HP or Dell?

Talking desktop computers here. I'm looking in to purchasing one, so I'm wondering: HP or Dell?

I was considering Sony, but I don't like how their desktops look, and they're expensive. So I narrowed it down to those two.

I'm looking between a $500-$900 desktop computer. Not "basic", but not some super computer either. I'm just looking to store pictures, documents, music and programs like Photoshop and Dreamweaver. Nothing real huge.

Reason being, I'm sick of my laptop. It's a Dell, so naturally I'm leaning towards HP even though it's desktop I'm buying and not laptop.

If there's any other companies that offer good desktop computers in that price range that can handle what I'm looking to do with it, throw them out there.

Otherwise, which of the two would you suggest?

just fyi sony only has a 90 day warranty on all of their stuff. as far as quality they're really all pretty much the same. i've sold and supported a lot of systems and there's no one brand that has significantly more problems than another. just make sure you're getting a good price for the specs you want. if you think about it, all pc's use the same hardware aside from motherboards. cpu's, gpu's, chipsets, hardrives...all from the same big companies.


[edit on 6-12-2007 by an0maly33]

I have a Dell XPS 410 system.

I've had it for a year and absolutely no problems. I love it. It's very fast and I have plenty of Memory / Hard drive.

Another good deal was the extra warranty I got with it.

I didn't purchase an extended plan at the time I bought the computer. About a month after the purchase, Dell called me and offered me a 4 year plan which was reg. $400, for $225, however, I was then able to get $100 rebate, so the warranty only cost $125.


Also, bought it on Dell Credit at -0- % interest for 18 months.

Well after being PC-less since early October, I finally took the plunge and bought a new Dell Inspiron desktop. I am voting for Dell due to their ability to let me customize my own PC (with XP nonetheless) and add and subtract specific components that I needed or didnt.

I will also caviat this with the fact that I get a 20% discount on Dell products through my work, and on top of that, I got it on Cyber Monday so i saved additional money on delivery and shipping. All in all I saved roughly $350 on my new setup.

I just got it this past Monday and I have to say it is SWEET! Dual core, 2.1ghz, 320gb hd, 2 gb ram. And I am really happy that i got XP. Eventhough it is an "outdated" OS, I am still hesitant to upgrade to Vista after reading the oodles of complaints from early adopters. I'm sure it is sweet but I wanted to stay with the tried and true piece of the puzzle.

Go Dell. Their tech support is great and I have had relatively great experience with their stuff.

My 2 cents...

reply to post by Don Wahn



Oh yeah... the dual core processors... I wasn't really buying that much intot the hype about them.... then I got mine.. WOW.

I can do so much all at the same time now and not have any performance issues.

reply to post by elevatedone


Aint that the truth. Since my PC was busted, I was forced to use my fiancee's old gateway that she bought in college. $100, and thats about what its worth. 5?? mhz pentium 2. 7gb hd. 128mb ram. Man I would click a link and it would literally take almost a minute to open. Then when I tried to scroll, it would freeze for about 2 then stop cracking out. And forget about using 2 programs at once. Performance was so degraded It made me want to sit in silence.

Go dual core. As Brother E said, WOW. They are amazing.

Do it!

Originally posted by Don Wahn
I am voting for Dell due to their ability to let me customize my own PC (with XP nonetheless) and add and subtract specific components that I needed or didnt.

I think most of the top companies do that. I checked out HP and they do that. I don't know about allowing you to have XP, but you can add and subtract components.

How much did you spend total on your new Dell after saving $350?

I wonder if I have a discount. I go to school at ITT Tech and they use Dell's. So I should find out if I have some student discount on it.

It is absolutely worth it to see if ITT offers some sort of stundent discount. My guess is that if you guys are using all Dell's that there has to be some way that you could purchase a new one with a discount or at cost.

I think I ended up dropping just over a grand when all was said and done.

Great deal great PC. I'm happy