What is the best laptop brand?

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Reply to comment above: How does your comment have anything to do with the subject at hand? For all I know you could have implanted a virus in the link. :non:
 

SwimPolo

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It seems to me, through experience, that Toshiba laptops tend to have great quality minus the power cord. I've got a HP laptop, and it works fine until the latest Vista update, and everything goes to hell. Thinkpads seem to be great. But all of my friends who have had Dell's have hated them. My schools sells special Dell laptops every year with unlimited tech support, and these are always trashed with in the first year. So id say probably go Toshiba or Lenovo for quality, HP for low prices, and stay away from Dell unless if you like fixing computers.
 

TheGman_GL

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IMO the best laptops are Asus, Toshiba and Sony in that order. Asus are very reliable and classy but a little expensive, very powerfull is a synonym for Asus you know xD. Toshiba on the other hand doesn't care on the looks but it has the best budget laptops out there, great components but without the usual penalty in the price. Sony is a pretty overall manufacturer that makes very cool laptops.
 

pierrotgilbert

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I have a XPS Dell. I have got so many problem with my pc and the technical support is so bad. They try to convince you that you have a software problem and transfer you to the software departement to sell you software.
I have just bought a HP for $600.00. What a difference with the speed.

I paid my Dell $3000.00. What a waste of money.

The best way to buy a new computer is to shop around and try some of them by surfing the net and watch a few thing on the net like CNN or You tube.
 

HumanTarget

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I own a small computer shop, I see more HP and Compaqs with dead motherboards than all other combined by like a factor of five.
 

shiju

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i also like dell laptops dell studio and xps are better than other brands
 

AnonTech

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HP and dell have the worst reliability, although if you treat them right they should last for at least two years. Keep in mind this excludes freak accidents, and improper use.

The rest of the companies have similar reliability, because they use the same parts and manufacturers. The only variation in reliability is purely decided by the variation in design (IE poor ventilation)

Apple has, hands down, the best UI and customer support, although it's devices have the least amount of flexibility (in both hardware and software)

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My LG has been excellent, although support is lacking and the fan won't run fast enough - it gets pretty hot. (poor ventilation, even on a flat surface)

Buying a gaming laptop is a waste of resources. Your hardware will be outdated in a year at most (if you bought Nvidia) but most likely just mere months (ATI).

If you want a gaming rig, buy a ~$150 netbook for using the internet and using in class - This has the added benefit of being too weak to run most games, therefore increasing productivity - and spend the rest on a desktop. You'll still get better performance than a notebook (even after the $150 hit) and you have the best advantage: Adaptability. you can upgrade a desktop as you go, and one part breaking doesn't kill the system.

In fact, you may not even notice certain parts have broken - if your video card goes on a desktop, you'll still have the integrated card! if your sound goes, same deal.

Also, if you DO buy a desktop, get it custom built. Yeah, the computer store will take a chunk of your cash, but you'll STILL save money over the pre-built systems. You can get a good gaming system for under 1k in some cases -

Currently, you get more performance-per-dollar with AMD/ATI. This was not true last year, but times change. (still waiting for Nvidia's FERMI "duke nukem forever" to put out actual numbers...)

TL,DR; Get a netbook and a desktop, your money will go farther.

 

vdentata

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My answer: Wow, your irate defense of Dell makes me wonder how much money DELL pays to have people like you come on and try to discredit other people's legit experiences?

As for me, I have had the worst experiences with Dell customer service, which is a crucial component of any computer. Their customer service is absolutely awful, and is ranked nearly dead last in a recent customer service survey (see citations below). I have had an Inspiron 700m laptop for 5 years now, and another laptop before then (which is waiting to be fixed because the monitor broke off from the body a little bit). My computer has been decent I think - in fact, I've has only Dell laptops for about 10 years, so I have nothing to compare them to anyway. The only thing is, with the Inspiron 700m, the fan broke about 2 years ago and had to be replaced, the battery is completely dead as of a year ago, and, most importantly, I have no sound on my laptop unless I plug in earphones, as of about two years after I got it. It is a defect in the wiring, I was told by my local (trustworthy) computer store. So, that totally blows.

However, after just recently recieving the wrong (incredibly wrong) battery from them and waiting for a week just for a reply from their department after calling them (and not once receiving any sort of apology), I have decided never to give them my money again. This was the last in a long series of terrible experiences with Dell, including also:

* Being on the phone TWICE for 30 minutes (talking) with them just so they could tell me the part number for a battery (NO JOKE);

* Sending my laptop in to repair the fan for $90 and having them strip all of the stickers from my laptop that I had placed there myself, then receiving no apology when I called them in tears because some of those stickers had sentimental value;

* using up way too many lunch breaks on the phone with these idiots, who are unwilling to help and are all Indian men with fake English names who can barely speak English and, much more importantly, who do not give a *** about you, your business, or whether your problem is solved.

I feel like there is one more instance besides those four I can cite, but I am at a loss right now. I blocked it from my memory, I am sure. So, I'm sorry that I can't recommend a laptop brand, but I can tell you in good faith to stay away from Dell, unless you have some sort of self-harming fetish.


Need more info? Don't believe me? Eat this:

http://www.buzzmachine.com/2005/08/17/dear-mr-dell/ (this has multiple citations within)

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/blogspotting/archives/2005/08/the_impact_of_o.html

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_tops_consumer_reports_customer_service_survey/

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/dell_svc.html

http://www.buzzmachine.com/archives/cat_dell.html

P.S. I work for a law firm, NOT a rival company of Dell. Sorry.
 

MystK

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Hello everyone. I've read all the posts here and I think the best way to prove which laptop manufacture is the best is with data.


Square trade conducted an observational experiment each laptop brand with a sample size of at least 1000 for each manufacturer. The link is below. Click the PDF and scroll down a bit.

http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/laptop-reliability-1109/

If you don't want to read it, the ranks of laptop reliability is below.

Asus
Toshiba
Sony
Apple
Dell
Lenovo
Acer
Gateway
HP

From best to worst (Asus is best, and HP is worst)
 

anuer05

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I bought a Dell well my mom did for my high school graduation present. She spend around $1300 I used it for five years for college. The only thing that went wrong was the power cord and they replaced it for free. The only reason I am buying a new laptop now it because its outdated, e.g. the processor is too slow to run photoshop CS4 and the fan is having problems but that is because I didnt take care of it. My brother did tell me not to buy another Dell though. Apparently I just got lucky the first time around!
 

snipingwhor3z

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I believe the dell XPS16 has certain quality issues. A couple of my friends have discovered a "bump" at the bottom of their laptop where their GPU is located (ATI, not surprising to me). Their GPUs frequently go up to 70-80 degrees while gaming.

If you want an quality durable laptop/tablet you should look into lenovo ( acquired IBM)
 

thunderchunky25

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The new Sony Vaio. Not only is it great for every day things, but i do a little gaming on it too!
It plays Blu ray, has an amazing smooth look and feel to it. The keyboard keys are spaced very nicely, and is great for typing papers or just messaging buddies!

This is by far the best laptop i have ever used, well, the best laptop for under a thousand dollars.

It's fast, has a nice processor, and the wifi is decent. Windows 7 comes standard of course, and is the best thing to happen to computers since Windows XP. DO NOT GET A COMPUTER WITH VISTA.

I don't know anyone else with a Sony Vaio, but thats because all of my friends went cheap and snatched a HP. If you are constantly on your laptop, do not get HP brand, it will most likely fail on you within the first year or two. (This is happening to my buddy right now). The battery life on the Vaio isn't anything to brag about, but you can expand to a larger battery anyway.

Go Sony!
 

kevin0007

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If you are looking for the best one I would suggest you to go with ASUS Computer International. The new ASUS UL30A-A3B Notebook is a harmonious blend of form and function. Powered by an Intel Core2 Duo ultra-low voltage processor, it boasts an impressive battery life for all-day computing, user-centric features such as multi-gesture touchpad and impressive multimedia entertainment with Altec Lansing and SRS Premium Sound. I have bought the same one from acnt and I am happy with their services. You can also shop around by visiting the the various shopping sites like ebay, newegg, amazon etc.
 

rdc363

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Since this is subjective question, I'm just going to give an opinionated answer: Apple, FTW! I love my MacBook Pro! Good hardware, with an o/s and software designed around it is the true beauty of the mac (unix is close second though).

Great support and service. I've only once had a hardware problem with a Mac and in less than 24 hrs there was a FedEx box on my doorstep to ship it back to the nearest repair facility. When one of my iPhones died Apple immediately had a box to ship it back to Cali for repair, and included in Apple Care was a loaner iPhone while mine was being repaired.

True, you pay a premium for Apple Warranties and service, but who offers white-glove service for free?
 

Bryz

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I had a Dell laptop for 5 years and never had a single problem. Then I bought a $3500 Sager and fought with the company for 5 months before they finally gave me a refund (minus a 15% restocking fee for returning a defective and unrepairable computer). It took complaints to the BBB and the Attorney General to make that happen.

Im currently looking for another desktop replacement and customer service and reliability will be huge deciding factors for me. So far Asus and Toshiba are looking the best!
 
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