Avoid HP computers

[locosway]

To anyone looking for a laptop or desktop. Avoid HP if you can. I know they have some "hip" styles and their pricing seems reasonable, however this isn't the company you remember from years ago.

I had the worst experience with HP not long ago and received the most ghetto replacement laptop after waiting 3 months. The worst part is my problem was from a "known issue".

So, I'll stick with my Dell for laptops and home built for desktops.

[ENVYGREEN]

Please avoid them, I bought one 2 years ago and it lasted just over a year, hardwear problems google hp tx1000 plagued with issues

[halifax]

To anyone looking for a laptop or desktop. Avoid HP if you can. I know they have some "hip" styles and their pricing seems reasonable, however this isn't the company you remember from years ago.

I had the worst experience with HP not long ago and received the most ghetto replacement laptop after waiting 3 months. The worst part is my problem was from a "known issue".

So, I'll stick with my Dell for laptops and home built for desktops.

You got that right. About the time HP bought Compaq, we stopped buying HPs because of bad experiences with Compaq. I guess we made a correct decision.

[FreedomIsNotFree]

Not only do they have hardware issues, they also outsource their "support" to India. Use your imagination on how well those sessions go.

I will never buy another HP product.

[supermario]

I will keep my fingers crossed because i bought an HP tower and it has been running strong for about 7years now. I was sooo impressed that i bought an HP Pavilion Laptop and been using it for about 4 years now with absolutely no problems.. I hope i just got lucky. The strange thing is, my coworker uses Dell and a relative and they have had many hardware problems. Go figure. Anyways.. I hope i didnt just jinx myself..

[locosway]

It's not about having or not having problems, it's how the company deals with the problems.

After a week of troubleshooting over the phone, I finally lied numerous times to get HP to take the laptop back. 1.5 Months went by before HP acknowledged there was a problem with our laptop not being returned. During this entire time it was in status "Waiting for parts". We were told the parts were on order and they would arrive soon.

2 months go by and I'm ticked off. I keep calling every day and they keep giving me the run around.

2.5 months and I'm finally escalated to a supervisor and he says he's going to replace the laptop and he's really sorry. He said the problem was a solder joint that came loose and it's a known issue with that model. So he offers me different laptops. Finally I find a configuration that is slightly better than the one my wife had so I choose it. Well, it turns out it's a gold color... GOLD!!!

We waited 6 more months for our data off the old hard drive but never got it. We lost a lot of pictures and school work because of that.

Did I also mention the entire time I was connected to India with someone who had no idea about how English was supposed to be used?

With Dell when there is a problem, they handle it. They're very good about that, and know how to make things right.

[icormba]

[sd_shooter]

Any "consumer" laptop will be junk, especially HP and Toshiba, right along with Acer - basically anything you'll find at your local Best Buy or Frys.

HP business laptops are great! Built like a tank, even sturdier than IBM/Lenovo. You'll pay more for these and you might as well consider a Mac when in this price range.

[mblat]

Any "consumer" laptop will be junk, especially HP and Toshiba, right along with Acer - basically anything you'll find at your local Best Buy or Frys.

HP business laptops are great! Built like a tank, even sturdier than IBM/Lenovo. You'll pay more for these and you might as well consider a Mac when in this price range.

Or buy Dell..... and be done....

Now.... generally HP simply has different business model. They are trying to cater to people who change there every two to three years. That is how long HP products design to last. Some last more. Few last less..... You can have five years old HP that runs fine...... but isn't withing "normal distribution".

As far as HP outsourcing support to India...... Who doesn't? Come to think about it I don't know if Dell does - never had to call them.

[GrizzlyGuy]

i bought an HP Pavilion Laptop and been using it for about 4 years now with absolutely no problems..

+1

I'm posting on my Pavilion right now. I got it back when Vista had just been released. I immediately reformatted the drive and installed Windows Server 2003 (need that for work) and have had zero problems with it so far.

I prefer Macs, but I'd consider another HP for work use.

[DiscoBayJoe]

Any "consumer" laptop will be junk, especially HP and Toshiba, right along with Acer - basically anything you'll find at your local Best Buy or Frys.

HP business laptops are great! Built like a tank, even sturdier than IBM/Lenovo.

+1 I've had IBM/Toshiba/HP and i've worked on consumer-class machines from Dell/HP/Acer/Toshiba etc. If you find a computer at a retail outlet it will be junk, regardless of manufactuer.

A key indicactor for those less technical is what OS is pre-loaded.

XP/Vista Home = Junk Machine
XP/Vista Pro/Business = Probably going to be pretty nice.

You probably don't need the Pro/Business OS features, but they tend to be co-bundled with quality hardware.

My current laptop is a HP Compaq 8710w and it's a rockstar. I've dropped it, smashed it, I just can't break it! It's got a 17" 1920x1200 screen and i've reloaded it with Windows7. I've worn out the keyboard letters and a HP has shown up at my location to replace the keyboard no questions asked (ok, well, they asked me what was wrong, and when I told them they came out and fixed it right infront of me.. they even vaccumed out half-a-dog's worth of hair that was trapped inside no hassles!)..

Anyone in the market for a laptop should wait a month or two to get a machine pre-loaded with Windows7. Windows7 64bit is the Shiz.

[jmlivingston]

Dell outsources to India. Gateway brought there tech-support back to the USA a few years ago.

[hoffman259]

I always built my computers unitl this one. I never had an HP, until I got this computer 2 years ago. Its run flawless with 0 problems. Its hit and miss I guess just like most things now days.

[SeanCasey]

I used to work with HP during Carly Fiorina's time there. She did such a large amount of damage to that company and how it operates that they are still picking up pieces.

After HP, I worked with Dell. Dell's biggest falling is their standard consumer technical support. I buy all of my machines through their business division. Their business supoprt is generally US or Canada based and tends to be less scripted. Of course the other nice thing about their more advanced support is that if I troubleshoot a problem I can just call them and say "the hard drive died, please send another drive" and the next day I get a new hard drive on my desk.

As far as hardware quality goes, neither HP, Dell, Gateway, or Apple for that matter build their own machines. Companies with the names Compal, Clevo, Uniwill, ECS, Arima, Quanta, FIC, Spectec, Wistron & Mitac produce roughly 85% of the laptops sold in the world.

Sometimes the difference between an HP and Dell is the drivers provided and the system case and logo.

Also I would like to +1 the advice to wait until October 22nd before buying a new computer. That is the availability date for OEM Windows 7 machines. Go with Win 7 x64 and 4gb+ of memory and you will be quite happy.

[Dangerpin]

I'm an IT professional working for a company that acts as the IT Department for hundreds of small and medium sized businesses. So we touch a lot of different computer manufacturers and have to deal with tech support for all of them.

Dell will send you to India if you purchase the lower end support, they even closed down a few more North American support centers this year. However, if your computer can still get online that helps. You can use the online tech support features. It is much easier to read butchered english than to listen to it. Additionally, if you pay for the upper level support (sometimes called Pro-Support or Gold depending on the type of computer you buy) you can get North American support during normal business hours.

I'm glad to hear that Gateway is moving support back to the US, they used to have fantastic machines back in the day. I know the computers themselves are still made in Mexico or China, just like all the others, but having actual US tech supports might make the difference if the quality of manufacture has gone up in the last few years.

My recommendation is generally to go business class with Dell and the better warranty. Buy online, not through a brick-and-mortar store. All you need to be considered a small business with Dell is to setup a small business login with them, no questions asked.

Lenovo can be hit or miss they used to have all the tech support with IBM, which was the best in the world, but recently have also started shipping support abroad. I trust their laptops more than the desktops.

HP/Compaq are uniformly bad and have been since they managed to mesh the worst of each company when HP bought Compaq. What was that, nine years ago, now? The only product I would buy from them is high end printing and print servers, and that is only because you so rarely have to call tech support on these items.