Consumer Guide for Buying Computers
The Lemon Guide - Computer Consumer Guide
Different brands use varying levels of
quality hardware. It is true that most
brands now, use cheap components.
Planned obselesence is a very real and
unfortunate result of corporate greed,
fueling a throw-away culture.
However, there are some brands which
have withstood this temptation. These
companies value their customers, and
have earned our respect.
We all know the story on this one.
Wozniak and Jobs started this company
during the 70s in a garage. They copied
the first mouse design, and began
competing alongside Microsoft,
and *NIX platforms.
Their dedication toward the
highest quality hardware was apparent
until several years ago, slowly
matching the trend of their competitors.
Products were given less time in
testing, components were sourced
cheaper & with more volatile methods.
It was until there was pushbash, did
they launch a Green campaign; a smart
marketing decision which took
pressure off, advertised renewability,
and allowed leniency for quality
on the part of the customers in AR.
That being said, the quality of their
parts is objectively more durable than
80% of the competition. This decrease
in quality would not have been so much
of an issue, had the prices of their
larger devices (Macbooks, iMacs, etc.)
been commensurate.
Overall: (8.2/10) Good quality,
but very over-priced.
This is a case of a Chinese company
utilizing the hard worked-for brand of
IBM, for their own advantage. Seeing a
Thinkpad used to be synonymous with
that once proud American company,
but now you'll notice a different
logo on them. Lenovo.
2005 is when Lenovo took over IBM's
PC business, and their best years were
shortly thereafter; resulting from IBM's
previous component suppliers. Most
fans of Lenovo rave about their
keyboards, as they closely resemble
the feel of IBM's originals.
Sadly -outside of the trackpad nubbin-
their keyboards is the best design
which have been passed down. The
Hard Drives and Solid State Drives
in Lenovo laptops tend to last longer
and outperform average quality drives,
though uncommonly fail prematurely.
Stay away from the Yoga and IdeaPad
models of Lenovo computers, as highly
conductive composite shells allow
for the wear of components through
thin insulation, to eventually short
out and instantly kill the computer!
Overall: (4.4/10) A wolf in IBM's wool
A large company with cheap products,
which arised in the mid 80s. While
comparable with the HP brand, Dell
often uses inferior quality hardware,
commonly consistenting of Seagate
drives & various other components,
from the lowest bidder.
They initially sold PCs with decent
consumer grade parts, which has
biased their users into relying upon
the brand. Nowadays, most Dell
customers hop from one computer
to another every few years, suade
by past experience.
Even their customer service has
faltered in recent decades. Their
priority for business customers
has squashed any sense of
commitment or loyalty in regards
toward average consumers.
Overall: (2.2/10) "Dude. It's a Dud!"
Please DO NOT buy the Chromebooks!
They are sold at a low price point,
but that is for a very good reason.
The programs you're used and have
purchased, will not be compatible.
If it fails (It Will), you won't
be able to pull ANY data off the
drive without spending over a
thousand dollars.
Nearly every single part in
those machines is meant to fail &
not to be replaced. As for their
Pixel and other devices, they are
cheap alternatives to most
Android marketed hardware.
Overall: (2.1/10) Recommend Stay Away
More comparable towards Sony's
brand, Samsung Electronics have
been on the market and in most
peoples' homes for some time.
We know of their resiliency, their
heft, and questionable customer
support that you never seem to need.
Unfortunately they should have stayed
with the larger devices, as their
tablets & smaller electornics have
noticable design flaws.
This can make things very
frustrating for the users, too!
Internal parts shorting, DC jacks
that aren't thick enough. LCD screen
issues juxtaposed against having the
best adhesives in the industry.
Overall: (5.3/10) Anything but their
tablets & small electronics.
More Brands will be added soon!
So Bookmark & Stay Tuned!
A Japanese based company which
started their roots, manufacturing
telegraph equipment in the 19th
century. You'll mostly see this
name when it comes to Laptops.
The outside of modern Toshiba PCs &
computers are mostly made from a
composite of plastics, aluminum,
manganese and other metals.
Without proper maintentance,
their frames will last for several
years. With minimal maintenance,
Toshiba brand computer will last for
decades.
They predominantly use Hitachi
hard drives, which are some of the
highest quality Spin-Drives on the
market. They're fast, reliable, and
yet horrible for data recovery. Not
only do they break down
infrequently, but when they do,
they go all at once.
This is a functionality trade-off
when buying quality parts; though
they break down less often, they also
give less indications before critical
failures. In our opinion, the
trade-off is more than worth it.
Overall: (8.9/10) A great choice.
Another Japan-based conglomerate
which was rooted in developing early
technology. Since they built Japan's
first tape recorder, millions of people
have bought and relied upon the
products in which Sony provides.
Whether they be TVs, VHS / DVD /
Blueray players, monitors, tablets,
appliances and more, Sony has
ingrained & solidified its brand
within our daily lives. There is a
good reason for this; Sony products
are incredibly efficient! Not just
in terms of space and power,
but of cost in operation.
Since Sony laptops, desktops and
All-in-Ones rarely break down, their
customers hardly spend money on
repairs or new computers! Reliability
is their testament, however their
products' design are not often the
most intuitive.
You'll frequently find HGST Hard
Drives inside of Sony laptops and
computers, which were from the same
company as Toshiba's drives under
Hitachi. Recently, Western Digital
(a leading digital storage company)
bought out HGST. WD is a brand which
uses variable hardware quality, offers
high quality drives, and markets the
differences in between their
products, for consumers.
Overall: (7.3/10) A good choice.
Hewlett Packard started in a garage,
and that's probably where they should
have stayed. Their machine designs
would be a redeeming quality, had
they been properly tested, and
physically lasted.
Unfortunately, HP laptops are cheap
computers with aesthetically appealing
designs. Their brand focuses upon the
User Interface, but not actual users.
An example of this: HP Convertible
Laptops. These are laptops in which
their screens can be flexed into a
position resembling a tablet.
At first glance, this sound really
neat and handy, but their designs
often break the hinges over short
periods of time.
This company tends to use Seagate 1
Terabyte Spin-Drives while assembling
their computers for consumers. These
drives are made with cheap
components, are faulty, and often fail
at the One Year mark. If you are going
to buy an HP computer, be sure to
purchase one with a Solid State Drive,
as while they will be cheaply sourced,
they are inherently more reliable
than Hard Drives.
You can expect most of the parts
to fail about the same time on
these computers. If you weren't
turned off from HP before, perhaps you
will be after learning that they
prevent you from using your Ink
cartidges after a certain date. Even
if they are brand new in the box. HP
has taken planned obsilesence to
a whole other level.
Overall: (3.2/10) Relies on Marketing
to lure customers - bad products
Cheap quality parts, but surprisingly
good customer service. There's a
decent chance you'll have a serious
issue with your Acer computer or
electronic, but they will help you
when it happens!
One of many examples: I was cloning
hundreds of Acer tablets, bought
for a company through a third party
(such as Staples). One of their
suppliers shipped batteries with a
faulty BMS (Battery management
system - making sure it doesn't over
or under charge the battery).
This caused 20% of their entire
stock to become unusable, world-
wide. While I found a solution after
a few bypasses, Acer replaced every
unit which was requested. When
replacing boards for customers under
warranty with Acer, the shipping
speed varied from 2-4 weeks, though
Acer would make every attempt to
keep their customers happy.
This company is not low quality,
but all that value is in
their support teams.
Overall: (4.5/10) You could do worse.
These generally are not powerful
machines, but are frequently built
to last. Very rarely do I ever see
an Asus come in damages inflicted
by faulty components;
rather, it's broken screens or
power jacks, after trips and falls.
None of this is too surprising, as
they often use Hitachi Spin-Drives,
which is tantamount to the best
quality possible on old technology.
Overall: (6.5/10) Not always cheap,
not always fast, but least it will last.
