Clones

I was wondering, do clones break easier or sucumb to wear and tear faster then brand name PCs? Reason is, I am going to buy a new computer, and I found some crazy cheap computers, pretty fast too. I have a clone right now, it has lasted me 6 yrs, though it has given me problems along the way. I don't want to buy a clone again if its going to cause me problems. But if I do buy it, I can buy a DVD burner as well, which would be pretty sweet, but I don't want a crappy computer. So help me out here.

if by 'clones', you mean computers like cyberpower (little-known companies that advertise in Computer Shopper, etc.), then most likely you're safe. AMD and Pentium are both great processors, if that's what you mean by clones (some idiots used to think that AMD was just a crappy pentium 'clone')..........my advice is, look @ stuff like RAM speed (pc100 or pc133 for SD, 2xx or 3xx for DDR), hd speed (5400, 7200, 10,000 SCSI), crud like that. Also look @ the manufacturers of the individual hardware....

I meant a computer made by a small company. Like those microtel things with lindows pre-loaded. Don't worry about it though, I've made up my mind, I am going to get it custom made, and then save up for a DVD burner.

yeah, that's what I was talking about except for the processors. I would advise Cyberpower (www.cyberpowerinc.com). They have completely customizable dirt-cheap configurations.

also: If you have a lot of money (like $2k+), go ALIENWARE!! THE INVASION HAS BEGUN!

I am of the mind that making it yourself from parts is a slight money saver and also somewhat of an edutainment excercise. That, and when you upgrade or troubleshoot in the future you know what to expect...

But for multiple computers, it's certainly the big companies.

It’s all about the parts that are inside the computer. Some brands use junk some don't. I would recommend going to a comp shop and have them build you a custom computer. That way you don't end with your typical Wal-Mart computer that has high MHz but crap for everything else.

I just said I was going to have it custom made. I know clones are crappy, but man a DVD burner would be nice. Guess I am going to have to wait longer for it though. And what is alienware?

Alienware make high quality computers for gaming. Yes a dvd burner would be cool but it will cost mundo $$$.

buying from a big brand name (such as compaq or hp) won't necessarily mean that the computer won't break down. i have come across many brand name pcs that are slow, sluggish, windows always requires drivers to be reinstalled or windows itself is the problem, faulty hardware, etc. plus you pay more just for the name.

one of my goals in life is to actually put some of them out of business.

regards,
mark.