Any recent reviews on laptop build quality?

[shortylickens]

A while ago I found a good list of laptops in order of build quality. The top brands actually suprised me because they were far from the best selling.
Was wondering if any websites have done a big group review of laptops sometime in the past few months. Anandtech has very little stuff thats recent.

In case anyone is wondering, I am NOT looking for Xmas gifts. This is just general information.

 

[MJinZ]

Personal experience:

Alienware - Excellent
Asus - Good/Average
Gateway - Poor/Plasticky
Dell - model dependent
Lenovo - Good/Average
Sager - Good

 

[corkyg]

It's really hard to generalize these things, because build quality can vary significantly within brands just as it does in most any manufactured product. And, even with the same model from the same manufacturer, there can be build quality differences based on batch or day of the week it was assembled.

I have owned 6 laptops, and all of them have been quite good.

Lenovo; Gateway; Dell; HP; and WinBook (2) in that order. BTW - I put the Lenovo T60 at the top of the list because it survived a 3 foot drop to a concrete floor (fell off the airport security table) and didn't even have a scratch. Also, it's power connector is more robust than any of the others I have used.

 

[mshan]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2026668

In another thread I can't find now, there was a computer tech on that thread that recommended sticking with the business class machines if you are going to buy from Dell (Vostro or Latitude) or HP in particular.

 

[Mattster]

Lenovo is quite good for build quality in most cases, especially with the older systems. Not sure about the newer ones, as I have not had my hands on one yet, but I would assume they are just as good.

Toshiba systems are crappy. Nothing but plastic throughout......

 

[lobbyone]

My plastic gateway has been running strong for 4 years.

 

[WackyDan]

Keep in mind that all majors offer both consumer and business grade laptops... You can't really compare the two. ThinkPad is to business as a Dell Latitude is.... IdeaPads are consumer as a Dell Inspiron is....

Consumer Laptop Quality = iffy.
Business Laptop Quality= Generally pretty good... Fantastic when compared to consumer offerings.

 

[evident]

you know, everyone rips acer, but my acer aspire is built like a tank. the screen is meh, but build quality is definitely there.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Toshiba systems are crappy. Nothing but plastic throughout......

Agreed, my Toshiba was RMAed five times over the duration of the three year (extended) warranty. Once for overheating and four times for a broken screen. It finally died this week (good ole checkerboard artifacts, even in the bios screen), at the hands of a game made in the late 1980s (an old Lucas Arts adventure game) not long after the warranty expired.

 

[jacktesterson]

I've had nothing but acer laptops over the years and no issues at all. very pleased.

My current 17" Laptop below is very solid. 2 yrs old now.

 

[CurseTheSky]

ASUS is so-so. On their higher-end models they seem to be pretty good, but their mid-range to low end (not including netbooks) can be iffy.

Dell is pretty much the same way. My girlfriend's XPS M1530 feels great, while her sister's Inspiron (forget the model number, but bought around the same time period) feels like junk. The Inspiron overheats regularly, too. To make matters worse, two other people I know have 6-12 month old Inspirons as well, and they all have the same cheap feeling.

The few Sonys I've used have been pretty nice.

 

[bliq00]

The acer netbook I had was very well built.

there's also this:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/...gn=Feed%3A+weblogsinc/engadget+(Engadget)

From a relatively respected name on the 'net - Engadget, not some no-name website...

 

[shortylickens]

The acer netbook I had was very well built.

there's also this:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/...campaign=Feed:+weblogsinc/engadget+(Engadget)

From a relatively respected name on the 'net - Engadget, not some no-name website...

Ahhhhhhh!
Thats the site I was referring to. Yup, I found that a while back and was suprised Toshiba was considered so awesome. Was wondering if a more comprehensive list had been put together since then. I have not found one. Knowing what I do about Asus I will probably go with them. The fact many places are giving them excellent reviews also helps my decision.

 

[jimhsu]

Ah, HP. I've seen far more than one HP laptop die painful heat deaths. I.e. turn on laptop, wait 5 minutes, system hard crashes as temperatures go above 100C. In fact, I believe I've seen one system where the plastic around the CPU actually MELTED (yuck).

Their business line is decent though from what I hear. Stay far FAR away from consumer HP laptops.

---

My old Inspiron 8100 Dell is built (and weighs ) like a tank, and probably still works now after 8 years. Not that I want to use a 1 Ghz pentium III.

The Toshiba I have is cheap, but it still works.

The 1st gen Apple MBP in fact I have the most problems with. Serious heat issues, battery life, etc. Then again, it's a 1st rev apple product, and you know what they say about 1st rev apple products...