I have talked to many customers and ask why they purchase lower end computers. Most often, the reason is price. Well, buying a residential grade computer from the local big box store may not be the most cost effective purchasing decision.

There is a huge difference in the quality of a residential grade desktop or laptop when compared to a business grade desktop or laptop. At a recent tech show I attended, the Acer representative stated that Acer business grade computers (i.e. their Veriton desktop line) has an 80% lower failure rate than their Aspire residential grade desktops. Yes, you read that correctly, 80 PERCENT LESS FAILURES in business grade desktops compared to residential grade desktops. And, this representative stated that they spec out their systems to keep costs low and match the failure rates of HP.

If you don’t believe me, take a look at the graph on this PC World article. They track “Dell for business” and “Dell for Home” seperately…the same with “HP for business” and HP for home”.

Wait, it gets better! HP has acknoledged “higher than expected” failure rates on some of their Pavillion desktops. I will tell you why, HP is still using the same capacitors on their desktop motherboards that caused many problems from 2000-2004. Yes, those bad caps that were the bane of computer reliability a decade ago are still being used in most residential grade desktops! You may ask why? well, the simple answer is to keep costs down. If you look at a business grade desktop from Lenovo, Acer, or HP, you will see solid state capacitors instead of cheaper electrolytic capacitors. Solid state capacitors do not have a liquid or paste component that can leak, so they are more stable and last longer.

What are some other benefits of buying a business grade desktop?

• Better Components used – more stable and reliable
• Many come with a 3 year warranty
• Most manufacturers offer US based support to owners of business grade computers
• Stronger chassis used – especially in laptops

For laptops, the difference is more pronounced. Look at a HP Pavillion vs an HP ProBook or HP Elitebook…the Probook and Elitebook use aluminim construction to protect the screen while the Pavillion chassis flexes enough that you can distort the screen by pressing on the back of the lid. The same goes for a Lenovo Thinkpad or Acer Aspire vs TimeLineX. Now, look at those hinges…residential grade laptops have plastic securing the hinges while most business grade laptops, the hinges are scrwed into metal bases. Business grade laptops also usually come with better shock protection on the hard drives.

So, which would you rather buy? Residential grade or business grade computers?

Here at Twin Pines Technologies LLC, we always offer business grade Lenovo and Acer computers. I would much rather sell you a product that I am comfortable will work without issue for years and minimize the risk of needing to help you with a warranty claim.