Laptops - current preferred vendors

Jim Jensen · October 07, 2014, 06:00:45 PM

Looking for the next laptop. Looking at Dell, HP and Lenovo currently. Currently using a Lenovo, which in general has been ok, but not terribly happy with the sticky hinges that caused the display frame to break and require replacement. Reliability hasn't been the greatest, though performance is still generally good. Simply getting aged (5 years) and showing its age with a noisy fan or hard drive predicting failure in its future. So, any others to consider? Compaq? Had one of those ages ago...

Must say that my recent Dell purchase was not pleasant at all - they canceled the order because they couldn't fulfil it and didn't even notify me. Then really crappy experience trying to find out why and redoing the order (took 7 people to finally complete it).

Mark · October 07, 2014, 06:34:51 PM

I personally don't feel that there is anything good out there at all these days. That said, getting 5 years out of a laptop is pretty exceptional in my opinion. Today, I give them a 1-3 year life span. That's it.

I don't see anything exciting in laptops these days either. I think everything is in the tablet/surface type area.

For a business laptop, I'd just go with a dell that comes with a 3 year NBD warranty and plan to replace it when that warranty is expired. (Lenovo might be good too, but no experience in the business area with it. Like my lenovo desktop at home though).

If for home, I'd shop strictly by price and form factor or "feel", not pay anything extra for anything and then start thinking about what you want your next laptop to be like. Exactly like you would with a smartphone purchase.

Obviously this is all my opinion and may not even be helpful, but that's how I see the market these days. If you're not getting a tablet/coverable then there is no game changer, no excitement, no difference to what you have right now. The insides just work better. Who is doing research and product improvement on laptops? Desktops? All those dollars are going towards emerging markets.

DebAmstutz · October 08, 2014, 09:15:33 AM

I have a small laptop/notebook made by ASUS and it has worked okay when I've used it. It has Windows8 which I dislike and I don't have internet at home so it has not been used much, but it seems to be built well, so I'd guess that a bigger one would be okay too.

Jeff Zylstra · October 08, 2014, 10:43:21 AM

Out of the three you mentioned, I like Lenovo the best. I currently have Dell, but I know they've had lots of issues with batteries (mine is dead and only runs off only electricity) and also hinge mounted power switches.

I think Lenovo has some "deals" available on at Lenovo.com if you're interested. I've put my family on Lenovo laptops as well as employees and a few friends. Of the ones you mentioned, I think you have the best chance of getting decent quality, longevity and performance out of them. They also don't do too many annoying things like trialware, proprietary software/hardware,etc....

I've also had good luck with Acer laptops as well, for the same reasons as the Lenovo machines. Not sure if Compaq even exists anymore. I've had many negative experiences with Compaqs in the past, so unless they've fundamentally changed I wouldn't recommend them.

Jan Regnier · October 08, 2014, 11:31:13 AM

Didn't Gene mention he had a Lenovo he liked?

Billy Welsh · October 08, 2014, 11:39:06 AM

http://online.wsj.com/articles/buyers-guide-the-best-laptops-for-every-budget-macbook-air-is-tops-1407277203?mod=WSJ_hp_RightTopStories

http://lifehacker.com/five-best-ultrabooks-1615183263/1617192943/+alanhenry

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-windows-ultrabook/

Bob · October 08, 2014, 11:43:30 AM

I'd consider the Surface Pro 3 too. Tablet combo laptops come a long way. Full functional windows plus a tablet. This is the future vs. lugging those heavier one use only laptops. While laptops have come long ways in being lighter and thinner, they are dinosaurs compared to Tablet/PC.

I love my cheap ASUS Transformer. Surface Pro is more the Cadillac in this arena.

Billy Welsh · October 08, 2014, 01:41:19 PM

On a personal level, if I had the $ to spend on the "Cadillac" I would hesitate on the Surface until I was sure that M$ was going to stand behind it long term. From what I am reading it hasn't exactly been a big hit (whether deserved or not), and I could see M$ bailing out on it as it has other hardware items. I hope that does not happen, as I believe the competition is good for all the tablets. Especially Apple's

. But until I were comfortable that M$ is sticking with it, I would spend my personal $ on a Yoga or similar (Windows) or Macbook.

In fact I am about to purchase something for the Scout organization, which will likely remain in use for 4+ years. And for reasons stated above I am avoiding M$ and looking at Lenovo et al. We had actually decided on the MacBook Air until I realized that the Pinewood Derby application we already have does not run on Macs.

Quote from: Bob Connor on October 08, 2014, 11:43:30 AM
I'd consider the Surface Pro 3 too. Tablet combo laptops come a long way. Full functional windows plus a tablet. This is the future vs. lugging those heavier one use only laptops. While laptops have come long ways in being lighter and thinner, they are dinosaurs compared to Tablet/PC.

I love my cheap ASUS Transformer. Surface Pro is more the Cadillac in this arena.

Gene Foraker · October 08, 2014, 01:52:10 PM

Quote from: Jan Regnier on October 08, 2014, 11:31:13 AM
Didn't Gene mention he had a Lenovo he liked?

Yes, I have a Lenovo Yoga Pro 2 that I love. It is a convertible to tablet model and seems fairly solid and well built, though I don't use it all that heavily. I think it has much better specs and features than the Microsoft models which are more of a tablet, while the Lenovo is more of a laptop which can be used as a tablet. It is not as compact or light as the Microsoft if that is your goal. Frankly, I like using my iPad for a tablet most of the time. Apps in the Microsoft store just don't yet come up to those in the Apple store.

Debbie Fuson · October 08, 2014, 02:16:26 PM

Another Lenovo vote from me.

In April 2010, we did a big desktop refresh. Bought 13 laptops and 86 workstations, all Lenovo, through CDW. I don't think any of those laptops and only a few of the workstations have had issues. Nothing had issues during warranty. Most are still in use daily as someone's workstation. I did have one Lenovo laptop that died. It wasn't from that big purchase but was similar in age and model. Still, I'd call that a pretty darn good track record.

My Dell experiences have been good and bad. I do have some older Dell laptops as spares at the office, so I can't say they're all bad. However, the last Dell I bought was for home use. It just turned a year old and has already had to have the hard drive replaced, luckily under warranty, and I had to practically take the whole darn thing apart to get to the hard drive. I will say that Dell's tech support rocked in that they actually listened when I told them I had already determined it was the hard drive, and a replacement was sent out quick. The tech even emailed me a few days later to confirm it was working again.

I've had very little experience with HP laptops in that the few I've had around here didn't live long.

Jim Jensen · October 08, 2014, 02:30:17 PM

I have a Surface 2 RT, which is my travel device. The laptop will be used mostly at home rather than a desktop. I need the larger HD than a tablet offers for music and video, plus the larger screen than a tablet offers for remote access and photo/video editing. Yeah, I could plug the surface into an external monitor and use external HDs for more storage space, but I think I will prefer 1 more term on a regular laptop. By the end of this, I expect that tablets will be able to fully replace it.

I recently purchase an HP for my parents, but it is definitely set for a recreational user moreso than my use. They have some decent units to purchase, but it's buy off-the shelf for a good price, or custom configure it for a whole lot more.

I need to revisit the Lenovo site - don't remember what I saw the first time. Compaq does not do laptops now - it refers you to HP. I had forgotten about that hardware split. Acer is one that I couldn't remember. They had little respect early on but I think they came back into the game. I have looked at Gateway in ages, either. Has anyone heard anything about them recently? I know they are owned by someone else now - Acer, I believe.

Starting to wonder if I really need Windows Pro on it or not. I've always gone with pro, so I could use it on our network, but I never do. Even less reason now with remote access, dropbox/Onedrive and wireless networking (to gain internet access when I have it at the office).

Ric · October 09, 2014, 01:38:05 PM

Quote from: Jim Jensen on October 07, 2014, 06:00:45 PM
Looking for the next laptop. Looking at Dell, HP and Lenovo currently. Currently using a Lenovo, which in general has been ok, but not terribly happy with the sticky hinges that caused the display frame to break and require replacement. Reliability hasn't been the greatest, though performance is still generally good. Simply getting aged (5 years) and showing its age with a noisy fan or hard drive predicting failure in its future. So, any others to consider? Compaq? Had one of those ages ago...

Must say that my recent Dell purchase was not pleasant at all - they canceled the order because they couldn't fulfil it and didn't even notify me. Then really crappy experience trying to find out why and redoing the order (took 7 people to finally complete it).

Would suggested Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I have had mine personally for almost 2 months. After working out a few transitional items I am happy to report that it fulfills their tag line "Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop "

HTH

Ric

Jim Jensen · October 09, 2014, 03:16:56 PM

Quote from: Ric on October 09, 2014, 01:38:05 PM
Quote from: Jim Jensen on October 07, 2014, 06:00:45 PM
Looking for the next laptop. Looking at Dell, HP and Lenovo currently. Currently using a Lenovo, which in general has been ok, but not terribly happy with the sticky hinges that caused the display frame to break and require replacement. Reliability hasn't been the greatest, though performance is still generally good. Simply getting aged (5 years) and showing its age with a noisy fan or hard drive predicting failure in its future. So, any others to consider? Compaq? Had one of those ages ago...

Must say that my recent Dell purchase was not pleasant at all - they canceled the order because they couldn't fulfil it and didn't even notify me. Then really crappy experience trying to find out why and redoing the order (took 7 people to finally complete it).

Would suggested Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I have had mine personally for almost 2 months. After working out a few transitional items I am happy to report that it fulfills their tag line "Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop "

HTH

Ric

Except that it has a smaller screen and less HD space. My laptop currently has the 250GB drive dangerously full and I'm not doing some things that I'd like to do with it, because of the need for more HD space. The Surface 3 screen isn't much larger than the 2, which I have. Thus Surface 3 misses here.

Ric · October 09, 2014, 03:26:22 PM

Quote from: Jim Jensen on October 09, 2014, 03:16:56 PM
Quote from: Ric on October 09, 2014, 01:38:05 PM
Quote from: Jim Jensen on October 07, 2014, 06:00:45 PM
Looking for the next laptop. Looking at Dell, HP and Lenovo currently. Currently using a Lenovo, which in general has been ok, but not terribly happy with the sticky hinges that caused the display frame to break and require replacement. Reliability hasn't been the greatest, though performance is still generally good. Simply getting aged (5 years) and showing its age with a noisy fan or hard drive predicting failure in its future. So, any others to consider? Compaq? Had one of those ages ago...

Must say that my recent Dell purchase was not pleasant at all - they canceled the order because they couldn't fulfil it and didn't even notify me. Then really crappy experience trying to find out why and redoing the order (took 7 people to finally complete it).

Would suggested Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I have had mine personally for almost 2 months. After working out a few transitional items I am happy to report that it fulfills their tag line "Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop "

HTH

Ric

Except that it has a smaller screen and less HD space. My laptop currently has the 250GB drive dangerously full and I'm not doing some things that I'd like to do with it, because of the need for more HD space. The Surface 3 screen isn't much larger than the 2, which I have. Thus Surface 3 misses here.

My bad.

Perhaps I misunderstood what you were looking for.

In my mind the Surface Pro 3 (and I believe some other tablets out there) are a great machines for Account Executives. They are small, lightweight, powerful, and have a long battery life --- for out of the office. Inside the office I would think it would be used to plug into a docking station to run bigger screens, keyboards etc.

I have 256 GB of storage on mine but it can be had with a 1/2 TB.

If that's not your cup of tea then I would go with the biggest, badest notebook that Dell carries.

HTH

Ric