thursday 1 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 shock, shock, shock. Not. My current laptop has lasted 2 years or so. I'd better be careful. Quote: So your new laptop computer died in inside of a year. "I'll never buy a computer from [insert manufacturer name here] again!" I've heard the protests time and time again. Yeah, maybe you got a lemon, but no matter which brand you bought, you truly are not alone in this situation: An analysis of 30,000 new laptops from SquareTrade, which provides aftermarket warranty coverage for electronics products, has found that in the first three years of ownership, nearly a third of laptops (31 percent) will fail. That's actually better than I would have expected based on my experience and observations on how people treat their equipment. SquareTrade has more detailed information (the full PDF of the company's study is available here) on the research on its website. But here are some highlights about how, why, and which laptops fail: > 20.4 percent of failures are due to hardware malfunctions. 10.6 percent are due to drops, spills, or other accidental damage. > Netbooks have a roughly 20 percent higher failure rate due to hardware malfunctions than standard laptops. The more you pay for your laptop, the less likely it is to fail in general (maybe because you're more careful with it?). > The most reliable companies? A shocker: Toshiba and Asus, both with below a 16 percent failure rate due to hardware malfunction. > The least reliable brands? Acer, Gateway, and HP. HP's hardware malfunction rate, the worst in SquareTrade's analysis, is a whopping 25.6 percent. None of the numbers are overly surprising. As SquareTrade notes, "the typical laptop endures more use and abuse than nearly any other consumer electronic device (with the possible exception of cell phones)," so failures are really inevitable. Want to keep your notebook running for longer than a few years? Ensure your laptop is as drop-proofed as possible (use a padded bag or case, route cords so they won't be tripped on, lock children in another room), and protect it as best you can from heat and dust. Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 using the same laptop now for 5 years....and used nearly every day. Its a Toshiba. Me thinks it time for a change.. Link to post Share on other sites
Weegeoff 0 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Originally Posted By: stemik using the same laptop now for 5 years....and used nearly every day. Its a Toshiba. Me thinks it time for a change.. Me to and it is a Toshiba. I bought it Tokyo.Still with the same battery Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Had a Toshiba before my current Mac. Had no problems. You pay the price for it and you get what you pay. Acer, Gateway, HP are cheap. Not surprised. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I have one from 6 years still going. It's like a backup, not my main one. Apart from being SLOW, no real problems. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I have an ASUS - love it! Also have an EEePC netbook - but I expect that to be somewhat disposable...it is mainly used for travel/lugging to college/hairdresser etc. So much more high risk activities. I bought it after the ASUS got creamed by a train attendant on a sleeper train from Paris to Milan - I was not prepared to risk my baby once I got it back! Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I wonder what most of the malfunctions were? Hard disc, or something else? Must say the ones I have had have generally been fine. I just get an itch to get a new, faster one every few years. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I agree with this thread! Basically its all the moving them about, even if its just within the same room. You never bang or drop your desktop, or wind its power cord around it. Well you might kick the case a few times under the desk, but that's about it. I guess the answer would be to buy a heavily padded bag if you move around a lot, keep your laptop away from kids (our main problem), and don't tightly coil the power lead. If you have a really nice laptop, it might be better using a 30,000 yen netbook on the road and syncing with Google Docs or something. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Dells die on the screen hinges. They snap. To prolong your battery life remove it if you are plugged into mains for days at a time. Link to post Share on other sites
mitchpee 10 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Originally Posted By: thursday Dells die on the screen hinges. They snap. To prolong your battery life remove it if you are plugged into mains for days at a time. I've noticed this happens a lot to Macs, my roommates mac dies after 10 mins because he has left it plugged in all the time. Link to post Share on other sites
tripler 0 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 common Dell problem is screen dying (after 4 years, then 2 years for me). Second time I bought a new part from ebay for $10 and fixed it myself. Still going ok 7 months later. Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Originally Posted By: stemik using the same laptop now for 5 years....and used nearly every day. Its a Toshiba. Me thinks it time for a change.. Ok just ordered. A dell this time! Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 That was fast! I usually spend about a month mulling over what I am getting and trying to understand what the heck all those specs mean. Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 A Dell?? Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 yeah quite a good deal with them. Interestingly the sales person was in China, could speak English as well as Japanese....and i bought a desktop as well from him! Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted November 26, 2009 Author Share Posted November 26, 2009 That's good. One for each language. But I bet he speaks Chinese too. Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 I'm sure he does speak Chinese. He was very pleasant to deal with. Just going to take 10 days to 2 weeks for my new computers to arrive Link to post Share on other sites
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