BuildOrBuy | A++ | Computers

[Urban Cowboy]

One thing I'd be cautious about when buying a computer apart from the warranty is the power supply. This is where builders can really cheap out to save money. The CPU, RAM, drives, cooling will be brand names, the mobo most likely but the PSU could be anything. I'd be questioning the brand used, the peak/continuous wattage, the PLUS rating, percentage of overhead wattage, room to replace if needed etc. I've never had a CPU, mobo or RAM fail but I've had a PSU die. Jlabute mentioned proprietary. I've heard stories of PSU wires soldered to the mobo. Hopefully they stopped doing this years ago along with the backup battery although Alienware was recently still soldering system RAM to it's laptop mobo's!

If it came from Dell or HP it doesn't necessarily mean it won't work but there's a good chance it's a cheap product.

HP? Horrible company IMO. They don't make anything and their warranty repair is outsourced. After they purposely slowed my laptop speed in BIOS so the GPU would last just past the warranty I will never buy anything HP again. There used to be a website called HP Lies that had thousands and thousands of complaints against HP. I don't know how they stay in business. My guess is the huge markup on toner and printer inks. I think Dell is okay.

I'm in total agreement with you there. I build my own stuff but since I can't build a laptop I bought a Dell mid grade unit and fifteen years later it's still going.

If I couldn't build my own PC I'd go with Dell also. HP will never get any money from me. I've never bought one but have certainly had to fix a lot of them over the years. My son bought one once and has seen the light.

[DataCruncher]

AMD Rallies After Top- & Bottom-Line Beat, In-Line Forecast

Relative to Intel's epic-fail, AMD stepped up to the plate after the bell and hit the ball out of the park.

AMD's headline Q4 revenue figure beat expectations at $5.6 billion (vs $5.52 billion consensus) and EPS beat at 69c (vs 67c consensus).

But, growth across its embedded and data center segments was partially offset by lower client and gaming segment revenue.

And notably, the company's operating expenses jumped to $2.56 billion from $1.22 billion a year earlier.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/amd-r ... e-forecast