What are good laptop brands in 2012?

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zyzz

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Is there a site to watch for good laptop reviews and comments on the brands?

I have only owned 2 Laptops ever. Well I had an ancient Mac Laptop, but lets ignore that.

HP - I always thought HP made cheap crappy products. But now I read HP makes some of the best gaming laptops for the price. Even HP non gaming laptops are suppose to be some of the best.

Acer - I always thought Acer was an average brand. I heard it's total garbage in 2012. I have seen some in stores, the material is quite cheap on most, but hardware wise I don't know nothin' bout em.

ASUS - The one brand I really trust. Had ASUS mobo's and ASUS gpu's. Never have failed me. I have heard now that their customer service is awful and the laptops are quite average.

Lenovo - Don't know much about this brand. All I heard that it was very good.

Sony - Sony seems to have good quality products that are not computers. I have only heard bad things about the Sony VAIO.

Dell - Never liked Dell. Overpriced crap. Dell/Alienware overpriced crap, nuff said.

Samsung - Went with a friend and bought a brand new Samsung laptop last year. Wireless card was broken. Returned it to the store and got a different Samsung. The Hard Drive was clicking - returned on the spot. That's all I can say about them.

Toshiba - a laptop I own. Nothing fancy, not for gaming. Got a deal on it. Hate the touchpad and keyboard is average. Material is average. The charging port was flimsy and broke. Got it fixed though.

Compaq (HP) - other laptop I own. Quite old, AMD 64. Pretty average. Nice keyboard and touchpad, decent screen. Runs very hot though. Try installing Windows and you have to prop the laptop up or the computer will turn off. The DVD drive is slowly failing.
 
Lenovo is pretty good overall. They are best known for their business class ThinkPad laptops. IBM sold their ThinkPad division to Lenovo back in 2005/2006. ThinkPads are semi-rugged laptops; I've seen several videos of drop tests from roughly 6 feet and all the way up to 30 feet (onto carpet though) where ThinkPads are still fully functional.

My IBM ThinkPad T40 from 2003 is still functional and I never had to call tech support for it. It's a bit sluggish today though, even surfing the net can be slightly sluggish because browsers like FireFox has become bloated from 9 years ago, also many sites have lots of Java and Flash running which contributes to the sluggishness.

 

zyzz

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Ok so Lenovo is a solid brand.

I want to know more about HP. Hp was once crap and cheap of the cheap. Now it's the best selling laptop and it's quality.

Also more on ASUS, a brand I trust.

I only read bad about Acer.
 
I tend to stay away from HP because I don't really like the design of their laptops, quality is still a lingering issue which will likely take a little more time for them to shake off.

Asus is generally good. Their products tends to be on the cheap side both materials and price, but overall quality seems to be at least average. I've read their customer / technical support has much to be desired though.

Acer generally tends to be bad except for their TravelMate/Timeline series.

Regarding Lenovo, their ThinkPad business series of laptops is superior in both build quality (although the ThinkPad Edge seems to buck that trend) and customer / technical support. For consumer level laptops like the IdeaPads they are above average.
 

zyzz

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What is wrong with HP quality? I thought they were good on everything now?

Ans ASUS cheap materials? The ASUS laptops I have seen have been aluminum and very durable feeling.
 


HP has more of an image problem due to the quality of their previous laptops which resulted in class action lawsuits against them. It is in HP's best interest to improve the quality of their laptops. It remains to be seen if they have actually done so since it takes time for issues to come up.

The comment regarding Asus is a general statement about all their laptops, not any one specific laptop. They generally have a reputation for being "cheap but good". I'm sure their ROG series of laptops have better quality than their other consumer oriented laptops.
 

zyzz

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I was looking at around $600 ASUS latops.

I have no use for a new laptop but it's good to know the quality brands now.

I suggested my friend to buy an ASUS and I told him HP and Lenovo were crap. But they are both great now.

Link me a good Lenovo for just all around use.
 

Cobalt9

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I own an HP Pavilion dv7 and its pretty good. I've dropped it and it didn't sustain any damage. The only problems I've had with it are: It had a virus that had to be removed by the people at Geek Squad, I'm currently having a problem with it coming on when it's closed, and it freezes up every once in a while (but I bought it 2 years ago, so that could be why its freezing up every once in a while). All in all though, this has been the best laptop I've ever had. I previously had a Gateway (don't remember the name of it) that only lasted me 2 years and before that a EMachine that only lasted me 1 year. My sister has an Acer (don't know the name of it) that she bought around the same time I bought my HP. It is a good computer. She hasn't had many problems with it except for a virus or two that had to be professionally removed. Other then that it is a good laptop. Whatever you do though, do not buy a Dell. Those things are garbage. My mom has to use a Dell Inspirion for work and has had to have it replaced 4 times in a matter of 3-5 months since receiving it from her company. Each time it was something different-The laptop wouldn't come on, She got the blue screen of death, etc. So don't buy a Dell. My dad has an Apple MacBook that works great. The only problem he has had with it is it would not charge, but this was quickly resolved by buying a new power adapter. Oh yes, and the screen cracked one time (however this is because Apple MacBook screens are made of glass unlike non-Apple laptops). Other than the power adapter problem, he has had virtually no problems with it. If you're looking for a laptop, I would recommend either an HP, Acer, or, if you have the money, an Apple Macbook.
 

zyzz

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Acer is garbage. I just fixed a friend's yesterday. Cheapest plastic and worst keyboard I ever felt. Touchpad was very sensitivty as well and I turned it down. Worse than the ones I have seen in stores.

Apple laptops are a rip off and I have 0 interest in apple products. I hate OSX.

I want to know more about HP. Good to hear you have a solid one. But Geek Squad...? Rip off central.
 

KardasDragon1321

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From my expirience Toshiba is the best and most reliable brand to exist. I am typing this on a 10 year old Toshiba Satellite L40. My other 2 laptops are also Toshibas and have never failed me. No BSOD, doesnt get over heated and work amazing. I have just purchased a new Satellite p850 and boy am i glad. Otherwise i would go for Asus or Lenovo
 

christiancoria

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hey is this also a good all around laptop? includes gaming. Lenovo ideapad S405 AMD A6
 

christiancoria

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hey is this also a good all around laptop? includes gaming. Lenovo ideapad S405 AMD A6
 

nillawafer

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I would have to say the best brand to get is Apple. Although they are really expensive, they have great quality, and normally last over 5 years if kept in good condition. Plus, apple's have tons of apps and don't get too sluggish, nor overheat too bad. I've tried HP before, and it crashed non-stop with me after the first month or so of having it. :bounce:
 

usbgtx550

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I have an old hp g60 from 2009 I think. DC power jack died after a year. Didn't know a thing about computers then so that rotted until couple of months ago when I found it. Works now but is rather loud. That thing was horribly designed, simply a pain to take apart to replace the power jack. But what was I to suspect, it was a cheaper laptop at around $340 I believe. Then there is the old toshiba satellite a75 that my parents had back from 2005. That also developed charging issues after about a year. This was disappointing considering its cost was approx $1000. Till this day it only charges when it is off. However once charged it still turns on (albeit its batter life is horrendous) My brother got a hp netbook. Both the hinges to the screen have broken. Then last year I got a cheaper samsung lapotop ($400). Quality seem sub-par and I feel like the hinges to the screen will break from average use after a couple of years.
Seems my family has bad luck with laptops in general.
 

sonogo

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Well everyone has different experiences with laptop brands. I've had a Compaq, Acer Aspire (current), Dell, Apple, x2 Toshiba Satellite. My first Toshiba battery failed after several weeks, but Toshiba were quick to replace, didn't have it long though as it was stolen. My second next model Toshiba (previous) was the worst laptop I'd ever owned, nothing but major problems from new, random power failures from new, crappy keyboard, noisy, gets too hot, motherboard faulty, the battery lasted about four years though which is very good, I gave it to my cousin, but it's become basically unusable outside of safemode. The apple power supply kept failing, and battery was crap, it was also very overpriced, and expensive to replace parts. Compaq was great if not slow and low-spec but very reliable, still going strong after 6 years, even the original battery still holds a charge for a couple of hours, (my parents own it now, but it only has fairly light use), and old Dell lasted many years, and took quite a bit of abuse before the hard drive failed after 10 years. This Acer I have mixed feelings about I bought is second hand from my uncle who only used it a couple of weeks, because it spend 7 months going back and forth from Acer in Australia, who failed to fix the graphics issues and they also put a deep scratch across the lid (deliberate), and then failed to fix that as promised - each time it went back, they had it for up to two months. It still has the visual artifacts - but they don't really bother me. The speakers are crap, and the battery only lasted a year, but other than that I don't really have a problem with it since I got it so cheap anyway. Desktops are also another story. The Dell I had was the most reliable computer I ever had. I had an HP Pavilion but that had a bad motherboard from new. I am looking to upgrading my laptop now so I can play Civilization 5, and giving this one to my frustrated cousin (the one I gave the ailing Toshiba to). I don't want to spend much, and am looking at HP, Asus, Dell as my top three, Lenovo I'd definitely consider if I had the means to get one, as I've heard only good things. I will still look at Toshiba and Acer if the value is very good, but I'm really put off Toshiba and not very unimpressed by Acer either as support goes. I've never been an HP fan especially due my desktop issues, but I hear they are making better laptops and are rated as top #3 under Apple and Lenovo. Dell Inspiron was my top pick, due to my good experiences in the past, but only if I can find one that suits my needs + budget. Would not touch Sony, have a few mates with those, and they are overpriced flashy rubbish based on the ones I've seen. Dell scores fairly highly in reviews (#4 according to laptop mag), but there are also plenty of very outspoken haters of Dell to put one off.
 

SuperAxilla

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I work on a lot laptops. From my experience, the better brands would be ASUS, New Toshiba's, Lenovo. As far gaming, I would stick with ASUS and MSI. HP makes some with nice GPU's but I've seen these burn up and reflows won't save them. I still have an old HP DV4-1435dx and that sucker is still running strong. I've used it as a crash laptop and shocked the mobo so many times, it's a miracle it still works. New HP's aren't bad but they had a bad run previously. Dell went south. Gateways/Acers are pretty troublesome. Probably the most difficult to repair are the Acers and Sony PCG's. Macbooks are good but they are a liquid magnet. Water damage will drive you nuts and ends up being the most difficult of all laptops to repair. C655 series Toshiba's and thereabout can have charge port problems. That's my 2c. Just based on what I've seen and repaired. Haven't dealt enough with Samsung to really comment.
 
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