Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Just wanted to know your fellow techs' opinions on the favorite laptop brand. I'm mainly talking about ease of use/build quality/ease of servicing. While i have a soft spot for several HP models, my vote goes for Dell for most straightforward design 90% of the time.

On the last place for me would be Asus... some Asus laptop designs and boards are just like their desktop counterparts - #@*%ing retarded.

I'd like to know your opinion too.

[shovenose]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

Dell! Some lenovos as well but Dells are the best to work on some are just plain stupid they put HDD under mobo so you have to take the whole thing apart!

[Pentium4]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

Dell 100%
HP/Compaq shouldn't even be an option

[goontron]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

Dell. Dell. Dell. Dell.
Idk P4, my Compaq is really nice to work on once you replace that crippled BIOS and....... Maybe not.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

I've got to vote for Dell too. They are put together with at least a little thought and built pretty well.

[c_hegge]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

I've had good and bad experiences with all of them. I had to fix a Dell recently where there was absolutely no access panels at all on the bottom. To top it off, the HDD was under the motherboard, meaning that you had to take the board out to replace the HDD. That one is by far the hardest to work on ever - worse than any HP or ASUS I've ever seen.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

To top it off, the HDD was under the motherboard, meaning that you had to take the board out to replace the HDD. That one is by far the hardest to work on ever

I've worked on a few of those as well. Even so, the way they come apart and get put back together is still a breeze. I've found that with Dells, once you've worked on one or two of that particular model, you can take the laptop apart in less than 10 minutes and put it back together in less than 15 minutes.

What i find superior with Dell laptops compared to other brands:

• All the cable slots are nicely routed. The cables basically route themselves when you put the thing back together.
• The keyboards go back in place without bending or bloating. *cough* Acer *cough*
• Solid plastic clips that don't break as soon as you take it apart.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

Finding servicing info isn't difficult either.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

I forgot about Lenovo there. I can't edit the poll anymore, but i'll have that fixed ASAP.

I probably forgot about them, since all Thinkpads are a bitch to get the mainboard out, and the newer Ideapads are just like other brands (except dell and no i'm not biased).

[kaboom]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

Not that I work on them much lately, but I'd also pick Dell. "Real" Compaqs (LTE5000) weren't too bad either.

my Compaq is really nice to work on once you replace that crippled BIOS and....... Maybe not.

That's because it's from before the "woman in a mansuit" era...

Who takes "hp" even remotely seriously?


I've found it very easy to "service" dv-whatevers after the BGAs finally let loose. Cut them into thirds with a sawzall, and throw them away. Mid '90s "Packard Hells" get more respect from me.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

I wouldn't exactly cut thru DVs with a saw, there's still money to be made. It was mostly nvidia's fault anyway... Actually, my main laptop is currently a fully upgraded DV9000 series, and i've got enough parts to build two more...

HP did/does have some seriously badly built series though. The whole TX line, DVx with AMD/nvidia, HP 625, G62 and some Probooks come to mind. Dell had a few bad ones too, particularly when it came to fan management, but they still made that up in other areas of the build. Plus, there are fan control utilities for Dell and Lenovo that do not exist for other brands.

[goontron]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

Not that I work on them much lately, but I'd also pick Dell. "Real" Compaqs (LTE5000) weren't too bad either.



That's because it's from before the "woman in a mansuit" era...
snip>

its part of the presario line from 2011.

[diif]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

I vote Dell too, apart from some of the cheaper Vostros they are well built and very easy to strip and repair.
They tend to find they work their screws loose easily, at my last place they were loose and falling out all the time (400+)
Their E5500 had a design flaw with their hinge and the Vostro 3550 or 3555 had issues with the trackpad jumping all over the place.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

Can't really make a call based on the limited number of laptops I've worked with as I'm not a technician, just an enthusiast:

Most of the plastic cased laptops with plastic tabs that hold the pieces together along with secret screws are the miserable ones...

Dell Inspiron 600M - Hell, and horrible thermal management of GPU
Gateway Solo 5350 - Hell, and horrible power management
HP Omnibook 600CT - Never tried opening yet.
HP Omnibook 6000 - Hell
HP Pavillion DV4000 - Hell
IBM Thinkpad T42P - never tried opening, metal case, and had GPU thermal problems causing solder failure
Toshiba 200CDS - Hell
Toshiba T4600C - Double Hell - flimsy cables.
Sony P4 laptop dunno what model - Hell
Asus eeePC 900A - Hell
HP Envy 4t - Woah... remove back panel with obvious screws, no secret keyboard screws, and everything is out in the open?
HP Elitebook 8560W - oh my, an easy access back panel??? (metal case)

[c_hegge]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

I have added Lenovo and Sony to the poll now

[magneh]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

Yo Guys,

I've just about 6 months of experience dedicated to repairing, but I've serviced a few so I can give m 2 cents

Asus and Acer ... every laptop is a mess servicing
HP a little better but some older models are a pain in the a$%

Little bit weird nobody refered them, but they are the only brand where I have 100% success (5 laptops repaired sucessfully) it's ... Apple

Best boards I've worked on ... build quality excellent still I don't like those sensible ribbons, but we cant have everything right.

My vote goes to Apple. Bought one Macpro 2011 13' with no image and put it working in 1 hour and one simple reflow. 5 months ago.

Love servicing those machines.

My 2 cents, but I'm not the most experienced tech.

Cheers!

[c_hegge]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

Macbooks are by far the worst if you have to replace the screen. They glue true screen assembly together rather than using screws or clips, so it's very difficult to get apart without damaging it.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

I've also forgotten about Fujitsu-Siemens...

About Apple, i disagree. Not having any kind of silkscreen on the board is nuts.

[magneh]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

Macbooks are by far the worst if you have to replace the screen. They glue true screen assembly together rather than using screws or clips, so it's very difficult to get apart without damaging it.

Never changed a screen of a Macbook. Apple loves to glue screens. Iphones are the same thing.

[highpulse]

Re: Techs Only - Favorite laptop brand (servicing/construction)?

about construction and details 100% for apple design , this is state of the art construction , about reliability well i guess it also depend how people use the machine