Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Everything Else => Topic started by: gryhnd on July 16, 2013, 07:49:38 pm
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...for a neighbor's college student.
I have many laptops come by my desk from friends that have broken charging ports. Bad designs that continue on. Besides a failing hard drive, my neighbor's daughter's charging port is crapping out as well.
Apple got it right with the magport, but that's out of their budget.
So I'm casting for opinions as well as personal experiences for solid laptops in the medium budget range. Solid enough that charging ports don't break when looked at cross eyed, and have a decent overall build quality and specs.
What say ye?
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I say ASUS :cheers: :cheers:
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I say ASUS :cheers: :cheers:
Thanks.
Got a particular model in mind? There's often huge quality variances in laptops within any given brand in my experience.
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Any guesses on specs the student might want (screen size, weight, system requirements for a game to play during lecture hall)? A friend has this Asus (http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-A53Z-AS61-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Mocha/dp/B007MW13PA) and seems happy with it.
edit - Never mind apparently I got the model wrong. Model asus a53z k53z is the one he has though no one seems to be selling it anymore.
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Any guesses on specs the student might want (screen size, weight, system requirements for a game to play during lecture hall)? A friend has this Asus (http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-A53Z-AS61-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Mocha/dp/B007MW13PA) and seems happy with it.
edit - Never mind apparently I got the model wrong. Model asus a53z k53z is the one he has though no one seems to be selling it anymore.
The current laptop has a 17" screen but she probably doesn't need that. She's not too techy. Mostly seems to be office type apps, skype, oovo, stuff like that. Some low level games. No COD ;D
Edit: looks like this one too has the classic charge port design that always seems to break. Hmmm
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I say ASUS :cheers: :cheers:
Thanks.
Got a particular model in mind? There's often huge quality variances in laptops within any given brand in my experience.
that's because those jackasses are rebranding the laptops from the handful of manufacturers that actually make laptops. Last I checked even Apple was outsourcing some of the laptop design and construction. They did it to Apple spec but still outsourced. Even the venerated Alienware wasn't theirs before Dell took them over. This was all awhile ago but I doubt things changed much. This explains the huge variances in quality and features from the same brand.
I don't have the url anymore but there used to be a pretty good site that tracked who the primary manufacturer was from all the secondary, resellers and rebranders out there.
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HP makes a really good laptop... my Mom's has been going strong for years now.
You'll pay out the butt for it though.
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I don't like laptops, but end up purchasing them for my wife and daughter. I prefer Toshiba, they have a good balance of durability/performance. Wait until you see a sale for one in the $400/500 dollar range.
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I don't like laptops, but end up purchasing them for my wife and daughter. I prefer Toshiba, they have a good balance of durability/performance. Wait until you see a sale for one in the $400/500 dollar range.
Thank you, but the current P.O.C. the girl has is a Toshiba. First, half of the keyboard died. Yup, turns out to be a common problem. Now, the drive is dead and the charging port is getting twitchy. This all from light use, no drops. Not to mention the battery life is abysmall.
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OK, sorry. Haven't seen any of those issues on may family's laptops. I have seen some issues, however, after they get dropped. In my case, my daughter fell down the stairs and used it to shield her fall.
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I have had good luck with the dell XPS line. Some folks say the insperons are not as good. I've had my XPS 16 for over 3 years and it is great. I can even game on it (borderlands 2).
Look for dell sales there out there all the time. you can get a 1200 notebook for 700-800.
Whatever you do don't buy an acer...I got one for my daughter around the same time as the XPS and it has been nothing but problems.
For a collage student get the extended warranty, sure its a few bucks more but having 3 or four years worry free is awesome.
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I say ASUS :cheers: :cheers:
^ This. Excellent quality and 1 year warranty that covers everything including accidental damage.
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I say ASUS :cheers: :cheers:
^ This. Excellent quality and 1 year warranty that covers everything including accidental damage.
Yes sir. If you want quality ASUS is where it is at. I have a souped up asus core i5 "u56e", i absolutely love the thing and after inspection of the carging port, it looks pretty freaking solid.
As for HP, if you plan on getting one from them that is not expensive....don't. I have repaired countless HPs for many different reasons. Never had an ASUS nor Lenovo.
Speaking of lenovo, if you want a cheap laptop with more power than needed and good quality search for the Lenovo B575, I bought 3 for some gifts and what not a little while ago.
:cheers:
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Thirded on ASUS. ;)
Edit, maybe I'm the 4th recommendation. I've never had charge port issues, but I baby the heck out of the port
My wife has a classier HP and love it. The charge port has been withstanding a 2 year old and a 6 month old with no problems.
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I have personally never used an Asus. I am using a mother board in my weecade build that is an Asus. I have had it for over four years and (knock on wood) have never had to do any problem solving on it and it has run like a champ. Unfortunatley the same cannot be said for HP. My ex girlfriend had an HP desktop and the thing would fall apart to its core trying to open a Word document.
But I digress. If you are looking for a good work horse and money is really no object I would go with a Dell. Their website lets you pick and choose the laptop you want. My wife and I usually go with Toshibas. They are sturdy and we only had one die on us in the past six years of using them. It was no fault of ours. Our dog got excited and knocked it off the picnic table. Could of been fixed too if I was good at replacing screens. But we just purchased another one and moved onward and upward.
But like I tell everyone going to buy anything DO RESEARCH. Todays model might be rock solid while the predecessor is a complete lemon.
...I prefer Toshiba, they have a good balance of durability/performance. Wait until you see a sale for one in the $400/500 dollar range.
+1
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Ask Shmokes he is the laptop expert of BYOAC.
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Whatever you do don't buy an acer...I got one for my daughter around the same time as the XPS and it has been nothing but problems.
Agreed! I've got two dead ones in my office!
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Whatever they buy make sure it has the new Haswell 4th generation CPU from Intel, much better battery life. I also have been very happy with Asus for many years.
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In general, if you're looking for quality, you're going to have to buy from the "business" line from a given manufacturer, assuming they even have one, or get lucky on a consumer-enthusiast line like Alienware. E.g. you buy a Latitude from Dell, not an Inspiron or a Thinkpad from Lenovo, not an Ideapad. Even that's hit or miss, but at least it'll get you on the right track. All but the highest end models on the consumer line are usually pretty crummy. They load them up with good looking basic specs (reasonably clocked CPU, decent amount of RAM, etc.) but the construction quality is poor, and they're always the low end parts (higher power CPU, slower/higher power RAM, etc.). An amusing thing to do is pick up a copy of the service manual, if you can get it, and look at how many screws it takes to tear into the machine at varying levels. The more, the better.
The downside to the business lineup, aside from cost, is that they're rarely gaming powerhouses, if that's important to you.
As far as I'm concerned, there are very, very few decent laptops on the market these days. I'm still rocking my old W500 from 2009: it still works, and it has more pixels than your laptop probably does (unless it's a "Retina" Apple, a Chromebook Pixel, or a Kirabook). Then again, my previous laptop (from 2003) probably has more pixels than yours does, too...
I've had some people I know buy various models and have various levels of satisfaction. The Dell Latitudes have been OK for most people as have Thinkpad W and T series, but no love for the cheaper/smaller models in the Thinkpad line anymore, it seems. Apples are usually met with great anticipation only to have them break just outside warranty and not be worth repairing. Nobody I know has had any real longer-term luck (>2 years) with anything branded Acer. Asus is ok-at-best if you buy their highest end stuff. However, the plural of anecdote is not evidence, so YMMV.
Asustek also builds laptops for Dell, HP, and Apple, but the models are different, which somebody has mentioned. Doesn't mean that the stuff bearing the Asus name has anything to do with those other models. It's just plain ol' contract/outsource manufacturing.
If the person who this is targeted for is actually tech illiterate, a Chromebook (not Pixel, unless you really want to spend that cash) may be appropriate since they're almost maintenance free. If cost is a concern, just go pick up whatever's cheap on black Friday. It won't be very good, and you'll be lucky to have it really last more than a couple years, but at that point you can just replace it, and you're only out a couple hundred bucks as opposed to buying a real machine (which will, even in this era, generally run you at least $1000) and trying to carry it for 4-5 years through school.
And yes, the Haswells are (apparently) very good power consumption wise. I really doubt some of the numbers being published by the major vendors, though, since the CPU alone doesn't account for enough power consumption to give the kind of improvements they're in some cases claiming over previous models.
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Actually, this is a better discussion than the shmokes/apple thing.
I admit my perspective is narrow. Gadget Budget = 0. I think we can pretty much agree that Acer is not a quality brand and Asus is. I still stand by my Toshiba recommendation. Perhaps it doesn't matter, since at certain price points, they are all manufactured by the same companies.
Apples are for those with a larger budgets and need something that they don't have to mess with, which is why I recommend them to my friends and family who aren't techies and can afford them.
I don't buy used laptops and would think twice before purchasing refurbs.
ramble ramble
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Thanks for the continuing input guys.
Watching and studying...
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Just to mention since someone here mentioned Dell.
If Dell is still using the three pin connector that looks like a barrel jack. Avoid it. The connector is great but the 1-wire portion of the PSU will get flaky and it gets to be a hassle. I hacked my PSU and all my problems went away. I have a thread here if someone cares to look for it.
Is Dell the only ones with the recharge counters in their batteries? Hit 1000 recharges or somesuch and the laptop will refuse to recharge it anymore. I don't recall if any one else is doing that.
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Just to mention since someone here mentioned Dell.
If Dell is still using the three pin connector that looks like a barrel jack. Avoid it. The connector is great but the 1-wire portion of the PSU will get flaky and it gets to be a hassle. I hacked my PSU and all my problems went away. I have a thread here if someone cares to look for it.
Is Dell the only ones with the recharge counters in their batteries? Hit 1000 recharges or somesuch and the laptop will refuse to recharge it anymore. I don't recall if any one else is doing that.
I have not had any problems with mine, My battery has a charge indicator but no counter like you mention. Nor do the new dell laptops we just got in at my work. 18 of them. Must be special.
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It's a persistent thing. Lots of Google hits if you search for it.
my laptop is creeping towards six or seven and I have not had a battery for three. I understand how Dell laptops communicate with the PSU and have the tools now that I can go looking for the IC inside the battery pack, I just need to find the pack now.
My symptoms mirrored that reported. My laptop simply refused to stop start charging the battery.
:dunno
I have come across other non-Dells with batteries so dead it's not even worth using them but Dell batteries seem to commit suicide after a fashion. Given that Dell requires the PSU to ID itself correctly or the Dell will cut CPU speed by half, I absolutely would not put it past Dell to do something similar to their battery packs.
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Wow, that's news to me, perhaps it is model specific. I'm on my original battery and it still holds a good charge, I . (knock on wood)
I also don't see any performance hit on battery unless I set it to power save. Dell XPS 1640. I would buy another one in a heartbeat.
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Thanks everyone. Based on input here and reviews elsewhere, along with a good $$/value ratio, I suggested they get the ASUS A55VD-AH71
It just arrived a couple days ago, but I guess the student is elated with it so far.
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:cheers: Good to hear!
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Glad you landed on ASUS. Badass company who actually gives a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- about quality even if you don't pay big bucks for the latest and greatest.
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I just got the Lenovo Z585 on Thursday and it features the same family of processor as the PS4 and Xbox One. The laptop is quad core with dual core graphics and plays BF3 at high settings for £399
I have two Asus laptops and they are excellent workhorses. Nice choice for the student. :applaud:
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When I suggested the Asus to my friends a couple/three weeks ago, it was only $700 at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009M2XB6M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER), but it's suddenly up to $867. Holy price increase!