Whats going on with laptops these days?

F

fishrule

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Messages
338
Whats going on with the reliability level of laptops these days? When I used to buy laptops they would last me at least five years. Now I am lucky if a laptop doesn't fail after two. I bought a Gateway FX laptop with an ATI chipset, to only have the graphics go south after a year. I ended up RMAing and replacing that laptop with an Asus F50SV, and the screen later died on it after six months. And its not just me, I seem to have friends approaching me for computer help more than ever, and almost all of them are using newer laptops.

Whats going on? Is it increased heat? Cutting corners? Bad manufacturing practices? I have a Gateway MX6453 that I bought in 2005, ironically I ended up falling back to it after all my "upgrades" just ended up turning into bricks after a few months.
 
I'd say its heat and bad cooling, at least most of the dead laptops I have seen had these problems
 
Some of it is simply the way the notebook is designed.

A lot of notebooks from Acer/Gateway, Dell and HP are built solely for price. They're made to be attractive for comparison shoppers in Best Buy -- flashy on the outside but hollow on the inside. HP is getting better, but there's still a lot of flimsy plastic, batteries that die in two hours, and cut-rate mainboards. And don't get me started on the poorly outsourced tech support.

Part of the problem is that we've become too obsessed with chasing the number game. A lot of people will call a MacBook Pro overpriced, but they'll completely ignore that it's built out of extremely solid aluminum and is deliberately designed to last for years. Apple even reckons that normal use will see a MacBook Pro lose it's first significant charge after five years. Five! It's certainly not a perfect company, since a lot of the components have to be taken from the same shelves, but at least the company gives the impression that it's okay for your notebook to last more than a couple of years.

The only others I can think of genuinely concerned with longevity, that I can tell, are ASUS and Sony, and even then, only for certain models any aluminum ASUS notebook, or Sony's Japan-nade models. It's getting to the point where we virtually have to vote with our wallets, since many companies aren't getting the hint.
 
my dv6810us is still kicking, even with a horrible amd proc and nvidia graphics :p
 
Aurelius said:
Some of it is simply the way the notebook is designed.

A lot of notebooks from Acer/Gateway, Dell and HP are built solely for price. They're made to be attractive for comparison shoppers in Best Buy -- flashy on the outside but hollow on the inside. HP is getting better, but there's still a lot of flimsy plastic, batteries that die in two hours, and cut-rate mainboards. And don't get me started on the poorly outsourced tech support.

Part of the problem is that we've become too obsessed with chasing the number game. A lot of people will call a MacBook Pro overpriced, but they'll completely ignore that it's built out of extremely solid aluminum and is deliberately designed to last for years. Apple even reckons that normal use will see a MacBook Pro lose it's first significant charge after five years. Five! It's certainly not a perfect company, since a lot of the components have to be taken from the same shelves, but at least the company gives the impression that it's okay for your notebook to last more than a couple of years.

The only others I can think of genuinely concerned with longevity, that I can tell, are ASUS and Sony, and even then, only for certain models any aluminum ASUS notebook, or Sony's Japan-nade models. It's getting to the point where we virtually have to vote with our wallets, since many companies aren't getting the hint.
Click to expand...

My 2008 Santa Rosa 15" MBP is still going strong. I'd say its still faster than any of the sub-$800 laptops that are brand new models at Best Buy. And the current 3hr battery life after 2 years is probably just around the same as the new batts there as well.

That said my wife's Dell Inspiron e1705 lasted FOREVER. Old skool Centrino w/ ATI x-something in it. Dell has made some solid models over its years. Her current Studio 1555 w/ upgraded components is pretty slick too, a little creaky but overall solid.

You just gotta spend the bucks to get something good. You're right though, most of the models at Best Buy are absolute garbage. I had to go there with my father in law to pick out a sub-$600 15" basic laptop for MS Office and work email, they were all pretty much the same, crappy screens, horrible plastic, terrible trackpads, etc.

Oh, and as for tech support, that was a big reason (besides OS X) for me buying the MBP. I love having US based tech support and a store where I can personally drop it off and have it fixed on site in ~3-4 days max. If I ever buy another Dell I would gladly pay extra for US based tech support. I'm sick of speaking with cue-card reading idiots 5000 miles away who can't understand me and I can't understand them. "Hey man, my screen isn't working", "I'm sorry sir, thank you for calling us, did you try unplugging the power and battery and recycling the power?", "Son of a bi...."
 
Last edited:
I have a 5 year old IBM Thinkpad that's still running well, and the build quality was and remains solid, but it definitely came at a premium. I can see myself using it for another 5 for the purpose it serves. That being said, I think it's import to consider how long you want to use your laptop vs. it's price/future performance. A weak example to illustrate the idea: you can spend 1500 on a laptop that lasts 6 years versus or buy 3 500$ laptops every 2 years. The $500 system will eventually have an advantage in performance just by virtue of technological progression.
 
You're not spending enough money, or you're spending it in the wrong places (ie. everything at BestBuy is a worthless piece of shit, except the overpriced Apple products they sell).

Go buy a ThinkPad or EliteBook.
 
keenan said:
You're not spending enough money, or you're spending it in the wrong places (ie. everything at BestBuy is a worthless piece of shit, except the overpriced Apple products they sell).

Go buy a ThinkPad or EliteBook.
Click to expand...

Some of their Asus are ok.

And yes first mistake was buying Gateway, cheap stuff every time i've used their products.
 
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I believe it is a bit of planning on the computer manufacturers. Laptops are such a necessity, if it fails every 3 years or so, you are simply going to buy another one. Its kinda like Cars and other products back in the day--(like the 70s-80s) Cars used to be made like tanks, and they would last forever. Now, many are lucky to have theirs paid off before they need a new one.

If your laptop lasts for 6 years or more, then manufacturers don't make money. I don't think it is the notebook companies, more the component manufacturers (Intel, AMD, etc) because customers will associate the failure with the notebook rather than the component (usually), and will switch brands (like the OP)
 
Think you are wrong computercatz. Cars of the past are not made like tanks. How many of the 70s/80s are on the road today. I'm 65 and had many older cars that never really lasted. Todays cars last much longer if they are taken care of. Many drive them into the ground then buy new again.

I have a 4 year warranty that takes care of a notebook computer for the long haul, , have a Dell notebook that is over 5 years old (No warranty on that one), so that conspiracy theory is just bunk. Many buy another notebook because the ones they have are not up to speed with the new applications and games, and is the reason they are replaced, not to mention, many younger customers have an craving for anything new. Take for example the IPad and other tablets out or coming out. They are hungry for these, though they are some what held back and no match for notebooks of the same price point.
 
SR45 said:
Think you are wrong computercatz. Cars of the past are not made like tanks. How many of the 70s/80s are on the road today. I'm 65 and had many older cars that never really lasted. Todays cars last much longer if they are taken care of. Many drive them into the ground then buy new again.
Click to expand...

Depends where you live, In argentina the majority of the the cars are from 50s/60s. But I still don't think they are all that reliable.
 
So how much are all of you who're complaining about reliability spending, relatively speaking, on your notebooks?

If you're spending like-for-like (adjusted for the value of currency), you'd be buying midrange gear now even if you were buying bottom-feeder machines back in e.g. 2004, and your experience should not be a whole lot different.

I usually only buy flagships, and I'm spending slightly less than I used to in real-life dollars - and my reliability experiences have been not hugely different. The only major change is that I got into Macs in 2006, and have been running *their* flagships for the last 4 years - and their reliability is, when compared with direct competitors, abysmal. The Windows stuff hasn't really changed.
 
my wife uses a gateway from 2007 and it is a pentium dual core. managed to last dispite being in vietnam since i bought it
 
My 5 year old Dell Inspiron 9300 is still kicking after years of abuse of being overclocked for the majority of that time.

My next laptop well nothing out right now looks good and it is time to upgrade, I was thinking a 15" MBP and toss Win7 on it.
 
I think another factor is that most people treat their laptops like shit.

I treat mine well and everyone thinks I'm crazy cuz I'm being so careful opening the lid using two hands, in the middle rather than the side, etc.
 
1. dont buy gateway
2. any laptop i would say under $1000 is crap these days
3. buy small buisness and not home account on said OEM site.

it is all about cutting corners these days, those $400 bargain laptops are bottom of the line crap, OEM expect people to spend money on upgrade and warranty plans.

these days if you buy a laptop get at least the 2 year plan minimum.
 
Nanan said:
My 5 year old Dell Inspiron 9300 is still kicking after years of abuse of being overclocked for the majority of that time.

My next laptop well nothing out right now looks good and it is time to upgrade, I was thinking a 15" MBP and toss Win7 on it.
Click to expand...

Yep, I'm still using the Dell e1705 (virtually the same model as yours iirc). I've gone through 3-4 of the 7900 Go GS cards since I got this laptop 4-5 years ago, but other than that, it's been solid. That card has heat issues. I've since installed a DIY cooler on the outside of the laptop. I don't regret getting the three-year in-home service warranty, though. Always nice to have a technician at your house 1-2 days after filing a claim.

shurcooL said:
I think another factor is that most people treat their laptops like shit.

I treat mine well and everyone thinks I'm crazy cuz I'm being so careful opening the lid using two hands, in the middle rather than the side, etc.
Click to expand...

I imagine that has something to do with it. I suspect it can be attributed to more than just jostling the laptop about -- not taking 5-10 minutes to blow out the fans and ensure that temperatures are reasonable might be one of the bigger culprits. My laptop's GPU runs at ~63 C under load when the heatsink is clean. A couple of months later, the temps will approach 80 C if I haven't cleaned it, which will -- as I've learned personally -- severely shorten the lifespan of my particular card.
 
MrGuvernment said:
it is all about cutting corners these days, those $400 bargain laptops are bottom of the line crap, OEM expect people to spend money on upgrade and warranty plans.
Click to expand...

I've had a lot of family members buy these kinds of laptops in the last year since 7 came out and I've been suprised with how these machines have held up, a mix of HP, Dell, Toshibas mostly. Yeah they are crap by our standards but for what they cost I have been overall impressed.
 
Last edited:
it really depends on how well you treat your laptop. yes gateway was bad call, and i've fx which is secondhand bought about 10 month ago and after fixing it's LCD and random freezes it's running pretty solid. yes the thing is starting to shake (literraly shaking even when it's closed it's shacking) but other than that it's running solid. i also had another gatway i bought for $100 and it's running solid with windows 7 and 7200 rpm HD did have to put in 3 GB ram.

i've about 18 laptop in last 2 year between friends and family. out of all the two i've (one HP and gateway FX) which i never had any problem, other family members let's start

1st HP LCD went bad
2nd HP dropped it about a feet landed on sofa and LCD to video internal cable snapped and the hings broke off
3rd HP battery died and replacement cought fire

1st dell video chipset gone bad and now it's usless
2nd dell xps 13in can't keep things in places crashes every few hour and when i got to fixing the darn thing runs slow
3rd dell motherboard fried and replacement cost me $130 cause of out of warranty and it died in 3 months

Acer, sony, toshiba and few other brand went bad even few macs went bad including battery problems after year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top