Desktops forum: HP vs Sony does brand name matter?

While I've encountered Sony's rather nasty habit of dropping support if you change the OS (even from XP Home to XP Pro), they have the better idea on the DVD recorder with an All-Format (both plus and minus) device.

HP is stuck in their rut trying to convince everyone that all you need is DVD+R/W.

If given the choice, I'd go with HP given Sony's support.

Bob

On another note, HP support is virtually non-existant.

When I was having problems with my out of the box computer, I had to call the west coast, not toll-free, mind you, between the hours of 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM Pacific time. I live near Chicago and worked 9-5 central time.

In Pacific time, that was 7 am to 3 pm. I could never get a hold of anyone. Horrible service and horrible products.

Yes it does! I would not buy another HP computer if they were the only ones on the market! I've had THREE HP computers, all related to one computer purchase and none of them ever worked properly. I finally had to gut the system, repackage everything and hack it back together to get it to work. Everyone I know who's bought an HP computer has had major problems with it. Sony is an excellent name and has a wonderful reputation. I recently purchased a Dell and I'm estatic with it. It came quickly and setup was a breeze. I can't make your decision for you, but I would never, ever recommend a HP or Compaq (now owned by Hewlett Packard Corp) computer to my worst enemy, let alone a stranger or friend.

Dell has fantastic specials and if you live in a state where there's no distribution center, you only have to pay state tax on the at-home service plan.

Sony has been around for a long time. I've been into commerical videography and have been using high-end equipment for over 20 years and Sony is the name to go with. Sony, Panasonic, Technics, Pioneer, Aiwa (Panasonic underbrand) are all good names for electronics.

Choose wisely. I spent $1600 on my HP and spent the next five years kicking myself for doing so.

Just for reference, I snagged a Dell for about $1110 and its specs are:

3.0 Ghz P4 with 800 mb side bus, HT Technology
1 Gig ram
120 Gig HD
CD-RW
DVD-RW
128 MB NVIDA GeForce 5200 video card
SoundBlaster 5.1 audio card
15" Flat Panel monitor

So, I really, really recommend shying as far away from HP computers and printers.

~Yuna

I bought an HP media center in November when my Gateway died, I had major issues in Jan and it took more than a month and some major part replacements before it was fixed, but HP did everything to fix the problem. Tech support could not have been more helpful and each call was toll free and a couple were more than an hour in length.

We have been pleased with HP and are toying with the purchase of a second machine for our teenager's room.

I have an HP desktop and have not had too much trouble with it, other than you can't upgrade the operating system?!! I bult a computer with less specs than my Pavilion and had no trouble loading Win-XP. My HP would not except it. I had to reformat the hard drive then use the HP recovery disk to get it running again. Then after deleting and uninstalling all the usless Microsoft crap (Works for one)I got it running like it used to.

Sony on the other hand I hav not had much of a problem. At least their older stuff. I have a Betamax (no laughing please) that is an iron work horse. I have never had a problem with it however I bought a Sony DVD player and it was in repair for three months before the switched it out with a new one. As for customer service, Sony, although slow, was superior to HP, which after the acquisition of Compac, has spirled down the drain in customer care.

I have a HP pavilion that is 3 years old with a pentium 2 and it is a 1.2gh. I have had very little problems with it and when I have had problems I found customer service to be of great help! There online help and support does not cost a dime to use and they are very patient and do there best to solve the problem. I had to disconnect my monitor once and I bent one of the prongs,and when I tried to straighten it I broke it! Now I know it is not very safe to get inside of a monitor but I did so I could replace the cable.I took it out and went on a serch for a new one with no luck! I called customer service to try and buy a new one,they had a cow when they herd I had opened up the monitor and removed the cable. They ask if I new I could possibly die if I touched the wrong thing in there and I said yes I know what to stay away from,well they was so concerned for my safety that they sent me a new monitor and it was a 17 inch were mine was only 15 inch! I have never had a Sony but I would not hesitate to bye another HP computer!

Re:HP vs Sony does brand name matter?
by yahoolee - 5/14/04 11:10 PM In reply to: HP vs Sony does brand name matter? by timistic
As for HP, it's short for HORRIBLE PROBLEMS. Sony's are ok, but overpriced. I would go with a dell or gateway, or go to a reputable pc shop and have a generic pc built.


There is a saying for all the consumer out there...... Price speaks for itself dude!!!

What I believe is all big names provide equivalent type of quality but what matter most is the after sale policy. Befere buying any product we should first understand the sale policy and the after sale policy of that company for that particular product. It often happens that after buying some product we face lot of difficulties to use it or upgrade it. Here the after sale policy of that company comes into effect and we can get help according to the policy of that company.