Best PC computer brand?

[Aviela]

Intel CPU's (except Celeron range) and Nvidia graphics cards are what I usually employ for my machines

I have a AMD mini-itx APU board with onboard graphics. It was fairly expensive and buggy BIOS so that might be my last AMD purchase. Having said that, it's pretty good on power using approx 25 Watts. It might be reassigned as a new NAS box as it has 6 SATA ports onboard and still has enough graphics power to act as a media server too.

You can build a nice compact mini-itx box for about $350 (minus monitor, keyboard and speakers) - great for the PC DIYer upgrading.

okay thanks Nice to make ones own computer but I just don't have the energy and knowledge to that extent. ...would be fun though if one had the money to spend and one just learned as they did it kind of thing. I mean you need to put thought into what parts you would use before you buy them but there is so much to know that it could back fire if one is just starting out.

lol maybe we should start a thread to share about computer disasters while working with computers. Could be a learning experience.

 

[Aviela]

I'd give the tick to Lenovo laptops as best of the bunch. My girls have the E520's about two years old now. However, one had a hard drive die and the other needs a replacement keyboard. Guess overall that isn't too bad with teens using them. So rough cost to keep them going over 2 years is approx. NZ$200.

Very good to know. I've been wondering about them. I'm going to keep my eye on this company and their products. How is their customer service? lol I suppose you can probably do a lot more on your own than I can but I thought I'd ask...

 

[gerbilwoman]

Dell is my favorite

 

[Aviela]

Dell is my favorite

ok thanks for letting us know

 

[Emy12]

Everyone has its own preference based on the experience with the company he got the laptop/pc from.
I have purchased a few laptops,
Fujitsu back in 2005, is still working fine, never have had a reason to call them.
Asus V1V, it worked fine until the HDD failed and was sent to a company that supposed to be fixed, the hdd was fixed but it came cracked....what was next it was a nightmare....finally I got the refund only 80%.
Dell back in 2010 XPS 1647, lots of parts changed, finally it was replaced with XPS 15 L521x, very good laptop but very poor wireless signal due to its construction, and screen pooling effect...I got a few replacements, but all were the same.
Finally a refund has being processed and after a year I got it..
I just picked up a Lenovo T410 i5 520 with 18% of the XPS L521x price, and I am very happy with it.
Warranty point of view, Dell is the best, but its contractors that looks after their systems based on my experience are 95% useless. Over ten engineers came to replace some parts on my previous systems and only one deserved his job. I said to some of them to have a coffee, having a brake while I will be replacing the parts needed. They did it, they were I my house
Sending away to be fixed? Do not expect to have it back without scratches, maybe smashed….they do lots of laptops daily and have to be fast.

 

[Aviela]

Everyone has its own preference based on the experience with the company he got the laptop/pc from.
I have purchased a few laptops,
Fujitsu back in 2005, is still working fine, never have had a reason to call them.
Asus V1V, it worked fine until the HDD failed and was sent to a company that supposed to be fixed, the hdd was fixed but it came cracked....what was next it was a nightmare....finally I got the refund only 80%.
Dell back in 2010 XPS 1647, lots of parts changed, finally it was replaced with XPS 15 L521x, very good laptop but very poor wireless signal due to its construction, and screen pooling effect...I got a few replacements, but all were the same.
Finally a refund has being processed and after a year I got it..
I just picked up a Lenovo T410 i5 520 with 18% of the XPS L521x price, and I am very happy with it.
Warranty point of view, Dell is the best, but its contractors that looks after their systems based on my experience are 95% useless. Over ten engineers came to replace some parts on my previous systems and only one deserved his job. I said to some of them to have a coffee, having a brake while I will be replacing the parts needed. They did it, they were I my house
Sending away to be fixed? Do not expect to have it back without scratches, maybe smashed….they do lots of laptops daily and have to be fast.

Yes I think it depends on the individual computer and not just the company name. I also think it depends on people's individual experience with each company.

I've never stated this in the thread before, but to be honest, I'm not overly thrilled with Dell computers in general and the use of refurbished parts but I have heard their customer service is pretty good. I can't speak to the customer service personally but it's what I've heard. I have heard a fair amount of people displeased with their computers though so it's interesting for me to hear when somebody prefers dell computers. I really think the individual computer makes a big difference.

I also agree with your comments regarding some technical assistance groups. Every now and then you meet a great one who you can really talk to who gets it. But then there are others who damage your property and really aren't interested in fixing the problem. There usually is this big company attitude too, that really lacks accountability and that can be quite frustrating.

 

[Unix]

I've started selling it. Have bought better computers just to myself, a desktop and a laptop:

A W8.1 Update 1 computer I have has 9.5GB but I bought it for someone who didn't want any b-day gift plus she quit the friendship during the same phone-call. It's for reading books. Should I sell it?:

 

[WeakSaint]

If you want as much power as possible to the lowest possible cost building your own PC is a must. It will take you a couple of hours but it is really easy, just as assembling an IKEA piece, and you will save literately hundreds of dollars.

A good place to start is here pcpartpicker.com

 

[charlespe]

If you like the mac os, I suggest you to get an iMac. Personally I rate that as the best computer brand

 

[bill5]

IMO the diff in brands nowdays is slim to none, both in terms of the PC itself and tech support (which is mostly non-existent now). I've tried comparable PCs of all the major brands and noticed little diff.

 

[bill5]

If you want as much power as possible to the lowest possible cost building your own PC is a must. It will take you a couple of hours but it is really easy, just as assembling an IKEA piece, and you will save literately hundreds of dollars.

A good place to start is here pcpartpicker.com

Sorry, inaccurate on all counts. The profit margin on PCs today is very slim and you're unlikely to save much - and it is not nearly as quick and easy as you make it sound for about 99.9% of people out there. Basically, it's not worth it, unless you want to do it because you enjoy the process itself.

 

[WeakSaint]

Sorry, inaccurate on all counts. The profit margin on PCs today is very slim and you're unlikely to save much - and it is not nearly as quick and easy as you make it sound for about 99.9% of people out there. Basically, it's not worth it, unless you want to do it because you enjoy the process itself.

Show me the PC you want to buy and I show you how I can save you at least one hundred dollars by building it yourself.

 

[Unix]

My most clever computer purchase was a used Windows 8.1 license, non-OEM, with CD-ROMs for both 32-bit and 64-bit. It gave the freedom to choose from a bigger variety of used computers. There were plenty of desktop computers with Windows 8.1 on them, the ad for the most recent four core one I wanted to look at didn't specify that it had it, but when I went and looked at it the seller said he would format the drives because of architecture softwares he had on it and install Windows 7, but I convinced him to just uninstall the softwares and let me keep the Windows 8.1 (which was installed from scratch), he agreed and I bought it. The next thing I needed was a laptop, with four threads as well, preferably a little smaller but needed to be faster than the laptops I had. So I looked at several ads for one specific model and also contacted a store which sold one used, and they all had Windows 7. I bought the least expensive, it had Windows 7 32-bit (which is faster than 64-bit and would suffice for my purposes although I easily run out of RAM when using Chrome (is Chrome 64-bit, I suspect it is and then it would explain why I run out of RAM?)) and it has i7 and 4GB RAM expandable to 8GB and CD-ROM drive, 12.1" monitor 1280x800 pixels, and I installed Windows 8.1 64-bit on it. Had to activate Windows by phone, but that was automated and no problem. The installation was very fast compared to when I tried to install Vista on an old 2006 Pentium D desktop with 3GB (which I still have but with no OS and no disk that I want to use for it, although I have a spare unused 1GB HDD which I got for free from my dad but I want to save it until it's needed for something important):

Show me the PC you want to buy and I show you how I can save you at least one hundred dollars by building it yourself.

 

[C-Man]

The best computer I ever had was a Compaq Presario 6000 I bought in 2001. It came with an Athlon XP 2000+ processor and 256MB RAM. I eventually upgraded it to 1GB. The maximum was 2GB, since it only had two slots.

That computer, and the cheap little Radeon 7000 video card I threw in there, never choked on anything I threw at it. It kept plugging away until late 2009 when some motherboard capacitors gave up the ghost. I could not get the board to take solder for the life of me, so that was pretty much the end of an era. I'd probably still be using it to this day if it hadn't been for that.

I did find a refurbished motherboard with the exact same part number after I built my new system, so I rebuilt the old one and gave it to my mother. When she passed away, it was mine again. Unfortunately, the replacement capacitors in the board were Teapos, a brand not known for longevity. One by the card slots blew, which caused some interesting glitches. I still have it in the closet, and I may replace the capacitors on a lazy day.

Unfortunately, I can't really recommend HP/Compaq's newer offerings.

 

[Aviela]

Well, I've had a chance to use my new replacement computer for a while and I have to say I'm liking intel better than amd. I think it's pretty great. The security program can still slow things down a bit cause it's a heavy program but ... basically other software can't keep up to the computer. Computer intel system I have can definitely handle multiple programs but ironically the software etc.... flash player can't always keep up. Pretty cool. (Hope that makes sense..)

 

[bill5]

Show me the PC you want to buy and I show you how I can save you at least one hundred dollars by building it yourself.

I just bought a Toshiba C75 laptop (4GB RAM, 750GB HD, Win 8.1) for $375. I'm more than a bit skeptical of you building it for $275 or less, but go for it

The best computer I ever had was a Compaq Presario 6000 I bought in 2001.

The best PCs ever in their day were Compaqs. Then HP bought them and that was that...

 

[Unix]

What is the comparison? if the Intel machine is say a year newer then of course it is faster since CPU:s develop. There are lists on the net where You can see how new the CPU is:

Well, I've had a chance to use my new replacement computer for a while and I have to say I'm liking intel better than amd. I think it's pretty great. [...] Computer intel system I have can definitely handle multiple programs but ironically the software etc.... flash player can't always keep up.

 

[iluvtheSims]

Dell is the worst, and HP isn't too far off.

I rather enjoy Gateway sadly I don't think they sell much anymore? Correct me if I am wrong... I also love Ibuypower, Digital Storm, and Alienware for gaming power. Oh and Asus, Acer, and Samsungs are rather neat.

I will admit although I do enjoy PC's for gaming, I have to openly admit that I am more so a Mac fan.

 

[Aviela]

I just bought a Toshiba C75 laptop (4GB RAM, 750GB HD, Win 8.1) for $375. I'm more than a bit skeptical of you building it for $275 or less, but go for it



The best PCs ever in their day were Compaqs. Then HP bought them and that was that...

Yeah, I wouldn't buy a compaq now. I'll buy certain hp's but not compaq even though they are both from the hp company though. I still think the individual computer and it's components makes a difference.

 

[Aviela]

Dell is the worst, and HP isn't too far off.

I rather enjoy Gateway sadly I don't think they sell much anymore? Correct me if I am wrong... I also love Ibuypower, Digital Storm, and Alienware for gaming power. Oh and Asus, Acer, and Samsungs are rather neat.

I will admit although I do enjoy PC's for gaming, I have to openly admit that I am more so a Mac fan.

I won't buy dell. I'll buy certain hp depending on the components of the specific computer but I always buy a good warranty. I have to say though...lately hp seems to have gotten a bit sloppy in workmanship. ...in my experience.

I do like pc gaming and the compatability. Apple / Mac have some good technology but the compatibility isn't there and they keep components that you need to use with their technology pretty exclusive to their company and keep the prices raised.

Long story short. I have pc hp computer but use an iphone and wish to get an ipad air. So depends on what the product is for me.