Hardware Reviews
These are organized based upon the piece of computer hardware. The Items I recommend I currently use and recommend to my clients. These reviews are based upon my experience with each item, cost, and brand. Please note: All reviews are the opinions of the author. In many cases this website provides opinions of various software and hardware vendors. We accept no responsibility or liability for anything contained in such reviews.
Battery Backup / Surge Suppressors - I use the APC (http://www.apcc.com/products/) brand exclusively. I have never had one blow up or fail on me. However, I have associates that have told me that it is difficult to collect on the warranty on any surge suppressor, no matter what the brand.
Desktop PCs - I am bias on this one because I build my own, and I offer to build for others, so I prefer the custom build. I can say that there are brands that I will buy - Lenovo, (http://www.lenovo.com ) Toshiba, and Apple ( http://www.apple.com/ )are the major brands I recommend. One piece of advise I give to my clients is if you buy a computer from one of these companies, look at the tech support they offer before buying.
There are some computer manufacturers that I would not purchase a PC from based upon the number that I have been called to fix and have gone bad to the point of not being able to use it. I discourage my clients from buying Dell, HP (although, they are getting better - terrible tech support, though) , and Sony. I fixed too many of them to recommend them
DVD Writers - Honesty, I burn more CDs than DVDs with my DVD Writer, but I use LGs quite a bit. They work well and are pretty solid
Floppy Drives - This is one technology that refuses to die. (But not for lack of trying!) For clients that still need floppy drive, I always use the Sony brand. I have yet to have one be DOA out of the box.
Flash Drives - I love flash drives! They make it so easy to transfer files, folders and programs. I keep 2 with me all the time. One for all the programs that I put on clients computers and a second one that is blank for file transfer.
Hard Drives - I use only one brand - Western Digital. (http://www.wdc.com/en/index.asp?Language=en ) The failure rate out of the box is so low from my experience I have no reason to use anything else. I have replaced a lot of hard drives, and the most common brands I see go bad are Maxtor and Seagate. When judging a hard drive, it doesn't matter what brand it is, if it is over 3 years old, replace it. I personally highly recommend the Western Digital 10,000 RPM Raptor Drives.
Keyboards - The 2 big boys that I see on the market are Logitech ( http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/US/EN ) and Microsoft ( http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/default.aspx?view=22&pcid=c250fb0a-1613-4550-983d-ba203f357698 ). Both are great and I recommend both to clients. The thing with a keyboard and mouse as well, is that comfort matters most. You want to find a keyboard and mouse that fits your hands well. I personally use a Logitech wireless natural "split" keyboard and would not use anything else, and both Logitech and Microsoft make excellent ones.
Laptops - When it comes to laptops, I recommend, Lenovo, Toshiba and Apple. Personal preference take a big part in deciding on a laptop, I suggest going to a retail store and "test driving" some laptops. See how the keyboard feels, how does the mouse work, is the screen crisp, etc. I recommend Lenovo for a laptop here because they have ranked consistently high for durability, My main workhorse computer is a Lenovo
Memory - Memory for computers is one of those things that really doesn't matter what brand as much as getting the specs right and the amount you put in. Any memory you get, make sure that you know specific details of the speed and compatibility with the motherboard. You can never have enough memory in a computer. I recommend at least 2 GB minimum I use Kingston Memory in a lot of the computers I build. A good place to buy all kinds of memory is Crucial.com ( http://www.crucial.com/ )
Mice - Mice, like keyboards, are a personal preference based upon comfort. Microsoft and Logitech seemed to have the market cornered. I prefer optical mice over the traditional roller ball. The best way to shop for a mouse, is to test drive them a local retail store.
Monitors - I only buy flat panel monitors for all my clients. Samsung ( http://www.samsung.com/in/products/monitors/index.asp ) and LG( www.lg.com) make excellent monitors and I have had no problems with either brand.
Motherboards - I generally use one type of motherboard in all the systems I build - Asus ( http://www.asus.com/products/mb/mbindex.htm ) I have had only 5 failures in around 200 motherboards I have installed since I started using Asus. I have also used AOpen, FIC, Tyan, Abit, MSI, and Intel. One manufacturer who I will never use again is Intel. I have had nothing but problems with Intel motherboards. Of the 10 I have bought, all various times and various models, all have gone bad or needed to replaced within 1 year. From a consulting standpoint, I always go with the more reliable brand and Asus is it. Motherboards come in lots of shapes, sizes, and models.
Networking Equipment - I have lumped hubs, switches, routers, and modems together in this category because most manufacturers build all of these components and sell them under their brand. This is also considered wired networking equipment. I never buy hubs anymore because a switch does a better job and is more efficient. I generally buy the Linksys brand ( http://www.linksys.com/ ) or the Dlink brand ( http://www.dlink.com/ ) If you want higher end equipment, Sonicwall (http://www.sonicwall.com/products/ ) and Cisco (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/) I buy Linksys equipment more often, both have worked for me. As a side note, I never buy any Netgear equipment. I have found their equipment to have a failure rate of over 50% when I tried to use it.
Printers - I am bunching Inkjets and Lasers together. I think there are 4 major brands: HP, Epson, Brother, and Samsung. HPs are the best selling brand and for the most part I buy mostly HP printers. They have been reliable and sturdy. The same can be said for the other brands as well, although, I have less experience with the other brands. Samsung and Brother are focusing on the low end mono color laser printer and have ranked very well. Lasers are all I will buy. Color lasers are inexpensive to the point that it is almost cost effective to buy a color laser to be your main printer, it is the ink that is going to be expensive
Processors (CPUs) - The two big boys on the market are Intel ( http://www.intel.com/products/ ) and AMD ( www.amd.com ). Bottom line, they both have their advantages and flop back and forth as far as performance. I have used both, and like both. Intel processors are, in general, more expensive than AMD, but buying a motherboard for an AMD processor is more than an Intel compatible motherboard. My experience has been the cost is a wash.
Speakers - The best pair of speakers I ever owned was a set of Altec Lansing ( http://www.alteclansing.com/products.asp?region=northam ) speakers with sub woofer. Those speakers could make anything sound good. The best advise that I can give with speakers is that the sound quality you get is directly related to the better speaker (translate: more expensive!) and sound card in your computer.
Tablet PCs - I have a Lenovo t61 tablet and love it!! I feel the best things about them are: lightweight, have the same functionality as a regular laptop, and note taking at a client site cannot be easier especially with the handwriting recognition and the conversion to text. I highly recommend them.
Video Cards - I will be the first to admit that I am not a gamer, so high end video card are not my thing, but there are 2 brands out there that consistently 1-2 in the market: ATI ( http://www.ati.com/products/) and NVIDIA (http://www.nvidia.com/page/products.html ) There are several factors to look at: on board video memory. 512 MB is adequate for the normal user, but you can go higher. Some card come with TV tuners to enable you watch TV on your computer, others are designed for video editing. As I mention in the monitors section, You can get a video card that has a digital output, so that if your monitor has a digital input, you can see everything in digital resolution.
Wireless Technology - The same manufactures who make wired networking hardware generally also make wireless hardware as well. Linksys and Dlink are no exception. I prefer Linksys wireless equipment as it seems to be the most stable for me. When buying any wireless equipment make sure that it is compatible with frequency. If I were to buy wireless equipment now, I would buy N. One thing to keep in mind - Cordless phones (2.4 GHz models), Microwave, Ovens, and lead based paint in older houses can limit the range of wireless equipment.