HP Computers, are they worth the money?

HP is like all the other co. out there, they try to get by with as little as possible. The point being whatever you say about HP can be said about another co.. Some models maybe better than others and others not so. They use the same off the shelf parts or supply lines as any other OEM out there. HP does a poor record or gotten there when some products that just didn't deliver the goods for very long. At this time, I wouldn't recommend them for large purchases for a co., but some models are very good for the money. But, if you want to save money, you're at a disadvantage because you'll pick a less than capable PC. From what I've seen no PC stays "as is" for long as home users will want to improve this or that which goes beyond the Pc offered in the 1st place, HP or not. In general OEM systems tend to lack any great leaps in upgrades or improvements unless more of a 3rd party builder or DIY build.

Did that shop point out what was "poor quality" or just piss about it? Let them prove it rather just offer an opinion since they have the PC in question.

tada -----Willy

I'm on my 3rd HP desktop, and I personally won't buy any other brand. I hear people complain about HP products, but I've never had any problems with them. My 2nd HP desktop was still running great at 8 years old, until I fried it by mistake. (I didn't know the computer was on and I turned off all of the power to the house, and when I turned the power back on... poof... I fried the pc). I've had HP computers with Intel processors and with AMD, and have seen no difference.

I'm one of those people that if a product is good to me, I stay with it... just like my cell phones... I won't purchase anything other than a Samsung. TV's are the same, appliances, etc. Once a person finds a product they like, they usually stick with it.

You may hear both good and bad about HP computers, but in the end, it's all up to you. I for one love them.

Who told you they use poor quality parts? If it's a sales person, they aren't doing their job correctly, or they might be trying to steer you to a higher priced computer, or ones that are of another maker that are slower to sell and they need to get them off of the shelves. Be leary of those who are trying to sell you something. Not all sales people are honest. Shop in a reputable store, and before purchasing a computer, go online to the maker and read reviews there.

...I will tell you now I have been using HP and Compaq's for years...I love em.... but what really keeps me coming back is customer service.... I can contact a customer rep any time and get an answer... and that is on a 5 year old Presario.... they don't ask for a charge card and generally one contact fixes the issue...My wife's Dell laptop is 2 years old and forget calling a customer rep with an issue... they want money first to give you a fix...sigh... so yeah when shopping for a computer find a brand you trust and checkout the customer service... because that is what makes or breaks it for me.... Dave!

I can only speak from my experience with the dv9700 series and the Nvidia GPU debacle. In my experience they are not worth it. Here are three links to check out that give an idea of how badly HP handled this GPU problem.:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/163918/hp_still_getting_heat_on_nvidia_graphics_chips.html

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Display-and-Video/HP-Pavilion-dv9700-should-also-be-on-the-list-but-it-is-not-even/td-p/59052

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1028703/all-nvidia-g84-g86s-bad

Seeing the posts below I have to wonder, do these folks work for HP or get a sales commission from HP? Not saying they do but I had a drastically different experience and after talking to others, I was not alone. Most of the computer knowledgeable people told me after the fact that I should have never gotten and HP. Here's what happened to me.

I bought a brand new HP with the brand new Windows XP os on it. The computer had 1 year "free" tech support included. Great huh? Nope. That "free" support was only included if I used the support module built into the computer and "chatted" over the internet.. Any other meas of support meant a charge and a long distance phone call if I went that route. Email support was useless. By phone, the accents of the support reps were so thick I could barely understand them. I suspect for that reason they could also barely understand me. Why did I need support in the first place? I would shut down the PC using XP's button and the shut down command. Everything would go ok most of the time but sometimes it would hang and do nothing partway through the process. Sometimes when it shut down fine and I went to boot it back up later I would get the BSOD. Blue Screen of Death. Nothing. At the time I had only purchased and installed a few programs that didn't come with the PC. Mundane things like Microsoft Office, Microsoft Money. No games, nothing wild. After the BSOD I would have to call HP. Remember, I can't get the machine to boot up much less use the internet and I had only had it less than a month. Believe me, no tech support call is ever fast or cheap. After walking through the myriad of steps and the machine came back on and internet was working I tried the "free module already installed by HP" to have them fix intermittent varieties of troubles like flickering screens, strange noises, unexpected power offs. The module didn't work. Over the phone they took me through the steps to reinstall it, on my dime of course. Upon completing the steps the entire system crashed. No operating system found. They don't ship with the discs any more and refused to send me a set of discs. They directed me to a partition on my hard drive with the recovery module to reinstall my system. Every piece of data on that system was lost and all over trying to reinstall their module for support. They blamed Microsoft Office that I installed! They said it wasn't really up to specs for Windows XP yet even though the box said my system met all of the specs. We got the system recovered and reinstalled from the partition. I had a repeat run of all of the same problems and repeat calls because the support module wasn't working again. At one point I tried email and described everything in detail that I had done. The genius from HP emailed me back and said he'd read my email and he could help me. Then he proceeded to tell me to take the exact same steps I had already told him I took-do it again basically. I did. They failed again. I asked for a different rep. Same thing. I've saved these moronic emails just in case I am ever tempted to buy one of these again. A quick read will kill that desire. The computer finally refused to turn on ever again. It was dead. Too late to return to the store and HP washed their hands of it. A few years later I found out that all of these models were shipped with a bad motherboard and the symptoms I had were all due to a bad motherboard. I was offered $50.00 (fifty) to offset the purchase of another HP computer product. I would have given them another chance but the months of support I went through (I was persistent) were useless as they constantly blamed myself or some software I installed that "wasn't compatible with XP" even thou it said it was and this included Microsoft software. Nope, if they had treated me right by admitting the real problem and replacing my computer with one that worked, I would be a very happy person now. But I believe when a business does me wrong and makes no attempt to right it, that business will never see another dime of my money. Now about the $50.00 certificate they gave me-you should know that was court ordered as part of a class action lawsuit. I was far from alone in my troubles with them. HP didn't voluntarily attempt to make not one tiny thing right with this PC. This is the only HP I have ever owned but I have several other computers in my house. Some are desktops that that I bough new, some I've built, some are laptops and I have a tablet. NO problems with any of these.

My first experience with HP was way back in the 1980's when I purchased a HP-41c for my studies. Since then I've used many HP computers over the years from HP mini computers running UX, to laptops (I'm currently on my 3rd HP laptop). One thing I have found is most are built like the preverbal brick sh*thouse, and last for years. My HP-41c still works fine (30 years old this year), my HP TC1100 tablet also still works after over 8 years. Whilst support for the hp-41c is somewhat faded by now, the same cannot be said for the TC1100, since the HP web site still has all the drivers for the device available for download.

HP/Compaq servers have been my choice for years, partly due the support, partly due to the build quality, but in most cases it's down to the consistency of the product.... let me explain, a few years ago whilst working on a large product in one country we purchased several HP DL380 servers spread over a period of a year. Whilst on the same project here (in the UK) they went for Dell servers, again several servers all the same model purchased over a year. On the HP's we built a Linux build disk and on every server afterwards we could build the server the same from the same set of disks. On the Dell however, we have to keep changing the build because Dell had changed the parts inside every so often. Now, some would say that shows HP isn't keeping up with developments whilst Dell is. Perhaps this is a valid point, but when planning business continuity I want the same every time if I order the same model.

On the down side, HP is expensive, even if you find the exact model you want you may not be able to get it locally. My latest laptop is a HP Elitebook 8460p. The version I wanted wasn't available on the UK market. Top of the line available here (off the shelf) has a i7-2640M, 4gb ram, 320GB hard disk with a SRP of £1043 + tax. I managed to find a lower spec version for £425, then add new processor ( i7-2820QM - £225), 16gb ram (£110) and hybrid 750GB disk (£130), WWAN module (£45) - all in £935 inc. tax or some £316.60 cheaper than the one listed with a much lower spec.

That being said, I am happy to strip the machine down and change the processor etc. Many, people will not, but at least with HP the choice is there. This is now the second out of the three HP laptops where I've been able to do this because they use socketed CPU's and not surface mounted ones like many a cheaper brand, the other being a Presario which went from an Intel Core Duo 1.66Ghz (T2300) to a Core 2 Duo 2.10Ghz (T8100) with no problem. So, options like this will give the computer a longer useable lifespan than one which can't be upgraded. Finally, on the subject of support; yes, the drivers for the 8 year old TC1100 and the 4 year old Presario are available for download, however they are only for the originally supported OS not for later versions, unless the new OS comes out during the product life span, HP rarely will produce new drivers.

I've been buying HP computers for me & my family's home use since the mid-90s. I've had very few problems with them ... not saying there's never been a problem, but the problems I've experienced were usually very minor and easily resolved.

Usually I buy & use desktop PCs, but I've had 3 laptops over the years. The laptops are very nice looking, and usually very 'feature rich' for the price, but they aren't particularly rugged. None of the laptops I bought lasted more than maybe 2.5 years before suffering a catastrophic failure that cost more to fix than was worth it. Since they were laptops, they got transported around and manhandled quite a lot and I wasn't necessarily gentle with them. I've never bought any extended warranty or service plan, and none of the machines I had ever had a serious problem during the 1-year standard warranty period.

The longest I've kept any PC has been about 4 years -- at about the 2-yr mark I bought myself a new pc and handed-down the old computer to my kids and it lasted another 2 years before we went the through replacement & hand-me-down cycle again ;- ) ... by that age it was still running but was so obsolete that it couldn't play any newer software (we regularly play computer games, and you simply can't play modern games on old hardware).

I don't know that HP is necessarily better quality than competitors like Dell, Gateway, or Toshiba laptops even, but ONLY HP offers both Intel & AMD cpu's AND allows you to have your PC completely built to order -- I'm talking a truly customized build -- Dell & Gateway only allow you a handful of options, HP allows you to select / customize just about EVERY component.

I actually have 3 HP laptops (the stream, a sleekbook, and a pavilon notebook) as well as an all in one desktop. I can honestly say that I love them all. They all perform at different levels of proficiency but they are all worth every penny I paid for each. The Stream is small compact and can't do much but it was also less than $200. The sleekbook is a step up from that and can do much more and moves faster but is still very sleek and easy to carry, The notebook has every function you could want in a laptop with lots of hard drive space and a CD/DVD drive. So I guess it would depend on what you are looking for. I have heard bad things about HP but mostly from people buying $200 laptops expecting much more that whati it really is. I never had the $1000 or more to buy a macbook so HP is the best alternative for me. I say know what you are buying and go for it, most HP laptops are super affordable so there is not a huge risk but I do not think you will be disappointed.

I work for a major computer retailer, and HPs are the most returned computers. Poor build and parts quality. Not a good experience for the customers

My first laptop was the HP Elitebook 8460p and it lasted until the present which boast 5 years old. Still running seamlessly till now. I plan to keep it until... forever if can. I think its reliability due partly to the elitebook is high-end business class model. I paid $850 in 2011. Overall, if it continue to run this fast.. forever -> definitely worth it.
My second one just bought last month was the x2 10.1 inch detachable $220. Touch is sensitive, great island keyboard, IPS panel, 4 core fast Atom z8350 (for regular tasks), 10 hrs battery. This is the most ultra-portable laptop/ tablet / hybrid I ever own compared to my Ipad Mini 2. Up till now: Worth it!
So question yourself: what is your true needs on HP laptop? If you can precisely answer this, then every dimes you pay will work.

I once loved HP computers, but when I look back on that, I realized they were nothing but trouble. All too often, I would get a blue screen that would force me to reset to factory settings, thus losing all my personal information and settings. Then one day it would just not turn on, fried motherboard and all that. This happened to me three or four times within a four year stretch and I decided to leave HP behind forever. I purchased a Toshiba five years ago. Have never had to take it back to factory settings and never a sign that it would just die on me one day. I am really rather heartbroken that Toshiba is unavailable for the most part at this time because the company is selling, etc. Definitely the most reliable computer that I ever had. Now I am stuck with looking for a new computer without a clue where to start. It certainly won't be with HP, but was hoping I would hear better things about it now. Not so much the case. I simply want to upgrade because a lot of things have changed since I purchased this one. I figured I could use this one to hook and HDMI cord to it and the television so I could watch my iTunes shows on it. I'm scared to death to purchase another brand after my experience with HP. Can anyone give me some information on other computer brands that seem to mirror that of Toshiba? How about Dell?

I have one of the first hp computers and keyboard, and the big box , not sure of name it's where you put the disk in dose any body know if there worth any money ,or if monitor has gold in it

It is very hard to say that, HP is offering low quality product. HP is a one of the leading brands, so I don't think they try to damage there market reputation to save few dollars.

I bought a HP laptop that never worked from the day I received it. I have spent over a year trying to get HP to honor the 3 year warranty I bought with the computer. I will never buy an HP product again and t the $250 I spent on the warranty was a total waste of money.