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Miscellaneous laptop discussions : Best Laptop Brand?
Best Laptop Brand?
by bsheepsquadron - 8/6/06 8:41 PMI'm in search for a new laptop, so I just wanted to be pointed in the right direction for the requirements I have. The title of the thread was to get you in here. Sorry.
Here is what I need in order of preference:
1. Reliability
2. Battery Life/Heat Issues
3. DVD writable drive
4. Performance/Screen (a non-integrated graphics processor not important to me)
5. Everything Else (HD size, memory, sound, etc)
I don't really play games on the computer anymore so a dedicated video card is not necessary but I'll play a game like civilization now and again. I like good battery life. I don't do any video editing or much photo editing. I need a dvd recorder to back up my vast dvd collection. I like a nice screen (15.4" is about perfect). Other than that I surf the net and use business apps which any computer can handle nowadays.
Here are my impressions of brands, please correct me if my impressions are bogus.
Dell: What I have now. I have an Inspiron that has lasted three years. I just lost the lan card. I did have serious issues with heat PIII with 64mb video card. Got so hot it could burn my legs, had to get a cooling fan pad after first year. Surprisingly the HD held up but the battery was useless after a year.
But my brother got an xps and it just sucks and his experience with customer service has been hell. Thus, my impression is Dell has decent business laptops, but shy away from gaming, which isn't what i'm into anyway. However, if I do have issue, Dell tech support is now hell. Went from best to worst in past few years.
Toshiba: Only heard good things about this laptop from friends. Girlfriend has a satellite that is 2 1/2 years old and still runs perfectly and still has about 3 hours of battery life.
Older bro had an older version that lasted three years.
My impression, this is a good reliable laptop and is what I'm leaning toward. I may wait for Merom processor for the battery life.
HP: Don't know much about them. From what I heard a few years ago was they were unreliable. Since this is my number one concern this frightens me.
However, I think they have become more reliable. Would like info on this. I like the fact that I have AMD option and price factor with this laptop. But is it reliable?
Sony: I hear pretty reliable, good performer, but expensive.
IBM/Lenovo: Very reliable and stable, but pay a large premium for it.
Fujitsu: Another premium computer but have no idea about this brand.
Any recommendations?
"Best"
by R. Proffitt
- 8/6/06 9:12 PM
In reply to: Best Laptop Brand? by bsheepsquadron
The Panasonic Toughbook certainly fills the bill here. These are the tanks of the laptop fleet. When someone needs something above average on reliability, we get this one.
Bob
Tough books are great machines, I just toured the
by togus - 8/8/06 5:50 AM In reply to: "Best" by R. Proffitt
U.S.S. Wasp and took note that Tough books are the choice of the U.S. Navy for their use, what usage could be more demanding? I like Fujitsu as well, but for a bulletproof machine the Panasonic has to win hands down.
Business notebooks
by samkh - 8/7/06 5:54 PM In reply to: Best Laptop Brand? by bsheepsquadronBusiness notebooks (Toughbook, Thinkpad, Latitude, HP Compaq, Tecra, Travelmate, etc) always have an edge in reliability and usability over consumer products, no matter which brand. Which is too bad because it means you'll have to shop online. One or two Thinkpads might be displayed at Office Depot but that's it!
Not surprised your P3 ran hot, mine did too, but Duo & Turion won't disappoint you. Quieter fans too.
Thinkpad is the best
by mark113 - 8/8/06 12:51 AM In reply to: Best Laptop Brand? by bsheepsquadronsince reliablity is your number 1 concern getting a thinkpad/lenovo laptop is the way to go. My dad works for IBM and ever since i could remember we both have only owned thinkpads. Each thinkpad he's owned has lasted over 6 years (in nearly perfect condition, because he mostly uses it for work) and the laptop i got for high school has lasted all 4 years in great condition (although i've had to send it back to IBM for repair a few times) ...but unlike Dell, IBM's customer service is exceptional, sending your laptop back to them is no problem at all and most of the time you get it back in 1-2 days (after you shipped it!) Since you won't be doing much if any gaming on your laptop, Thinkpad is definetly the way to go. And despite what people think even Thinkpads can handle a few gaming apps heavy in the graphics department. You can't lose with a Thinkpad.
Thanks
by bsheepsquadron - 8/8/06 12:49 PM In reply to: Best Laptop Brand? by bsheepsquadronThanks for the input. I do appreciate it. My girlfriend said my thread was way too long and I wouldn't get a response... she loses the bet! (I won't tell you my prize).
If there are any more responses, I'm still interested in hearing comments.
Here are some goods and bads of brands that make laptops
by roawoo - 8/9/06 1:49 PM In reply to: Best Laptop Brand? by bsheepsquadronSony - Good Performance and Design, but pretty expensive and noisy
Fujitsu - Bit expensive, made with cheap materials compared to their price, runs warn and noisy but their laptops are light and pretty good performance
Dell - Good price and performance, but mediocre design, heavy, and few incidents of their battery exploding and injuring people...
Toshiba - Their Portege and Tecra models are very expensive and not worth the money(But Satelite models are cheap), runs very hot and bad customer service
Asus - Good performance, leading technology(Since they are the first ones to apply Duo Core to Ultraportable notebooks), good designs(Always seem to win Germany's Red Dot Design awards), but expensive and made out of cheap material compared to their expensive price
IBM/Levono - Mediocre design (Personally they have the worst designs), Strongly built, good price, pretty good performance, however, bad graphic quality and their ultraportables are very thick and tubby
Toughbook - Strongly built, good performance, but too expensive
Acer - Good price and performance, but built poorly and they dont answer the phone
LG(Canada)- Really good design, good performance, runs cool and quiet, but pricy and not known very well
HP - Mediocre design, not bad, good performance but their technology is a bit behind, business models are bit pricy
Compaq - Good price, nicely built, but runs pretty hot and heavy
Averatec - Cheap price, but not a reliable company and sometimes ships defective models. Their laptops do not last for a long time
I think that was enough...
The best brand depends on what you desire
If you want quiet and cool running laptop, go with Asus, LG, HP business models, or levono.
If you demand a laptop that can play newest games but still ultraportable, go with Sony, Asus, Dell and so on...If just weight is ur highest demand, go with Fujitsu or Sony
Oh and some add ons
by roawoo - 8/9/06 1:55 PM In reply to: Here are some goods and bads of brands that make laptops by roawooI want to know what your budget is...
And Sony in US is not reliable, they are built poorly.
If you want Sony, find pre-built models that are made in Japan, do not configure your own because then you will get a poorly built laptop.
And the company that makes the best screen is Toshiba, but not Satelite models.
If you want sub 1500 dollar laptop, go with Compaq, since it is going to be 15.4 inch, cuz some heat wont matter that much
My Price
by bsheepsquadron - 8/9/06 7:39 PM In reply to: Oh and some add ons by roawooThanks for the info.
My budget is sub-$1500. I no longer need a desktop replacement. Just something with a good battery life (both hours per charge and ability to hold a charge over the years), reliable parts, and a dvd burner, plus a 1 gig memory.
A top-notch screen and independent graphics card are no longer essential for me.
I'm leaning towards a toshiba right now. My girlfriend does have a satellite M35-S456. It is about 2 1/2 years old and she has had no problems with it and the battery still holds a 3 hour charge. My older bro had an even earlier version and he thought it was very reliable as well.
There is just so much out there now, it is kind of daunting and I haven't kept up in computing for the past three years.
So do I buy an AMD or Core Duo... which core duo, do I wait for the Merom? It's enough to drive you crazy. However, I do like the cooler running processors that have good battery life.
You dont have to wait for Merom
by roawoo - 8/10/06 2:00 PM In reply to: My Price by bsheepsquadronIts gonna be expensive at first anyways, and that doesnt mean the price of Duo Core will go down...It will take a while...And if you want cool running laptop, Toshiba's not the one, but it is your choice. I guess Toshiba made better earlier days since they are the inventors of notebooks. Now their notebook runs pretty hot and do not expect a long battery life.
I have been using HP Business model and it is very reliable. Their batteris last really long, they now advertise a laptop that has a battery that lasts more than 13 hours(16hours which they advertise is a bit of exaggeration). Best of all they run cool and quiet.
My nc6230 (which is now like 1200 dollars in Newegg)is satisfying. Maybe not in design, but it works
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