Technology which brand of laptop is most reliable?

[maceo]

I am in the market for a new laptop. currently have an hp which is 4 years old. AMD turion.

What mark is most reliable Hp? toshiba/ sony vaio? anyone with suggestions

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[justaregularmed]

Don't quote me but I think Toshiba was the highest last I looked.

 

[Altruist]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2352798,00.asp

The link is to the 2009 PC Mag reader reliability survey for notebooks. The top 5 for reliability are Apple (9.3/10), Asus (8.9), Sony (8.3), Lenovo (8.1) and Toshiba (8.1).

Anecdotally, I'm very happy with my Macbook pro, but given the price difference, I'd look at Asus and Lenovo unless you're actively looking to switch.

I've had bad luck with Sony in the past, but that's probably just luck of the draw.

 

[tungsten87]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2352798,00.asp

The link is to the 2009 PC Mag reader reliability survey for notebooks. The top 5 for reliability are Apple (9.3/10), Asus (8.9), Sony (8.3), Lenovo (8.1) and Toshiba (8.1).

Anecdotally, I'm very happy with my Macbook pro, but given the price difference, I'd look at Asus and Lenovo unless you're actively looking to switch.

I've had bad luck with Sony in the past, but that's probably just luck of the draw.

i agree. if you're willing to spend the cash then get a macbook pro... you will not be sorry. otherwise i'd go with asus or lenovo.

 

[Velocity]

I've had bad luck with Sony in the past, but that's probably just luck of the draw.

Sony is the "Apple of the PC world." For the cost, you tend to get less than if you were to buy from another manufacturer. Sony does seem to put a lot into their styling, however. I'm not big on form over function, though.

Part of the appeal of Apple systems is their physical stores. Computer defects can happen to anyone purchasing from any company, and normally you'd need to search around for an authorized repair center or ship your system back to the manufacturer. With the Apple stores you can walk it in, have someone look it over in front of you, and handle the issue right there. In my experience and based on what I've heard, they tend to be pretty helpful about repairs (as opposed to some companies that hold the fine print of the warranty out through the entire process). Their "geniuses" aren't always the most knowledgeable, but that doesn't really matter when you just need a part replaced: you just need them to agree to replace the part.

 

[justaregularmed]

The PC MAG article is a readers choice survey.

A study that has a little more hard data is a little more telling.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/11/17/reliability.study.has.apple.4th.place/

Done by square trade on actual repairs.

Asus, Toshiba are essentially equal Sony, Apple, Dell are close enough over 3 years.

Now again this shows why the PCMAG study is misleading it doesn't exclude net books which clearly have a higher failure rate, they also show the significance of the quality of a entry level laptop vs. a premium.

When it boils down to it if you spend as much money as you do on an apple on a windows powered laptop, your more then likely going to get something of the same or better quality. And you will almost certainly get more for your money.

 

[.surgical.]

Putting in my plug for Lenovo. Best and most reliable laptops I have ever owned. Buy the business models (ThinkPad), they have a good reputation for durability. They are not "pretty" like MBP's, but they have utility and functionality at a much better price.

 

[bluegene]

Felt like HP's Elitebook line needed to be represented. Tough little things. Check out the 2740p, a tablet pc, it'll be the only thing you'll need to carry with you to school. You should be able to find the 2730p on eBay very cheaply.

 

[waldenwoods]

Putting in my plug for Lenovo. Best and most reliable laptops I have ever owned. Buy the business models (ThinkPad), they have a good reputation for durability. They are not "pretty" like MBP's, but they have utility and functionality at a much better price.

I had an IBM ThinkPad for almost 5 years before it completely died (nothing wrong with the hard drive so my data was preserved). So when the time came to buy another one, I bought a Lenovo ThinkPad. And you can more easily find models where the resolution is something higher than what comes standard on most laptops you would find in Best Buy/Costco/other retail stores; for example, my laptop monitor's resolution is 1680x1050. And, I purchased it "refurbished" from the Lenovo outlet Web site. (Not necessarily recommending you do this--some people like buying brand-new computers where you can add on all sorts of service packages and warranties, which is fine--but it is a possible option that would save several hundred dollars compared to the new Lenovo laptops.)

MacBooks are fine too, if you prefer; I just have always used/owned Windows computers.

 

[DrJosephKim]

Most businesses use: Lenovo, HP, and Dell. Within these brands, there are business lines of notebooks that are the most reliable.

 

[avatarftw]

Here is the objective data from a third party provider of PC extended warranty services. Asus was the best, followed by Toshiba, then Sony...Apple was actually middle of the pack.

http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/N...tebook-PC-Makers-439809/?kc=EWKNLEDP11272009A


By Lawrence Walsh on 2009-11-23
SquareTrade, a provider of PC extended warranty services, studied the failure rates of the most widely used notebook computers. The results are startling. One in three notebooks will fail within three years. Here’s a look at the reliability and failure rate results among the top PC manufacturers.

I am in the market for a new laptop. currently have an hp which is 4 years old. AMD turion.

What mark is most reliable Hp? toshiba/ sony vaio? anyone with suggestions

 

[Neuronix]

I think chinocochino's post highlights the relaity. Laptops are all pretty unreliable. My personal preference is to buy a reasonably priced Dell and I'm sure to upgrade to a 3-4 year Complete Care warranty. Even with that extra cost, the laptop is still cheaper than most brands, and that warranty provides an excellent level of service.

 

[avatarftw]

No, the failure rate between the best and worst laptop company (in terms of reliability) was 25% to 16%. Thus, the most reliable company was 33% less likely to malfunction than the least reliable brand.

Also, the study included "accidents" for the failure rate. The real malfunction rate was much lower. You can't excuse the laptop for not surviving the pop or water spilled on it. Or for dropping the laptop.

It was interesting to note that the higher priced laptops were more reliable than the cheaper ones. There was a notable difference between the netbooks and notebooks.

I think chinocochino's post highlights the relaity. Laptops are all pretty unreliable. My personal preference is to buy a reasonably priced Dell and I'm sure to upgrade to a 3-4 year Complete Care warranty. Even with that extra cost, the laptop is still cheaper than most brands, and that warranty provides an excellent level of service.

 

[Neuronix]

No, the failure rate between the best and worst laptop company (in terms of reliability) was 25% to 16%. Thus, the most reliable company was 33% less likely to malfunction than the least reliable brand.

The absolute difference isn't enough to sway me on this.

Also, the study included "accidents" for the failure rate. The real malfunction rate was much lower. You can't excuse the laptop for not surviving the pop or water spilled on it. Or for dropping the laptop.

The warranty I mentioned covers accidents. I am accident prone so that's good for me.

 

[xanthomondo]

I still say the #1 determinant of reliability is not brand/model of computer but the user him/herself.

I've seen people blow parts (fan and hard drive failure) on the same exact computer I have (6 years old, still working perfectly), then switch to a Mac and had the identical thing happen again.

My HP (6 years old), Gateway (3 years old) and Dell (2 years old) have all been good to me and I use them each on a regular (daily) basis.

 

[coup de chance]

I still say the #1 determinant of reliability is not brand/model of computer but the user him/herself.

I've seen people blow parts (fan and hard drive failure) on the same exact computer I have (6 years old, still working perfectly), then switch to a Mac and had the identical thing happen again.

My HP (6 years old), Gateway (3 years old) and Dell (2 years old) have all been good to me and I use them each on a regular (daily) basis.

SO TRUE!

BUt, for whatever it's worth, I bought a Dell Inspiron in 2005 for ~800$ and got the $160 4-year warranty. Best money spent ever. I got 4 keyboards, 1 set of rubber pads out of the warranty, plus I had the option of replacing my LCD (which I declined since the bleaching was minor and I didn't want to let my computer out of my sight). 😀

The old comp is still going strong!

Battery is wearing out though and I have dropped my laptop a lot of times. Enough for me to be on the market for a new laptop to use while I'm on the road interviewing.

So please keep the suggestions coming