Computers are dirt cheap, but are are we sacrificing quality too much?

[vi edit]

Is it just me, or are the laptops and desktops made by companies like Dell and Gateway turning into complete junk?

Desktops being made completely out of flimsy & brittle plastic. The omission of things like floppy drives in desktops and laptops. In all but a few laptops shipped by Dell they don't have PS/2, Serial, or Parallel port on them.

Warranties on all products are down to a bare minimum. Remember when all machines shipped with a 3 years warranty on parts? Hell, even computer parts companies are getting cheap on warranties. Hard drives almost always carried 3 year warranties on them. Now you can hardly find one with more than a year's warranty on it.

Yes, things are cheaper than they ever were, but at what cost? On the latest laptop I bought from Dell, the track pad is so chintzy that pushing on it with your finger wields a gap between it and the trim that you could slide something as thick as a CD into the gap.

Man...I feel like Ornery complaining about cars...but I want my rugged keytronics keyboards, I/O ports, and decent build construction back.

 

[PanzerIV]

Hence why I build my own desktops and don't rely on their crap. Laptops I essentially have no choice.

 

[brtspears2]

Pick two .. Quality, price, or features.

 

[Ameesh]

no they are being cost effective, with the technology changing soo much so quickly most people buy a new rig every 2-3 years anyway so whats the point of making a computer last for longer then that? especially when you are only paying lik $400 for a pc?

 

[beer]

They are junk, obviously. People are buying on initial price only and give these companies no option on what to do. IBM is probably the only company that mass-markets durable laptops and their sales have fallen relative to Dell.

YOU bought a Dell, despite ALL the complaints that have been floating around. YOU bought cheap plastic crap. If you had posted or searched in OT or SFF forums, you would have revealed that this sentiment has been echoed by everyone. Everyone knows that IBM makes superior laptops, but at a cost.

You bought on initial cost and lost.

 

[parsley007]

Originally posted by: Ameesh
no they are being cost effective, with the technology changing soo much so quickly most people buy a new rig every 2-3 years anyway so whats the point of making a computer last for longer then that? especially when you are only paying lik $400 for a pc?

very true

 

[jpeyton]

As far as your Floppy Drives, PS/2, Serial, or Parallel ports go......those are legacy items that will soon be omitted by all PC manufacturers. People want the best value, and putting legacy ports and media support that >80% of the population will never use is a waste.

Quality exists, but you have to pay for it.

 

[gistech1978]

i agree with you on laptops.
our office has an HP laptop, the way the power plugs into the lappy is absurd.
if you nudge that thing with any force at all, the plug will break off and you either need to ship it in or hope you know how to work a soldering iron; its so cheaply and poorly designed.
it almost seems as if they designed it to break.

 

[Dufman]

The majority of computer useers dont give a damn about their case, as long as they can do some work on word or check their e-mail.

I think it is good that they are phasing out parellel ports and such. Most new products are built with a USB connection, at the same price. Why would Dell keep supporting parellel ports if there are no few new accessories that have that functionality?

 

[beer]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
As far as your Floppy Drives, PS/2, Serial, or Parallel ports go......those are legacy items that will soon be omitted by all PC manufacturers. People want the best value, and putting legacy ports and media support that >80% of the population will never use is a waste.

Quality exists, but you have to pay for it.

Legacy ports waste space, too. My T40 has absolutely no space for anything but a CDROM, which is all I use anyways. I think I have a parallel, but no serial, which sucks....but USB <-> serial adapters exist.

 

[RossMAN]

The only laptop manufacturer who really impresses me is IBM.

Most of their IBM ThinkPad T4x series laptops come with Windows XP Pro or the option for Linux and a 3 year warranty.

 

[vi edit]

My main "beef" is that for my desktops I always bought Dell Optiplexes, which historically were a better constructed, easier to work with, higher quality, and ultimately more business friendly and offered better legacy support than the "home" line of machines.

Up till about 2 years ago all was well and the products were good. Now, Dell just rebadges their home line of desktops with an "Optiplex" badge and calls it good. It's just not the same standards that they used to carry themselves on.

With laptops, even the inspiron 4000's and 4150's that were only out a 2 years ago were decently constructed machines that could take a beating. This latest round of laptops from Dell is just complete crap. The 2600's, "M" series, 5000 series, ect. All just plasticy flimsy crap.

For the record, I am switching over to the IBM "T" series of laptops even though they are significantly higher priced.

 

[Eli]

Indeed, you can still get quality.. but you have to pay for it.

It's that way with just about every product in existance.

 

[beer]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
My main "beef" is that for my desktops I always bought Dell Optiplexes, which historically were a better constructed, easier to work with, higher quality, and ultimately more business friendly and offered better legacy support than the "home" line of machines.

Up till about 2 years ago all was well and the products were good. Now, Dell just rebadges their home line of desktops with an "Optiplex" badge and calls it good. It's just not the same standards that they used to carry themselves on.

With laptops, even the inspiron 4000's and 4150's that were only out a 2 years ago were decently constructed machines that could take a beating. This latest round of laptops from Dell is just complete crap. The 2600's, "M" series, 5000 series, ect. All just plasticy flimsy crap.

For the record, I am switching over to the IBM "T" series of laptops even though they are significantly higher priced.

As long as people are buyng them, Dell won't change their build quality. You have your morons on HD that have wet dreams everytimg a Dimeson goes for 300 or a 600M goes for a thousand. As long as the demand keeps increasing, they'll cut costs as much as they can.

 

[Mermaidman]

I agree that legacy hardware has to eventually go. Someone has to take that first step, and if it means cutting costs, so much the better.

Are you sure that today's computers are lower quality? It is possible that time has colored your perception. It's like my father saying how cars used to be sturdier. I guess it's like brtspears2 said above "Price, quality, or features"

 

[Nitemare]

You get what you pay for, which is the reason I build my own.

 

[blackdogdeek]

i don't think the trend has been for quality machines to become cheaper. quality machines have always been more expensive.

the trend has been that there are just more machines available at cheaper prices. unfortunately, these machines aren't quality machines. jmho.

 

[vi edit]

I don't think I'd call PS/2 "legacy" hardware. Especially when probably close to 95% of all keyboards shipped and sold are still PS/2 interface. Omitting them from a laptop is just freaking annoying and can't possibly account for any significant price difference.

 

[phantom309]

Though I love Dell-bashing as much as anyone, the Poweredge 400SC I just bought is a damned impressive machine for <$400. It's plastic, but the components are top quality and it's very well designed.

I will agree that their laptops suck, however. There's really nothing on the market that can touch the high-end IBM models.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: phantom309
Though I love Dell-bashing as much as anyone, the Poweredge 400SC I just bought is a damned impressive machine for <$400. It's plastic, but the components are top quality and it's very well designed.

I will agree that their laptops suck, however. There's really nothing on the market that can touch the high-end IBM models.

My Poweredge 2500's are tanks. Great Machines. No complaints there.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Three letters: IBM.

ZV

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Three letters: IBM.

ZV

Just ordered a T40.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Three letters: IBM.

ZV

Just ordered a T40.

One letter - Two numbers := Happy customer :beer:

 

[RichieZ]

Thats why my last 3 laptops have been IBM thinkpads. They've so impressed my friends I bought 4 of them thinkpads though my employee discount when I interned there this summer.

I have an X31. Bought all my friends T40's.

 

[Chadder007]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
The only laptop manufacturer who really impresses me is IBM.

Most of their IBM ThinkPad T4x series laptops come with Windows XP Pro or the option for Linux and a 3 year warranty.

:werd: We bought a bunch of ThinkPads here for work and they are great. We had one that had a bad mobo though. Tech support from them was great also, they shipped me a box to pack it back in and a label to ship. Also the laptops we have run in a hospital and are on 24/7.