samudra wrote:For a pc and even brand that is considered crap (I can't say this myself, I hardly know anything about OEM except for '90 Packard Bell and Compaq) there is a lot of knowledge about it doing the rounds here.
How does one acquire that knowledge if there is no reason to come close to one?
You don't 😜
I like FS because of my 1st hand experience with them 😉
They don't use proprietary crap, they have NORMAL XP install media (no image crap and they provide install media unlike many other royalty oem's), use quality parts mostly (Gigabyte, MSI etc), their cases are usually good quality (especially their older stuff) and the design of their cases is usually solid (unlike many other royalty oem's that don't even bother providing a case that has proper airflow), don't ship underpowered power supplies and their shipped PSU's are of good quality.
When I strip any FS of it's parts, I usually keep the PSU that came with the system.
I came close to one because my mother gifted me her old machine, a FS, and I upgraded the heck outa it.
Also I found/was gifted other FS systems.
Having scrapped hundreds of systems, many oem's included, I found their hardware of better use then for instance Dell or Packard Hell.
Dell often use proprietary PSU and cases and PB and Compaq often have not-that-usefull cases (bad ventilation for one) that often have a single plug for the front panel, meaning another hurdle if you want to put in another motherboard.
Edit: I can't speak for their support though, I never had to use their support other than their website. The system I got from them is 8 years old and just refuses to die!
Personally I don't see why FS supposedly is a bad brand. It's definately one of the best ones from a hardware collector's view.