Before I continue let me state my computer hardware experience:
I've owned and upgraded 4 desktop computers, one built for myself, and I've built a couple for other people.
So far I've owned 8 laptops.
Compaq
Sony Vaio
Dell XPS
Dell laptop (my wife's)
ASUS ROG
2 MacBook Pros
another ASUS ROG
My primary interest is in gaming, so I'm always looking for a computer that can perform well and in recent years I turned to laptops for a desktop replacement for when I travel. A few of the failures I've encountered have been due to the rough conditions of travel or work environments.
Here's my recommendation to you in case this is all TL;DR and you want the short version:
You didn't really state what you're wanting to use it for, so depending on that you'll want to do some research to see what is the best deal for the specifications you want. The only way to do that is to do a lot of reading! My current laptop is an ASUS ROG laptop to replace my previous one that is still going after 5 years. ASUS has my recommendation as Lenovo and MSI - I've not owned those 2 brands but for the price I've had friends that have enjoyed their laptops (one stepped on his screen and broke it, the other dropped his and broke it - so not sure about longevity outside of user-induced accidents). So really, what you should do is have a computer savvy friend shop around with you based on your price point and features you are looking for in a laptop. Set what you're willing to spend and see what you can get - but be aware you're going to get what you pay for ($600 for what you expect to be a good gaming laptop probably won't be).
My best advice to you is to do thorough research. Depending on what you will be using your laptop for, check what specifications you need, price shop and narrow down your choices, look at reviews, scour the forums dedicated to that brand/model, and do a Google search for that particular model number to see what people are saying! If there's a problem you see stated often, you might want to reconsider or look at an extended warranty. Nothing is worse than your laptop failing outside of warranty and the cost of repair is equal to the cost of a new laptop.
I hate it when a friend comes to me and says, "Is such-in-such a good laptop/hard drive/video card?" I don't know! I just use Google to do the research and find out the price value / reliability. This information is easy to find.
IceForce said:
There's no 'right' answer to this. Everyone will tell you something different.
There may not be a right answer but there's definitely a 'wrong' answer - if a friend came to me and told me he bought a Dell; I'd be disappointed with their decision and I would hope they don't have the same problems I did. That doesn't mean every Dell laptop breaks. The truth is any laptop can break, even the most endorsed. It's just the inevitability that some electronic components are going to fail - a certain percentage of them always will. It's just a matter of if you're one of the unlucky people. HOWEVER, some brands tend to use poorly manufactured components and those laptops WILL BE more prone to failures!
Why put yourself at risk? There are clear numbers that show the number of failed returns and complaints for particular brands as well as ranking of their price value and reliability.
A user with a specific brand will tell you their brand is great as long as it isn't broken. Often reviews and complaints about a particular brand come about when there are problems - hence why it's easier to find bad reviews. Unfortunately, if you're looking at buying a newly released model type you're not going to have a lot to go on.
As for as the laptop's I've owned in the past:
The
Compaq was a good laptop. I didn't put much research into it, and needed a laptop ASAP - but that was back in 1997 and I've heard so many complaints about them over the years and I think they've fallen to the bottom of the list on reliability (do a search for most reliable laptops).
I loved my
Sony Vaio, but unfortunately after about a year it got knocked off a table and just wasn't right after that. It started having problems and died a slow sad death. I looked for another Sony Vaio a few years later when looking at laptops again, but it seems Sony backed out of the "gaming laptop" market.
My
Dell XPS was a gaming powerhouse. This was right before
Dell acquired
Alienware (which, after that I knew Alienware was nothing to look up to anymore and I've since come to see overpriced laptops as simply that - overpriced based on brand name). Unfortunately my XPS started overheating and would shut down. The fans wouldn't even kick on and I downloaded some software that would force them to stay on at high speed. This allowed me to play games on it, but it eventually died while it was still within warranty (11 months). I went through a long process of tech support, returning it, getting it repaired and mailed back to me. I extended the warranty for another year, and it worked great until the year was up and then it started having the same type of overheating problems. Finally one day it just died and wouldn't turn on.
My wife's
Dell started having problems a couple of months after we owned it. We had purchased it before my XPS started having problems and the specifications on hers were even better than my XPS, but my XPS had a better graphics card. The fingerprint reader started overheating and was hot to the touch (hot enough to cause a burn). I removed the top part of the case and disconnected the cable going to the reader. One of the kids ended up knocking it off of a coffee table and busting the hinges up where it wouldn't open or close correctly. I repaired the hinges best I could but she just refused to use it and it got placed in a drawer and forgotten about.
The
ASUS ROG stealth design laptop was big shortly after that - a lot of my friends were picking them up and though a few were having various software related driver issues, the reviews (and price!) were favorable enough that I picked one up too. I've loved that thing - other people paying upwards of $2000 - $3000 for laptops to do the same mine was capable of. With careful maintenance it is now going on 5 years and my kids use it for gaming. The DVD drive stopped working around the 3rd year (likely due to impact damage) but other than that it has been great.
I picked up a
MacBook Pro to do software development on, and I have to admit they're very user-friendly. My wife loved it so much she wanted one too, so we got a second one. We both had hard drive failures (probably due to kids for hers and rough work environments for mine), and she has a lot of slowdown on hers due to who knows what she has installed - but she is looking forward to getting another one. These are overpriced laptops, IMO, very particular to the type of stuff you're going to be doing on it. It can be a good laptop, but find a friend that has one you can play with and don't expect to be doing a lot of gaming on it.
My second
ASUS ROG and current laptop failed the second day I had it.
HOWEVER, I had purchased it as a refurbished laptop (which I won't do again). I got it through Newegg (which I've used for years), and they will readily take failed items back. I suspect it was the SSD that had failed (my first laptop with one), and after calling ASUS support they sent the information to Newegg who then sent a box for a return. Unfortunately, Newegg didn't have the same model in stock so it took over a month before they finally had a replacement I was happy with. We went with an open box (due to Newegg's return policy, I wasn't too worried about if it had problems - I once returned 2 motherboards to them and received replacements before I realized it was my father-in-law's video card that was frying them). My wife talked them into giving us another discount and overnight shipping too. I received this one around May of last year and I'm loving it.
sneakypenguin said:
"Any" laptop brand is good. If you buy the good laptop from that brand.
Sounds like you haven't owned many computers in your life. There's a remarkable difference between different brands and their reliability and longevity. With computers, often you get what you pay for - until you get up to some of the overpriced ones where you're buying based on name brand alone.
Hairless Mammoth said:
Dell isn't horrible. Personally, I avoid HP and Gateway. Everything HP makes finds a way to anger me, eventually. I've never heard praise for Gateway, and my family's old Gateway is the noted screw puker.
When you've had a couple of Dells break it kind of sours you on them. They've fallen off on reliability, if you do some research. HP I've always heard horrible things about, and back in the 90's Gateway was supposed to be good - but after the millennium I've heard nothing but bad of them.