A word of warning about HP (with CliffsNotes)

[Mr. Music]

Fellow NICOnauts:

About two months ago, I purchased an HP Pavilion Elite e9180t desktop. Loaded with a ton of goodies, I thought it was too good to be true for the price($2,075). It ran fine for the first two to three weeks, and then the computer fell victim to several daily lockups and freezes. I'm one of thousands of customers with these problems; the HP Pavilion Elite m96xx and e9xxx PCs all use the same Pegatron IPMTB-TK (Truckee) motherboard, which is thought to be the cause of these problems.

It gets worse though. HP has yet to admit that there is any problem with these computers, although Pegatron (motherboard manufacturer, ASUS's OEM division) admitted that the IPMTB-TK motherboards used in the m96xx and e9xxx PCs all have defective resistors. Thus, they are leaving their customers hanging as tech support fails to solve any problems. Some customers are on their fourth replacement system from HP, and still have the same issues. The law office of Giskan Solotaroff Anderson & Stewart is currently involved in an investigation of HP Pavilion Elite desktops, and a class-action lawsuit is probable.

Here is the main thread on the HP support forums about the issue: Lockups, Freezes, & Hangs

Youtube video about the issues: HP Selling Extremely Defective Pavilion Elite PCs

There are also a few articles about the issue, such as the ones on PC Mag, Cannel Register, ZD Net and TechSpot.

CliffsNotes: Don't buy anything from HP. Their PCs with the core i7 processors are defective, and customer support/service is useless. If you recently purchased anything from HP, and are still within the return period, I strongly suggest that you consider returning the product to save yourself the future headache.

[shinkirux]

First thing I was told a few years back when I went looking for my first laptop, was don't buy HP. AMEN to that.

[bunda4th]

Yup, never like HP in the first place. I made sure my sister went with Toshiba when she got her laptop and I have an Asus G1 (3-4 years old now and still running strong).

I am about to buy an Asus G51j Laptop (first to have the i7 for laptop I believe).

[Rob.Vegan]

Mac FTW

[08Coupe]

Mac FTW

+1

[Mr. Music]

Mac FTW

Too much money meng! A comparable Mac (Mac Pro) is like $1,500 MORE.

[Altima_Coupe]

I own 2 hps (desktop and laptop) and they are the best computers I have ever owned. I wouldnt trade it for anything. well, maybe a macbook pro..

[bunda4th]

I can't use a mac for the work I do for school and when I finish school and get into the industry its PC all the way.

I don't think a Mac is expensive seeing how I spent 1700 on my laptop lol.

[Micron]

Building your own... the ONLY way to get the best!

Now, as for laptops... I would only ever consider Dell/Alienware.

[headhunt3r]

I just read on the specs of the new Mac Pro workstations...

Customer support wise, I think Dell's next-day in-home warranty service is the only way to go if you don't know what you're doing with computers. I used to service those calls on site, and customers are always so pleased to see us haha...

I'm sorta itching to build a new PC with an i5 core...

[Coupeguy23]

Building your own... the ONLY way to get the best!

Now, as for laptops... I would only ever consider Dell/Alienware.

dell sucks if any thing build your own computer . i work for dell and those computer are crap

[Micron]

dell sucks if any thing build your own computer . i work for dell and those computer are crap

I haven't bought a desktop for over a decade... laptops? Well, I've never had a Dell let me down. Currently both the old lady and I have Studio 15s, and I also have a Covet M6400. Doesn't mean I won't use one of my business' account reps @ Dell to get the parts uber-cheap for my custom-builds, however.

[2008AltiCoupeDan]

lol hp is only good for thier printers.

comps- dell or alienware- i'll agree- ive never had a prob w/ dell- and my old gateway desktop started smoking lol...

my XPS is godly and i <3 it plus my dad gets a 30% off discount so i cant go wrong!- and of all the comps he has in his office- they are all badged 'dells' but i've built them all

network/server ftw and if i didnt get a dell- i'd prob get a toshiba... but im not quite sure lol- compaq's are a waste imo too-

panasonics are sexy but $$$$ esp w/ thier touch screens lol

[Zerep]

macs are not directly comparable in my my opinion they are made to run there operating system fast thats why apple has not allowed OSX on other computers. i have a mac book and never has given me any problems other then the battery replacement ever two year mac for the ftmfw

[Micron]

macs are not directly comparable in my my opinion they are made to run there operating system fast thats why apple has not allowed OSX on other computers. i have a mac book and never has given me any problems other then the battery replacement ever two year mac for the ftmfw

Don't get me started on Apple... It's more about CONTROL than anything else. Having been in the industry for 14 years and on a computer almost 3 decades, in some ways I understand the things that they do...

1. They don't want other people installing it on other hardware, because then to fully support it within their software they'd have to begin integrating others' code (drivers, etc). Otherwise, they'd be in the same position as Windows-based systems, which is driver and software compatibility issues causing system stability and performance issues. Then, their "blazing fast OS" wouldn't be so blazing anymore... nor would it be simple to administer, support, keep secure, or anything else for that matter. It would be just as buggy, bloated, etc as Windows.

2. If they don't have control of the hardware, they can't keep forcing hardware upgrades down your throat. The 2006/2007 MacBooks/MacBook Pros, for example... Apple claims that their hardware doesn't support Windows x64 operating systems through Boot Camp. That's funny, because I'm on 7 Enterprise x64 on my old early-2007 MBP right now. It's called, provide the drivers and they won't have a problem. It's funny, if you use the Boot Camp setup it says the x64 drivers are not compatible, but when you go to the subsequent setup file behind that one it works just fine... Of course, the Apple drones buy into that, and just go buy a new Mac... One example of many.

3. Product support lifecycles? Hello? I like how people who bought PowerMac G5s are out in the cold barely past 3 years after their systems were shipped, considering all of the linux and Windows lifecycles are mandated to 10 years by the govt... now, why is Apple excluded from that?

4. How about their platform support w/ PowerPC and Intel? Every executable in OS X was twice the size it needed to be because there was simply no other way... However, when Windows introduced x64 support, the installs were barely larger than traditional 32-bit.

5. AppleCare... what a joke! Warranty? LOL! How about the MagSafe AC adapters constantly falling apart and exposing the conductors in the cord? If Apple refuses to acknowledge the issue, does that mean it's not a problem? It's funny... I'm on my 3rd one in two years. Same goes for everything else they make!

6. Security through obscurity... How exactly is that a sound security practice? They sound like the Federal Govt! Of course there are no real threats to OS X currently... It's not because it's that secure, but rather that why would someone waste their time writing an exploit for a platform that has in the neighborhood of 3.36% of the GLOBAL market share? If Windows only had that, you'd be looking at the same thing...

7. How many of us got stuck with Apple shoving the iPhone control software down our throats for having some other Apple product on our Windows-based systems? It is Apache server based, which means it's an exploitable 3rd party software outside of Apple's control, with no way to configure or disable it short of manually uninstalling it... again, you call that security, especially when vast numbers would NEVER need such a thing?!