Looking for opinions on laptops

[Mayhem]

I have two Inspiron 1541s, both of the which developed issues with charging. I took the laptops apart and replaced the daughterboard that contains the LAN port, charger port and two of the three USB ports.

One of them has gone back to having intermittent charging issues and both of them now have problems with the integrated touchpad or mouse buttons.

Rather than fumble around with replacing the motherboards, I'm giving up. And rather than buy more Dells, I'm looking for opinions on other laptops.

I'm only looking for PCs - I'm not interested in any Apple products.

What do you own or have you owned and recommend? Are there any that y'all suggest avoiding?

Thanks.

 

[lunatic59]

I think I've owned most of the major brands so I'll give a short list of my impressions.

Dell: Their consumer line is low end and the support is awful. If you buy Dell, buy the small business/corporate products. They may be a bit dull but they are sturdy, functional and support on the business side is exponentially better.

Sony: They over complicate things both with hardware and all the bloat they like throwing on. When they work, they are nice machines, but service is horrible and nothing is standard. Plus, they tend to be pricey.

Toshiba: Had a bad experience with them and it left a bad taste in my mouth, even though the laptop that they ultimately repaired is still running great.

HP: They feel cheap. They do work, but I don't think they hold up well under heavy use. You can get some very good deals on HP laptops if you look.

Asus: Good mid-line machine. Nothing outstanding, but nothing to be too worried about.

Acer: (current daily driver) Hmmm. I have a love hate relationship with this machine. It has it's problems but the features that I was looking for, namely thin profile, light weight and long battery life continue to keep me using this as my everyday laptop even after three years. Currently dual boot Ubuntu 12.10 and Windows 7 pro.

IBM/Lenovo: Haven't had one of these in years. Don't know the current crop.

Samsung: Never owned one.

Apple: Yeah, right.


I don't usually buy brand, but look for form and features that fit my needs. All things considered, and given the current offerings, I'd buy another Acer (looking at an ultrabook right now with an SSD, but the battery life reviews are disappointing.)

 

[Mayhem]

I agree with you on the HPs. One was forced upon me at work (for disaster recovery) and it feels incredibly cheap.

I bought Dell initially as I'd worked there as a hardware tester in a past life and had experience disassembling their laptops. That, and they're inexpensive.

I'd actually been looking towards Asus and Samsung. Too bad NEC doesn't make laptops anymore. I had 15 of them in '99/'00 and had zero problems with them.

Thanks for the information.

 

[SUroot]

Dell: Their consumer line is low end and the support is awful. If you buy Dell, buy the small business/corporate products. They may be a bit dull but they are sturdy, functional and support on the business side is exponentially better.

Couple of comments here.

1) I agree, I always go for refurbished or slightly used Latitude (Dell Enterprise level) laptops. Just for the sturdyness. Obviously I dont get the support though.

2) Inspirons usually are of a much lower quality than the latitudes

3) Dell are quite often offering NBD Support on their inspirons now. 2 of the IT guys at work have raised faults with Dell on inspirons, the engineer came to work to repair them and it was the same engineer who was also doing our enterprise laptops, so Dell support for consumer can be good, if they're offering Next Business day.

4) Dell pro support is the best I have experienced at enterprise level.


I would always recommend a latitude if you can afford it. The E6x30 range is far from Dull IMHO. I think they're really nice.

 

[Davdi]

I'd steer clear of Packard-Bell too. My daughter has had one for a few moths now, and the touchpad has died. Personally I'd be pleased as I prefer a mouse any day, but she's having a hissy fit as she REALLY likes a touchpad.

 

[SUroot]

They still make those?

 

[MoodyBlues]

HP: They feel cheap. They do work, but I don't think they hold up well under heavy use.

I agree with you on the HPs. One was forced upon me at work (for disaster recovery) and it feels incredibly cheap.

Wow. I couldn't disagree MORE. I specifically look for HP whenever I buy another laptop. I've had nothing but EXCELLENT experiences with them. I've owned laptops from several major brands, but I've stuck with HP exclusively now for 10+ years. Cheap? No. Not at all. They look great, they feel great, they work great. Of course mine are immediately purged of window$ and replaced with Linux, so that may be part of why mine work so well.

I'm typing this on my newest HP laptop, a dv7t, running Kubuntu Linux; it's as fast as lightning and hasn't had a single issue in its 1-1/2 years. I resurrected my older laptop, a dv6000, 1-1/2 years ago [after its hard drive died] by installing Bodhi Linux on it; it's 6+ years old and runs as fast as you can imagine. Again, no problems with it whatsoever, unless you include its hard drive dying--but I don't, because hard drives die, regardless of the computer they're in.

 

[lunatic59]

Is HP still selling the "Compaq" brand. I would still see them at Walmart or Office Depot every now and then.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Is HP still selling the "Compaq" brand. I would still see them at Walmart or Office Depot every now and then.

Yes, as far as I know, they're still selling Compaq-branded products. However, I've never had a laptop that was branded Compaq, only HP.

BTW, all of my computers are HP/Compaq; some of my desktops are branded HP and some Compaq, but they all work great.

 

[Mayhem]

I'd steer clear of Packard-Bell too.

Yeah, that's a given. I consider them the Yugo of computers. I wouldn't own one if someone gave it to me.

 

[lunatic59]

I wouldn't own one if someone gave it to me.

Actually, you would

 

[Mayhem]

No, actually I wouldn't. That, or anything from Linksys. I have standards.

 

[AntimonyER]

I think he's saying that you would by definition be the owner of a laptop that someone gave to you. At least till you have it away again or trashed it

I'm thinking ASUS myself, but we'll see.

 

[lunatic59]

I think he's saying that you would by definition be the owner of a laptop that someone gave to you. At least till you have it away again or trashed it

Exactly, although i was thinking more along the lines of skeet.

 

[mikedt]

I'd steer clear of Packard-Bell too. My daughter has had one for a few moths now, and the touchpad has died. Personally I'd be pleased as I prefer a mouse any day, but she's having a hissy fit as she REALLY likes a touchpad.

Packard Bells always were cheap and could be quite horrible, even 20 years ago. I bought a cheap PB laptop sometime in 2007, and it really did feel cheap. Only lasted 18 months. First the USB ports packed-in, then the hinges, then it basically just fell apart rather rapidly.

HP Pavillions always felt rather cheap and ephemeral to me as well. Probably their high-end business class laptops are OK though.

Myself, I'd recommend Lenovo. Most people here have them. They rarely seem to give hardware problems. They always seem to be solid and well made, and many of them go on working for years. "No one ever got fired for buying Lenovo”, that's how the saying goes isn't it? Lenovo Thinkpads really are solid, and they used to be IBM. About four months ago I did buy a new Lenovo, it was only a cheap Ideapad for running Linux on. But I'm actually surprised by the quality, and I do expect it to last a long time. I'm using it now, it goes to work with me and I use it for teaching.

 

[nickdalzell]

HP and Compaq (more like Crappaq) are the same since the merger. I won't own one if you paid me. However I've had nothing but good luck from Toshiba, cheap or high-end both seem well made. My current laptop is a Toshiba. I started with a P-166 MMX Satellite Pro, then a Windows ME Satellite. Now on my third which shipped with Windows 8 now on Ununtu 12.10. Acers seem to have things die one at a time, like a few keys on the keyboard died and then the entire thing packed in.

I thought Packard Bell went belly up long ago? Last time they had them here was back in the Pentium 100MHz days.

I had a Samsung which never made it a year. It felt and looked cheap, first the keyboard wore so fast the keys were all black (no letter labels) then the hard disk decided to quit. All I did was put Linux on it. First hard drive I had fail since an old Conner 430MB drive years ago.

 

[Frisco]

HP M7.. best I've had for under $800.

Tossed Windows for Linux (Netrunner)..Zzzzooom!

 

[mikedt]

I thought Packard Bell went belly up long ago? Last time they had them here was back in the Pentium 100MHz days.

I'm sure the original Packard Bell company went belly up long ago, I believe they used to make speaker systems for movie theatres or something. The brand has probably gone through many changes of ownership. It's Acer now as one of their budget lines. Packard Bell branded PCs always were cheap and crap. It's one of those once noble American brands that refuses to die, like RCA or Magnavox.

 

[Speed Daemon]

I'm sure the original Packard Bell company went belly up long ago, I believe they used to make speaker systems for movie theatres or something. The brand has probably gone through many changes of ownership. It's Acer now as one of their budget lines. Packard Bell branded PCs always were cheap and crap. It's one of those once noble American brands that refuses to die, like RCA or Magnavox.

If they had made theatrical loudspeakers, I'd know the name and I don't. Wikipedia claims that the name was used in the US since 1926 as a brand of radios, but I've never seen a Packard Bell radio either, and that's a kind of hobby of mine.

Wikipedia claims that the brand was purchased from Teledyne (of Water Pik

 

[SUroot]

I've never owned a HP / Compaq myself. I looked at one for a user personally. It was dark red and had a funny texture on the track pad. It had a shiny screen. It did look and feel slightly cheap to be honest. I couldn't talk about reliability.

I have owned a Toshiba though. It was an insurance replacement for my inspiring which was stolen. It was the same spec as the dell (on paper) but was cheaper components (that's insurance for ya. 2ghz dual core is not always equal to 2ghz dual core).

Most of my complaints were that it was a mismatch, but it was a far cheaper model (satellite pro L300-299) but my main complaint was the finish. Looked and felt really cheap. I felt tainted by using it compared to my Dell.

Anyway this was 2009. Still got it (although not using it myself) and still going strong. What appears to be a cheap and flimsy chassis has proved otherwise and it has not had 1 single hardware failure.

 

[pmb116]

The answer is Lenovo

 

[SiempreTuna]

OP's not going to want to hear this, but after trying half a dozen or more brands, I wound up buying Dell for the last 14 years. They've done fine for me. My last laptop lasted 7 years before the HD start to die.

I'm convinced that a lot of the difference in people's experience comes down to how and where they use the kit: I know people who can destroy anything in a fortnight and others for whom everything seems to keep going forever.

 

[SUroot]

I only buy Dells too but where possible, recommend Latitudes

 

[Mayhem]

Well, the laptop I'm going to replace is my wife's so I guess ultimately its up to her which one I buy. I've got a Dell N7110 that's given me zero issues (so far) and am pretty happy with it. Given the fact that both of the 1541s crapped out around the same time, I'm kinda leery of Dell at the moment though.

The other 1541 belongs to my kids but I think I'm just going to replace that with a desktop, steal the HDD for an external enclosure and sell the rest of it on craigslist.

 

[nickdalzell]

i had a Dell Latitude CPi once, and then a D610. both have quirks. the CPi had two motherboards and one LCD failure, but given how it was obsolete at the time i used it, parts were super-cheap on eBay. the D610 works but like the others, including the CPi, the batteries have a self-determined lifespan, of about a year or 300 cycles, whichever comes first. i am not a fan of planned-obsolescence and the infamous '1-3-5' battery code angered a lot of consumers including myself. the brain disconnects the charging circuit of the battery pack and throws the LEDs 1, 3, and 5 in a flashing pattern if you hit the 'charge status' button on a pack which normally shows the charge level when not installed. even if the pack is otherwise good, they won't charge or allow you to use the charge that remains.

the D610 is other wise ok. but old. not so sure about their latest offerings. i have had many Compaq and HP computers, from the early to late Pavilion desktops to the laptops and especially the infamous 1200 series with their often broken solder joints for the power supply. the computer, especially if the battery is long gone, will just shut down on its own if the power supply is tweaked in the least bit. whether it means typing, moving it around the table, or bumping into it accidentally. instant off. i tossed two 1200 series, lost a later HP branded one, and tossed all the Pavilions. one even came, get this, out of the box, with around 12 trojan horses and one Klez Worm (part of the HP-bloatware)--i gave that one to a friend who wanted to mess around with it, and he got free HP recovery discs to fix that problem with a lawsuit.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/p/18198324/18321556.aspx#18321556

http://www.west-wind.com/weblog/posts/2004/Apr/16/Dell-Laptop-Battery-Blues

" I just had a good look at the electronics in there. It's pretty complex - the main thing is the +ve connection from the 12V cell stack is interrupted by a couple of high-current P-channel FETs. These are effectively just a switch.

Ha - same just happened to my inspiron battery - one day going great, next totally dead. Opening up the corpse reveals a bunch of fully-charged cells & loads of crafty electronics which have decided it's time for me to punt more money over to dell.