laptop brand opinions??

[dissent]

My old Dell refurb laptop is showing its age, has issues (subject of another thread) and is on the way out. So over the next few weeks I'll be in the market for a new one. Without getting wrapped up in laptop hardware specifications, I'd like to get y'alls opinions on the current state of laptop brands - which brands do you favor, and why? Which brands would you avoid like the plague, and why?

Thanks.

[Krom]

My Asus has done pretty well, considering it had one of nvidia's defective GPUs when I first got it, but they replaced it for free when it failed (after warranty even).

[CDN_Merlin]

I like HP. Wife has one and it's lasted a long time.

[AceCombat]

id have to say Asus or HP

[Krom]

According to a warranty insurance company, HP laptops fail the most out of all other brands by a considerable margin. Of course this information was released 2 or 3 years ago and HP could have made an effort to correct that deficiency in newer models.

And statistically speaking, nearly half of all laptops are dead by the time they turn 3 years old.

[Jeff250]

I like Dell, since they don't BIOS-restrict you into buying upgrades from them or do ★■◆● like solder the CPU into the motherboard. On this ~4 year old laptop, I've upgraded the wireless to n, upgraded the CPU, and replaced the rotational media with solid state. It came with Ubuntu too, which was nice for me.

[AceCombat]

ive yet to have a HP restrict me on BIOS level for parts and upgrades

[snoopy]

We got a refurbished ASUS recently I like it a lot more than the previous one.

I'm generally a big fan of ASUS hardware... half of my desktop is ASUS and I've never really had a problem with any of it.

[Jeff250]

ive yet to have a HP restrict me on BIOS level for parts and upgrades

It's usually for hardware like wireless where they want to sell you some generic Broadcom chipset with some huge "HP sticker" markup. I don't know what proportion of HP laptops are restricted like this or how it's trended with time, but there's a significant number out there.

[AceCombat]

i guess ive been using the right parts then, ive never had anything with hardware give me a hard time with restrictions

[dissent]

What about crapware with any of brands. In the past I've been wary of this especially with Dell and HP.

Does anybody just give you a Windows OS disk anymore, or is everyone doing the branded recovery/reinstall disk thing? Is this even a problem if the OS dies and you need to use the disk for recovery/reinstall?

[Foil]

The only time I've ever purchased a PC that didn't come without proprietary crapware was a cheap netbook I got through a "Microsoft Signature" deal, where the initial install has no trialware/crapware.

Otherwise, immediately reinstalling the OS yourself is your best bet, assuming you get (or can acquire) the install disk.

[Thenior]

You get what you pay for too.

I always tell people, pay $300 for laptop and you'll hate it in a year. Pay $600, you'll hate it in 3 years.

I have two employees running Lenovos, and one running an Asus. Both having been more stable than the HP predessors they replaced. I had to replace one HP motherboard twice within a 3 year timespan.

[Top Gun]

My brother seems pretty happy with his new Lenovo, but even his 5-year-old Dell is still chugging.

[Sergeant Thorne]

I have a Dell that I'm very happy with, going on... 3 years now? My opinion is it's a premium price for what you get, but it is a good computer. The build quality seemed more solid than HP, IMO. Whatever you get, angle for a solid-state HD. I've never been sorry I dropped the extra money on it. Less noise, less heat, less power consumption, and it's FAST! The backlit keyboard comes in handy in low light, so I would recommend that if you have the option.

I have ruined at least one battery by allowing the computer to overheat while gaming for a long stretch. I don't know if that's a common concern or a bad design on Dell's part *shrug*.

[AceCombat]

i was given a E6500 with a M6600 board in it and a C2Q CPU, i bumped the mem to 4GB, and loaded a 320 GB HDD with Win7 64Bit Pro. it has the NVidia chipset and its wonderful...... how did i get it, had a broken screen and the person didnt want it anymore since they got a new lappy to replace it. soo i popped about 100$ for the LED version of the screen and a backlit keyboard, and i love this thing

[Ryujin]

I'm a fan of my Lenovo. They are pretty tough and reliable. As with others, it did come with a lot of bloat so I recommend a clean install if you can get a disc. I think my next purchase will be a tablet hybrid of some sort. Lenovo's got some potential in this space.

[Aggressor Prime]

I was looking for a high end gaming machine in my laptop that didn't break my budget. My Clevo/Sager fit my needs. They have a variety of price points from $640 and up on XoticPC. Useful to compare with Dell specs to get the best bang for your buck.

My particular model, Clevo P150EM, is very enthusiast friendly: separate fans for GPU and CPU that are powerful enough to keep processors cool and smart enough to keep noise at a minimum. Easy to take apart and upgrade all of its components. You can even buy it without an OS if you already have a key. Also, it has a fingerprint reader like Thinkpads.

If you get a Lenovo, make sure it is a Thinkpad. Their consumer ones are of much less quality (like a screen that wobbles or overheating).

[BUBBALOU]

You can get a replacement disc for reinstalls, or better yet use the backup disc utility each oem system comes with. This utility uses the recovery partition to make a dual-layer DVD, or 2 DVDs, or 12 CDs to reinstall the OS

Once you make the recovery disk set, use whatever OS you want or continue to use the one currently installed, just remove the oem craplets before you invest any more time in it.

HP, Lenovo , Asus are decent choices ($500+ versions)

Look for i5 or i7 but stay away from intel HD integrated graphics if you can

[dissent]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'm leaning slightly away from Dell or HP at this point, but I may yet be swayed.

I expect to be somewhere around the $500-$600 price point, with Win 7 as the OS.

HP, Lenovo , Asus are decent choices ($500+ versions)

Look for i5 or i7 but stay away from intel HD integrated graphics if you can

I'm curious, Bubba. Why stay away from Intel integrated graphics? My needs are rather modest for a laptop - interweb use, Office apps, probably use for photo backup for my Nikons while traveling, maybe some very low processor intensive gaming for an occasional brain vacation.

[Krom]

Intel HD is fine if you aren't planning on gaming, but if you were planning on gaming then a Radeon or Geforce would be required.

[fliptw]

the i7 and i5 come with integrated graphics, the downside it uses system ram rather than dedicated video ram. the HD4000 is a perfectly reasonable piece of DX9 hardware, and it has open source drivers.

If you want to crysis, you need a laptop with a dedicated video card.

[Bruce_4]

For me Apple was and is among top laptop brands if budget isn’t any constraint. Else you can go with Dell or Toshiba. I have used Toshiba and found it quite good and bang for the buck.