Laptop Reliability study

Discussion in 'hardware' started by linuxforall, Apr 27, 2010.

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  1. linuxforall

    linuxforall Registered Member

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  2. tipstir

    tipstir Registered Member

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    Really can't go by that chart though. I have HP/Compaq and it's now 5 years old still working like a charm (even though I can repair laptops) still I own both those you have listed. ACER and Gateway same company I've those two now. DELL always have issues. I am not buying or recommending those to my clients.
     
  3. YeOldeStonecat

    YeOldeStonecat Registered Member

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    I'm actually the other way around....I've been using Dell more and more for my clients..and even in my home. Business grade models naturally, never the home grade models. I have many..many..of them out there in service..and they've been dependable, with the few issues had...easily solved by good warranty support. Most of the issues I've had have been end user related...(IE dropped/smashed by clumsy nurses)..so I can't blame Dell for that.

    Myself..I still juse my Lenovo Thinkpad T60p...I think the Thinkpads are built like F-350 pickups....heavy duty and meant to take a beating.

    Historically as an SMB consultant I used to do lots of Compaq laptops...again, only their business grade models...the Armadas. Once HP picked them up..started having more 'n more issues with them..and stopped selling them.

    On the budget end, I have had good luck with Acers business grade laptops.

    I have been keen on getting into some Asus laptops. I've usually built my home gaming PCs with Asus motherboards for many many years now....I've had great success with them. And they make most of the bare components for most other laptop brands to relabel as their own.
     
  4. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    I wonder if ASUS makes their own laptops - though they may make the motherboards, not sure about the rest. Still, that's a good showing by them. I bought a Toshiba A505-S6009 about 3 months ago so I am happy to see Toshiba high up on that list. I've been very happy with the notebook too, BTW.

    But still, I think 10% failing in the first 2 years is lousy, as is 15.6% within the first 3.

    I can't find the report now but I remember a similar report from about 3 years ago for PCs that reported only 5% failure rates for the 1st year, and 15% in the first 4 years - with a comment that these rates were improving every year. That's significantly better than notebooks [I suspect] because heat is managed much better in PCs and not in notebooks. Heat, being the bane of all electronics, is likely speeding up the aging process. Not much you can do about that when notebook cases, by their very nature of being so small, just do not accommodate good cooling.
     
  5. YeOldeStonecat

    YeOldeStonecat Registered Member

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    "ODM" = Original Design Manufacturer.

    They do about 90% of the entire laptop...more than just the motherboard. The actual reseller brands just slap on a few of their...touches...aethetics, logo, etc.
    Compal (not a typo..not Compaq..but Compal) is one of the biggest ODMs, making laptops for Acer, Dell, Fujitsu, Lenovo, and Toshiba..amongst some smaller brands.
    Other big ODMs...Clevo, MSI, Mitac, Inventec, and Clevo.
    Asus makes laptops for Apple (surprise!!!), Sony, Alienware (surprise..performance), and HP.

    Clevo makes them for Alienware and Dell, and HPs VooDoo lineup.

    Quanta is another big one...they also make some models for Dell (business grade Latitudes), IBM, and Sony.
     
  6. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    Well, for laptops, the motherboard (and case) is almost 90% ;). About all that remains is the drive(s), CPU, and RAM. I know that ASUS has been around a lot longer than most people think - as a ODM supplier for the big names for many years before they came out with their own line. Many of the big names today came from the outsource supply industries.

    I was aware of some of those affiliations - but not all. Thanks for the info.
     
  7. firzen771

    firzen771 Registered Member

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    so would alienware laptops be considered under the same category of dell?
     
  8. NGRhodes

    NGRhodes Registered Member

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    I think the T60/T61 was the end of the IBM designed Thinkpads and since then the quality has never been the same.
    Yet to find a laptop with better build quality than the T60/T61.
     
  9. YeOldeStonecat

    YeOldeStonecat Registered Member

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    Agreed....while they switched to the Lenovo line prior to that, the T6x line is the last ones that I really liked.. It took my a long time to find the T60p that I'm typing from now, one of the hard to find 14" models.

    When I'm ready to retire this one, I'm most likely not going to get another Lenovo. My past 4 laptops have been Thinkpads...I'm very rough on my laptops...and they've held up well.

    In the back of my mind I think I'll be getting an Asus for my next one...I like some of the B series ones.
     
  10. YeOldeStonecat

    YeOldeStonecat Registered Member

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    Dell sells them.
    Although I wouldn't consider them in the same "category"...Alienware focuses on gaming, high performance. Dell makes a wide range of models, and has made some higher performance models, but non that I've seen which rival the specs of Alienwares monsters.
     
  11. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    I agree that "category" may not be the right term. Buicks and Cadillacs are both made by GM, both share common platforms, common CPUs and there are several other commonalities between them. But there are still enough differences to put Cadillac in a different category than Buick.
     
  12. firzen771

    firzen771 Registered Member

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    ye i realize its much higher performance, but im wondering if the reliability is the same as Dell's reliability, cuz i wuld at least hope it is at the price and its reputation.
     
  13. firzen771

    firzen771 Registered Member

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    also, just realized, would Voodoo fall unders HP in reliability? cuz that wuld be kind of sad... wish ther was more detail in the graph...
     
  14. Osaban

    Osaban Registered Member

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    In my household we have Asus, Samsung, and Compaq. Just comparing the assembly materials one can see that Asus is another league altogether. The Compaq has been taken in for repairs several times, and I must say HP service was always great, they never charged me even when the warranty period had expired.

    The Samsung is tough, but lots of things leave a lot to be desired: the battery had a short life, the letters on the the keyboard tend to fade easily. My 17'' Asus is a great machine (W2P), after 2 years and something it runs great except a year ago one of the hinges gave in (it was fixed under warranty, but they say it will happen again).

    Considering that even my Asus netbook is built with excellent materials, I'm definitely going to remain with them in the future.
     
  15. linuxforall

    linuxforall Registered Member

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    I have a 11 year old ASUS board still running.
     
  16. ambient_88

    ambient_88 Registered Member

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    I have to say that ASUS does make excellent products. I recently purchased a G73JH, and I couldn't be happier! The build quality is outstanding; it just feels really solid. On the other hand, my three-year old HP Pavilion is still working flawlessly despite heavy use in the past.
     
  17. tipstir

    tipstir Registered Member

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    My favorite always are the T series of the IBM Thinkpads but since the take over I don't know. T-41, T-42. T-43 (had issues) Toshiba Tecra series was always the best. Texas Instruments TI were built better than AST which DELL acquired and start using they laptop design. Compaq was rock solid, then HP omibook was also good then the merger of Compaq into HP like DEC merger into Compaq. Tandy Computer line of CGA, EGA, VGA laptops were over priced. All clients systems are DELL instead of HP. Reason is the way DELL does leasing. So they're on the ticket to get DELL. ASUS and ACER/Gateway these are very good. ASUS I only got the netbook. Would I buy another ASUS, I don't think so. I also have the ACER netbook to me that's better. ASUS seems to have left out some features.

    ACER is huge as HP is too. STill more HP are around than ACER. HSN pushes ACER and ACER/GAteway dirt cheap on the TV. While QVC pushese out HP line more expensive than HSN ACER line.
     
  18. DVD+R

    DVD+R Registered Member

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    I have the HP Pavilion dv7-3110TX which I immediately bought 5 WD Caviar Black hard drives for and Installed a retail copy of windows 7 professional + Added the Creative Sound Blaster x-Fi Notebook Wireless Xtreme Fidelity Express Card interface ( Now THATS! how you customize a high end Notebook :cool:
     
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