I will start from the beginning:
I was an HP fanboy. Pay attention to the past-tense there.
My old HP laptop (a custom-built G62X which I received on December 25, 2010) stopped working on November 8, 2012. It was long out of its one-year warranty, and I had wanted a new computer for a while. On November 11, 2012, I ordered a very high-end HP ENVY dv6t-7200 Quad Edition with an i7-3630 QM processor and an NVidia GeForce GT 650M GPU. The total cost was $1,181 (I also got a three-year warranty). I received it on November 21, 2012. On Saturday night (November 24, 2012, just three days after I got the computer) the GPU stopped being detected and the system defaulted to the integrated graphics processor. For my uses, this makes the computer into a very expensive paperweight. I require powerful graphics processing for education in 3D development, design, and for my personal gaming. I contacted HP and they ran me through multiple troubleshooting steps which didn't work, of course, because this is a hardware problem. So they had me send it in for repair. I sent it in on Tuesday, December 1, 2012. It was originally slated to be back in my hands by the sixteenth. I had finals the week of the sixteenth, and need my computer for that. So the sixteenth would be perfect. Except it didn't come on the sixteenth (which made finals a bitch). Due to a parts shortage, the delivery date was pushed back to the fifteenth of January, 2013. That is a month over my original delivery date. That is unacceptable. Especially when I have only had access to a computer (which I need) for three days in the previous two months. When I drop over a thousand dollars on a computer, I don't expect it to fail in three days. And I expect much better and more timely service, especially from a fortune-500 company. Unfortunately, HP is too incompetent to do this.
Back to my story:
I managed to get myself a case manager, who very kindly ordered me a new computer (same specifications). I received it on December 26, 2013. On that Sunday (December 30, 2013, four days after), the same issue as before occurred. At this point, I was done with HP. I called and requested a refund. I was told I would have confirmation of a refund within a week. At the end of that allotted time, I called my case manager. She had the flu. I waited over a weekend and then another two days, calling each day. She was still sick. I then requested to be transferred to another case manager. I was told that was impossible. After calling again, I asked what would happen if a case manager quit in the middle of a case. They told me the case would be transferred. So I asked them how they couldn't do it for me. Without an answer, they decided to transfer me to another case manager.
The stupidity here is simply dripping from the mouths of HP's staff.
Anyways, the new case manager tried to get me a refund, and after another week I was finally told I would have it.
So in the end, I built my own desktop computer with the money, circumventing HP's bureaucratic BS. But it took me a good three or four months. I'm finally happy with my computer. And that HP fanboy we started with? Well let's just say I now have an extreme hate for HP...and it's seeping out.
I had (before this happened) recommended HP to a school friend. He bought an $800 ENVY dv6t-7200 with a GT 630M GPU in it. Guess what happened to his? Yeah...same thing as mine. So this is obviously HP's problem with attaching the GPUs, not NVidia's.
My brother and dad were both in the market to drop $1000 each on a new computer (and it was going to be an HP). They're now each going to be looking elsewhere.
And there's countless others who will hear this story over the internet.
Good job HP, real fine work you've done here. You've turned a loving fanboy (oh I was so wrong back then) into a hating enemy. No HPs will be bought if I have anything to say about it.
Goodbye HP, for good this time.
Hello ROG'ers! If you made it this far, then I thank you for reading.
The above was a message I sent to HP in a customer feedback survey. Let's hope they read it.
In the meantime, take the message to heart. DO NOT buy from HP. I know lots of people say this, and before it happened to me I thought it wasn't true. But trust me, it is. I learned the hard way.
MSI Interceptor Series Barricade Case
MSI Z77-G45 Mainboard
Corsair HX-750 PSU
Intel Core i7-3770K CPU overclocked to 4.2 GHz (Cooling: Corsair Hydro H60 Liquid)
ASUS Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 GPU (core OC of 1125 MHz, memory OC of 6700 MHz)
Sixteen GB of dual-channel 1600 MHz DDR3 Corsair Dominator Platinum RAM
ASUS Xonar DSX Audio Card
System Data Drive: 128-GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD
Storage Data Drive: 1-TB, 7200 RPM Western Digital Black HDD
Windows 8.1 64-Bit
DirectX 11
