Apple Macs are Least Problematic Desktops, Says Survey…Really?

Apple will be move manufacture of its Mac mini desktop line to Foxconn's U.S. facilities. Credit:Apple

Apple desktops have the least probability of causing problems for the users, reports a recent survey.

Consumer Reports, on Aug. 15, revealed its newest reader survey data for frequency of repair and serious problems with desktop computers. According to the survey, Apple is one of the most reliable brands. Other surveyed brands were HP, Dell, and Gateway.

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While only 7 percent of iMac users reported major repair issues, 10 percent of HP desktop users, 11 percent of Dell users, and 13 percent of Gateway owners reported having serious repairing issues for their machines. The population for the survey were the Consumer Reports readers who bought 8,007 desktops from 2009 through the first half of 2012. The survey was about their experiences and determined the percentage of models from each brand.

While Consumer Reports claimed that the Apple Mac desktops are the least problematic desktops, David Carnoy, the Executive Editor and a leading member of CNET's Reviews team in his column "Why I regret buying an iMac" on Aug. 14 noted that "the iMac is a great machine until something goes wrong. Here's why you might think twice about buying one."

Carnoy mentioned that the hard drive of his iMac, which he bought around 22 months back, failed in July. Hard drives, reported Carnoy, are supposed to last four or five years. Worse happened when he tried to fix the problem, he received only one warning message repetitively "Your drive has a hardware problem that can't be repaired, back up as much of the data as possible and replace the disk."

The two contradictory reports are a little baffling and leave the field open for debate.