New laptop time...

[rosstheboss]

It looks like my Dell is on it's way out, needing the graphics card reflowing apparently, and short of a new motherboard (it's soldered in as opposed to plugged in, grrr), or some redneck fixes (hairdryer or blow torch to the GPU, look it up on youtube!) the laptop is toast.

I am looking for some recommendations, reliability and power are key, looking for something along these lines spec wise...

i5 processor
15" display
8gb Ram
500gb+ HDD
Decent graphics card

Dell seem to be leading the way specs wise, but am a bit reticent over buying them again, the laptop wasn't the most reliable of beasts (it's on it's third HDD, but I guess that's not a dell product?), but just wondered what you ladies and gents would recommend?

Ta in advance!

 

[cyfa2809]

Im in no way biased but HP and Packard Bell seem to fit the bill when im looking to buy. Look pretty good and been reliable for me.

 

[ajm]

I would avoid HP - over the past few years I've seen a disproportionate number of them dying premature deaths, usually from heat problems.

My own HP netbook was incredibly poorly assembled and required me to strip it and reassemble so I could use it without the bluetooth module shorting out on the (aluminium) palmrest every time I leaned on it or plugged the headphones in.

I would also generally avoid AMD based laptops as they tend to run hotter and consequently not last as long as Intel powered ones.

For a basic run of the mill laptop, I'd consider an Intel-based Dell, Acer, Asus, Lenovo - there's no guarantee that any of them will last more than a year anyway but certainly the first three of these are likely to be competitively priced.

 

[ajm]

Doh! Hit quote button instead of edit

 

[Raging_Bulls]

I own a HP laptop (Pavilion dv6-3000) and am quite happy with that. 2.3GHz dual-core, only 4GB RAM though. It's been reliable so far and has plenty of power.
However the battery is wearing out quickly. HP claims it'll last 3 hours and it did indeed do that when it was new, but after 1 year of use it only manages to do half of that anymore.

 

[gbsimpsa]

If it's high spec' Workstations you're after:

I always swore by the Dell M6400 and more lately M6500 models.

However I got myself an HP Elitebook 8560w with my new job and I wouldn't go back. Solid well built and sufficiently high spec'.

 

[cyfa2809]

Not to go against what ajm says but there are going to be pro's and con's for every laptop/brand (although it looks like you have based that on fact).

If its brand new, look for an extended warranty if its a brand that fails often? etc. Things can be worked around mroe often than not.

 

[Midlife]

I work for the NHS in Cumbria and in Newcastle... here in Cumbria we use HP Compaq and have Dell in Newcastle. Whilst I only use them on clinic the downtime of the Dell desktop / laptops is a real pain.

Hence I have 3 HP laptops and an HP desktop in my house not infallible but generally well screwed together.

The only serious gripe is the HP I'm using at the moment has an extra row of keys at the left hand side and I'm always hitting a print key instead of shift

Lots of people at work have ASUS laptops which they are happy with, as are Sony and Mac users LOL

Shaun

 

[Chris]

I'm sure there are plenty that would disagree but I can't praise my acer enough.

Been 100% reliable and was by far the best spec I could get for the money at the time.

Only thing is the battery has died but that's my own fault as I only ever used it on the mains

 

[FluffyChicken]

Acer and Samsung seem to be getting good reviews in the magazines.

Dell are quite consistent and you generally have the finer choice over parts in it build

Few laptop use discrete graphics cards and I don't think the module approach caught on.

Been looking at a laptop for my misses (but at a cheaper price than you) so £400 max.

Graphics card choice will limit you.
I would make a list of i5 processors with AMD/Nvidia discrete card in that are actually pretty good.
Then cut that down to preferred screen size (for laptops that the 14"/15.4" format for me, anything larger is for sitting on a desk)
Then look at the screen. I don't like high gloss one's you might. Semi-matt are the best in my opinion.

Then go have a play with one of the models, trackpads and keyboards vary.
I find the Alps are horrible pads and flaky, at least on the Toshiba M2/3/5/10's I have. But the keyboards are nice and so is the nipple option.

A lot once you've got the power and size you want will be down to looks and personal preference.

All vary even within a brand, so go play in tesco/pcworld/dixon etc... just to get a feel for them

Also what Dell do you currently have.