Best Pre-Built PC Brand

[arch5]

Ok, if you don't know what I'm talking about here- Pre-Built PC Brands are companies like Dell, HP that make PC's that you just buy without building. Personally, I think most of us would rather build our own PC's sniper but out of all the Pre-Built PC's, which do you think is the best?

Also, if you want to, tell us if you think building your own PC or purchasing a Pre-Built one is better.

Personally, I like Gateway the best, lol.

 

[Raziaar]

I would always advise against buying name brand, prebuilt computers.

They are just nasty nasty nasty.

Well, maybe if you're an absolute computer noob, you may want to buy a prebuilt.

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

People seem to be happy with their Dells...btw Dell bought Alienware so technically they're not different choices ;p

 

[OmegaX]

I always thought Dell was way over priced. You could build the same PC for hundreds less. Anyways building your own is the way to go.

 

[Qonfused]

Whoever voted Dell should die.

 

[PimpinPenguin]

My current PC is a Medion made pc and i'm very happy with it.
I did a check on everything in it and every component was of high quality and they allow overclocking which every other OEM manufacturer do not.
Dells are shit and i'll never buy one.

 

[Raziaar]

Whoever voted Dell should die.

"Dude, you're getting a Dell!"

"Oh god noooooo!"

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Acer, more as a barebones thing.

 

[Dinnesch]

I highly recommend you not to buy a pre-built PC. You'll waste loads of money and quality. Many web shops offer assembling your PC for around $50.
Just make a new thread here with your budget, and what you want to do with your PC and you'll likely get some good help

 

[Warped]

I love my HP Pavilion, its given me the most life so far

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Dell isn't really that bad. I haven't purchased one in years, but they always lasted me quite a while and had much better build quality and service than HP/Gateway/eMachines or other store-bought brands. I'd check out something like Consumer Reports or some such publication for a more up to date side-by-side of premades.

pro tip: most companies will try to cheap out on one or more component, particularly RAM, Power Supply or graphics card. Aim for 4gigs+ of memory, 600w+ for PSU and a non-budget DX10 era card with over 512 vram.

 

[VirusType2]

emachines

lol
\
seerious.

for general computing, nobody beats them in price vs. performance. And don't believe a word of it when people tell you they are unreliable unless they have actually experienced it first hand.

For gaming PC look elsewhere.

 

[Dinnesch]

600w+ for PSU

Why would you want a high-wattage power supply? It doesn't impact the performance, the only thing is that the computer uses inefficient parts(obviously).

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

So you can upgrade your GPU(s) in the future. 600w isn't that excessive anymore, it allows for more flexibility while upgrading/tweaking down the road.

 

[No Limit]

I am responsible for purchasing the PCs here at work. I've had great luck with Dells; their support as far as getting drivers is unmatched. HPs have never given me any problems and their pricing has been great lately.

For a cheaper brand Acer has surprisingly been pretty good. Their drivers are a bit harder to get than dell's but still fairly easy. One of the Acer machines I got had a corrupt installation of the OS on it. Their support was fast and friendly (and in the US) and shipped the recovery CDs to me using rush delivery (at no charge to me) since they do not package the recovery CDs with the system (most OEMs do this now a days, dell charges you $10 for the disks).

Prebuilt PCs can be a very good alternative to building your own these days. OEMs such as Dell, HP, etc get their parts for a lot less than you ever will. So if you aren't looking for a beast of a machine buying a prebuilt system and replacing the video card/power supply on it is a great direction to take if you are on a low budget.

 

[Asus]

"Best' as in value or quality or performance?
Apple and Sony are good quality although more expensive than the others.
HP and Dell are good.
Falcon Northwest I've heard is good.
I know Lenovo (IBM) has solid notebooks. Have not looked into their desktops though.

People seem to be happy with their Dells...btw Dell bought Alienware so technically they're not different choices ;p

They are but has the Alienware line been switched over to the same Dell mass assembly process?
If not then I would say that the product you got would be different even though you would be funding the same company.

 

[VirusType2]

Dell makes custom PC's in case anyone didn't know. You specify the parts you want. So that might be good for someone that doesn't want to build their own.

I hear a couple people say HP's are good, I haven't had a good experience with HP.

They come with about 100 programs installed and like 15 of them start up with the PC. Well that's unbelievably frustrating especially after reinstalling or something. And for a noob who doesn't know how to regulate start up programs, well tough.

Not only that but it came with 256MB of RAM trying to run all these things. No PCIe slot either.

It came with a CD player. No burning ability and this thing is only about 3 or 4 years old! The case makes it so that upgrading the optical drive to a DVD burner means the button won't open and close the drive. The case isn't well built and somehow the power button became lodged inside the case.

It has USB 1.1 or someshit. It's absolute junk. The monitor is already starting to flicker sometimes and is small, low contrast, it isn't true flat, the mouse was a ball wheel (!) and I'll stop there.

It's my mothers, I feel sorry for her but I'm glad it's not mine.

 

[Asus]

A few years ago that was standard for entry level pre-built. And I'm not talking back in Win98/ME days. I'm talking when XP was around. Below a certain price point it was 256MB ram, PCI only. Although most did have CDRW...
But I'm assuming he is asking about today which brands currently have their shit together rather than what junk they may have been selling 5 years ago.

Regarding pre-installed software if you went by the rep dell had back then it would be similar. But companies change.

 

[VictimOfScience]

If you want the most bang for your buck and do not want to bother with putting everything together properly and such, go with CyberPowerPC. They will build you a system that kicks much ass for LOADS less money than the same system would cost you at Alienware or Dell or the other really pricey high-end gaming machine boutiques like Falcon NorthWest.

Good luck! Be sure to post what you go with!

 

[MorganFreeman911]

Ok, if you don't know what I'm talking about here- Pre-Built PC Brands are companies like Dell, HP that make PC's that you just buy without building. Personally, I think most of us would rather build our own PC's sniper but out of all the Pre-Built PC's, which do you think is the best?

Also, if you want to, tell us if you think building your own PC or purchasing a Pre-Built one is better.

Personally, I like Gateway the best, lol.

1.First thing, it's obvious. Custom. Is. Better.
2. STOP SAYING LOL TO EVERYTHING
3. Gateway is shit.
4. Everybody on A GAMING FORUM IN THE HARDWARE SUBFORUM KNOWS WHAT YOU MEAN.
5. Die.

 

[TwwIX]

None. They are all overpriced. Most of the hardware they put in them is pretty generic.
Build your own systems. It's not that hard at all. It's a learning experience the first time you build one but after that it's a walk in the park.

 

[Saturos]

If your an avid PC gamer, then none of them. Otherwise HP is a good brand.

The reason I don't like pre-built brands though is because of all the useless crap they put on them I don't want.

The advantage to building your own PC is that you know exactly what's on it whenever something goes wrong.
Oh, and many pre-built brands come pre-installed with Norton, which I loathe.

HP is the best though imo if you don't know the difference between a motherboard and a hard drive.

 

[Asus]

I know it is annoying. VERY annoying to get software already installed on your PC. But its worse for those who don't know PCs (because they don't uninstall it all) than for PC enthusiasts. It shouldn't be a reason for us to avoid a brand or pre-built PCs. Lack of getting what you want in hardware is a major one though.

 

[Saturos]

I know it is annoying. VERY annoying to get software already installed on your PC. But its worse for those who don't know PCs (because they don't uninstall it all) than for PC enthusiasts. It shouldn't be a reason for us to avoid a brand or pre-built PCs. Lack of getting what you want in hardware is a major one though.

That's true, because then when they attempt to uninstall something and they do it improperly, it wreaks havoc which then prompts them to ask a PC inclined friend/family member to help them fix their brand new PC which should be working because it's new according to them. LOL

This happened to me with a friend recently, except his pre-built was a little older.
Also, in my experience and of the brands listed, HP seems to be the least guilty of spamming your new PC with unwanted software.

Honestly though for complete noobs, pre-built brands are probably better than custom builds if the company offers full technical support.
I generally stay away from brand name builds myself though simply because I can troubleshoot and fix them myself. Unless of course it's a laptop which I hate opening.