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.

Yup, but there is always a warantee. On my clone, I got a warantee but the company soon went down the hole, and when my comp did break down, I was screwed. And I know DVD burners cost money, but I have saved up plenty, and I got a thou more coming at then end of the month.

clones work just aswell as band name pc's, just as long as you buy the right hardware such as the mother board and memory and harddisk drives and monitor. for starts asus is a well known company for motherboards and kingston is known for ram, and sony is known for monitors and for harddisk drives maxtor is known. hope that helps you out


illv //

Here is the thing, the stuff you are naming is brand name. Clones mean low cost stuff, from companies you have never heard of. So I mean, if I bought a computer with really good stuff, it would probably cost as much as a brand name PC.

I agree with Cwk9 and Illv. The main difference I have seen between clones and name=-brand computers are the parts they use. Many name-brand companies use name-barnd parts, while many clone companies opt for the cheaper, less reliable parts. I know this is a generalization, and I know there are many exceptions (I can name quite a few myself, bu that's just my personal experience. Some name-brands, however, are guilty of the same thing, just to cut their cost down and increase profits. If you build a custom computer (like the one I'm currently using), you have the opportunity to build a computer will all reliable name-brand parts, probably for the same price as a large company which will build one for you, but you'll have better parts. You will, however, lose the reliablity of the tech support (though how many *good* experiences have you really had with tech-support anyway?). If you're comfortable with hardware and troubleshooting via web searches, I'd opt for building your own computer. Just my opinion, though.

AJ

PS: Sorry for the typos (if you have found any)... I'm having some IE issues and have of my screen just cleared, so I can't see what I'm typing)