What are all the problems with HP Computers???

[Caveman]

I build my own systems, but I have some friends that are asking for some advice about what kind of Desktop they should get...

They picked out a $600 HP at Best Buy... I'm trying to steer them from HP to a Dell solution. I know this will be a bit more costly, but might make them happier in the end... Based on what I've seen and experienced, I'd say the main sore points of an HP are:

1) A ton of "crap" that comes with the machine (AOL offers, etc)... Can these things be easily "cleaned out" or are they there to stay?

2) No OS disks... The OS is on a HD partition. What kind of headaches does this cause?

Why should one NOT buy an HP?

 

[Mik3y]

they actually DO come with an OS disk and name a big vendor that doesnt bloat the computer up with aol junk. Dell has as much, if not more then what hp comes wtih. and yes, they are easy to clean out. just uninstall them and install whatever software you have, say microsoft office. i have 3 hp's at home and they all came with an OS disk. i still prefer hp over dell, at least in the notebook category. mine's not the greatest one, since i got it for dirt cheap and etc, but my best friends each just got the new hp notebook models and those are great. they have the best sounding speakers of any notebook i've ever heard

 

[Gurck]

HP & Compaq are worse, they actually come with adware installed. Not AOL offers and such (yes they all have that), but actual popup ad software that updates itself, warning the user of the evils of not keeping their machine updated to get them to click "Yes" :roll: Dell may suck, and suck badly, but not quite that much. Keep in mind though that Dell's support has recently gone to sh*t, so get ready to do the same tech support you'd be doing if you built your friends a cheaper, faster rig...

 

[vegetation]

I go through a lot of new computers for my work and I'll say that Dell is the absolute worst with crap installed on your new system.

 

[phisrow]

I don't know if this matters much to them, but HP desktops tend to come in awful cases. Every time I have ever had cause to open one up, I have had a ghastly time of it. I've had to strip of uneccessary plastic bits just to open the case, remove the power supply and all hard and optical drives just to get to the PCI cards, had massive trouble getting at near-hidden screws, etc. I don't know how they are on the software end(the only HP software I've seen had been with the clueless user too long for me to know whose spyware it was); but the cases are pretty awful. Your average dell isn't exactly a G4 blue and white, but it is an absolute pleasure after HP.
This obviously doesn't matter if they want laptops, and if the idea that computers can be opened scares them, it won't matter what they buy, but you may wish to keep this in mind.

 

[dc5]

Originally posted by: Mik3y
they actually DO come with an OS disk

actually, most hp/compaq used partitions now, instead of giving you a cd. i have a hp myself and the os was partitioned.

 

[Cook1]

Ok guys, lets get some stuff straight now. Any computer...yes reread that ANY computer you buy prebuilt, HP, Dell, Compaq all come with a bunch of $hit installed that you don't need/want. That's a given. Now, brand names. It's really a fish shoot on this one. Meaning that some brands people struggle with while others they run perfectly. Actually, I'm on an HP 7920 atm, that I've had for 5 years now, started out with Win ME, probably only one out of the 10 people who didn't have probs with ME. So in my experience HP is a nice stable PC. Now, that doesn't mean that someone out there hasn't had a problem with HP. Dells...I hate them, what can I say. I feel that they are even MORE over priced and such. But then again, that's my opinion and personal experience as well.