New laptop - what makes to avoid?

Glitzkiss

Hi all,

I'll be buying a new laptop in the next few days and, having been burned by HP previously, would like to know who's currently got a rep for making sub-standard machines. So what make(s) would you avoid and only recommend to your arch enemy?

Thanks

C_Mababejive

Avoid Apple..as for the others,well most are made in the same big factory in Taiwan and rebadged anyway. Stick with Tosh and HP and you wont go far wrong.

DCFC79

Id avoid acer, should have gone for a tosh or a HP but i know for future

cubegame

It really depends how much you spend. All manufacturers seem to rebadge cheap rubbish for their low end machines but the stuff they make themselves (at the top end) is solid.

I'd just personally avoid any machine made out of shiny plastic or with the word Dell on it.

robmar0se

Avoid Advent, Pachard Bell, cheap Acers are less reliable. Sony's, Samsungs and Lenovo's are most reliable PCs. Tosh, HP & Dell are all in the middle, but generally you get what you pay for, even the cheap HPs, Tosh's can at times be less reliable.

But everyone has their own experiences - often relate stories to clients about Renaults and RR, 62% of the former swear by them, conversely 2% of the latter say they're going downhill.

So take the advice with a pinch of salt.

Mista_C

The most common brands are usually made by Quanta or Compal and rebadged by the various familiar company names such as Acer, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Toshiba, etc. Quanta also manufactured the early Apple Macbooks but I think that is no longer the case.

I get asked this question a lot but you can't really judge a laptop based on the brand, you need to look at the specs and the component manufacturers as well as ventilation and cooling to really get an idea of what you're buying.

Treat buying a laptop as you would anything else, put together a checklist of your requirements, look at common faults not only for a particular laptop but in general, things like fan intake positioning, etc. read customer reviews, pop into one of the larger chains, even if you're not buying from them, and have a play on the display models. Open several applications and see how it handles multi-tasking and so on.

ETA: Something I thought about afterwards. Take a look at the accessibility of compnents such as hard drive, RAM, CPU and HSF (Heat Sink/Fan). Ideally you want something easily accessible, usually with screw panels, that allow simple upgrades and maintenance. Some laptops are a nightmare even for us tech-heads to upgrade and maintain and the easier it is to access components the less time it takes to sort out, the less you end up paying in labour. The best case scenario is everything is accessible via panels and most things can be done by anyone with a screwdriver and the ability to post a question on here or other forum tech sections.

bengalknights

Personally Acer and Toshiba tend to provide most for money and also medion (Now lenovo).

Other than those the rest tend to be good spec and as Mista states most are made at same factory.

Gratis

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Avoid Apple..

Why?

Read this.

Figment

Notmyrealname

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Avoid Apple..

There speaks someone who has never owned one or if they have, have never been inside it.

The cheapest sub £350 Toshibas are truly dire. They even use thinner plastics than the more expensive ones and you can feel the palmrests flex as you lay your hands on them.

Glitzkiss

Gratis wrote: »

Why?

Read this.

I know apple vs microsoft is a heatedly debated topic but could I respectfully ask you don't do it in this thread. I have notifications switched on and don't wish to get hundreds of emails just because this has turned into an argument instead of the original intent.

Thanks