A lot factors into what makes or breaks a computer including the brand name or lack thereof. But how important is the brand when it comes to making a purchase? Like for instance is you have two products of the exact same specs but one is say HP and the other is like Dell how would that effect your choice?
I think reviews and research is more important than brand. Why buy something just because of the name? there's plenty of lesser known names that are better and last longer. You just have to have a good look about before making a decision.
Yeah I feel the same. Especially the bit about user reviews. After-sales technical service is another important aspect, as not all companies are up there in this area. I would look at the specs, and the brands of individual components, especially the microprocessor. In the end, it would be the cost that would be the main deciding factor, after taking all other factors into consideration.
Brand is not important because all the computer use the same parts, so in terms of hardware, it is all the same chips, harddrives etc, what is important with brand is the build quality. The non-electronic parts, such as the casing and the design. For example, dell laptops are cheap affordable and rarely break, but their powercords are badly designed, often break, and the computers often over heat due to design. Now a Lenovo machine using the same parts, will cost a few hundred bucks more but the design is far superior and the build quality is greater. They tend to not overheat or have charger issues. Always do your research, and know what you are buying!
I have noticed that brand does make a difference in computer parts depending on the part you want to buy. Parts where brand don't make any difference would be things like a case or led fan. It does make quite a difference with things like the psu and hdd where stability and reliability are important. If you plan on overclocking or gaming go with branded stuff as the cheap Chinese brands tend to die if any real strain gets put on them.
It also has a lot to do with warranty and how easy it will be to get your computer serviced if something goes wrong. If you buy a dell online who services it? I had an HP hard drive go and they just sent me on in the mail to replace it. It was easy but what if something worse happens?
Brands wouldn't affect me at all i have had all types of brands from acers to now a dell and they all seem pretty much the same to me some are a little more advance and have a little better qualities and features but i usually go with cheaper.
Yes, brand makes a difference to me. Also my personal experience with a particular brand plays a huge role too. I love Lenovo computers and wouldn't even consider buying anything else. The one exception is the Microsoft Surface Tablet. I recently found out that Lenovo will be releasing a ThinkPad tablet featuring Windows 8, which slightly trumps Microsoft. I will have to hold and play with each one before I make a final decision.
Brand is important since it eliminates what I call Trial and Errors when buying electronics. I however won't be so much interested in a name as opposed to quality. If Lenovo, for instance, can give me what I want in a computer, then I don't care whether it is not rated among the top five best computer brands or not (I'm not stating facts here as to the rating)
My choice? Neither. I've been burned by Dell computers for the last 5 years. 2 desktops failed on me, as in, they blew up. Puff of smoke out of the back, done. The one was overheating so bad shortly after I bought it, that it sounded like a jet engine at times. I couldn't even hear audio on my computer it was so loud. Prior to that I worked in an office that had HP's and Dells, and the HP's were dying at an even faster rate. I picked up a cheap HP last December just to tide me over because my Dell Laptop died as well. The HP as well started overheating and the fan was running full blast right out of the box. The lid was so flimsy you could bend it with one finger. Brand is important to me, but only because I would want to avoid those two.
At one time, brands were important to me, but technology has moved on so much these days, there's not a lot of difference. When I need to replace my 5 year old Dell laptop - which has only needed two minor repairs since the warranty expired - I'll look at reviews and talk to a couple of computer savvy friends. One thing I do insist on though is an Intel processor. When we bought our first desktop, we were told Intel was best, and our friends in the know say it still is.
The computer I am using now cost $2700 USD when it came out 5 years ago. It was very expensive more a so-so gaming rig. Right now I can build my own for $1000 and it will be better than any $2000 dell computer out there. Dell is just as overpriced as the rest of them.
I don't care any less about brands when buying for a computer. Nowadays, assembling a computer from scratch using different parts can be cheaper while still providing the same gaming experience just as any other computer brands there is, sometimes even better. Just look at different reviews online and try to look at more than one review. If you really want to get a great gaming rig then you have to research thoroughly or risk spending more than your computer's worth.
The brand name used to be a big deal back in the days but I don't think it hardly matters now. Like a lot of the above users said, it's hard to tell the difference anymore with a lot of the different brands out there because they are using similar parts. For me, it all comes down to the price. I don't see a point to spending a lot of money on a particular brand when I can get a similar thing at a much cheaper price. I also like to stick with the brands I'm familiar with so experience is also a necessity.
Some of the best computers I have had were the off brands one. Something to consider is that many of the off brand computer use the same parts as the other computers but unlike Dell, Sony, etc they can take the best parts from each brand and use them where as the name brands will make all their own parts for their computer so some areas can be weaker than others.
Here's a counter-argument: You can buy a Dell and then change the parts for whatever you see fit. My XPS 420 has seen a few upgrade paths, none of which were too bad for the motherboard.
If the specs are the same, I'll go into the brand details to make a choice. For instance, Dell has a backups system that I don't know if HP has built-in.
Well for me brand really matters. We know that branded computers have high prices so we don;t want to waste away money on brands that are not trusted or brands that deliver features that you don't need. For HP, we know that they are known because their hardware usually do not last. Their laptops only last for a year for maximum potential and when you compare it to ASUS and ACER, obviously, it won't stand a chance. So if you really want to make the most out of your money, go for the brand that majority would recommend.
But what counts as a majority and what do they actually know? I mean previously HP would have been reccomended by a majority of people. Just like Dell would have been recommended and like Apple is recommended. The problem is that - well look at Macs. People recommend them because they are "virus-proof" except they aren't. In fact at this point a Mac is effectively a very, pretentious PC because all the parts are like identical. Only the OS is unique and that means very little in the long run. So looking to the majority is kind of pointless.
I don't normally care what brand my laptop is as long as it meets the specifications of my needs! I think that if I were in the same position as you I would then vote on appearance because although it may not be a contributing factor in the main selection process, sometimes it can be nice to have a good looking laptop/computer! As in my case anyway it makes me want to use it out in public and at school/work! But if your not that kind of person I would suggest looking around and asking about the reliability of the brands in question and then making an informed decision based upon that.
