Laptop brands-do they matter?

[emuobo]

Hello folks,the title's said it all.do they really matter for systems with same chipset,processor and ram? That is,totally the same specs,but different brand?please lets clarify this issue individually.

 

[Yami]

Of course it matters; different companies use different quality parts, such as the motherboard, hard drives, screen, the actual 'case', keyboard, trackpad, and then you have to take each brand's customer service reputation into consideration. That last one is usually the most important.

 

[Alvin.C]

Hello,

Yes. My argument is the same as Yamikotai's. There are many other differentiators besides system specifications.

 

[AMDSCOrPiO]

I have an LG. It broke 3 times in the 1 and a half years of owning it. Just FYI

 

[carnageX]

I have a Compaq and it runs excellent; I also like HP's. Gateways and Toshiba's not so much... My next notebook is going to be a Lenovo though, I think.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Brand does matter on laptops, After owning a Compaq I wouldn't get one again but I would get another MSI without hesitation.

 

[Yami]

I have a Compaq and it runs excellent; I also like HP's. Gateways and Toshiba's not so much... My next notebook is going to be a Lenovo though, I think.

Ooh, I'd love a Lenovo, my school has a bunch of 'em and they feel sooo well-built. If I had enough money I'd get one of their reversible laptop/tablets.

 

[Harper]

Hello folks,the title's said it all.do they really matter for systems with same chipset,processor and ram? That is,totally the same specs,but different brand?please lets clarify this issue individually.

Yes. It comes down to the quality of the build and the warranty you are going to get from the at manufacter. Like is the warranty just local or international. And how good is the the international warranty as there is no point in getting a internation warranty if there is no offices outside your country. This also comes down to the level of driver support too.
I'm a Computer Tech for the last 10 years. Tell you this, I have seen enough Compaq Persarios come into my shop for repear to know that i don't want to have one for myself.

The other thing to keep in mind is whether or not is a consumer or coperate model. Company's like HP, Compaq, Acer and Toshiba does this.

Consumer models are the notebooks that are designed just for the home user. You will normally only see these notebooks in a mass murchant shop (not your local computer retail shop). They are build cheaply to keep price down. They also have a habbit of breaking easily or shortly after the warranty has expired. And don't be suprised if there is no driver support of any other OS expect for the OS you purchased it with.
Eg. Compaq Persaro, HP Pavillion, Acer Aspire, Toshiba Satelite (not to be confused with Satelite pro)

Corporate Models might be a little more expensive and the Consumer model, however they have been build to last.
Eg. HP, Acer Travelmate, Toshiba Satelite Pro/Tecra

Also, most laptop only offer 1 year warranty. If manufacturer, like MSI or Asus, offers a standard of 2 years warranty on all models, it shows a faith that the company has in the produce that it will not fail.


Brands that I go for are
Toshiba (not Satelite or Qosmio), MSI, Lenovo, Asus

Brand that I would stick clear of
Compaq - Just garbage.
Acer - Not much better than Compaq, but filled with bloatware
Sony - Good Notebook, but over priced. No online driver support.
Dell - Sell directly to end user and does not support the local IT Businesses (Big or Small). Spare parts from dell can be costly.
NEC - Nice notebook. Spare parts are extremely expensive. Thier RMA team is a pain to deal with.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

I have a Dell Vostro, had it for over a year, while under warranty it would suffer broken hinges from the lcd panel, hinge it self was fine, it was the actual screen breaking under the pressure.... Few random motherboard issues.... Now that it is out of warranty... Not a single issue in the world.... wtf? lol

Dell isn't bad when it comes to support if you are registered as a business....

 

[Harper]

And with some of those no name laptop. They are a mixed bag. Some are great. Some are nothing but trouble. Some computer stores will sell thier one branded laptop. Do your research on them first. Find out where the laptop is from. Like I have reasonable experience from most of the rebadged Clevo.

If are ever considering to purchase on of these, make sure that there is a warranty centre that you can take it to. Not just the computer shop that you purchased it from.