4 ms·

> Buying Dell's consumer line and having a hard time trying to cash in on the consumer warranty doesn't mean Dell is shit, just means their priorities are elsew

> Buying Dell's consumer line and having a hard time trying to cash in on the consumer warranty doesn't mean Dell is shit, just means their priorities are elsewhere. This is the whole point of the site: don't buy products from companies whose priorities are elsewhere.

bayindirh 4y ago
This is same for other manufacturers too. HP: Pavilions are bad, Pro/Elite/Z series are awesome. Servers are good too. Lenovo: Ideapads are eh, Thinkpads and servers, completely different. The only company which builds all their hardware with comparable quality to other manufacturers' pro lines is Apple.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- rjzzleep 4y ago
  Then again Ideapads can be dirt cheap.
  - bayindirh 4y ago
    I'll rather buy an expensive machine and use for a decade without problems instead of buying a dirt cheap machine and suffer indefinitely.
    - shmoe 4y ago
      So many people go the other way on this :(
- iknowSFR 4y ago
  Is there a website or directory where all tech companies strengths/priorities are listed out? Hardware, software, and services companies included?
- ninjaoxygen 4y ago
  Funnily enough based off Lenovo's reputation for their higher end laptops, in April I bought a Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen10, pretty much as they came out. The machine is a nightmare, and has been through about 10 firmware updates over the last 6 months, but has barely improved. From day one and still now... on Win11 that it shipped with it won't hibernate, just a black screen on resume, then pot luck over the next boots whether it starts or not. Sometimes from shutdown it does the same thing. Under little load, it gets hot as hell, you literally can't type on it, I use a bluetooth keyboard. If I'm doing light dev work, 3h battery life, tops. Audio drivers are broken, the internal 3.5mm just emits noise above around 10% volume and is distorted below that. Shipped with an underpowered 45W adapter... same SKU now ships with a 65W (an i7-1260p w/32GB). I don't think it's faulty, there are plenty of people with the same story about Gen10s. Mine is in for repair now, so we'll see, if it comes back with the same issues, it's getting warranty returned. I know the X1 Carbon Gen9 is a really good machine, maybe Lenovo got screwed by Intel's 12th Gen platform and Microsoft's support for the processor, but the machine should not be going out the door like that. Come to think of it... my XPS15 9560 from 2017 is STILL a better machine, which is what I switched back to while it's in for service (and cost half as much!)
  - BizarroLand 4y ago
    The Gen 8/9 had a bad bios update sent out and set to install in the background. It bricked the laptops it was installed on. I know this because I had to handle the warranty stuff for my coworker who was fortunately covered under their warranty. Required a new motherboard and half a week of downtime, but at the same time Lenovo at least fixed the problem.
- zinekeller 4y ago
  > This is same for other manufacturers too. So true. Consumer laptops are really meh, but the only way to satisfy the demand for laptops is to have a designed-for-price laptop. In a way, the market demands cheap laptops whatever sacrifices in quality will attain.
  - bitexploder 4y ago
    Definitely, not “in a way”. It is easy enough to see. Most people who need a laptop just need a cheap plastic shell, maybe with some middle tier gaming GPU, and some modicum of durability. I am off the Apple laptops since they went ARM and the OS left be wanting, but their hardware quality is still the best. Their prices reflect that (plus the Apple tax).
    - bayindirh 4y ago
      When you compare the prices of an Apple MacBook to a comparable higher end machine, the prices are not really that different.
      - bitexploder 4y ago
        I would say the quality is pretty similar too, model depending. On the low end, quality is not comparable (nor are the prices) but you can at least acquire "lower end" hardware with Apple's build quality for a step up in price.
- tsimionescu 4y ago
  Off topic, but the Z series has gotten me a few ugly side glances in cafes since the Russia-Ukraine conflict started - a bit of misfortune with their brand there...
- RHSeeger 4y ago
  > The only company which builds all their hardware with comparable quality to other manufacturers' pro lines is Apple. Well, that's not strictly true either. Apple has had a well documented history of building some very poor quality items (amid it's history of generally building very high quality items, to be sure). However, when it does so, it promptly tells the consumer there's nothing wrong, and if there is, it's the consumer's fault for using it wrong.
duxup 4y ago
Do you have some suggestions on companies whose priorities are better? It would be good to know.
- christophilus 4y ago
  Apple has been rock solid for me for a decade. Their priorities aren’t fully aligned with mine, but they’re as close as any company I know of. I really want to try a System76 or Framework as my next machine.
  - tablespoon 4y ago
    > Apple has been rock solid for me for a decade. Their priorities aren’t fully aligned with mine, but they’re as close as any company I know of. I really want to try a System76 or Framework as my next machine. Aren't all those premium products? Many of the complaints here read like: "I usually BMWs, but I decided to buy a Honda Fit and hated it. It's small and under-powered, nothing like the BMWs I prefer: Honda sucks. Honda should adopt the BMW strategy of making all their products premium."
    - shellfishgene 4y ago
      I think it's more the case that the Honda Fit would come with engine problems that the service doesn't effectively repair under warranty, and also with a 5000 pound trailer full of unwanted junk that's hard to remove from the car.
      - tablespoon 4y ago
        > I think it's more the case that the Honda Fit would come with engine problems that the service doesn't effectively repair under warranty, and also with a 5000 pound trailer full of unwanted junk that's hard to remove from the car. No. A lot of the complaints, including in the OP are about things like product-line complexity and design compromises likely from designing to a lower price. Some people are venting anecdotes about horrible support and product quality experiences, but that's true for even Apple laptops. The literal worst laptop experience I've ever had was with a 2018 MacBook that would inscrutably and randomly freeze on wake for minutes on end. Apple replaced random parts but otherwise refused to help. The only thing that fixed the problem was a OS downgrade that Apple tried its hardest to make impossible.
rjzzleep 4y ago
I actually was about to buy a Dell XPS machine a while back. When their ecommerce side was so incredibly crap to use that I moved over to Lenovo(which isn't that much better but seems to have much better warranty). I'm glad their priorities are elsewhere, because otherwise I would have bought it first and noticed later. The enterprises that I met, don't actually buy directly from dell. They almost always buy through a third party partnership of some sort.

bayindirh 4y ago

This is same for other manufacturers too. HP: Pavilions are bad, Pro/Elite/Z series are awesome. Servers are good too. Lenovo: Ideapads are eh, Thinkpads and servers, completely different. The only company which builds all their hardware with comparable quality to other manufacturers' pro lines is Apple.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
rjzzleep 4y ago
Then again Ideapads can be dirt cheap.
- bayindirh 4y ago
  I'll rather buy an expensive machine and use for a decade without problems instead of buying a dirt cheap machine and suffer indefinitely.
  - shmoe 4y ago
    So many people go the other way on this :(
iknowSFR 4y ago
Is there a website or directory where all tech companies strengths/priorities are listed out? Hardware, software, and services companies included?
ninjaoxygen 4y ago
Funnily enough based off Lenovo's reputation for their higher end laptops, in April I bought a Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen10, pretty much as they came out. The machine is a nightmare, and has been through about 10 firmware updates over the last 6 months, but has barely improved. From day one and still now... on Win11 that it shipped with it won't hibernate, just a black screen on resume, then pot luck over the next boots whether it starts or not. Sometimes from shutdown it does the same thing. Under little load, it gets hot as hell, you literally can't type on it, I use a bluetooth keyboard. If I'm doing light dev work, 3h battery life, tops. Audio drivers are broken, the internal 3.5mm just emits noise above around 10% volume and is distorted below that. Shipped with an underpowered 45W adapter... same SKU now ships with a 65W (an i7-1260p w/32GB). I don't think it's faulty, there are plenty of people with the same story about Gen10s. Mine is in for repair now, so we'll see, if it comes back with the same issues, it's getting warranty returned. I know the X1 Carbon Gen9 is a really good machine, maybe Lenovo got screwed by Intel's 12th Gen platform and Microsoft's support for the processor, but the machine should not be going out the door like that. Come to think of it... my XPS15 9560 from 2017 is STILL a better machine, which is what I switched back to while it's in for service (and cost half as much!)
- BizarroLand 4y ago
  The Gen 8/9 had a bad bios update sent out and set to install in the background. It bricked the laptops it was installed on. I know this because I had to handle the warranty stuff for my coworker who was fortunately covered under their warranty. Required a new motherboard and half a week of downtime, but at the same time Lenovo at least fixed the problem.
zinekeller 4y ago
> This is same for other manufacturers too. So true. Consumer laptops are really meh, but the only way to satisfy the demand for laptops is to have a designed-for-price laptop. In a way, the market demands cheap laptops whatever sacrifices in quality will attain.
- bitexploder 4y ago
  Definitely, not “in a way”. It is easy enough to see. Most people who need a laptop just need a cheap plastic shell, maybe with some middle tier gaming GPU, and some modicum of durability. I am off the Apple laptops since they went ARM and the OS left be wanting, but their hardware quality is still the best. Their prices reflect that (plus the Apple tax).
  - bayindirh 4y ago
    When you compare the prices of an Apple MacBook to a comparable higher end machine, the prices are not really that different.
    - bitexploder 4y ago
      I would say the quality is pretty similar too, model depending. On the low end, quality is not comparable (nor are the prices) but you can at least acquire "lower end" hardware with Apple's build quality for a step up in price.
tsimionescu 4y ago
Off topic, but the Z series has gotten me a few ugly side glances in cafes since the Russia-Ukraine conflict started - a bit of misfortune with their brand there...
RHSeeger 4y ago
> The only company which builds all their hardware with comparable quality to other manufacturers' pro lines is Apple. Well, that's not strictly true either. Apple has had a well documented history of building some very poor quality items (amid it's history of generally building very high quality items, to be sure). However, when it does so, it promptly tells the consumer there's nothing wrong, and if there is, it's the consumer's fault for using it wrong.

duxup 4y ago

Do you have some suggestions on companies whose priorities are better? It would be good to know.

christophilus 4y ago
Apple has been rock solid for me for a decade. Their priorities aren’t fully aligned with mine, but they’re as close as any company I know of. I really want to try a System76 or Framework as my next machine.
- tablespoon 4y ago
  > Apple has been rock solid for me for a decade. Their priorities aren’t fully aligned with mine, but they’re as close as any company I know of. I really want to try a System76 or Framework as my next machine. Aren't all those premium products? Many of the complaints here read like: "I usually BMWs, but I decided to buy a Honda Fit and hated it. It's small and under-powered, nothing like the BMWs I prefer: Honda sucks. Honda should adopt the BMW strategy of making all their products premium."
  - shellfishgene 4y ago
    I think it's more the case that the Honda Fit would come with engine problems that the service doesn't effectively repair under warranty, and also with a 5000 pound trailer full of unwanted junk that's hard to remove from the car.
    - tablespoon 4y ago
      > I think it's more the case that the Honda Fit would come with engine problems that the service doesn't effectively repair under warranty, and also with a 5000 pound trailer full of unwanted junk that's hard to remove from the car. No. A lot of the complaints, including in the OP are about things like product-line complexity and design compromises likely from designing to a lower price. Some people are venting anecdotes about horrible support and product quality experiences, but that's true for even Apple laptops. The literal worst laptop experience I've ever had was with a 2018 MacBook that would inscrutably and randomly freeze on wake for minutes on end. Apple replaced random parts but otherwise refused to help. The only thing that fixed the problem was a OS downgrade that Apple tried its hardest to make impossible.

rjzzleep 4y ago

I actually was about to buy a Dell XPS machine a while back. When their ecommerce side was so incredibly crap to use that I moved over to Lenovo(which isn't that much better but seems to have much better warranty). I'm glad their priorities are elsewhere, because otherwise I would have bought it first and noticed later. The enterprises that I met, don't actually buy directly from dell. They almost always buy through a third party partnership of some sort.