Hello folks.

Would you be so kind as to tell me what brands and models of notebooks/laptops are the most stable and reliable (and are without problematic issues), and consist of sturdy parts built to have longevity?

Thanks much!
DuckTape

Quite certainly, you are looking for an IBM: Not the fastest, not the flashiest, not the most innovative - but without a doubt the sturdiest most reliable notebook you'll find.

Toshiba rank quite a bit behind them
Dell/Compaq after that
Acer

...and far back you'll have your Alienware's and your Sagers/Clevos etc.

Regards,
RaPTuRe

Who's General Failure and why's he reading my disk?

Where do you think Fujitsu would fit in? I feel that it is on par with IBM based on their build quality. And it looks better too.

:evil:

RaPTuRe,

Thank you very much for your reply.

You know, I'd like to find a good laptop/notebook review or two which address these issues of stability, reliability, longevity and the sturdiness of parts. Do you (or anyone else here) know of any good reviews that go into all that?

Thanks much!
DuckTape

I have a few "reviews", my bro and sis in law have IBMs 4 to 7 years old (P2s and P3s), running like they were new. I have IBM 3 years old (P3-1113MHz), running better than new (HD upgrade made it faster Friends of mine have Toshibas, running like new, but were in shop few times already.

Any more "reviews"?

..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

Unfortunately, Fujitsu havn't been around for long enough to have as good a reputation, and as far as support and hardware reliability goes, they don't come even close. They are also sadly plagued with the bad reputation of their HDD dept. I tend to agree that they are on an upward climb (since the Siemens thing) and are very, very decent notebooks.

RaPTuRe

Who's General Failure and why's he reading my disk?

Hello folks.

Thanks again for your replies. Any more IBM or other recommendations for sturdy, reliable, stable, long-lived laptops/notebooks?

Also, anyone have any specific IBM laptop/notebook recommendations (models, etc.)? Are they probably all good?

Thanks much!
DuckTape

IBM's are ranked as some of the most sturdy, long lifed laptops. They cost... alot... and if it ever breaks, good luck finding parts. I used to have an old IBM notebook, I forget the name, was about 6 years old. I just needed an LCD, because I was a dummy and let someone borrow it. I was SOL on that, was no longer stocked.

Is that IBM's fault? Not in the least... point being is that no matter what you buy, after 4-6 years, the parts will be so outdated that even if you wanted to just upgrade the system, it wouldn't be cost effective. Just purchaseing another for 3 years.

***BEGIN RANT***
As dogs have a human-to-dog year span... I think it's 7 dog years to every human year in comparison, computers do too. Technology right now is still being ramped UP compared to 10 years ago. So, to compare... a computer that is 3 human years old, is about 30 in technology years. It's outdated, it might still work, but the newer programs, games, so on so worth won't run well if at all.

My advice, purchase something with a good warranty, a nice 4 year warranty that way if it DOES break, it'll be fixed. Dell 4 year Complete Care with Next Day Onsite might cost a bit (About 400 USD on average) but I promise you this much... if you say the magic words "I accidently" then cause of damage... it's fixed, period, even if you run over it, accidently, with a semi-truck, new system, period. Also, even if you just crack the plastic on the chassis, just tell them how it happened... OST (onsite tech) will be dispatched within 2-4 days and it'll be fixed for free.
***END RANT***

In the end, personal perferance will win out on features, support, so on so forth, but try Cnet.com for an unbias review. I work for Dell as a tech, I'm not a salesperson, but I've purchased Dell laptops since my first Latitude CPXJ 5 years ago, and it's STILL running great.

Your Friendly Government Dell Tech,
J.E.
DellTech Rep ID - 172946

I'm tired so excuse the lack of life in this post:

I have a Compaq Armada we bought in 1995. Pentium 133 - It still runs like a trojan - Windows 2000 and Office 2003: Its all we use it for, and thats how it works, so it all depends on your uses. But considering Compal (Compaq & Dell) have only got better in the notebook department I would say it is a safe bet that if you look after your notebook, you will have it for a long while. I intend my D800 to be useful for many many years.

Still, you can't beat an IBM or a Tosh in terms of build quality, and support. IBM systems are designed around robustness & reliability first, performance second. But if you're cool with that, then IBM is still the way to go.

But to be honest, as long as you don't get a Sager/Clevo/Alienware/Eurocom or the likes, you won't be dissappointed.

RaPTuRe

Who's General Failure and why's he reading my disk?

I agree IBM hands down... Not the most stable, or the best of.. but an IBM has always been able to hold a good resale value. The best laptop for business travlers is hands down the IBMx40.

For gamers this is much more difficult. The Area51 I think is the best however feature wise is the same as the Dell xps line. However the area51 you can pull your vidcard and replace, I think this is what pushed it ahead... DEll used ATI and area51 used nvidea (I'm pro ati).

On the fujitsu, I own one and have worked on the "life book" models. They all seemed good with good tech support (called 4 times). Mine was shipped with a faulty IBM hard disk. Replaced under warrantee. I give my exp with Fujitsu an 8 or 9 out of 10....



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