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Who makes the best PC?

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by ngcmos 1 view

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Hey all,
I have a rather opiniontive question/comment for those of you interested. Personally I buy parts that suit my needs, and I build my computer. Most of the times this can be more costly, unless you catch deals at auction sites. So if a friend or client asks you who makes the best PC what do you tell them? My response is as follows
1)IBM - Usually more expensive but, I have never been called to repair one. That maybe due to the fact the area I am from an IBM is more expensive than the car most people drive.
2)Dell
3)Gateway
4)Hewlett-Packard
5)AND DEAD LAST Compaq Presario's I am costantly servicing these machines, and due to how cheap they are i see these the most.
Any one else with similar feelings?
Nate

13 replies

by rdschaefer

Even if it's sometimes more expensive to build it yourself, it will ALWAYS be the best. I haven't bought a pre-built PC in years and I never will. I just wish I could build my own laptop!

Ralph

by tomsal

When they actually release "kits" for people to assemble their own laptops. Just think about it, you know how much money the FIRST company to sucessfully market "self build kits" for laptops will make? I think they'll find a rush of customers real fast.

As for the pre-built systems. At work we when it comes to buying pre-built we are nearly exclusively with Dell. Particularly our server room, which you'd notice that ever single tower and rack mount server in there is a Dell Power Edge. Its probably a bit of tradition now, since we've had a Dell corporate account for about 7 years now, so we are just used to ordering from them. I like the performance of their equipment and since I'm experienced at working on Dell Power Edge servers (particularly rack mounts) I'm familiar with the hardware in them so that's another reason we stick to them.

All in all I guess...if it ain't broke don't fix it!

Our desktop computers on the other hand are mostly custom built. The only time this changes is when we (meaning the MIS department) are completely way too busy to custom build and we need a system like yesterday. Then we'll call Dell.

As for the laptops, our sales force uses IBM laptops exclusively. We just feel they make the best laptops around. For one you can beat the daylights out of them and they run flawlessly...

later.

(PS. Now at home, CUSTOM all the way baby!!! lol. The only way to get a true gaming box!)

by ngcmos

I agree with both of you guys! A custom laptop kit would be an excellent Idea!! I know I would go for it! Tom, I too like the power edge series from Dell..thats we run for our servers. Very Good Machines. IBM Thinkpads.....can't beat them! Literally. I have a dell but my father uses one, and i have checked it out, and he is your normal end-user who beats the heck out of the machine. I am happy that some people agree with me about custom built is the way to go. I have done it for several years for myself now and I will never go back!
Nate

by ferocious

I have used each one of those brands you listed, and you know as well as anyone of us that "best" is a term used loosely. It always derives from a combination of factors such as quality of components, warranty, price, reputation, etc. If you builda PC with top-notch components (all relative, of course) I would equate your end-product with IBM, who got us into this PC mess in the first place.

Of course, if you just built a million-dollar studio in your summer estate, you'd probably think about the Patek-Phillipe of PCs, the Silicon Graphics workstation. Cheers!

by wdhuber

In our IT department, we decided to go with all "clone" PCs. We have a local vendor who will build them to our specs, we tell them what video card, NIC, motherboard & chipset, etc. The price is usually less than Compac and Dell. The best thing is, IF we have a problem, the vendor delivers the replacement component to us the SAME DAY! We don't have to wait for them to send a tech out like you do with IBM, Compac or Dell. We tried a couple of Dells and lost 2 days of production when it crashed due to a driver compatibility problem with Windows 2000 Server. NOTHING BUT CLONES!!!!!!!!!!

by james r linn

I've been messing with PCs since Apple IIs and Visicalc.

I have been inside the case and worked on just about every major brand. And I have to say that brand name is not always a great indicator - every company has made some winners and some duds.

I remember being at the introduction of a new Macintosh model. I was very impressed when the marketing guy laid out all the parts, and snapped it toegether without tools in less than a minute, while continuing to talk, then successfully bootingthe machine. A few years later I was cursing Apple for designing a machine (9500) where I had to remove the HDs to install RAM(and you needed tools).

I've spent many hours inside Compaqs, Dells, IBMs etc. And I've built a few computers for home from scratch.

For home I would build clones, but Dell's make to order and their pricing are so competitive, it doesn't save any money any more.

For the office, its a different criteria. We don't buy home class machines, we buy business machines that have DMI so we can be confident about using SMS and other management tools. We also buy business clas machines so that the parts, cases etc are fairly consistent over a long term - that way we have greater predictability. When you support thousands of computers that is important.

We do our own service, so parts availability is important.

Right now we use Compaqs, but most of the major brands are fairly comparable in terms of build quality, quality of parts, warranty, service and price.

by el hondurex

It is true that clones allow you to configure the system the way you want to at an equal or fairly lower price than a PC maker. HOWEVER, the costs of maintaining clones gets quite expensive because you have to get the driver updates to each component in different websites. If you have built different clones for your home or business needs, this means you have to make a more exhaustive search to keep your drivers up-to-date.
I usually like to experiment with new platforms, and there isn't no better thing than being able to download all the drivers to that platform (if supported) from a single web page.
In regard with the original topic, I myself haven't had a Dell computer, but I agree that IBM has very reliable computers (I am glad Iown a Thinkpad); their support is superb. Gateway has pretty good desktop systems at a very competitive price. Compaq Presarios are low-end desktop systems which aren't easily expandible and offer very little support; however, from my experience ofuse and abuse, they get the job done really well.

by ngcmos

I agree about having clones in the office, I don't do that. It is a pain in the neck trying to locate driver updates for each component in your system. But when it comes to home pc's you cant beat them, and also all that OEM software junk that comes with a brand name pc is annoying. You dont even use half of it. whenever a new Dell/Gateway comes into our office I wipe it out and start with a fresh clean OS, with out the junk the manufacturer installs on the system. It was true saying that eachmanufacturer hits and misses with thier systems too.
Nate

by mrafrohead

Stay away from prefab. In my opinion they're mostly JUNK!!!

You can build your own computer, usually a little bit cheaper (except for lately with the "price wars") and you KNOW for a fact, what you have in your box. You know how well the hardware is going to perform. You know how much abuse it will take. Not to mention, you aren't going to have parts breaking on you all of the time. Your performance will be better if you buy higher quality components. Which are not included in prefab machines.

At my place of business, we use only Compaq machines. Granted their customer service for replacing broken parts is good, but I am on the phone with them at least twice a month, getting new motherboards and other parts. They're junk, throw-away computers.

Build your own, so you know what you have and you know what to expect.:)

So I hope that my two cents helps you in some way or another... :)

mrafrohead
@yahoo.com

by clearsmashdrop

When it comes to desktops my experience has been with Dell, Acma ( i think they are a local company in SF Bay Area ), and home built.

I like Dell's most of all, because they have good support on the web. I can grab all sorts of updates if I havethe service tag.

As for laptops, I believe Thinkpads are the most durable, but they are expensive. Dells, make a good choice, because the harddrives are easily accessable. ( CPi and CPx models )

I DO NOT however like Sony Vaios. They are not for a corporate environment. Hard drive go bad? Cant replace it. They do something with the BIOS.
What to replace the BIOS? Try finding it.
They are really proprietary. Drivers on the website? Not many. Anyway you get the idea.

They do look very nice, and have good screens but for a corporate environment I hate them.

by mc_user

I feel there is no one easy answer to this. No one ever comes up to me and asks "What car should I buy?" There are too many options to consider. I could ask the same questions for a PC or a car. What do you plan to do with it? How much money do you have to spend? What models have you heard about about?

I ask these questions when people ask me about PC's. Once I get an idea of their skills I can make some recommendations.

Personally I like Dell, HP and Gateway for desktops. IBM is my first choice for laptops. I have heard good things Sony, Dell and Gateway laptops, but I have no direct experience with them.

I admire all of you who can build clone PC's. I believe that that is the best value for the most power.

But some people need the comfort of an established brand. As well as the hand-holding of their service and support organizations.

by copelj

I have been building pc's for over 7 yrs now and would rather buy than build. Building is good if you can get all the parts that you want at the same place...if not then you have to worry about warranty on a whole bunch of parts from different places.

Dell would be my first choice if I was to buy a machine from a major manufacturer.

Cyberpowerinc...is where I buy all my personal machines and recommend others to get their's from if they don't mind spending less money for the same quality and service...(that was ironic)

So build your own if you got the money and time...there is no one excellent "big" manufacturer..it all depends one what hardware they use and how they take pride in installing it.

by stewiejb

I have found that in australia, predominantly western australia SJB contractors make great PC's stable as possible and well worth the price tag

email their representative linley@upnaway.com

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