Moral dilemma !

[#1]

I need to replace my old XP desktop, having replaced the laptop six months ago.  I am pleased to say that everything I used before works on Windows 10, including a number of Windows 95 applications, Outlook 2000 and even my old HP Laserjet 1100 - so far !  It appears that Microsoft has learned a lesson from the fiasco of Windows 7 and 8 and introduced a degree of reverse compatibility again.
I replaced the laptop with a new HP machine.  As some people on the forum may remember from previous postings of mine, my pension is paid by HP.  I was in outsourcing services, not hardware, but nevertheless I feel duty bound to try to support my old employer, even if they have made a financial disaster of the hardware side of the business !  I was commercial not technical, and therefore not qualified to make judgments about computer performance or reliability.
I have boiled the choice down to two machines from PC World to suit my budget - one HP and one Asus.  However, the Asus is substantially cheaper than the HP and has a better spec.  Hence my moral dilemma.  Do I allow price to outweigh loyalty ?  Unless there are good technical reasons why I should not do so, I am seriously tempted to go for the Taiwanese Asus.  After all, the HP is almost certainly still manufactured in China, and I could salve my conscience because I have an HP laptop and two HP printers !
I would therefore really value other people's experience and technical knowledge.  My computing needs are very lightweight - the usual Office products, (all legacy), a bit of Photoshop (legacy again), surfing the web, reading online newspapers and buying from eBay !  I do not do social networking at all of any sort, nor do I play games, stream films, music or TV.  As I have mentioned before, I decided that if the BBC can afford to pay £million fees to untalented celebrities, they are not in need of the income from my TV license, and so I threw the TV out many years ago and don't miss it.
For info. the spec of the two computers are :
HP Pavilion 550-110na
- AMD A10-7800 Processor
- Quad-core
- 3.5 GHz / 3.9 GHz with TurboBoost
- 4 MB cache
-8 GB DDR3
-1 TB HDD
ASUS K31BF
- AMD A8 7600 APU
- Quad-core
- 3.1 GHz / 3.8 GHz with Turbo Boost
- 4 MB cache
-8 GB
-3 TB HDD, 7200 rpm
I would be grateful for any thoughts. Thanks.

[#2]

Well to be blunt you owe HP nothing, I assume you spent many years with them making them money and you have now retired and are paid a pension for all your hard efforts, a pension that you can spend as you see fit. If you purchase the Asus I don't think for one minute that you're pension will suffer as a result of your money not going to HP, nor will HP be knocking on your door asking you 'Why?'. Loyalty aside if it were me making the choice I'd be inclined to buy the Asus, not just for the saving in money, but the overall specification. Like you said most of these units will be built in China and no doubt share common parts, so if anything some of the extra cost will be branding. So help your retirement fund and go for the Asus, but of course the choice is yours.

[#3]

Mook knows a lot more about stuff like this than I do...... and I agree with him, about not owing anything to HP...  You did your job, and they paid you... If they had gone bust. or made some "strategic re-evaluation of staffing levels"... (aka making people,... and you in particular...  redundant )... would you still want to buy their products  ? 
On the spec you have listed... I would go for the Asus....  and, as it is cheaper, it will make your pension last a little bit longer ! ! ! ..  ( or you could afford a couple more beers to celebrate the new machine ! )...
Warning... I do not understand specifications on computers,... just look  at the numbers and see if one has better numbers than the other !  ! !  ... 3TB as opposed to 1TB ?  you do the maths, as the saying goes ! ! ... 

[#4]

Despite your saying that the ASUS has a better spec it actually has a much cheaper CPU http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-A8-7600-vs-AMD-A10-7800 now whether that is relevant I very much doubt
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/241/AMD_A10-Series_A10-7800_vs_AMD_A8-Series_A8-7600.html

[#5]

The HP has a better CPU than the ASUS.
But the ASUS has more disk.
The ASUS is £100 cheaper and check out the size of the PSU's - the HP is rubbish.
Don't buy Office - since LibreOffice is free.

[#6]

I agree with Mook: I don't see that you should necessarily display any loyalty to HP. You have done your time there and reaping the rewards of your hard work through your pension. Spend it as you feel fit on what best suits you and not HP.

[#7]

Asus, for the simple reason that HP computer products are not that great, their printers are pretty good (prices for consumables though, ugh), but their computers not so much, especially for those of us who push computers hard...

[#8]

Also another consideration ASUS support i found excellent where as HP was a Bit MEH 

[#9]

Thanks for the comments so far.  Some very helpful information there.  For instance, I thought that the HP PSU at 180 watts meant it would use less electricity than the 350 watts of the ASUS.  It did not occur to me that it would actually be underpowered.  But I did read a comment on one of the reviews that the HP (I think it was) does not have a case fan which struck me as odd.

[#10]

Looks to me like the ASUS is also available with the A10-7800 APU: http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing/desktop-pcs/desktop-pcs/asus-k31bf-desktop-pc-10138335-pdt.h... (unfortunately currently out of stock on the link).

[#11]

A bit off topic but, one of my pet hates regarding printers not just from the likes of HP, Epson etc, is the huge amount of, in my opinion, rubbish that comes along with. By this I mean the redundant software found on the 'Drivers Disc' other than the drivers, I know some people make use of it but I have found that the majority of people when they buy a printer simply want to print so only want, need, the drivers. An example of this is the driver download for the P1102w printer at 143MB! It even suggests on the HP site that if you've got a slow internet connection you should order the CD by mail due to the size of the download!

[#12]

Quote from: shermans

Thanks for the comments so far.  Some very helpful information there.  For instance, I thought that the HP PSU at 180 watts meant it would use less electricity than the 350 watts of the ASUS.  It did not occur to me that it would actually be underpowered.  But I did read a comment on one of the reviews that the HP (I think it was) does not have a case fan which struck me as odd.

A 180W PSU means it can provide, at most, 180W.
So its going to be working much harder and will limit your options if you want to perform any upgrades.
A larger PSU would only use as much power as it needs.
Another point to check is the connection between the video output on the PC and the video input on the screen.
Look up VGA, DVI & HDMI on Wikipedia for pictures.
For an old screen you are probably limited to analogue VGA connections.

[#13]

[quote author=係係係係VileReynard link=topic=149817.msg1315952#msg1315952 date=1459342163]
Another point to check is the connection between the video output on the PC and the video input on the screen.
Look up VGA, DVI & HDMI on Wikipedia for pictures.
For an old screen you are probably limited to analogue VGA connections.

Not a big problem, as there are many "converters" and "converter cable applications available on Ebay.... some less than a fiver !.... 

[#14]

I'm on my 4th HP I love them.
The last one did have a hard drive failure at 7mths [in warranty] which was disappointing but in fairness to them, it was picked by DHL at 6.00pm on Thursday repaired by 9.00pm Friday [in Poland] and back with me by 8.00am Tuesday, I could track it all the way, the local repair shop couldn't fit in in that time. It was that level of service made my mind up this time round.
I agree you don't owe HP anything buy what suits you best.

[#15]

I bought a HP laptop for a family member at the end of last year because it had some cashback.
It's taken 5 emails and 3 months to get my £30 cashback.
Never again.