Why You Shouldn't Buy a PC Advertised in the Sunday Paper
Aug 17 '00
Since friends, family, and acquaintances know me as a PC enthusiast, I’m often greeted by someone holding a wrinkled Sunday circular and pointing enthusiastically at the latest bargain being offered at Circuit City or Best Buy. More often than not the incredibly exciting bargain is a Compaq, the computer equivalent of a Chevy Vega.
Time and time again I’ve been forced to explain why buying a Compaq is not a good idea. After I write this, I’m going to print a copy, put it in my wallet, and hand it to the next circular carrier that approaches me.
Before I begin, let me say that if you own a Compaq and you are happy with it, more power to you. I’m glad you enjoy your PC and I don’t think you’re dumb. There is no insult intended here.
Four Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Buy a Compaq
1. The Compaq case and motherboard are proprietary
You can’t buy a motherboard off the shelf at the computer store if you want to upgrade. You have to buy from Compaq at a price two to three times greater than what the part is actually worth. Personal computing has been successful because of standards. Using non-standard anything is a bad idea. It saves the manufacturer money and locks the consumer in.
2. Compaq computers come loaded with too many resource hogging autorun (programs that run automatically when you start your computer) programs
Even though Windows is a multi-tasking operating system, individual programs run better when they don’t have to compete with other programs for system resources. It is true that the msconfig utility in Windows 98 makes it easy to turn these programs off. The problem is that you paid for those programs whether you use them or not.
3. Compaq has a poor reputation for technical support
Compaq makes a quick restore disk that ships with its systems. This disk can be used to format a hard drive and restore the computer back to its factory condition. This is equivalent to the death and rebirth of a human. It’s a big deal. Compaq techs use this reincarnation trick much too often. Rather than helping you fix a problem, they have you destroy all of the customization you’ve done to your PC. You’ll also have to reinstall all the programs you’ve downloaded and purchased since buying the Compaq. And, then there is this little issue of the data that you might lose.
4. Local repair shops hate to work on Compaq Computers
When your warranty is up and something goes wrong with your machine, don’t think that it’s going to be easy for you to just walk into your local Mom and Pop shop to get your computer repaired. Techs hate working on Compaqs. The proprietary parts, poor motherboard design, weird cases, and generally inaccessible components are the cause of many a techie nightmare.
See also…
Many of the same points can also be applied to other over-the-counter PCs sold in electronics superstores: Hewlett Packard, Packard Bell, Emachine, NEC, etc. In my experience, locally purchased white box computers made by a value added reseller are the best buy. Non-proprietary systems made by Dell and Gateway2000 are a distant second.
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amerpie
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Member: Lou Plummer
Location: Fayetteville, NC
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Stop the war. Bring the troops home now!
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