18 replies to this topic

[Chiyeko Kuramochi]

My sister will start a study in Q4 this year so I was looking at laptops in the 14inch range which she prefers. We are not looking at high end as she won't need that, but she wants a good general use piece for around 500-700euro.

When I brought my laptop I went with samsung for the best bang for buck, but their batteries seem to be terrible and they don't seem to hold up to well to long extended use (mine is 3 years old and on its last legs). So I was looking a Lenovo right now, but not certain.

So if any of you have some suggestions or directions it would help, I am pretty certain with desktops now, but laptops bit of a different field specially when we are not talking gaming

[ICUBurn]

Id perwonaly go with an acer or asus. Id stay away from toshiba (had one before my acer and it was junk friend had one too and also had isues with it) Do Not get anything by compac or emachines. HP is so so and dells gone down the ******* for quality in the last few years.

[Chiyeko Kuramochi]

There is a reason why dell rhymes with hell, I will leave it at that.

[Catamount]

Keep in mind Compaq is HP.

A few years ago, Squaretrade did a study on laptop reliability based on their own warranty claims. Asus did the best, with Toshiba only a short ways behind. HP was the absolute worst.


Since then, HP has cleaned their designs up, but they may still be heat traps. It's not really the brand that matters itself; it's the ODM that builds for that brand, and how good a job they do. Asus, for instance, is both an ODM and a brand, so they build their own laptops. HP laptops, on the other hand, are built by Compal, a generally low end ODM.

Generally you can't go wrong with Asus, Acer is pretty decent usually, MSI is pretty decent, Sager machines are pretty good, anything built by Clevo is pretty good (some of the aforementioned machines, including most Sager laptops, are Clevo machines, but regardless of what brand sticker gets attached, they're good). Dell's Alienware brand tends to pick from nicer machines, but they're hellishly overpriced.

There are other good ones, though. Again, that's why the distinction between brand and ODM is what matters. Take these Xotic PC machines for instance: http://www.xoticpc.c...-118_96_98.html

"Force" is hardly a brand any of us have heard of, buy you can see that they're almost all MSI machines, so they're probably pretty good.


Since your girlfriend isn't looking for anything high-end it doesn't really matter though. Any brand's machine is reliable enough to stand up to basic tasks. HP machines are probably actually ideal for her, because they generally have extremely long battery life. Their machines aren't great for gaming (again, heat traps), but they're good business, student and entertainment laptops.

[PlanetMyHero]

I think Lenovo or Asus are top laptop brand nowadays, you can go with them

some review about top laptop brands if you can't choose: Best Laptop Brands

btw: any suggestion about Sony Vaio Duo 13. Is it worth to buy?

[Dragoon20005]

portable and light weight yes

the Sony laptop is priced on the high side

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16834230770

Asus Vivo book is a value buy IMO

[Narcissistic Martyr]

Any laptop made in the last couple years will have plenty of umph for a general use laptop. So I'm going to go completely against the grain here and say ignore the tech specs completely and go to a big box store and find a laptop that isn't to heavy and is comfortable for her to use ergonomically speaking. Then shop around for the best price on that laptop.

Also, you can often find killer deals if you're willing to purchase a used laptop. For example I bought an m11x R1 on ebay in great condition about two years ago for less than half the retail price. It's a bit risky of course but not so bad IMO.

[Gremlich Johns]

Sager gaming laptops

[The Gunman]

+1 for ASUS. They make good computers.

HP laptops are notorious for overheating. Even if the price is right and the specs are good, never buy a HP. I know I won't again.

[Volt Corsair]

I guess while we're on laptops, suggestions for one that can reasonably run MWO? It's a slight tangent, but one that crossed my mind as I'm typing on a laptop with the icon staring back at me from the desktop.

[Gremlich Johns]

see my post above

[Scraper]

Another vote for Sager, well balanced machines at a pretty good price (I think xoticpc still runs the best deal?). For MWO anything 670M or higher in the GPU realm will run the game around 40fps on med with some high settings.

[Scraper]

and LMFAO at that bestlaptopbrands website... anything that doesn't rank Dell lowest is lying espescially when it puts the Mac higher than all the PC brands which is absolute ****. (PS I love my moms Mac Air, but it's an overpriced average quality machine with 0 upgradeability).

[Gremlich Johns]

Scraper, on 16 June 2013 - 07:15 AM, said:

and LMFAO at that bestlaptopbrands website... anything that doesn't rank Dell lowest is lying espescially when it puts the Mac higher than all the PC brands which is absolute ****. (PS I love my moms Mac Air, but it's an overpriced average quality machine with 0 upgradeability).

No, the Macbook is upgradeable, every two years when Apple says you need a new one.....

[MaradrX]

HP is the number one seller, a lot because it has the number one testing lab (to ensure there aren't weird component conflicts) and the number one customer support. If you have a problem under warrantee, they often have no problem backing up all your data easily (since they are the number one MS retailer too), sending you a new machine, and getting you back up and running. Also keep in mind that they have purchased several small but boutique PC makers to push their products to stay on pace with others. Meanwhile Dell is doing a leveraged buyout - only 1/3 of companies that big get through it intact. Apple still can't compete on many of the test items, but if you like pretty, less compatibility, and screens that open up with unnecessary flourish, then spend 2x the amount for it. Lenovo has been struggling now after the years of good growth after IBM. Lenovo doesn't seem to be pushing the envelope on anything but riding along with whatever Intel and others tell them. Sager I don't know. Asus is also a good brand.

[Hayashi]

Depends on your budget.

From my experience Fujitsu is actually the best out there for non-gaming class for performance, reliability and portability, but it's on the pricey side.

Toshiba has horrible build. The components are generally fine, but the shell sucks.

Lenovo is decent, and pretty hardy. However they don't last as long as I would have liked, and they're slightly more expensive.

Sony VAIO probably looks the best, but has one of the worst price to performance ratios in existence, second only to Razer.

Acer is heavy as hell, but does decent performance for rock-bottom prices.

Don't get Compaq.

Dell is lacking on GPU power, but has okayish CPU power. Very affordable, but reliability is in question.

HP is one of the most reliable ones out there on a budget, but has a low ceiling on performance.

Alienware is very powerful, but generally overpriced and heavy. Worth getting only during the rare promotions you can find for them. Their warranty policy however is THE best out there without equal... they will cover any source of damage within the given period.

Sager has power around Alienware's range, but cheaper, and not as good looking.

Razer is the most overpriced thing out there, and combines looks with performance at an exorbitant price point. However, its max performance ceiling is below Alienware and Sager.

I don't have experience with Asus or Samsung.

But gaming is really better done on a desktop. Laptops are non upgradeable, and unless you live in a country like mine where floor space is ridiculously expensive, it's generally better in most other cases to get a mobile, mid-high power 14" laptop, and get a desktop for the gaming for which you can upgrade the GPU/CPU as tech progresses. It's higher performance and far cheaper.

For non-gaming laptops in order of budget I'd recommend:

Fujitsu
Lenovo
HP

With overall recommendation HP.

And for gaming laptops in order of budget I'd recommend:

Razer (Only if you're filthy rich)
Alienware
Sager

With overall recommendation Sager.

[Dragoon20005]

Hayashi, on 16 June 2013 - 08:03 AM, said:

Spoiler

Depends on your budget.

From my experience Fujitsu is actually the best out there for non-gaming class for performance, reliability and portability, but it's on the pricey side.

Toshiba has horrible build. The components are generally fine, but the shell sucks.

Lenovo is decent, and pretty hardy. However they don't last as long as I would have liked, and they're slightly more expensive.

Sony VAIO probably looks the best, but has one of the worst price to performance ratios in existence, second only to Razer.

Acer is heavy as hell, but does decent performance for rock-bottom prices.

Don't get Compaq.

Dell is lacking on GPU power, but has okayish CPU power. Very affordable, but reliability is in question.

HP is one of the most reliable ones out there on a budget, but has a low ceiling on performance.

Alienware is very powerful, but generally overpriced and heavy. Worth getting only during the rare promotions you can find for them. Their warranty policy however is THE best out there without equal... they will cover any source of damage within the given period.

Sager has power around Alienware's range, but cheaper, and not as good looking.

Razer is the most overpriced thing out there, and combines looks with performance at an exorbitant price point. However, its max performance ceiling is below Alienware and Sager.

I don't have experience with Asus or Samsung.

But gaming is really better done on a desktop. Laptops are non upgradeable, and unless you live in a country like mine where floor space is ridiculously expensive, it's generally better in most other cases to get a mobile, mid-high power 14" laptop, and get a desktop for the gaming for which you can upgrade the GPU/CPU as tech progresses. It's higher performance and far cheaper.

For non-gaming laptops in order of budget I'd recommend:

Fujitsu
Lenovo
HP

With overall recommendation HP.

And for gaming laptops in order of budget I'd recommend:

Razer (Only if you're filthy rich)
Alienware
Sager

With overall recommendation Sager.

This is what i feel of the laptops i have used so far

My experience with Asus

reliability one of the highest since their mobo is designed in house

design of the chassis one of the good looking ones for mainstream and gaming series

reasonable pricing for most of their laptops

their ROG gaming laptop is one of the lowest in terms of pricing and have decent performance IvyBridge quad core with GTX670MX

mainstream version are value for money with decent specs and good keyboard feel plus reliable


Never buy Acer as my previous 2 laptops from Acer died due to mainboard and GPU overheated and failed on me

dont bother the newer versions as the spec wise are not even up to standards

HP hardware spec wise is ok to me but keyboard feel is one of the worst. Esp the arrow keys design is horrible. Beats branding just make it overpriced. My sister laptop once failed to boot up thanks to the Beats Audio malfunction.

Dell wise maybe the Inspiron series is a good buy

My dad has a 15R and the design of the chassis is nice, keyboard feel is ok and weight is quite light for a 15.6" screen battery life is good too.

as mentioned before Alienware is overpriced and always overheat when the CPU and GPU are at high load.

Razer laptops are almost as pricey as the MacBook and has no DVD drive and that useless LCD touchpad/gaming keys and expensive to repair when warranty is over. My friend regretted buying it.

MSI laptops are decent but pricing is on the high side and like Asus, mobo are designed in house so reliability is good.

[Scraper]

Hayashi... when was the last time you used an Alienware? I'm just curious because there's an obvious decline in build quality (to me) since Dell took over (the old ones were nice heavy desktop replacements, the new ones feel a tad plasticy). Yes they are still a power house spec wise, but no longer anything special when you consider the price. IMO Asus has taken Alienwares spot as far as price/performance/looks. Sagers have everything but amazing looks, but a few of the models attempt style... and for the price you can' complain. (Don't quote me on this but I think Sager and Lenovo share cases/screens? and Lenovo just does the more budget conscious mobo and speakers?... or at least one of the brands shares parts with Sager). I have a clunky old HP that's got the gen 1 Intel GPU (POS!!!!!) that's been ticking away faithfully after multiple world travels... it's no gaming rig, but after everything it's been through I'd definitely say it's reliable.

[Hayashi]

Scraper, on 16 June 2013 - 05:14 PM, said:

Hayashi... when was the last time you used an Alienware? I'm just curious because there's an obvious decline in build quality (to me) since Dell took over (the old ones were nice heavy desktop replacements, the new ones feel a tad plasticy). Yes they are still a power house spec wise, but no longer anything special when you consider the price. IMO Asus has taken Alienwares spot as far as price/performance/looks. Sagers have everything but amazing looks, but a few of the models attempt style... and for the price you can' complain. (Don't quote me on this but I think Sager and Lenovo share cases/screens? and Lenovo just does the more budget conscious mobo and speakers?... or at least one of the brands shares parts with Sager). I have a clunky old HP that's got the gen 1 Intel GPU (POS!!!!!) that's been ticking away faithfully after multiple world travels... it's no gaming rig, but after everything it's been through I'd definitely say it's reliable.

I'm using an Alienware m14x to type this actually, and having no problems with it.

Got it at a 40% discount. =P

If it was at full price I would have gotten a Sager instead.