What Is A Good Make For A Notebook Or Laptop ?

[IEMDavid]

What is a good make for a notebook or laptop ?

[Artamus]

I am sure you'll get 100 posts and 100 different opinions. In my time here I've had Laptops from Compaq/HP, Asus and Toshiba. All have performed OK. Look at the spec of the machine you require and try reading some reviews on the web. I tend to take into consideration where I am buying it from rather than just the price. Many shops will have an engineer on-site whom you can talk to and get installed what you want, and in the event of a problem you can take it back and talk to the person fixing it. I've always shyed away from the big supermarkets - sure they will replace a faulty machine, but you'll not get on-hands support when things go wrong.

[SaNim]

[Goshawk]

[HeavyDrinker]

Indeed! This is very much a horses for courses topic.

The most important thing is to consider is what you need the machine for.

Make a list of your requirements, surf the net and see which models will perform best for you.

Have a look at what is popular among people in the same profession as you etc.

[PoeDogg]

http://smidgenpc.com/2010/05/07/laptop-reliability-ratings-which-laptop-is-really-most-reliable/

[mcgriffith]

Moved to Computer subforum, as topic is not Chiang Mai specific.

Live link remains on CM.

[g00dgirl]

Lenovo Thinkpad

[WebBangkok]

Depends on price range.

I like the Lenovo's from 30k down.

30K plus I like the Dell's Samsung's and HP's

If you got money to throw around then a Mac

[ericthai]

Like already mentioned it's a user opinion almost like asking what make of car to buy. However I will give you my opinion.

I used to stand by Sony, but in the last few years I think their pricing for what you get is not worth it. (some will say different) it seems sony in the past few years is not as good as in the past, again my opinion. My wife has a sony and she is happy with it, so far no problems and she has had it for 3 years. My last 3 laptops were all sony, but last year I bought a ACER, I heard good things about them and that the support in Thailand is very good. I did have a problem with mine after about 3 months, took it to Acer and they took care of it promptly. I like the acer and I think dollar for dollar Acer is a good buy.

Good Luck!!

[SantiSuk]

If you want a notebook or laptop does this mean you intend to do serious travel with it or just the occasional holiday? If it is the former and you need one that will not die if you drop it or bounce it around on rough roads then Lenovo Thinkpad is the industry benchmark in lightweight compact reliability under abuse, but nonetheless with a full size keypad. A reputation gained from an IBM progeny has not been compromised by the Chinese manufacturer, who took over the brand 7 or 8 years ago.

Many corporates give Thinkpads to their road warrior salesmen and execs. I've used 3 or 4 of different vintages over the last 15 years. Now I'm retired I'm less inclined to upgrade my 6 year old X60s, which is still going strong despite having been dropped (usually inside a laptop bag) innumerable times. I'm convinced it could go on for a decade if I want it to.

If you anticipate just occasional travel use, then buy something cheaper. Thinkpads are up to twice the price of some acceptable but not so robust alternatives like Acer. Half as much again as HP, Dell. They would be a great second hand buy too if you could find one, as those corporates tend to lease them over only 2 or 3 years then replace. My own corporate issued several thousand to its UK employees and I watched the replacement policy go from 18 months to 4 years as their IT guys realised how robust these machines are.

[Gary A]

If you want a notebook or laptop does this mean you intend to do serious travel with it or just the occasional holiday? If it is the former and you need one that will not die if you drop it or bounce it around on rough roads then Lenovo Thinkpad is the industry benchmark in lightweight compact reliability under abuse, but nonetheless with a full size keypad. A reputation gained from an IBM progeny has not been compromised by the Chinese manufacturer, who took over the brand 7 or 8 years ago.

Many corporates give Thinkpads to their road warrior salesmen and execs. I've used 3 or 4 of different vintages over the last 15 years. Now I'm retired I'm less inclined to upgrade my 6 year old X60s, which is still going strong despite having been dropped (usually inside a laptop bag) innumerable times. I'm convinced it could go on for a decade if I want it to.

If you anticipate just occasional travel use, then buy something cheaper. Thinkpads are up to twice the price of some acceptable but not so robust alternatives like Acer. Half as much again as HP, Dell. They would be a great second hand buy too if you could find one, as those corporates tend to lease them over only 2 or 3 years then replace. My own corporate issued several thousand to its UK employees and I watched the replacement policy go from 18 months to 4 years as their IT guys realised how robust these machines are.

The first Thinkpad I had is now ten years old and other than a couple of keys not working it is still running using a remote keyboard. I replaced that old machine with a T43p Thinkpad. I was quite happy with it until the mainboard failed at two and a half years old. Lenovo replaced the mainboard under warranty and I was happy again. Unfortunately the new mainboard failed after two years of light usage. I think the IBM quality is gone.

[tango]

Not having had a reliable laptop, I tend to now stick with desktops. That being said; my son, his wife and their two daughters each have a Dell laptop, and have had reliably for over 5 years now.

I own a 4-year old Acer desktop, and have had to visit the Acer repair center regularly each month for the first 18 months due to Vista issues. I installed Win XP and now Win7; the Acer runs like a dream ever since. Incidentally while sitting in the Acer repair waiting room I witnessed numerous customers returning their laptops for service. Not having been there for two and a half years, this may not now be the case. Why not stroll by to get a feel for what problems if any the current clients are experiencing. Acer is on HueyKow Rd near the Phucome Intersection a few shops beside the 7-11. Just walk in, glance thru the magazines and ask the customers how they are enjoying their Acer Laptop experience.

[SantiSuk]

If you want a notebook or laptop does this mean you intend to do serious travel with it or just the occasional holiday? If it is the former and you need one that will not die if you drop it or bounce it around on rough roads then Lenovo Thinkpad is the industry benchmark in lightweight compact reliability under abuse, but nonetheless with a full size keypad. A reputation gained from an IBM progeny has not been compromised by the Chinese manufacturer, who took over the brand 7 or 8 years ago.

.........

The first Thinkpad I had is now ten years old and other than a couple of keys not working it is still running using a remote keyboard. I replaced that old machine with a T43p Thinkpad. I was quite happy with it until the mainboard failed at two and a half years old. Lenovo replaced the mainboard under warranty and I was happy again. Unfortunately the new mainboard failed after two years of light usage. I think the IBM quality is gone.

Hmm - good reason to stick with one that's working fine rather than just replace because common wisdom says 5 years old is too old and slow. I couldn't stand it if I was needing to go to repair shops every few months.

[Atmos]

I bought an Asus April 2010, soon found out the Elan Smart-Pad touchpads they are fitted with are notoriously bad - a simple Google search could have save me a lot of problems as it is a well-known fault.

The salesman was well-aware of this, it was almost as if he was wondering why it took me so long to complain.

Within a month it was back under warranty, then again, in the end solved it by disabling the touchpad altogether.

[ozzydave]

Dell is OK until you have a problem - then expect to fix it yourself becuase they are no interested in anything except selling you a new one no matter what the issue.

This purely on first hand experience witha few of them

[PattayaParent]

Dell is OK until you have a problem - then expect to fix it yourself becuase they are no interested in anything except selling you a new one no matter what the issue.

This purely on first hand experience witha few of them

I've had the complete opposite experience with Dell, even to having their service rep in Thailand visit me to look at a machine that was bought in US with only a US warranty to diagnose the problem and report back to get the replacement part.

And all the time dealing with the US reps they were completely informative and understanding.

The machine was still under warranty mind and experienced a problem straight out of the box. It's still going strong now 4.5 years on.

[alexth]

Dell, Toshiba and HP, in this same order are my favorites, tested too