Laptops - The good and bad

[Back]

Looking to buy a PC laptop. Curious which brands you all think are the good and/or bad ones are. I've been a Mac user for the past 20 years and have found that it would just be easier to go PC for many reasons.

Plus who are reliable and/or unreliable sellers. I'm quite happy with Newegg in that regard.

[Tgo01]

Are you going to ignore everyones advice and in a week act like an expert on the subject?

[AnticorRifling]

Not that you'll heed any advice given but I'm a Toshiba laptop fan boy. My last four have been Toshiba, no issues or complaints.

[Androidpk]

All depends on your budget. If you aren't too worried about price go with Sager.

[Drew]

I recommend you ask for a lot of advice then make an impulse purchase at Best Buy.

[Back]

I'm actually looking for two... one for gaming around $1500 and one for business.

For gaming I am looking at Asus G|74SX.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230197

The business model needs to be super reliable as it will hold important information. Does not need to have a great graphic card or tons of RAM. It will never be connected to the internet so no wireless or Bluetooth for that matter.

[Back]

For me to return here to ask a group of grumpy ass gamers for advice is actually a compliment so STFU. ;)

[Androidpk]

The business model needs to be super reliable as it will hold important information. Does not need to have a great graphic card or tons of RAM. It will never be connected to the internet so no wireless or Bluetooth for that matter.

When he says it's for business what he really means is http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qph_tKm8LJQ/TiFEmrV973I/AAAAAAAAD60/N1wQ7aCeS_4/s400/pedobear_drool_AGES_RESULTS-s350x282-56449-580.jpg

[Buckwheet]

Here is what I recommend:


Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

And then I would say if you want blah blah blah. You should do:

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Hope that helps!

[Gelston]

Asus is about as good as any laptop for gaming. Has a two year parts warranty too.

[Androidpk]

http://www.malibal.com/boutique/pc/configurePrd.asp?idproduct=405&gclid=CKHt7uqU8a0CFUfd4AodXRhNtQ

[Back]

Thanks for the suggestions. Found this enlightening article...

http://www.pcworld.com/article/211402/reliability_and_service_laptops.html



Reliability and Service: Laptops

Laptops are, on the whole, more reliable than desktops, and gradually getting more reliable.

By Jeff Bertolucci (http://www.pcworld.com/author/Jeff-Bertolucci), PCWorld (http://www.pcworld.com/) Nov 28, 2010 9:00 pm




Overall, laptop reliability is improving gradually: 25.9 percent of respondents report experiencing at least one significant problem with their notebook, down from 30.9 percent last year and 31.8 percent two years ago.
When it comes to support, 1 in 5 desktop users (21 percent) report their problem was never resolved by the manufacturer; with laptops, the rate is slightly higher at 23.6 percent.



Apple laptops had another stellar showing in our survey. Apple desktop users gave the company above-average ratings in all five of our reliability measurements, and in all four of our service measurements. Apple laptops got above-average marks in all service measurements, and all but one reliability measurement: users say Apple laptops need components replaced about as often as other laptops do.



And when Apple customers do have problems, they’re generally satisfied with the company’s response. Just under 8 percent of Apple laptop users in our survey report their problem was never resolved by the company’s support team, significantly lower than the industry average.



Asus placed second to Apple and earned high marks for reliability of its portable PCs, and took high marks for its phone support. The vendor’s showing is a significant step up from its middling scorecard from last year, when Asus portable users reported a higher-than-average number of out-of-box problems. This year, Asus took above-average marks in five of eight measurements for laptop reliability and service, and its trouble with out-of-the-box problems seems to have improved.



Among Asus notebook users in our survey, 17.1 percent reported at least one major problem with their laptops--slightly higher than Apple’s 15.3 percent, but significantly lower than the industry average of 25.9 percent. (We discuss Apple and Asus further elsewhere.)



Toshiba laptops earned high marks for reliability once again this year, although readers rate its support as merely average. And MSI, which wasn’t in last year’s survey, made an impressive showing. Readers are satisfied with the notebook maker’s PCs, and report relatively few problems with core components.


tl;dr


Best rating by performance and tech support.



Apple
Asus
Toshiba

[Warriorbird]

I love my Asus. Only single complaint is typing the coating off of keys.

[4a6c1]

I'm an Asus convert as well. Sturdy, well made machines although the layout inside of them has been said to be intentionally counter intuitive.

[TheEschaton]

Yeah, my Asus laptop has no lettering on the WASD keys any more. LOL.

[Back]

Worn off keys? No bueno.

Pretty sure you could find some adhesive backed letter forms at a craft store... or, Liquid Paper.

[Ceyrin]

Samsung. Buy directly from them.

They have laptops with both ATI and Nvidia cards, so you can find just what you want, I'm sure. Also, many of the newer ones have numpads.

Finally, I probably play CS an average of 15 hours a week (Yes, Counter-Strike 1.6). My WSAD keys all look like they're brand new. I've had this computer for over a year now. The only wear my keyboard shows at all is where I frequently 'space' at. The plastic there has gotten slightly more smooth and glossy.

Another nice thing about Samsung is the aluminum framing you can get, which doesn't get all dirty and shitty looking like plastic ones do.

Honestly though, PC laptops never make good dedicated gaming rigs. It always sounds good on paper, but cooling is always, always, always an issue.

[Back]

Thanks for the post.

I went with this Asus from Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230195

[Ceyrin]

GD... how much does that beast weigh?

[Back]

4.28 kg (with 8 cell battery) = 9.43578481 lbs

I bet it can also heat up some water for some tasty ramen.

[Androidpk]

My brother has the alienware MX18, now THAT is a beast.

[Ceyrin]

4.28 kg (with 8 cell battery) = 9.43578481 lbs

I bet it can also heat up some water for some tasty ramen.



Find out...

http://www.piriform.com/speccy

[jbasty]

It has been said that it is just a matter of preference and personally, I have chosen to stay with mac for almost 6 years already.

And with the competition getting stiffer, there are a lot jumping to Mac and there are those who are returning to windows.

At the end of the day, it still boils to what you are going to use it for. If you are looking to play more games with it than professional work, the the windows is obviously the option for you. Toshiba is great but quite pricey as well as HP. Probably the middle lane is occupied by Acer, Lenovo and Compaq(HP's sort of affordable line)

[Back]

Thanks for the post.

I went with this Asus from Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230195


I absolutely love Newegg.com because of their speedy and flawless service. I ordered this on Saturday night the 28th and it has been delivered by 11am today the 31st.

The delivery of my power supply and video card for my new desktop PC was even faster. I had to return the power supply and that was no problem whatsoever. Can't say enough good things about Newegg.com.

I just wish their LED TVs were a bit cheaper. :)

[Gelston]

4.28 kg (with 8 cell battery) = 9.43578481 lbs

I bet it can also heat up some water for some tasty ramen.


It stays pretty cool, due to the massive cooling fans it has.

[Back]

It stays pretty cool, due to the massive cooling fans it has.

Could not be happier. :) A little choppy on high graphic settings but easily wieldable as a THW if need be. Super sexy laptop.

[Bhaalizmo]

I used to like Alienware for specs, but as far as durability goes they stink. If you take your laptop in and out of a bag opening and closing the lid several times a day, the hinges on an Alienware won't last past 3 years. Additionally, their warranty support wasn't all it's cracked up to be and they pretty much make you send it back for any repair even if it's something you could replace yourself.

HP Elitebooks on the otherhand are my favorite. They come with military / industrial grade steel frame construction and can handle wear and tear with ease. Add to that the fact that I loaded this one up with an I7 X940 processor, 16 gigs of ram, and a 2 gig Nvidia Quadro 5000M and this thing is just about too much of a beast for it's cooling fans to handle. You can't beat HP's warranty service either. If I called them at 5:30 PM today with a failed hard drive they'd have a new one on my doorstep tomorrow morning before noon.

[warnerbob18]

Laptop is a better option as it provides better Computer support (http://www.google.com) in terms of activities, such as easy to use and most importantly laptops are easy to carry.
for gaming and business purpose laptops are the better option as they have great graphics to be work on.

[Bhaalizmo]

I LIKE TURTLES

[Bhaalizmo]

I used to like Alienware for specs, but as far as durability goes they stink. If you take your laptop in and out of a bag opening and closing the lid several times a day, the hinges on an Alienware won't last past 3 years. Additionally, their warranty support wasn't all it's cracked up to be and they pretty much make you send it back for any repair even if it's something you could replace yourself.

HP Elitebooks on the otherhand are my favorite. They come with military / industrial grade steel frame construction and can handle wear and tear with ease. Add to that the fact that I loaded this one up with an I7 X940 processor, 16 gigs of ram, and a 2 gig Nvidia Quadro 5000M and this thing is just about too much of a beast for it's cooling fans to handle. You can't beat HP's warranty service either. If I called them at 5:30 PM today with a failed hard drive they'd have a new one on my doorstep tomorrow morning before noon.

My screen was visibly cracked on my HP Elitebook when I pulled it out of the laptop bag this morning. After 30 minutes on the phone getting thru to the right person, they're sending out the part with a tech to install it at my house tomorrow. HP warranty rules.