I know they are all pretty much the same components wise, it just depends on how well they are put together. I am not going to put my own together, so I’m just trying to decide on whether to go with Dell, Gateway, HP, Acer, etc… I guess it just comes down to price and features. I was looking at Dell Inspirion 546s through Walmart, but buying from there is an unsure thing. A more local computer store is selling Gateways, but they offer direct service for any work they may need. I’ve gone through 2 Dells over the last several years.
My Chinese step mother told me that HP and Acer are some of the best based on performance, value, and quality. I feel her recommendation is relevant because Chinese people know how to/expect cheap, high quality products. I myself have an Acer laptop that I’m quite happy with.
[quote]JLu wrote:
My Chinese step mother told me that HP and Acer are some of the best based on both performance, value, and quality. I feel her recommendation is relevant because Chinese people know how to/expect cheap, high quality products. I myself have an Acer laptop that I’m quite happy with.[/quote]
Using a very cheap acer 5530g. Satisfied as well.
I’ve heard extremely mixed reviews about Acers - I find most people either really like 'em, or literally want to set them on fire.
For desktops, just build it on your own or get a comp tech to do it. It’ll be a better computer most of the time, and cheaper. Only go this route if you can do without some sort of call tech support… which some people need, I guess.
For laptops, I have a macbook pro. While outrageously over priced, it IS a really good machine, and I can do anything I want on it. However, I could have built an equivalent laptop by Alienware for about a grand less and the only down side would have been no aluminum unibody. For lower end models, I’ve heard good things about Sony and HP.
Right now I would recommend people to get a macbook for a basic laptop. Even if you don’t want to run OS X, you can just wipe the drive and run windows… it’s still a pretty sweet machine.
What are you going to use the machine for? If you want to play any games, that machine is pretty weak graphically (the best graphics card you can get is a lower end card from two hardware generations ago). If you just want to play movies, browse the internet, and fire up your office program of choice, then it’ll suit your needs fine.
Of course, the Dell consumer line has pretty shitty support and hardware failure rates. Go for the business line if you’re going to buy Dell (you don’t have to be a business to buy those).
Personally I build my own, because where some of the major manufacturers tend to skimp is on motherboards and power supplies, the two most important points of failure. For laptops, I really like Asus. Price and build quality are very good.
-Dan
Any HP Probook!
they cost more, but you get what you pay for.
HP is one of the best, but is also a little more expensive. If you want bang for your buck Acer is the best way to go. Either of those brands will be a good choice.
Also, making sure to purchase the 2-3 year full warranty offered by whatever store you purchase your computer from is a must. Usually warranty’s aren’t worth the money, but with computers they are a must. No matter how high or low the quality of the computer is, things can go wrong, and you want your computer to last, so getting the warranty is always a great call.
[quote]buffalokilla wrote:
What are you going to use the machine for? If you want to play any games, that machine is pretty weak graphically (the best graphics card you can get is a lower end card from two hardware generations ago). If you just want to play movies, browse the internet, and fire up your office program of choice, then it’ll suit your needs fine.
Of course, the Dell consumer line has pretty shitty support and hardware failure rates. Go for the business line if you’re going to buy Dell (you don’t have to be a business to buy those).
Personally I build my own, because where some of the major manufacturers tend to skimp is on motherboards and power supplies, the two most important points of failure. For laptops, I really like Asus. Price and build quality are very good.
-Dan[/quote]
This.
Dell generally sucks. Building a desktop is easy (relatively) and, as mentioned, you can pick some better quality core components - a weak motherboard can make rather good components suck performance-wise, and even damage them.
Laptops - HP, Asus and Acer all get my vote.
Pretty much any Apple computer. I have had a Macbook Pro for over 3 years and it has stood up to over 17 months in Iraq and my monkey paws handling it. Build quality is sleek and durable, and OS X is much better than Windows, IMO.
Macbook Pro’s are the only Apple computers worth a damn…and they are expensive. Plus,Macs are not “practical” for everybody. It just depends on the person and their intentions with the computer…which the OP needs to make clear.
Overall I like Dell, but for tabletpc’s, I choose Fujitsu.
My old Mac G4 Dual Processor is still going strong. No virus issues, etc.
Workhorse machine.
Got HP laptop and PC and they’re pretty good. Any of those brands you mentioned will probably be mighty similar though.
To the casual user I would definitely not recommend a mac, you pay twice the amount for a computer that sucks twice as hard as one would on windows. OS X is good but tbh so is windows 7 or vista. GL
I like Toshiba, IBM, and Mac.
…what I currently have is a Dell laptop with an Apple sticker over the Dell logo.
Apple and IBM
[quote]schultzie wrote:
Apple and IBM[/quote]
IBM doesn’t make computers anymore, they were bought by Lenovo a while ago.
Alienware, Mac or build a hyoooooge one 
[quote]Big_Boss wrote:
Macbook Pro’s are the only Apple computers worth a damn…and they are expensive. Plus,Macs are not “practical” for everybody. It just depends on the person and their intentions with the computer…which the OP needs to make clear.[/quote]
I hear this often and completely disagree with them not being practical. I think that people who dont use macs tend to say they are not practical because they know nothing about them. I know many a people who have graduated from college, business, pre med, pre law, and gone on to careers all while using their macbooks. If you really want to use pc apps you can easily get them on the mac. I think people are very ill informed on how a mac can be used.
Mac all the way. If I were ever to step into the PC world again I’d just build my own. I don’t game much. I use a lot of Adobe programs for school, and I’ve become too accustomed/elitist/inpatient to work with PCs.
If you’ve got the cash, and aren’t too into PC gaming, then go with mac. Otherwise my post is pretty useless.
Big_Boss, how are they not practical? You can get the base model macbook for a grand, and the smallest aluminum macbook pro starts at 1200. I have never had a virus or ran spyware software. Plus, the new unibody ones are very solid. You get what you pay for as far as build quality goes. To the OP, are you just wondering what other people think, or you going to actually use the info to make a purchase? If so, what are you looking at using it for?