Branded Computers, are they worth it?

Well firstly I know this does not apply to Laptops, Notebooks and Netbooks which are branded.

I know when you purchase a Branded computer from a specific manufacturer part of what you bought is the Brand name itself so my question is: "Does the features (Customer Support, Manufacturer Software, Exclusive Updates, Warrenty, etc) of Branded setups outweigh its pricing?". If YES, "What manufacturers/brand names are worth it?". If NO, "Why?"

MY OPINION: I personally made my own build but I have had Branded setups before but I find the features somewhat useless (DELL and HP) or is it just me? Or because I am not from the US where you can call Support, etc?

What are your thoughts, experiences, violent reactions, defenses, comments, rants, views on this? =)


~The Curious, IanDrexP

While I own a "branded" desktop at the moment, I've always built my own more for the customization that is possible more than any other reason. I think it comes down to your expertise than anything else. If you have NO tech skills and just need a computer, get something from Dell, HP or the others. If you have enough skill to add your own video card, memory, and even processor, then build your own, and enjoy the sense of accomplishment when someone asks what kind of computer you have.

I'd always say build your own if you have the skills, inclination, and a few hours of time.

The most obvious advantage is the complete control over the parts list.

My few experiences with large OEM customer support have been fair at best and mostly poor. For that reason, the warranty and support don't attract me. Likewise, the included software is more of a negative than a positive considering what alternate software can be had for little to no money.

OEM PCs are probably cheaper overall, at least at most price levels. But that's not enough of an advantage to tip the balance.

I can understand why someone who could build a PC still chooses an OEM----they might save a few bucks, they don't have the inclination to build at the time, they need it quickly and don't want to research parts, etc. That can work out well if parts don't fail and there is no need to interact with customer service.

If I were forced to buy an OEM PC, I'd immediately make recovery disks and then wipe the drive and reinstall.

I had an unforgivable support experience with Dell and will never give them a dime, but would nonetheless probably recommend Dell to someone who wanted to buy a PC rather than build.

You'll never be able to build a PC for the value you get by buying a prebuilt one. But this price savings is subsidized by a boatload of sponsored crapware and useless OEM utilities which duplicate better version in Win7.

For this reason most tech enthusiasts wipe the HD and Clean Reinstall Windows 7 Factory OEM.

Until then you can Clean Up Factory Bloatware

gregrocker said:

You'll never be able to build a PC for the value you get by buying a prebuilt one. But this price savings is subsidized by a boatload of sponsored crapware and useless OEM utilities which duplicate better version in Win7.

For this reason most tech enthusiasts wipe the HD and Clean Reinstall Windows 7 Factory OEM.

Until then you can Clean Up Factory Bloatware

That's a very general statement Greg and mostly untrue.

You get much better value when building your own system, especially as you add on more expensive hardware. You can literally save thousands building a custom desktop type machine yourself over ANY custom built machine built by say Alienware. There is no question about this.

As far as that goes, you can also save a fortune over just about ANY cheapy machine that you can get from say HP. You can add superior hardware for penny's on the dollar compared to those over priced Chinese made machines. It does require some skill as to choosing the right parts but shopping at places like Newegg makes it easy. I built my last PC for 200 bucks, lets see HP beat that price.

And I agree that the bloatware alone is enough to make me NEVER consider purchasing an OEM machine. The customer service isn't so great as to make it worth while either.

So in final conclusion about this topic, NO branded computers are not worth it provided that you have the skills required to build a decent machine. Unfortunately this cuts out about 98 percent of the population.

There is a happy medium between branded and DIY computers and that is pre-built motherboard bundles.

For example - I use an overclocked 2600k that I built using an assembled, overclocked and tested motherboard + ram + cpu bundle. I get to choose HDD, case, graphics etc and the cost of the bundle isn't much different from buying the parts separately.

I wouldn't fancy risking overclocking an expensive cpu myself, but this way I have experts do it for me. I have also built pcs for friends using non o/c bundles. I'm in the UK and I use these guys

Bundles - Aria PC

but there are others.

I wasn't thinking of high end which may be different, but the basic Sunday newspaper special $349 Acer or HP which suits 90% of consumers, including many that we help here. I regularly find these for $287, all good quality parts with full warranty. When I've priced the onboard parts and OS before the value is often double your money.

The only compromise in quality is the bloatware which we turn to an advantage by urging a Clean Reinstall which is a better install than can be gotten anywhere else. I regularly keep these rigs running fast without hesitation or a single parts replacement for 10 years, or $28.70 per year for better General Use performance than any $1500 rig I've seen that lasts half as long.

I've also heard this before that we are not skilled if we don't build our own machines. Since this is a Win7 forums and not a hardware forum, our skills should be judged first by our abilities with the Win7 OS. Those who do not build their own rigs are not second class citizens here. I show the greatest respect to hardware experts whose help here is highly valued. But surely Win7 expertise should be equally valued. I've never needed to compare the size of my rig.