Looking for quality laptop

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Wayland

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Feb 28, 2010
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Hello,

my over 5 years old HP laptop just died and now I'm looking for a new one. I use my laptop as a desktop (with monitor, keyboard and mouse plugged in). I prefer it because it's silent and doesn't draw much power compared to a normal desktop. I run it 24/7. I use it mostly for surfing, watching movies, developing software and occasionally playing games. The new laptop should run stable and last as long as possible. I plan to have it for at least the next 5 years. For the heavy lifting I have access to the high end desktop of my wife. ;)


Here I filled out the FAQ:

1. What is your budget?
I want to spend as little as possible while still meeting my expectations but let's say the upper limit is 800€ (1100$ / 700£).

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
It will always sit on my desk so I don't care.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Since I use an external monitor it doesn't matter.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Desktop replacement.

5. How much battery life do you need?
It will always be plugged in, so I don't need any.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
The heaviest I plan to play is Counter Strike: Source on medium (or even low) settings at at least 30 FPS.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Some heavy surfing, developing software.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Everything above 100 GB is okay.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
I have no preferences.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
As long as possible.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
I would even be okay with none at all.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
From what I've read I would prefer Asus and Toshiba. I've read that they build the longest lasting laptops.

13. What country do you live in?
Germany.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
It would be nice to have at least 4 USB ports, I always missed a 4th one with my last laptop. But it's not a must.


Thanks for any suggestions!
 
Hello Wayland;

You can get a lot more for your DMark these days then you could 5 years ago.
ASUS N73SV-V1G 17" Entertainment Notebook 750€

Core i5-2410M 2.3Ghz (2.9Ghz turbo) dual core Sandy Bridge CPU, 4 GB RAM, 500GB hard disk drive, BluRay-DVD Combo burner & Bang & Olufsen laptop speakers.
17.3" 1600x900 LCD screen with GT 540M graphics card and Wireless Display to TV (WiDi)
WiFi, Bluetooth, 1x USB 3.0 & 3x USB 2.0 ports; 2.0MP Webcam; eSATA; 5-in-1 card reader.

Intel Core i5-2410M CPU review
NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics card review
 

Wayland

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Feb 28, 2010
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18,510
Hello WR2,

thanks for your replies! I had a look at your suggested models, the hardware would be more than enough in both cases. Unfortunately your prices seem to exclude VAT (19%) which we always have to pay here. Maybe the website recognized that you are from the USA? Anyways that would make the Asus 893€ which I feel is a bit too much. The Lenovo costs 699€ which is seems like a great price-performance ratio. But I've read on this forums that Lenovo quality is not as good anymore as it is said to be.

Are there other suggestions or would you recommend Lenovo as a brand?
 
So it seems a US$1089 laptop is 893€.

People do seem to think Lenovo quality is not up to par with other MFGRs like Asus, Toshiba and maybe Sony. But it's unlikely there is anything they could actually offer up in proof to back up that thought. MFGRs guard their actual 'quality and reliability' as proprietary company secrets. And all we have is a some past history and some conjecture. Asus was good in 2009 so it's good in 2011 type of thinking.

When you get right down to it any $800 laptop is going to have roughly the same parts and roughly the same overall reliability, within a few points.
Between consumer and business class laptops the business class tend to have better overall reliability and longevity.

My personal preference would be the any laptop with an extended factory warranty over any Asus/Toshiba/Sony with a single year warranty, if the price is the same and the features/capabilities are a close match to what I want.
 
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