thadeushuck (7/3/2012)
Eric M Russell (7/3/2012)
I'd suspect that the higher failure rate for white-box (versus brand name) PCs can be attributed to how the components are installed and paired up with other components. The assembly line style methods used by Dell and HP, where they purchase components of the same type in bulk and have workers who specialize in performing specific tasks; my belief is that would probably result in fewer defects better overall hardware configurations.The guys who set up shop in a strip mall, buying parts from eBay or the local BestBuy, and then assembling them on a fold up table; I doubt the quality is there.
HP/DELL probabably have higher and stricter "burn-in" tests or their buyer's being businesses tend to do it for them. The fact that once a memory error crash happens, the likelihood of another memory crash happening again drops to 2, is scary. I dread memory replacement with my 8 year old awesome laptop, seems like opening it up just cause more crap to fail, and digging thru the pile of dead laptops for parts is a drag...
It's probably been ten years since I've tinkered with the inside of one of my personal PCs or laptop. However, long ago I was in the habbit of popping the top on my PC and installing a new HD, upgrade the RAM, etc. about once a year. I recall from way back then doing stupid things like accidentally installing the RAM chip backward or dropping the screw driver while it bounced around inside the component case. I don't think I ever wore rubber gloves to prevent static charge or anything like that. Obviously someone who intalls hardware for a living would make a lot fewer mistakes, but when they're building one-off white boxes, it's bound to happen.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho