Best/worst computer brands.

As a young high school kid back in the days my first PC was an Alienware- saved every single penny I could to get it. This was before Alienware was bought out by Dell. I thought it was the most bad ass thing. I had it for two years and saw the need to upgrade. I started researching how to upgrade the motherboard, ram, and gpu. Went the route of upgrading all the internal components myself. It was then that I realize how cheap some of these components Alienware used. The RAM was cheap generic ram without heatsinks. The power supply was a cheap Chinese brand. There was so many corners cut to make a huge profit margin. Ever since then I've built my own PC. I can pick and choose the case and components I want.

Also I've learn to avoid Razer gaming mouse and Logitech keyboards. Still have a pile of them in my closet where they just stopped working after the warranty runs out.
 
raldo said:
In my opinion the best computer brand is Lenovo.
It has a good quality / price ratio, good assistance and I can assure you that it resists well even in the heat and dust of a company .. 😅
from customers in PC workstations for SCADA supervision systems we always install Lenovo and they never gave us problems.
Click to expand...
My favorite is how they ship most consumer systems with only 1 DIMM, citing more upgradability. Horseshit, it's a cost cutting measure that knocks 20-40% off your performance.

I'm not sure if they still do this, but it's the #1 reason I avoid Lenovo.
 
Lenovo Tinys are pretty cool and well built. They're not for gamers, professional and corporate entities but perfectly fine mom and pop and anyone else.
 
I used to be a huge Lenovo fan, but honestly laptop wise I've had the same Dell laptop for 2+ years. Dell Latitude 5310. It's mostly plastic and not necessarily business grade but I think it's a solid build. So much I actually bought one for my home also.
 
Mr. Bluntman said:
100% agree. I don't want something with CCP backdoors in it. NSA and CIA backdoors are bad enough.
Click to expand...
Like I understand that technically this could be done, but has anyone ever looked into this and found anything? Software doesn't care what hardware you use and is likely how most spyware exists. But true hardware back doors are frightening, but also, how would they hide it? It's physically there and you can see it.
 
From a pre-packaged everyday business desktop perspective, I've had way fewer issues with Lenovo than any of the other large players. The hardware generally feels well assembled, properly chosen, etc. and they don't usually have much in the way of bloat straight from the factory, either.
 
Lenovo has too many proprietary FS's to suite me but the Tiny line is in a class all their own.

For example. I needed to replace a failed cpu cooler in a Thinkserver and discovered that the support plate threads were non standard which mean I had to pull the motherboard to replace it before I could use a standard. This particular server also used a proprietary PSU, Instead of a 24 pin main plug it used a 20 pin, I think. And instead of the PSU feeding the HD's and other accessories, the connectors were on the MB. It also had a proprietary power switch, never did find one that would mount so I jury rigged it. I could go on but you get the picture.

But I do like the Tiny line, for certain use cases it's awesome. I have 4 of them I use as HTPC's and test beds for Linux.
 
For a mainstream desktop of the sort I'd game on, I'm not touching any pre-built - it's custom or die, baby! I live within driving distance of two Micro Center stores, and you better believe I take advantage of that for most, if not all, of my custom build parts.

For a server? You're pretty much stuck looking at HPE and Dell EMC hardware most of the time, rarely Lenovo or Supermicro. Building up a custom server is generally more difficult now that cases with 5.25" bays to cram SAS hot-swap cages and backplanes into have all but disappeared, and for boards, your only practical options are ASRock Rack and Supermicro. Easier to get off-lease Dell EMC/HPE/Lenovo/etc. on the cheap.

HPE paywalls their updates behind a service contract, their Gen8 and older systems use a janky BIOS that takes forever to boot, and their Smart Array RAID controllers suck, being outright integrated into the motherboard in certain cases. Lenovo is a bit more difficult to find parts and accessories for, the IMM2 interface is sluggish, and the integrated KVM for said interface requires a key for $280+ that's serialized to the hardware, no thanks. Never touched Dell EMC or Supermicro.

For a laptop? For as many gripes as I have with modern-day Apple, I'm actually quite fond of my MacBook Pro 11,5 - the 2015 model with dGPU and a decent port collection that everyone likes. I also like the 2021 MBPs, but am wary of overall Apple Silicon/ARM compatibility and how it's likely to brick if the internal SSD ever goes bad. Otherwise, maybe HP, but only the business-class ZBook range - the OMEN X 2S is an overheating, thigh-cooking joke of a gaming laptop. Haven't touched modern Dell Latitude/Precision models, but may consider them too. Lenovo ruined the ThinkPad range, which is a damned shame.

I've also got eyes on the Framework 16 since that one has a dGPU module and the whole thing's inherently modular and repairable, but the value of that modularity hinges entirely on Framework staying in business for the foreseeable future to continue producing parts and accessories.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top