# Can people rank the major Laptop brands against each other and Apple?



## Vexed (Jan 28, 2012)

I'd say the major ones being Acer, Asus, Dell, Gateway, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo, and MAYBE Compaq. Idk. How'd they stack up? 

Whats a good price generally for a netbook? Laptop?


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## jackeyjoe (Oct 23, 2011)

What I've found over the years is that laptops, tablets, phones, essentially any piece of technology... brands are an _ok_ indicator of quality at best. Every company has amazing products, average products and downright horrible products. If you were to list what you wanted in a laptop(what it will be used for), your price range, and any extra features you may need in a computer people will be able to help you so much more easily! :happy:


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## Das Brechen (Nov 26, 2011)

My advice: Customize your own if you can from the company website. Retail is overrated.


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## Death Persuades (Feb 17, 2012)

They are horribly overpriced. If you're going to use it always in your room, anyway, I'd suggest a desktop. I got a quadcore @ 3.1Ghz 1TB hdd 4GB ram, dvd drive for 400 and a dedicated 1GB gpu.... a laptop with similar specs could easily be double the price.


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## timeless (Mar 20, 2010)

Asus, Lenovo and Acer are all very solid picks. Asus has always been great but the new Asus Zenbook is really amazing.


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## Vexed (Jan 28, 2012)

timeless said:


> Asus, Lenovo and Acer are all very solid picks. Asus has always been great but the new Asus Zenbook is really amazing.


What about the Asus Vivobook? I'm assuming you have the Zenbook; how is it?


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## Liontiger (Jun 2, 2009)

Of the computers/laptops I've had, I'd rank them: 1) Sony Vaio, 2) HP, 3) Dell. I've also had a Gateway computer but that was too long ago to fairly compare.


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## timeless (Mar 20, 2010)

Vexed said:


> What about the Asus Vivobook? I'm assuming you have the Zenbook; how is it?


I don't have a Zenbook but I want one eventually. I currently have an Asus x44h.

The Zenbook is basically Asus' answer to a Macbook. The build quality is very high, and the specs are top of the line for an ultrabook. I'm talking about a quad-core i7 processor, 8GB RAM, an IPS high-def 1080p screen, aluminum construction, etc. The Vivobook also looks nice. I read some reviews on it; it doesn't have the extreme performance of the Zenbook but it's much more affordable and has a touch screen. It looks like a solid bet.


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## Vexed (Jan 28, 2012)

timeless said:


> I don't have a Zenbook but I want one eventually. I currently have an Asus x44h.
> 
> The Zenbook is basically Asus' answer to a Macbook. The build quality is very high, and the specs are top of the line for an ultrabook. I'm talking about a quad-core i7 processor, 8GB RAM, an IPS high-def 1080p screen, aluminum construction, etc. The Vivobook also looks nice. I read some reviews on it; it doesn't have the extreme performance of the Zenbook but it's much more affordable and has a touch screen. It looks like a solid bet.


 I see, thanks. Do you delete all the bloatware related to it when you first grab it?


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## timeless (Mar 20, 2010)

Vexed said:


> I see, thanks. Do you delete all the bloatware related to it when you first grab it?


Normally I just uninstall it. Back in the day, I would have completely reinstalled the OS, but it seems like new computers have less bloatware.

Windows 8 has a "refresh" option built right in that lets you bring it back to a factory state without any programs installed other than the default Windows ones. So when I do buy a new laptop, I'd just use that.


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## hulia (Sep 13, 2012)

Computers are crazy expensive. I hate it.

I've owned many computers over the years (well my parents have), and I have to admit that Toshiba usually satisfies me the most. I've never tried a Lenovo but I hear they're pretty high quality. My mom has a Compaq and it works just as well as my Toshiba, I don't see all too much of a difference. I hate Dell and Gateway. Acer's okay. 

Again, it depends on what you're using the computer for. The Toshiba I have now cost around $600 AUD, with 4 GB ram (I don't know the other specs - the only thing I cared about was the ram at the time). It's never crashed on me once, and it runs smoothly with all of my programs. I'd upgrade to a 6, or even 8 GB ram computer since I've been doing more gaming lately and this isn't really a gaming computer.

I'd say that a good price for your every-day average use for a laptop should be around $400 - $800. Again, it's based on the GB and other specifications that I'm not really all too aware of. The higher the GB, higher the price. I haven't owned a 2 GB computer since I was 13 and those were the high spec laptops around that time. I think the average for them now is around $200 - $300.

Your best bet would be to really look into these laptops and compare, see what fits you best and what works the best for the cheapest price. I'm not too sure on netbooks to be honest.

Edit: I found this and it might provide some good information to you. 
http://www.laptopmag.com/mobile-life/best-brands-2012.aspx


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## Cheveyo (Nov 19, 2010)

It depends entirely on what you want the laptop for.
NEVER buy apple products if you want to play video games, for example.



If all you're going to do is sit there on facebook for several hours a day, I'd recommend not buying a macbook. There's no point in paying 2k if you're not doing anything with the computer. I would also keep an eye on Tablet PCs. They can do essentially what most people use laptops for and are usually cheaper than a laptop.

Netbooks - Newegg.com
Take a look there for cheap computers. For quite a few years, now, Newegg has been my "go to source" for that kind of thing. However, lately Amazon has been stepping up with sales.


You can also look for reviews of various comps or parts you find all over the internet, but you should read as many as you can as there's always bias on the part of the reviewer.


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## Dashing (Sep 19, 2011)

Good old compaq is my style.

Originally meant as a windows xp laptop but it runs 7 pretty good, I was surprised.


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## zynthaxx (Aug 12, 2009)

Vexed said:


> I'd say the major ones being Acer, Asus, Dell, Gateway, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo, and MAYBE Compaq. Idk. How'd they stack up?
> 
> Whats a good price generally for a netbook? Laptop?


First question is: What are you going to use it for?
As @_josue0098_ wrote, if you're just sitting at home and want a computer with a lot of bang for the buck, build yourself a stationary computer out of not-too-cheap parts, and you'll have something that's as fast as a twice-as-expensive laptop.

When it comes to laptops, most of my experience is with HP EliteBook and Lenovo laptops. If you want something that's rock solid, get yourself a no-frills Lenovo T-series. I've seen them run over by cars and used to bits by our sales people, and they can truly take a beating. Unfortunately most of the high performance T and W-series laptops are susceptible to heat damage; they can't seem to fix that, so I guess one of every five high-performance laptops we bought of those series malfunctioned under warranty - the lower end models have been almost unkillable, though. In other words, if you get one that works, it's a great laptop, and Lenovo have never caused me trouble when it comes to the warranty, but such a laptop is _not_ something you want to overclock.

HP EliteBooks in my experience have a lot more problems than the Lenovo laptops, but my experience with them is more limited.

If you can live without Windows programs, a laptop from Apple isn't a bad choice (even for gaming, within reasonable limits). In my closest circle I have several Apple users who still use 5-6 year old original White MacBooks with no problems (one of them changed the battery recently due to swelling). I use a mid 2010 MacBook Pro as my main computer and have had no problems with it so far; it's still as snappy as it was the day I got it (and installed an SSD).
If you go for the Apple alternative, make sure you buy your computer soon after it's released. That gives you the most value for your money. Don't be fooled by people who claim they can get a similarly specced laptop for half the money - they're lying. The real question is if you really need the high-end components that the computer contains. But on the other hand, if you don't count warranty issues, it's almost indestructible, so it's a good choice if you want to spend some serious money on a computer you can own for a long time.
Also, don't spec up an Apple laptop through the Apple Store. Installing more RAM and an SSD is _a lot_ cheaper if you do it yourself (unless you're very clumsy).


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## platorepublic (Dec 27, 2012)

Are Samsungs any good?


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## zynthaxx (Aug 12, 2009)

platorepublic said:


> Are Samsungs any good?


You'd need to specify a model, I guess. You can get a crap computer from any company if you go for their crap series of computers.
Basically, what you pay for on a laptop is build-, component- and screen quality. Want a nice, rich IPS panel screen? That's still easily half the price of a cheaper premium laptop. Want a good wifi circuit? That's expensive. Want good-quality memory? That costs money. Want an SSD? Price hike. Want a computer that's not plasticky and flimsy? They'll charge you for that.

That said, I believe there might be others out there who have specific Samsung experience.


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## wuliheron (Sep 5, 2011)

Brand name products are sold according to their user friendliness, warranties, and service. Apple has a great reputation for gadgets these days, but their latest laptops are not considered special and are over priced. Toshiba has a long history of good laptops at fair prices, but it's impossible to say what is the best buy without a price range. For example, for $3,000.oo and up there are some real bargains out there, but most people don't want to spend that much.


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## Vexed (Jan 28, 2012)

What about 500 and below? I have one laptop model in mind


wuliheron said:


> Brand name products are sold according to their user friendliness, warranties, and service. Apple has a great reputation for gadgets these days, but their latest laptops are not considered special and are over priced. Toshiba has a long history of good laptops at fair prices, but it's impossible to say what is the best buy without a price range. For example, for $3,000.oo and up there are some real bargains out there, but most people don't want to spend that much.


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## wuliheron (Sep 5, 2011)

Vexed said:


> What about 500 and below? I have one laptop model in mind


Asus and Acer specialize in quality low cost electronics with decent service and warranties.


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## Vexed (Jan 28, 2012)

wuliheron said:


> Asus and Acer specialize in quality low cost electronics with decent service and warranties.


Would you mind taking a gander:
Buy ASUS X202E-DH31T VivoBook Touchscreen Laptop - Microsoft Store Online


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