What is the best laptop to buy. Do you know about a laptop with very good hinges?

Question

Hi all
I am going to buy a laptop. The problem is that hinges on my previous laptop were not up too much and I cannot use it any more. I would like to ask anybody that has a laptop what laptop you have and whether you are happy with it, especially the hinges. I have to point out I travel a lot and I need to take it with me very often. What would be the best laptop to buy? Dell, Acer or anything else?
Thanks in advance
Regards
Milan

Answer 1

Hi, you opened a can of worms here but wil tell you my story. For my son's 16th last year I was looking for a laptop with a budget of £500. The model at that time on the dell site looked ok but to be honest was put off by the advert you see in papers for say £399, you go on the website, pick the same machine and it comes out at like £550 because it automatically picks the 3 year support and 12 months anti virus. This I found very misleading and didn't like the way they do this.

My sister works for a large company and they buy dell for one reason only, price. iasked her advice on buying a dell and she put me off to be honest. She said buy it early in case there was something wrong with it as 1 out of 4 machines was always faulty, but am not sure if this is on laptops or pc's. They ship them with loads of software you don't need and someone has even written a programme called de-crapifier aimed specifically at dell.

I bought an Acer in the end, 5612 wlmi with 1gb ram, 80gig hard drive, 224mb graphics dual layer dvd re-writer and dual core processor. It was £550. Now available from ebuyer for just under £500.

I was that impressed with it that I bought a 3692 wlmi with same spec but single processor from comet for £400. They are both excellent machines and would definately recommend Acer to anyone.

For reliability only time will tell no matter what you buy and by tomorrow it will be yesterdays model. Hope this helps.

Very happy Acer own

Answer 2

HP dv9000z (Vista Ultimate) for $2,100 is the best laptop I've used that's got tough hinges.. My 2-year old daughter has tested it for me when she pushed the screen 180 degrees and the hinges still didn't give..

For some gaming on the rugged road, the $4, 400 Alienware Aurora mALX will fit your needs.. You can even buy replacements for the hinges if they would ever break, but you won't be needing those 'cause this laptop is tough.. This is what I use when I travel..

My wife uses the $2, 900 Panasonic ToughBook 74 in her field work and she's dropped it a couple of times but it still is in one piece.. Plus it's got tons of great warranties!

Durability doesn't come without a price, so get ready for a hefty price tag.. Although you won't regret owning one of these, I know we don't..

Answer 3

Hey, I have an IBM Thinkpad T-22. I know... it's old. But I LOVE IT! I do a LOT of travelling myself and this sucker has fared quite well. I can sit on the floor against a pillar in ORD with my laptop in my lap and I can still see the screen quite well. The hinges are awesome, I can foldit open completely flat and bring it back to closed with no problems.

My sister has a Toshiba Satellite A-15. Also travels quite a bit. Her laptop is built like a tank. It is fragile but it seems more sturdier than mine. Although I think I only believe that because I've taken this thing apart and put it back together so many times and I really do wonder about the sturdiness of the plastic sometimes... Other than that it's great also.

My boyfriend has a Dell. And he just got a Toshiba Satellite also. The dell hinges were a little sad, honestly. It feels like a good sturdy notebook, but honestly, who is going to be completely ginger with their laptop ALL the time, especially if you're on the run all the time and in airports? I've seen a lot of people travelling with Dells, but I've also noticed that they too have cracks on their hinges on the back of the LCD, like my BF's...
So I'm a bit concerned about the Dell.

There are newer, slimmer, tougher notebooks out there though.

I heard that the Sony Toughbook is definitely one to look in to and investigate...

If I were you I would go on down to Comp USA or Best Buy and fiddle around with those laptops as much/as best as you can with them chained down there... Hell I'd say be as realistic with it as you would at home because that'l be the true test as to whether or not you're too heavy handed for a particular style notebook.

Anyway good luck to you with your choices, either way I think you'd be ecstatic with a new laptop purchase.

Oh and I had an instructor in college that told us to steer FAR FAR away from... what's that brand that has the cow print on the box...??? GATEWAY!! She said to stay far, far away from them, because they build their systems like crap. They basically throw all the pieces together and if it works it works and if not, well then you end up filing a complaint and having to send back in your BRAND NEW one for a REFURB replacement. (Apparently how they make their money)
So be careful of them.

Also, an IT friend of mine (consultant, has his own firm) SWEARS by the new Dells. He says Latitudes are by far AWESOME. And that the newer systems w/the Mobile/Dual Core chips are being built better and are strong and last longer. So maybe think about that also...

Oh and another friend got an HP through his job... It cost nearly $3,000, and it was awesome for a good year or two but then all of a suddenly the power cord wasn't charging... something was wrong with it's innards... and then after that the laptop stopped recognizing any of the drives... good lord... problem after problem... Not to say that that's how ALL HP's are, but that's how my friends experience with HP turned out to be...

I heard Compaq is a bit iffy too lol Boy I'm just full of bad news aren't I? Haha

Again, good luck to ya. Hope any of that helped.

Take it easy!
miR :)

Answer 4

..... toshiba or acer are a good value brand of laptop to buy... Big hardware, low price... When carrying a laptop, it's best not to use a backpack, because the contour's of your back are not straight, but convex, stressing the straightness and squareness of your laptop casing... A hard backed carrying case, is much more suitable than a backpack... Also, when buying a carrycase, dont buy one that sit's your laptop on it's end... Buy one that sit's your laptop on it's hinges, because the wieght, and to-ing a nd fro-ing of carrying, put's a lot of stress on your locking clip's, forcing your screen top to start bending out of shape... Your carrying case should also have twin zip's, to enable a small padlock insertion to join and lock the 2 together for a bit of added security... Never buy a lap top case that only close's with a flap cover... A spider or cockroach can easily access a port entrance of your computer, end up getting squashed when a wireless card is inserted, potentially causing expensive damage to your laptop... A laptop case with twin closing zip's will seal 100% better than a flap cover.... Provided you check that the brand of laptop you buy has strong, solid hinge's, carrying it in your case on them, will cause no damage, as carrying it the other way, overstress's your less robust locking pin's, risking distortion damage to your screen....

Answer 5

I recommend Dell laptops. I have a 6 year old dell and I love it. BTW, I have never had any issues with the hinges. They are reliable and Dell has good deals and coupons.

You can find the latest coupons and deals at http://www.24houredeals.com/Dell-coupons-23-mer.html

Good luck.

Answer 6

I have a dell d620 that was issued from my school, its pretty sturdy, the only problem out of it is that one of the hinges sometimes makes a popping noise when moved. it started after i had the screen replaced (screen is durable as well, it was dropped down a flight of steps and only the backlight went out)

Answer 7

Dell laptops are very sturdy. And since u travel alot I would suggest you buy a Dell Latitude they are very lightweight

Answer 8

dell through the test of time are robust, a short while ago some dell lap tops had battery problems and were all re -called ,but apart from that , best for least ,Dell.

Answer 9

hey dude. i work at staples and HPs are tight! i have the hpdv9205 and I'm very satisfied, and the hinges on it are great ;) definatly check them out on the website or in person.

p.s steer clear of acer's.
trust!

Answer 10

get one that cost more,if it is for $200 it will probably fall apart quickly.

i dont know about the hinges but yeah.

maybe apple something,i dont know the whole name but it has an apple on it i think