any opinions on HP desktops?

[alent1234]

I have one at work and like it. Looking at one at circuitcity with an A64 3500, 1GB RAM, 200GB HD, tons of ports and slots and media center 2005. Cost is $629. All I need to buy is another video card. Any opinions on their consumer desktops?

 

[OdiN]

Yeah my opinion is don't waste the money on the HP.

If you absolutely HAVE to buy storebought instead of custom building a tons better one - look at eMachines. I never thought I would say that but some of the newer ones are using Intel brand motherboards and such.

HP and Compaq desktops are HORRIBLE. Stay away. I see tons and tons of them at my shop and I hate having to fix them a lot of times...

One thing that has stuck in my head is how SLOW these new HP's are. I get them in brand new and they have like 3.4GHz, 512MB, 200GB HD's and they run like absolute crap...so slow it's crazy.

 

[vegetation]

One thing that has stuck in my head is how SLOW these new HP's are. I get them in brand new and they have like 3.4GHz, 512MB, 200GB HD's and they run like absolute crap...so slow it's crazy.

Has nothing to do with the machine. Winxp when bloated with cr@p on it performs miserably with only 512mb. Format the drive and reinstall the OS. This goes for any mainstream computer bought with win preinstalled.

 

[RobsTV]

Junk with junk power supplies.
8 out of 10 cases we throw out each month are HP's or Compaq.

You would be better off with an eMachine.
At least they don't try to fool you into thinking it is something it is not.


EDIT: I actually posted this "before" I read the similar post by OdiN.

 

[mparr1708]

Wow I didnt think we would have so many Emachines fans on all of anadtech much less in one thread. Emachines wasnt voted the worst at customer services in the undustry for nothing. If you want an emachines fine but don't expect anything great from them. They build VERY budget machines with only one thing in mind... save a $.

I would rank HP above emachines and Dell above them both. Just keep in mind that OEM pc builders don't try to eek max performace out of their machines. Most OEM boxes are geared for one of two things... stability or budget.

The best thing you can do if you want to game (as far as price to performace ratio goes) is build your own machine. If you are not comfortable with the idea of building your self then I would advise looking for some decent Dell coupons and going that route. You can also check out there refurbs. Some times you can get last gen XPS at decent prices.

If you are just looking to browse the web and check email then most any craptacular PC can handle that duty.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: vegetation

One thing that has stuck in my head is how SLOW these new HP's are. I get them in brand new and they have like 3.4GHz, 512MB, 200GB HD's and they run like absolute crap...so slow it's crazy.

Has nothing to do with the machine. Winxp when bloated with cr@p on it performs miserably with only 512mb. Format the drive and reinstall the OS. This goes for any mainstream computer bought with win preinstalled.

No...even after a format like that...they are STILL slow. That's what I don't get.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: mparr1708
Wow I didnt think we would have so many Emachines fans on all of anadtech much less in one thread. Emachines wasnt voted the worst at customer services in the undustry for nothing. If you want an emachines fine but don't expect anything great from them. They build VERY budget machines with only one thing in mind... save a $.

I would rank HP above emachines and Dell above them both. Just keep in mind that OEM pc builders don't try to eek max performace out of their machines. Most OEM boxes are geared for one of two things... stability or budget.

The best thing you can do if you want to game (as far as price to performace ratio goes) is build your own machine. If you are not comfortable with the idea of building your self then I would advise looking for some decent Dell coupons and going that route. You can also check out there refurbs. Some times you can get last gen XPS at decent prices.

If you are just looking to browse the web and check email then most any craptacular PC can handle that duty.

Just my 2 cents.

Oh yeah I used to hate the eMachines...but their quality has gone up considerably since they were new to town. I don't know about the customer service side...but if they do break the parts are easier to get ahold of and are more standard than HP/Compaq.

I looked into getting a floppy drive for an HP - one with the funky bezel that has to have the special eject button. HP wants $92 for the floppy drive. $92!!!

 

[alent1234]

This weekend I went out to look at a few HP's and I think I may build one myself. The HP's are built around the MSI motherboard with an ATI chipset and an integrated X300 graphics core. The Athlon 3500, DVD-RW, 160GB HD and 1GB RAM is like $650 and the one with the Athlon 3800 X2 and 250GB HD is $849 after rebate. The price to build is about the same. CompUSA had one of them running Call of Duty 2 and it wasn't too bad with the integrated graphics. I would probably buy a nice card after a while, but most of my gaming is going to be Total War, Civ4 and a few other strategy games along with one online game. The only thing that turned me off is that there is only a recovery CD and no OS only install option like on my Dell Inspiron 6000. And the DVD-RW felt a little flimsy, but that is because everyone in the store touches it.

I think I will probably build it myself come early next year when the hot deals come back. But I do have an HP/COmpaq Business Desktop 7100 at work and it's pretty nice except for the Intel graphics. And the support for HP servers is pretty good, even from the people with Indian accents.

 

[cheesehead]

A friend of mine owns a Compaq, which is actually made by HP. (Hp/Compaq is one company.) It's a great computer.
However, make sure to check who made the motherboard. The one in their computer is, in fact, made by Asus, and even supports SATA. With a 9600 AIW card, it's a very good performer.
Also, Compaq seems to be a mite better quality than HP's products. Also, the integrated graphics on everything they make are horrible; budget a graphics card upgrade. (The X300 is a bit better than the UniChrome or Intel Extreme GPU's found in many HP/Compaq products, but it's still going to both eat your memory and perform badly. A 6600GT, which would run you maybe 140$, would greatly boost performance.)

 

[mparr1708]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
A friend of mine owns a Compaq, which is actually made by HP. (Hp/Compaq is one company.) It's a great computer.
However, make sure to check who made the motherboard. The one in their computer is, in fact, made by Asus, and even supports SATA. With a 9600 AIW card, it's a very good performer.
Also, Compaq seems to be a mite better quality than HP's products. Also, the integrated graphics on everything they make are horrible; budget a graphics card upgrade. (The X300 is a bit better than the UniChrome or Intel Extreme GPU's found in many HP/Compaq products, but it's still going to both eat your memory and perform badly. A 6600GT, which would run you maybe 140$, would greatly boost performance.)

This is actually quite common with HP/Compaq. Quite a few of thier MBs are made by ASUS. Tidbit of useless info for you... a lot of Dells parts are made by Foxcon.