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Gumby
Fishnologist


Registered: 06/13/01
Posts: 26,656
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Best brand of laptop?
#14116768 - 03/13/11 10:05 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quick and easy question: which brand of laptops would you say is the best?
Want the long version? Sure, here ya go: Dad's looking for a full size laptop to use for home to do financial work and general internet shit while sitting on the couch. I used to do laptop service as a jerb, but I've been out of the game for years, so I'm not up to date on which company makes the most durable laptops.
Here are brands I'm considering:
Acer (HD failed on my netbook, not a good sign) Dell (havent heard much bad about them HP (full of bloatware, but work) Toshiba (shit in my experience, all have DC-in or screen hinge problems eventually) Lenovo/IBM (I've heard they went to shit) MSI (no clue)
He's looking to spend no more than $550, so back off macfags. He also doesn't know anything but Windows, so something preloaded with Linux wouldn't work (can't install winders for him because I live 900 miles away).
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frith
God

Registered: 10/27/09
Posts: 7,512
Loc: Philadelphia, PA
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: Gumby]
#14117114 - 03/13/11 11:11 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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I personally have a hard time buying anything but ThinkPads anymore. they are fantastic.
they generally cost a little more than similarly spec'ed machines and (depending on the model) can be a little more bulky. However, they are built like brick shithouses. super solid.
I believe I type a LOT more than the average person.. these keyboards definitely hold up the best under heavy use and they feel amazing too.
Support is amazing too. I had a sticky keyboard key a few years ago and I called up to get a new keyboard. They asked me if I could install it myself. I said yes. They shipped it with instructions and let me do it myself.. no "authorized repair depot" or shipping nonsense. I also made that call at 7pm.. I had a new keyboard by 9:30am the next day. They charged me nothing.
The ThinkPad x120e has been getting fantastic reviews. If you want something larger than an 11.6" display the Edge is a good all-purpose machine that falls in your price range.
I bought an Acer recently but I'm not too crazy about it. The only reason I got it was because I needed another machine ASAP and the only ThinkPad at that size (11.6") at the time was the x100e. The battery life on that machine is horrible.. like 3 hours at best. So I skipped it.
I've got an Acer if you want to buy that 
I personally love ThinkPads.. I have never owned one of the lower-end Lenovo machines though. Like the IdeaPads or whatever. I can't speak to their quality.
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CosmicJoke
happy mutant



Registered: 04/05/00
Posts: 10,848
Loc: Portland, OR
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: frith]
#14117388 - 03/14/11 12:00 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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you see the x220? shipping in april i believe ...w/ the extra extended snap on battery is supposed to get 24hrs... looks like a phenomenal machine, though pricey i'm sure.
-------------------- Everything is better than it was the last time. I'm good. If we could look into each others hearts, and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care. It takes a lot of courage to go out there and radiate your essence. I know you scared, you should ask us if we scared too. If you was there, and we just knew you cared too.
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frith
God

Registered: 10/27/09
Posts: 7,512
Loc: Philadelphia, PA
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: CosmicJoke]
#14117953 - 03/14/11 02:30 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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oh yeah.. i heard 

haha
i was thinking of machines available right now though. dont know how long Gumby's dad wants to wait..
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,672
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: frith]
#14118156 - 03/14/11 05:15 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
frith said: I personally have a hard time buying anything but ThinkPads anymore. they are fantastic.
I'm inclined to agree. Hard drives in any type of laptop tend to fail at some point, so this happens in the Lenovos as well, but generally, they appear to exhibit very little problems over long periods of time.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: frith]
#14118170 - 03/14/11 05:31 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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> I personally have a hard time buying anything but ThinkPads anymore. they are fantastic.
Assuming you are in the PC world, I also agree with the above..
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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DieCommie

Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: Gumby]
#14118292 - 03/14/11 07:18 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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I love my thinkpad, and would also have a hard time buying something else. That said, a thinkpad may be more computer than your dad needs and with a budget of $550 its probably out of his range.
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frith
God

Registered: 10/27/09
Posts: 7,512
Loc: Philadelphia, PA
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: DieCommie]
#14119036 - 03/14/11 11:59 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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i dont think ive ever seen everyone agree on something so unanimously on the S&T board before. haha
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Madtowntripper
Sun-Beams out of Cucumbers



Registered: 03/06/03
Posts: 21,287
Loc: The Ocean of Notions
Last seen: 5 months, 24 days
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: Gumby]
#14119082 - 03/14/11 12:09 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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I bought my girlfriend an Acer Aspire laptop for Christmas.
Obviously, she hasn't had it very long, but she is extremely happy with it.
I sprung a bit for a Radeon HD Graphics set-up, because she does a bunch of gaming.
But the screen is gorgeous, it's pretty super-fast, and it's more or less idiot (girl) proof.
We'll see how well it holds up, and I was a bit apprehensive about buying it based on the companies reputation for cheap hardware, but it's really been a superb experience so far.
I would recommend it.
-------------------- After one comes, through contact with it's administrators, no longer to cherish greatly the law as a remedy in abuses, then the bottle becomes a sovereign means of direct action. If you cannot throw it at least you can always drink out of it. - Ernest Hemingway If it is life that you feel you are missing I can tell you where to find it. In the law courts, in business, in government. There is nothing occurring in the streets. Nothing but a dumbshow composed of the helpless and the impotent. -Cormac MacCarthy He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,672
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: frith]
#14120118 - 03/14/11 04:05 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
frith said: i dont think ive ever seen everyone agree on something so unanimously on the S&T board before. haha
Yes. Truth be told, I think many if not most brands are capable of delivering hardware that is much more reliable than a decade ago, when laptops invariably meant less than 1-year usable lifespans. But Lenovo is pretty much the only one of those brands which has an actual reputation to keep up. Which is a miracle in itself (and smart marketing!), because they miraculously transferred IBM's reputation to the new brand.
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Treefeeler
Skill Collector


Registered: 02/13/11
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: koraks]
#14120189 - 03/14/11 04:23 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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No mention of Sony Vaio's? I went from Dell, to Acer to (currently) Sony; and I've been by far the happiest with my Vaio.
Dell was a handmedown, so something less then the piece of my dreams. Liked Acer's power and price ratio, but the case was a little flimsy. Sony Vaio packs a very sturdy case, great performance and if you can surf tigerdirect/newegg for long enough a quality $550 Sony machine will def. appear.
I'm not necessarily a mac hater (as I think they have a place with some people), but I don't know why people take pride in a machine that's basically functions as a "Dumbasses" computer. That's why I've come to enjoy Windows, its friendly for those interested in tweaking without running through miles of code.
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With the exception of grammatical corrections, everything I say is completely false and without foundation.
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CaMo
Stranger
Registered: 05/21/06
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: Treefeeler]
#14123273 - 03/15/11 01:07 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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+1 for Vaio. Although They are full of bloatware. Just reformatted mine and went thru the process of wiping all the unnecessary shit off. Saves some of the memory and hdd space. Other than that it performs far better than expected.
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JT


Registered: 02/28/07
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Loc: athens
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: CaMo]
#14123750 - 03/15/11 05:18 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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HP is a pretty good value. Well built and you get more power for your money compared to dell/toshiba/sony. You're right about the bloatware though...gotta format it when you get it.
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,672
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: JT]
#14123927 - 03/15/11 07:20 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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I have very bad experiences with Vaio's. Nice looking machines, but as soon as something fucks up, after sales support used to be crappy and spare parts _extremely_ expensive.
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kadakuda
The Great"Green".......East



Registered: 05/21/04
Posts: 7,048
Loc: Asia
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: koraks]
#14136599 - 03/17/11 12:41 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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i have had great experience with hp pc's, never had a laptop though. i am still using an hp right now that i got 10 years ago...can still do many games, including GTA IV on it lol.
im an no tech wiz, but i like my asus laptop. i have an eeepc i use for traveling...that thing has been with me all over SE Asia in my backpack. its not super tough, but fairly tough. its been boat cruising through micronesia, jungle trekking all over and mountain climbing. thing has done very well, but i broke the monitor last trip. the edges around the monitor are kind of lame.
but if your dad is liek my dad...a laptop that has big keyboard, big monitor, no pop up BS, easy to use with few gimmicks...and solitaire...then its good to go.
-------------------- The seeds you won't sow are the plants you dont grow.
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Shroomism
Space Travellin



Registered: 02/13/00
Posts: 66,015
Loc: 9th Dimension
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: Gumby]
#14136667 - 03/17/11 12:58 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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+1 for Toshiba
~5 years I have had this X205 SLI3, still kicking and still playing games at high resolutions.
I've gotten way more use out of that laptop than I paid for it. Abused the fuck out of that thing and still screams. It's been through 4 upgrades and 5 Operating Systems.
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yutaka

Registered: 06/12/10
Posts: 544
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: Seuss]
#14147531 - 03/19/11 09:05 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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ThinkPad all the way. $550 won't get you a thinkpad though. I feel as if the laptop market has been spotty here lately. Definitely read lots of reviews, some models / revisions have specific issues that can be pretty bad aka GPU getting too hot and the solder reflowing.
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frith
God

Registered: 10/27/09
Posts: 7,512
Loc: Philadelphia, PA
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: yutaka]
#14147918 - 03/19/11 10:59 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
yutaka said: $550 won't get you a thinkpad though.
You can!
The ThinkPad Edge is marked waaay down right now cause they need to clear some space for the new SandyBridge models.
$519 for either a 14" or 15" Edge. marked down from $994!
you could go cheaper than that if you wanted AMD but youd probably take a hit on battery life.
im actually typing this on my brand new x120e! haha.. i sold the Acer i mentioned above and got this. its amazing so far.. it is a ThinkPad afterall
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Colorado_Cubensis
Stranger


Registered: 03/11/11
Posts: 53
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: frith]
#14149230 - 03/19/11 04:06 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Toshiba's are excellent machines, fairly tough, very good performance, no real price complaints either.
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yutaka

Registered: 06/12/10
Posts: 544
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Linux support isn't that great on Toshiba's, isn't that right?
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,672
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: yutaka]
#14152370 - 03/20/11 04:47 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Linux support is more closely correlated with the actual components used than the brand of laptop.
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CosmicJoke
happy mutant



Registered: 04/05/00
Posts: 10,848
Loc: Portland, OR
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: koraks]
#14152418 - 03/20/11 05:35 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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i've generally been pleased with intel components (particularly wireless card and gpu) with linux, though it's worth looking up a hardware compatibility list for the OS before buying.
-------------------- Everything is better than it was the last time. I'm good. If we could look into each others hearts, and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care. It takes a lot of courage to go out there and radiate your essence. I know you scared, you should ask us if we scared too. If you was there, and we just knew you cared too.
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frith
God

Registered: 10/27/09
Posts: 7,512
Loc: Philadelphia, PA
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: yutaka]
#14153037 - 03/20/11 10:17 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
yutaka said: Linux support isn't that great on Toshiba's, isn't that right?
i would generally have that same complaint but this is for Gumby's dad who has no intention of ever running linux.
it really doesnt matter in this situation.
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57-71
Stranger


Registered: 10/03/09
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Loc: Canada
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: yutaka]
#14155262 - 03/20/11 06:21 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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ASUS is a very reliable computer. They make the largest percentage of the motherboards produced.
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yutaka

Registered: 06/12/10
Posts: 544
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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: koraks]
#14157582 - 03/21/11 01:48 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Right.
I thought it has been the case in the past that the components Toshiba uses aren't typically supported by linux.
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Viveka
refutation bias


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Re: Best brand of laptop? [Re: 57-71]
#14168010 - 03/23/11 01:08 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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2nd vote for ASUS. When I was shopping around for a laptop a year or two back they had the best value going for sure and I really liked my laptop(until it was stolen out of my place a few months later). My best friend has an ASUS and swears by it and the same with another friend. Check out ASUS. If I recall, they also have an 800 number you can call and bullshit with their people about what's good for you free of charge.
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