Compaq/HP failure rates.

[NYSTrooper]

I work for a company that for god knows what reason thinks purchasing Compaq/HP is a good buy. Of 45 computers ordered, 6 failed in the first 30 days. 3 overheating, 2 display adapter failures (onboard) and one HD failure. 4 months later 16 of them have failed, all the same problems as the first 6. Display and HD problems have become the most prevelant.

The machines are company standard D325's, the older Compaq's aren't nearly as problematic. Most of them are C1100 or D510. So two questions:

1) Anyone else work for a company purchasing Compaq/HP see similar problems?
2) Anyone know why the D325s seem to be so much worse?

Never buy a Compaq/HP. NEVER.

 

[buckmasterson]

I thought they were covered by a 3 year parts, 1 year labor warranty...? I wouldn't by Compaq or HP either, but overall the machines perform well for business apps. Actually I find the D325 to be a step up in performance from the IBM systems we installed. Terrible stability problems with those IBMs. Hey I can replace hardware, but when the machine isn't stable I want nothing to do with it.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Originally posted by: buckmasterson
I thought they were covered by a 3 year parts, 1 year labor warranty...? I wouldn't by Compaq or HP either, but overall the machines perform well for business apps. Actually I find the D325 to be a step up in performance from the IBM systems we installed. Terrible stability problems with those IBMs. Hey I can replace hardware, but when the machine isn't stable I want nothing to do with it.

I've been working with a school district for the last 6 months that bought a few hundred Dells, forget the model. I've replaced the motherboards, memory, cpu's and psu's or a combination thereof in over 40 of them.

I have other customers with thousands of Dells who don't have hardly any problems.

My point, I guess, is that you can get a bad batch of any OEM computer.

Don't let it get you down.

 

[Gunbuster]

At least Dells are easy to work on, Compaqs are a beast to replace mainboards on.

 

[Oyeve]

Ive worked at many companies for nearly 20 years and of all the major corporate PC manufacturers Compaq has been the most reliable with dell being the worse. Ive been at one company for over 8 years with a desktop user base in the thousands and in the worse scenarios imaginable, dirt, dust, static ridden carpets and I can honestly say I can remember each compaq PC that failed. I cannot say the same for the crappy dells and ibms. I dont work for compaq or have stock in the company but they do make a stable business PC. If you buy the consumer compaqs (or any other brand name pc for that matter) then you are in for a world of trouble. I always buy business class desktops for my users. Less components, less to break.

 

[Schadenfroh]

yeh, they suck

 

[Agamar]

We have all HP / Compaq equipment (including servers) at work. Generally they are really easy to work with on getting replacement parts. Takes me about 5 minutes to go online and order the new part to get cross shipped. Anyway, we have a little over 200 of them, and I would say the failure rate is pretty low. I have replace 5 hard drives, 2 power supplies, and a shitload of floppy drives, but I work at an industrial plant with a lot of acidic / caustic gases that will literally rust the screws after a few weeks, so that isn't so bad.

 

[zodder]

I don't have any Compaq workstations in my shop, but the Compaq servers I've used have been absolutely rock solid and reliable.

 

[toleraen]

The university I go to has a contract through compaq, so that we can only get Compaq computers...so all the new freshman receive a compaq laptop. Working tech support for them amazes me. There are roughly 1000 freshman here, and of the 15 hours a week i work i bet i send in at least a dozen to get hard drive / mainboard replaced. I'm thinking there's a reason that no other manufacturer could come close to the offer compaq made the university.

 

[NYSTrooper]

Interesting...a big mix of replies.

BTW the old beige Compaq cases blow, every surface inside them is razor sharp from the stamped metal. The newer ones are very nice though for swapping out components. I've had Dell computers for home PCs forever without a problem, saw a lot of people in the dorms have trouble with Compaqs but that was almost 4 years ago. Never had any experience with IBM, back in the day I had a Micron 486 and Pentium I. Both were rock solid machines. I've never heard anything but bad news from people who owned Gateway computers, especially laptops.

I'm considering getting involved independently in small scale network bids and installation, wondering where I should invest myself for computer purchases. Depending on load, I may build the machines myself but the problem then becomes being cost competitive with major manufacturers. It amazes me to see deals like the Dell 4600 for $399.