# Help me pick a computer! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-computer/86351 "2001-10-09T16:20:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-computer/86351/21 "2001-10-11T00:02:10Z")
Do not buy a low-end Dell. Their quality has been eroded seriously in the price wars, and they’re trading on a reputation that they no longer deserve. Unless you’re going to be carrying it someplace more often than using it at home, don’t get a laptop, either. It’s a major pain in the ass to do anything to these systems; the miniaturization involved means very few upgrades are possible, and repairs are expensive and time consuming. Your best bet, IMHO, is to find a local store that will let you select all your components, and have them build it for you. Local tech support makes a huge difference. Check their rep with the Better Business Bureau first, then talk to a salesperson there. If you get treated well, like what you hear, and can take an estimate home and research some of the components, you’ll end up with a serious kickass system that will beat the living snot out of any name-brand system out there. Oh, and **Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, and Gateway** are the current pseudonyms employed by the Triumvirate that Rule Computer Hell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-a-computer/86351.md?page=1)