JelloChex

iTrader: (6)

Looking at picking up a new laptop, but wanted to see if any of these are good choices or if I should possibly be looking at other units? I really am not gaming much any more at this point. More concerned with a quality unit that lasts. Decent battery life, good build quality, not too difficult to keep clean.

I've kind of narrowed it down to a 15.6" Screen, i7 Processor based unit.

These are the options I am looking at right now (open to recommendations though).


Asus N550JKDS71T

Asus 15.6" TouchScreen Laptop Intel Core i7 8GB Memory 1TB Hard Drive Gray N550JKDS71T - Best Buy


Lenovo Y50 (This is only one option among apparently many in the Y50 lineup).



MSI GP60-Leopard-472



MSI GE60 Apache-629



I've heard good things about both Asus, MSI, & Lenovo brand laptops in the past, but not sure how their current models are. Are there any issues with these units that I should be worried about (Heat, Bloatware, unstable units, etc)?

El Wray

iTrader: (1)

All of them have bloatware. I've owned Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Sony in the past 5 years. (Still have a Dell and Lenovo.) Having owned MSI motherboards/PC hardware, it's a bit too generic and something I would avoid buying for a laptop.

I had a beefy Asus for a while. C7, nvidia vid card, etc. It performed great when plugged in. The battery life was terrible. About a year and a half down the road the battery charge if unplugged started getting shorter and shorter. When I looked at replacement battery/power supply (I like having spares) the laptop had already been discontinued. Could not source extras and had to end up using damned "universal" parts.

Of the three, I would say go with lenovo. They're stable, decent quality, can handle abuse and have solid battery life. Replacement parts are fairly easy to come by and most of the they can be easily upgraded. (RAM, wifi cards, HDD, etc.)

wwrx

iTrader: (5)

Look at HP Elitebooks. It's their business series laptops not available in retail stores. Tigerdirect.com has nice pricing on these.

LxJLthr

iTrader: (12)

Something to consider...Lenovo consumer and professional lines are completely opposite animals IMHO

Over the years I have used and abused various work issued T and X-series models only to have them laugh in my face.

The consumer side ones ( Z and S-series) that I have bought on my own have not fared nearly as well...and that's with more careful treatment since I could not just get a new one from IT

JelloChex

iTrader: (6)

So what makes the Business Class lines better? It seems like you get less powerful processors, less memory, and end up paying more for the laptops?

I'm sure there is a reason they are better, but not sure I am seeing it just based on a quick overview look of the specs.

wwrx

iTrader: (5)

They are just build better. Not sure about current Elitebooks but earlier Business HPs had magnesium frame for example. Also, most of them have 3 years of warranty instead of 1 year (consumer laptops) and better grade of customer service.

Some of business laptops can be ordered with matte high quality screens and etc.

Overbear

Just a IT guys .02 here

Go with a Dell, you can pick one up on their "scratch and dent" page for a good price, you can look at the alienware too but stay away from the top line units unless you are looking to spend $$$

Here is the thing, Dells tend to come with a 2-3 year on site support if you pay the extra you get damage protection (you drop it in a pool, they replace it, had to do that once with my last alienware rig). You get a company that sources brand name parts, and has a standard across the board of both compatible hardware and software with no oddball drivers.

As to the MSI, well its kind of a crap shoot, you get a good one, or you get one plagued by problems. The Lenovo stuff, well keep as far away from that as you can. There is a reason why IBM got rid of them, think on that.

LxJLthr

iTrader: (12)

Can you elaborate more of this please? Just curious because I don't hear many people place Lenovo below MSI.

Overbear

Personal experience, When it comes to their business class stuff its OK, but I ran into a lot of driver issues, and small things that really turned me off to their line. Keep in mind at one point I was buying and deploying 80-100 laptops a year for a company. We would find whole series of them that could not deal with being ghosted, or would have a different hardware configuration despite being the same serial number group. It was as if they just tossed whatever parts they had laying around inside.

MSI my only real experience is with their gaming line, and as I said its hit or miss.

El Wray

iTrader: (1)

IT issue. (Or procurement/purchasing issue.) Lack of attention to detail on someone's part. Yes, they do have too many variables.. But too many people assume a T model they ordered last year is the same one they ordered 6 months ago, or 6 months from now, etc. They never pay attention to the 5 digit part number and the 4 digit submodel.

Submodel means the difference between atheros vs Marvell wireless, Intel vs generic Bluetooth, etc. Something you don't really have issues with until you're refreshing 200+. Nothing wrong with lenovo aside from their malware/stealth bits installed by PRC.

Personally if OP wants to spend a little more I would suggest Sony VAIO. I had a carbon fiber one and that thing was awesome. Tough, great battery life and excellent video (both monitor and output to external). Aside from that it would be Lenovo (t or x), dell latitude, HP elitebook in that order.

Overbear

LOL

1)I know exactly what I was ordering, same sub models, same model designs. 1 out of 5 would have a different network card or wireless card in it. Trust me on this, I ain't new to the IT management scene.

2)Sony...LOL! ok now I know you have to be joking. NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would suggest a sony laptop. Lets leave aside the substandard parts and customer service. Their coverage is a joke, none of it is on site, its all mail in.

LxJLthr

iTrader: (12)

Huh may be it is just different perception from my user end since IT just hands me a working unit that I proceed to treat like a red headed step child...without giving thought what they had to do to get it into my hands? Any chance you remember which model lines they were?

I still think Lenovo experience is heavily dependent on the model line...I used to carry S205 as my personal computer alongside with my business ones; so it saw almost exact same travel conditions...The business ones never had issues being banged around while S went through two drives (under warranty) before I threw an SSD into it. Same thing with battery life, I can get the business ones to last 9-10 hours while the consumer one struggle to get to 5-6 (same battery capacity and usage)...Anyway, just my limited experience...

Jello, may be check out what Costco is selling these days? I have seem some good deals before and I think the include a 2 year warranty as standard.

El Wray

iTrader: (1)

I doubt that. Most NICs are built into the motherboard. You're suggesting as if they're assembled by hand. Knowing the full product lifecycle (assembly, packaging, overseas shipment, distribution warehouse, resale, model/product refresh, repeat) I'm positive different submodels were ordered.

Have you owned one?
1. I wasn't relying purely on "on-the-job" experience. Nor would I suggest it for anyone buying for a business.
2. 'Substandard parts' obviously means you have no idea what you're talking about. Carbon fiber shell, Intel high end, Nvidia non-integrated GPU, Samsung/Kingston RAM, Intel NIC/WLAN is far from substandard. Especially compared to Dell's "Dell branded" integrated parts. There's a few reasons Vaio's are expensive, substandard parts is not one of them.
3. I've been in IT for ages. I have yet to contact "customer service".
4. The only FRUs in most laptops are power supply, keyboard and RAM (and occasionally WLAN card.) Most consumer based products do not fail within 12-24 months. By that time the part has been amortized/is due for a replacement. Again, sounding like you've never owned one ..what were you expecting or wanting to mail, why, and why would you expect a local depot for home users?

Overbear

1)You would be wrong, and I can damn near guarantee you ive got 10+ years on you in the IT world.
2)Yes substandard, they use off brand motherboard manufacturing (dell of note builds in house). They use low end "2nd's" ram and video cards NOT first run product (they get a better price point)

Where as, its clear you are NOT in the industry, your claim of "never having to call in customer support" is proof of that. Hardware fails, its just a fact, 100 laptops 1-2 a year is going to crash hard, pure fact.

And now back to dell, who offers in home/site service on ALL their products, both consumer grade and their big commercial grade stuff. Something you can not get with sony, period. (or, sadly MSI, Acer, or Asus) Owned a sony, no, had to support 40 of the piles of crap, yep. We cycled them out inside the first year after they failed too often and had massive driver issues.

JelloChex

iTrader: (6)

http://store.sony.com/helpdeskcategory/helpdesk-vaio-computers-category-template_sny_helpdesk_vaio_computers_main_category ?article=component_sny_helpdesk_vaiocomputers_fare well&MobileOptOut=2

"Farewell, VAIO computers.
After almost 20 years of VAIO, we're evolving away from the laptop and desktop business. Check out our ultra thin and powerful tablets and feel the best of Sony at your fingertips."

That right there is why I wouldn't consider grabbing a Sony VAIO. Even if it turned out to be a solid machine, I would rather buy from a company that still has an active product line.