So, my laptop is about two years old now and I kinda use it constantly.

Thing is, it's starting to fall apart. I take it everywhere with me and it's just been through so much. I'd probably just fix the admittedly minor problems it has (such as touchpad buttons that went out, keys falling off the keyboard and general slowness), but I also need to see about a faster processor (i5 at least, i7 if it's not too expensive) as well. I'm just gonna go ahead and get a new laptop.

Thing is, I want to get a decent laptop. When I do some research and try to find what brands are good and what brands aren't, every site seems to tell me something different. One site might say Dell or Toshiba is just fine while another says they're garbage.

Anyone have any good, reliable suggestions on how to make sure I get a good laptop?

(September 23, 2012 at 8:28 pm)TaraJo Wrote: So, my laptop is about two years old now and I kinda use it constantly.

Thing is, it's starting to fall apart. I take it everywhere with me and it's just been through so much. I'd probably just fix the admittedly minor problems it has (such as touchpad buttons that went out, keys falling off the keyboard and general slowness), but I also need to see about a faster processor (i5 at least, i7 if it's not too expensive) as well. I'm just gonna go ahead and get a new laptop.

Thing is, I want to get a decent laptop. When I do some research and try to find what brands are good and what brands aren't, every site seems to tell me something different. One site might say Dell or Toshiba is just fine while another says they're garbage.

Anyone have any good, reliable suggestions on how to make sure I get a good laptop?

Just a thought, are you sure you need a laptop vs. a tablet? If you haven't tried a tablet, you might want to and see if it meets your needs.

Don't get Dell. I previously owned a Dell laptop (much to my shame) and it was a nightmare to own. My battery had died after one year in, I had to buy 2 chargers for the damn thing because they broke down so easily and it could barely handle running Minecraft (although I'll admit to that being some ignorance as to how judge good computer specs at the time).

Sadly, I'm not as well informed about good laptop brands.

Are you determined it be a laptop? Desktops don't really need replacing if you have a big case with alot of airflow.
If it gets out of date you can just upgrade particular parts. Also you can overclock them to increase performance which is alot less reliable with laptops.
Its also comparatively alot cheaper.

Once you're used to the parts its actually quite a joy to work with. Its rewarding to use something you've built yourself and have it work better than alot of stuff on the market. I think its probably the same feeling a hobby-mechanic gets when he works on his own project using all the tricks hes picked up here and there resulting in a superior machine.

I don't know too much about laptops but I can tell you that my Asus that I got 3 years ago kicks serious ass. Being a fairly young person still, I wanted something that could run the latest games fairly well and it does exactly that. I can still run just about any game on max graphics and it's fine.

When I first got it, it would run really fast. As time has passed and I've installed more and more stuff (and haven't cleaned out junk that I don't use) it takes a little longer to boot up, but that's my fault really.

I'd say have a look at some Asus models. My friend who works at Myers would always go for Asus with his store discount, out of all the laptops they have, and he knows his stuff!

(September 23, 2012 at 8:53 pm)Annik Wrote: Don't get Dell. I previously owned a Dell laptop (much to my shame) and it was a nightmare to own. My battery had died after one year in, I had to buy 2 chargers for the damn thing because they broke down so easily and it could barely handle running Minecraft (although I'll admit to that being some ignorance as to how judge good computer specs at the time).

Sadly, I'm not as well informed about good laptop brands.

I concur, Dell sucks massive donkey cock. Made from sub-standard parts crudely put together. Pretty much designed to break and degrade quickly.

Have you considered Apple?

As far as quality goes... you're well covered, there. I am a lifelong (well, near enough) IBM-type PC user, so was wary of a different OS... but I'm a happy owner of an Apple MacBook. The only potential snags are your software needs (many applications work on both PC and Apple) and the cost.

(September 23, 2012 at 9:01 pm)Red Celt Wrote: Have you considered Apple?

As far as quality goes... you're well covered, there. I am a lifelong (well, near enough) IBM-type PC user, so was wary of a different OS... but I'm a happy owner of an Apple MacBook. The only potential snags are your software needs (many applications work on both PC and Apple) and the cost.

Good parts, nice design. Software leaves alot to be desired.
Using Apples always freaked me out. Everything about the interface just feels off, maybe thats because I'm used to Windows.

(September 23, 2012 at 9:04 pm)RaphielDrake Wrote:

(September 23, 2012 at 9:01 pm)Red Celt Wrote: Have you considered Apple?

As far as quality goes... you're well covered, there. I am a lifelong (well, near enough) IBM-type PC user, so was wary of a different OS... but I'm a happy owner of an Apple MacBook. The only potential snags are your software needs (many applications work on both PC and Apple) and the cost.

Good parts, nice design. Software leaves alot to be desired.

By software, do you mean the OS? On a day-to-day basis, the OS isn't a handicap to what you're doing. As for other software... web browsers aren't a problem. For Office-type things, I have Microsoft Office installed. Works fine, for me.

Not a lot to say about gaming. That's what my PC is for.

(September 23, 2012 at 9:07 pm)Red Celt Wrote:

(September 23, 2012 at 9:04 pm)RaphielDrake Wrote: Good parts, nice design. Software leaves alot to be desired.

By software, do you mean the OS? On a day-to-day basis, the OS isn't a handicap to what you're doing. As for other software... web browsers aren't a problem. For Office-type things, I have Microsoft Office installed. Works fine, for me.

Not a lot to say about gaming. That's what my PC is for.

I think the OS problems I have might just be from prejudice to be fair. I'm more used to Windows. However I have to say that with software Mac can be extremely temperamental. It works if you want to do basic tasks with it but if you want something that can do what you want, when you want then its got alot to be desired.
Also anti-virus in regard to Mac needs work. It used to be that it wasn't needed because hackers and viruses didn't bother with Mac but thats changing rapidly.
From a personal standpoint, I'm a huge gamer so yeah. Not for me.