 AM on April 3, 2010
coughapplecough
I've had/been around several Acers and they were all shit. This was in the 90's though, so maybe they've reformed. The best PC's I had I built myself. Alienware is now Dell, so that's fucked.
posted by cmoj at 10:13 AM on April 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
I've had/been around several Acers and they were all shit. This was in the 90's though, so maybe they've reformed. The best PC's I had I built myself. Alienware is now Dell, so that's fucked.
posted by cmoj at 10:13 AM on April 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Here's the thing... there's some wacky need human beings seem to have that makes us root for the underdog and bash whoever is on top. Watch as anything becomes popular and you'll see people line up against it, regardless of what it is. Also, the more passionate people are about something, the more you will always see other people line up against it. That being said...
APPLE.
Apple's support is ridiculously good. I've been using Macs for fifteen years. I buy Applecare if I'm buying an expensive Mac, but I don't bother for my MacMini. Years ago, I had an internal SCSI hard drive die. Apple sent someone to my apartment the next day to fix it. Replace it, actually.
These days, we have the Genius Bar at the Apple Store where you bring in your Mac for some free tech support. Note that word: free. I lived in a building that had a massive electrical surge that (I thought) blew up my Mac. I hauled it into the Genius Bar where they figured out that the only damage was to a PCI card I didn't even need anymore.
But, hey, don't take my word for it. Do your own homework. Try to find as much unbiassed research as you can. Look at Consumer Reports. There's a reason Apple has become the brand people love to hate on. It's because there's another group of people who simply love it. But once you factor out both of those groups, you'll be left with excellent hardware, excellent support, an excellent (though of course not perfect) operating system, and industry leading innovation. After all... it isn't an HP, Compaq or Dell product people are lining up to buy today. And that's no coincidence.
posted by 2oh1 at 10:38 AM on April 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
APPLE.
Apple's support is ridiculously good. I've been using Macs for fifteen years. I buy Applecare if I'm buying an expensive Mac, but I don't bother for my MacMini. Years ago, I had an internal SCSI hard drive die. Apple sent someone to my apartment the next day to fix it. Replace it, actually.
These days, we have the Genius Bar at the Apple Store where you bring in your Mac for some free tech support. Note that word: free. I lived in a building that had a massive electrical surge that (I thought) blew up my Mac. I hauled it into the Genius Bar where they figured out that the only damage was to a PCI card I didn't even need anymore.
But, hey, don't take my word for it. Do your own homework. Try to find as much unbiassed research as you can. Look at Consumer Reports. There's a reason Apple has become the brand people love to hate on. It's because there's another group of people who simply love it. But once you factor out both of those groups, you'll be left with excellent hardware, excellent support, an excellent (though of course not perfect) operating system, and industry leading innovation. After all... it isn't an HP, Compaq or Dell product people are lining up to buy today. And that's no coincidence.
posted by 2oh1 at 10:38 AM on April 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
I owned a Samsung laptop once. The power brick failed, repeatedly. Called customer support who told me they were no longer being made (my laptop was a year old) and 'you should try eBay.' Then it turned out to be the DC jack, and once I opened it up I found that replacing this wasn't a simple but fiddly job but actually something that necessitated replacing the motherboard. For a single basic component. It was impossible to fix.
I don't own a Samsung laptop now.
posted by mippy at 11:57 AM on April 3, 2010
I don't own a Samsung laptop now.
posted by mippy at 11:57 AM on April 3, 2010
Then it turned out to be the DC jack, and once I opened it up I found that replacing this wasn't a simple but fiddly job but actually something that necessitated replacing the motherboard.
This is common to many (most?) laptops, unless you're good with a soldering gun and the only problem is that it has come un-soldered (common, common, common). What brand/model of laptop do you have now where you can replace the DC jack without touching the motherboard?
posted by anaelith at 4:51 PM on April 3, 2010
This is common to many (most?) laptops, unless you're good with a soldering gun and the only problem is that it has come un-soldered (common, common, common). What brand/model of laptop do you have now where you can replace the DC jack without touching the motherboard?
posted by anaelith at 4:51 PM on April 3, 2010
Anecdotal data: My Fujitsu laptop has served me well lo these many years. They're a little pricy, but I think it's worth it.
My previous laptop, a Toshiba Satellite, was not very good: the backlight died and the screen hinge broke and the DC adapter port failed.
posted by JDHarper at 5:43 PM on April 3, 2010
My previous laptop, a Toshiba Satellite, was not very good: the backlight died and the screen hinge broke and the DC adapter port failed.
posted by JDHarper at 5:43 PM on April 3, 2010
Anecdata: Twice Gateway sold me laptops that did not meet specs. The first was in the late 90s and was supposed to have a 10GB hard drive and it only had 6. The 2nd was a couple of years later and it was supposed to have USB 2.0 ports and it only had USB 1.1 ports.
My 2nd Gateway was also a gaming laptop and had to be sent in for warranty repair 3 times because it would get so hot that things inside would melt. After I got it back the 3rd time I got one of those USB cooling pads that goes under the laptop and never again had a problem.
I have had no problems with my Compaq laptop and my parents haven't had a problem with their eMachines desktop. I'm currently building my own PC.
posted by IndigoRain at 6:58 PM on April 3, 2010
My 2nd Gateway was also a gaming laptop and had to be sent in for warranty repair 3 times because it would get so hot that things inside would melt. After I got it back the 3rd time I got one of those USB cooling pads that goes under the laptop and never again had a problem.
I have had no problems with my Compaq laptop and my parents haven't had a problem with their eMachines desktop. I'm currently building my own PC.
posted by IndigoRain at 6:58 PM on April 3, 2010
Anaelith, it had come unsoldered but the construction of it was such that the whole motherboard would have to be replaced rather than just the part or a simple resolder. I had an engineer look at it so I know this to be the case.
posted by mippy at 11:33 AM on April 5, 2010
posted by mippy at 11:33 AM on April 5, 2010
My Toshiba laptop from 2002 still works, thought for modern times it is under-equipped in regards to RAM and hard disk space. Still surfs the web easily though.
posted by WeekendJen at 2:25 PM on April 6, 2010
posted by WeekendJen at 2:25 PM on April 6, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:52 PM on April 2, 2010