Geee.. why do ppl buy computers made by compaq, ibm etc..

[DeViSoR]

A friend of me, just bought himself a compaq comp.. for 10 000 nok.. (ca. 8 nok = 1 us dollar)

For this he gets a 11gb hd, crapy vid. card 64mb pc100 ram and a crappy celeron 600. Oh he gets a "good" 17" crt tough..

I just cant understand why companies can charge so much for this kind of hardware.. The soundcard is just a sb. 128. And a onboard gfx card 8-(.

Would you pay this kind of cash for this kind off hardware.. I mean this is a ripp off.. They are actually stealing your money.. And the xtra cash is not worth the support IBM, Compaq etc.. gives us customers.. I have tryed the support on IBM and my impression is that the support ppl sitting there in the first chaine dont know much at all about computers.. It is much easyer to get help from the hardware manufacturer then to go to IBM, Compaq..

Oh well.. this is just life.. money is not everything.. as long as you dont get f"...

 

[Oyeve]

A lot of people dont want the hassle of building a computer. They just want to unbox and plug in. Also, at least in the US, pre-packaged pcs may actually cost LESS than building it your self. Most of the larger companies have good rebate incentives and what not (dont meant those riposs compuserve rebates where you save 400 if you spend 700 for compuserve service). So if they dont need cutting edge gaming ability then these systems may actually be a good deal. The price you quoted for that compaq system your friend bought does seem expensive tho. I have seen better deals from compaq here for a lot less.

 

[Bignate603]

In my experience, low end systems are cheaper if you get it prebuilt while faster systems are cheaper and better if you build it, you know free PCI slots and drive bays. I can tell you what my friends do when they need an upgrade or a whole new system. Either we talk to each other, use anandtech and such to get the know how, or we go to the local computer shop. They give us better deals and support is basiclly bring it back and we'll fix it. Support for the home made systems is friends. If I don't know what to do, I bring it to the next LAN party (My friends run small ones off a 16 port about once a month) or if that's to far off, just drag it to a friends. Between us, we can always get it back up. Tell your friend that he could have just asked you for help. Alot of people are afraid of messing with their computers. They have no idea that it's not hard.

 

[prontospyder]

Well, here in America, you can get a Compaq with:

900Mhz AMD Thunderbird CPU
20GB Hard Drive
32MB Creative GeForce MX Video Card
Soundblaster Live!

for $1239...roughly 9912 nok. 🙂

 

[Henry Kuo]

First, not all people know hardware as much as some of the people who build their own systems. Second, not all people think it is fun to scratch your head for 1 week to find the best combination.

I guess that's why some people go for branded machine.

 

[dkozloski]

One factor that is seldom mentioned is that corporate buyers that purchase thousands of units at a time, buy from the company that they are holding its stock. A large enough purchase can give the stock a bump down the line and they can realize something from their investment. GM is going to buy from IBM or Compaq and not Joe Scooterberry.

 

[bernse]

Bah. People are uneducated. First off, systems are not that hard to build. I have done several and up until I built my first one, the hardest things I have done was install a modem, memory and a CPU. A bit intimidating the first time, but got easier each time I opened the case.

I think that if you are unsure how to build a computer, do some self educating. Read some mags, get an idea as to whats on the market. Then, fax out your request to quote for a system with the quality components you have been reading about to 4 or 5 ma and pa stores. As well, those people can probably give you some $$$ saving alternatives such as OEM parts that you may not know about yourself. Then you know you are getting a decent system, with what you want. As mentioned earlier, those stores usually give better support than Future Shop or Comp USA ever could. Nobody should ever have to buy a Compaq, HP or emachine from a chain store.

People don't (or at shouldn't!) buy a car without doing some research. Why they dont do the same when spending $1500 -- $2500 for a new computer system is beyond me and inexcusable. If they get a crap system because they didn't do the research or compare, they deserve it.

My .02

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Go up to the average user and ask him/her:

A) Does she have a PC
B) What are the specs of her PC?

I can guarantee you 99% of those people will say "yes" to part A, and "I dont know, its a Compaq/IBM/Dell/Gateway/HP". People who don't know even what the computer has IN IT aren't going to know any better that the name brand companies put crap components in there. And a computer to them is like buying a car: why would you buy a no name car made by some person you've never heard of, when you can get a "name brand" computer by a top company with a "limited" 1-3 year warranty? Its all about marketing.

 

[Chuffmaster2k]

I am going to have to agree. A lot of my friends know very little about building computers. Most have them have added more memory or a video card, but that is about it.

I have a friend who is about to purchase a 800Mhz system from Dell. From what I hear Dell is better than most, but I still would not buy it. I tried to convince him to build it himself and that I would help out. I even showed him how much money he could save. To him it is more important to have that 1-3 year warranty. Oh well, it's not my money...

I personally love building systems and debugging and I will never buy another pre-built system in my life.

 

[DeViSoR]

Well This offer for 10 000 NOK is a ripp off from hell..

Lets say.. you are going out to buy a new tv.. What would most ppl do.. Well they would trust the salesmen who in most cases would try to sell the person a product that he will profit the most off. He would not try to lead the customer to the product that actually would fitt the customer the best. This is a everyday situation. Take me for exp.. I just boght a Wide Screen TV prodused by philips. It was a 32" screen with only 50hz I payed just under 9000 NOK for it. The sales man talked a little of the product that I actually felt fitted my need the most. Well shortly after I told him that I wanted that philips tv he tryed to talk me around to buy a other model that has 100hz. Yes it is much better for your eyes.. but dam.. I or my famalie really dont watch that much TV or movies.. se our need was not in the 14 000 NOK range. It was just like I had to stop him and tell him that I want this one and I'm not interested to pay xtra 5000 for a other product/version. I just feel that ppl should check around befoure they are going to blow 10 000 nok away for a computer or any other products in that prise range. LIke geting a compaq with a 900mhz cpu for 10000 would be normall but not a week celeron (sorry dont mean to offend you who have celeron, but come one would you pay 10 000 NOK for a comp with a celeron in it!). Oh I just have to mention, those ppl who buy this mass made pcs.. How much do they really use this computer, most ppl dont use it that much that they should spend 10 000 NOK for a computer.

 

[bolomite]

Same here. I can't believe that 5 yrs. ago, I paid nearly two grand for a store-bought PC, a Compaq Presario. It was cutting edge at the time, I guess. If I knew then what I know now, probably could have built it myself for half the cost.

 

[Mday]

i suppose it's the same reason they by ford, honda, BMW, mercedes... etc...

it's the name...

anyway, some are just untechies... yeah, i made up the term. i'd consider an untechie the people that think they know about computers but makes us real techies cringe at the utter (cow's) nonsense that comes out... or maybe an untechie is a computer illiterate person... or one that just uses the machine and does not take the time and care to know the machine...

=)

 

[Mday]

bolomite, 5 years ago... for half the price... YEAH right, those were the days of thousand dollar processors dude...

 

[imajew]

Alot of the price from manufactured computers come from all the software they put on there as well. You gotta factor in the Windows OS, MSWorks, Quicken, MSMoney, picture programs, and anything else they include. Sure, alot of it may be given to computer manufacturers just to get their product out, but you know Microsoft isn't "giving" their OS to these companies and not making them pay for it.