Good, robust laptop with longevity
Discussion
Getting a bit frustrated here with laptops of late.
I've had three laptops over the last 5 years or so. I tend to go for the ultrabook style as sometimes i travel and i like the slimness and lightness of them. 13 inch screen is also fine.
I've always went mid range processors, and i've been spending between £700 and £900. Oddly, the earlier ones cost more, the most recent one cost the least.
They get a fair bit of use, but not excessive. They are not used for work, just leisure. If i'm away with work - rare now - they come with me but are in a cushioned sleeve.
So the first one was an HP Envy 13. Suffered badly from keyboard and mousepad wear. Ended up replacing the chassis and the hinges and the screen case (easily scratched).
Next one - cant remember the name of it - same problem, excessive keyboard wear, hinges went a bit floppy. It had a metal screen shell which i thought would have been better but it just dented over time.
Bought my wife a HP Envy last year new when she took a sabbatical. It was used extremely little, if at all.
I started using it six months ago - and bear in mind it just sits on my lap on occasions of an evening and hasnt left the house - now at 18 months old the left hinge has broken and i notice the charge is loose in the port.
These machines are not used excessively, but there just seems to be no longevity in consumer grade laptops these days.
I have in the past had good experiences with work supplied Lenovo Thinkpads and am thinking maybe something like an X1 Carbon would be the way to go? Perhaps a good refurbed one rather than the two fortunes they are new?
From memory, these are easier worked at too, because they are made for business use and parts can be easier swapped out?
Anyone any thoughts or recommendations? I dont want to spend £1,000 again on something thats going to look like s
t and flop about in 18 months time....
I've had three laptops over the last 5 years or so. I tend to go for the ultrabook style as sometimes i travel and i like the slimness and lightness of them. 13 inch screen is also fine.
I've always went mid range processors, and i've been spending between £700 and £900. Oddly, the earlier ones cost more, the most recent one cost the least.
They get a fair bit of use, but not excessive. They are not used for work, just leisure. If i'm away with work - rare now - they come with me but are in a cushioned sleeve.
So the first one was an HP Envy 13. Suffered badly from keyboard and mousepad wear. Ended up replacing the chassis and the hinges and the screen case (easily scratched).
Next one - cant remember the name of it - same problem, excessive keyboard wear, hinges went a bit floppy. It had a metal screen shell which i thought would have been better but it just dented over time.
Bought my wife a HP Envy last year new when she took a sabbatical. It was used extremely little, if at all.
I started using it six months ago - and bear in mind it just sits on my lap on occasions of an evening and hasnt left the house - now at 18 months old the left hinge has broken and i notice the charge is loose in the port.
These machines are not used excessively, but there just seems to be no longevity in consumer grade laptops these days.
I have in the past had good experiences with work supplied Lenovo Thinkpads and am thinking maybe something like an X1 Carbon would be the way to go? Perhaps a good refurbed one rather than the two fortunes they are new?
From memory, these are easier worked at too, because they are made for business use and parts can be easier swapped out?
Anyone any thoughts or recommendations? I dont want to spend £1,000 again on something thats going to look like s
t and flop about in 18 months time....Can’t help within your budget but my experience may.
MacBook Pro lasted me 8 years of moderate daily use including watching films using the DVD drive. Modernists packed up after 8 years.
Dell XPS 15 still going after 7 years but replaced just now. Both of those were reliable workhorses imo.
Just to say 2 laptops in the last 14 years probably spent less than you.
MacBook Pro lasted me 8 years of moderate daily use including watching films using the DVD drive. Modernists packed up after 8 years.
Dell XPS 15 still going after 7 years but replaced just now. Both of those were reliable workhorses imo.
Just to say 2 laptops in the last 14 years probably spent less than you.
I used to use HP but have had poor build quality experience from the last few unfortunately - they dropped the backlit keyboard on models I used to buy and the key print wears off. Even when it was new it was quite shiny so difficult to read in certain lighting. I've also had issues with software and screen quality.
I actually replaced my last HP probook with an old Macbook air, despite being quite a few years old it runs well and the build quality is much higher.
Switching from a lifetime of PC to mac was actually quite easy. I use MS Office mostly and Word/Excel are all available to mac.
I just ran the HP alongside the mac, each day using one or the other, before I switched to the mac fully
I actually replaced my last HP probook with an old Macbook air, despite being quite a few years old it runs well and the build quality is much higher.
Switching from a lifetime of PC to mac was actually quite easy. I use MS Office mostly and Word/Excel are all available to mac.
I just ran the HP alongside the mac, each day using one or the other, before I switched to the mac fully
Edited by Whataguy on Sunday 16th October 11:20
Monospace said:
Might be worth a look at the business models/range, it does seem you're a heavier user and these aren't quite so built down to a price/to look good in Curries. They also (apparently) have a better used parts supply.
Yes, thats exactly the conclusion i'm drawing. The consumer laptops just dont have the quality of parts in them any more. Built for showroom appeal.And yes, i've found in the past business grade machines have better parts availability.
Never had a laptop that has lasted as well as macbooks I've had over the years. I have a surface pro which is doing okay functionally but the keyboard is suffering now despite light usage.
I even paid for an alienware once and that suffered the same wear issues and eventually at 4.5 years the graphics card went.
I even paid for an alienware once and that suffered the same wear issues and eventually at 4.5 years the graphics card went.
WE use our laptops for travel and they get a bit of a beating.
Probably the best was a Macbook Air running Bootcamp and Windows.
I switched it out at 8 years old although it was still working perfectly.
Our external IT people suggested Macbook Air again, MS Surface Laptop or Lenovo X1 Carbon. I went with the Surface which has been pretty good. The Surface 4 has been superceded by Surface 5 last week so some deals around on the 4. The only difference between 4 and 5 seems to be the Intel chip otherwise exactly the same. Maybe worth a look.
Probably the best was a Macbook Air running Bootcamp and Windows.
I switched it out at 8 years old although it was still working perfectly.
Our external IT people suggested Macbook Air again, MS Surface Laptop or Lenovo X1 Carbon. I went with the Surface which has been pretty good. The Surface 4 has been superceded by Surface 5 last week so some deals around on the 4. The only difference between 4 and 5 seems to be the Intel chip otherwise exactly the same. Maybe worth a look.
Early 2015 MBP user here:
- battery condition described as needing replacement soon
- magsafe connector is repaired with some electrical tape due to the cable sheath being fractured + worn
- removed the coating on the retina screen with baby wipes a year or two ago
No other issues despite prolonged use at times, although no vid editing/high demand stuff other than audio production.
Screen perfect, trackpad+keyboard work perfectly, all USB/thunderbolt/SD card ports work fine. Charger works fine.
- battery condition described as needing replacement soon
- magsafe connector is repaired with some electrical tape due to the cable sheath being fractured + worn
- removed the coating on the retina screen with baby wipes a year or two ago
No other issues despite prolonged use at times, although no vid editing/high demand stuff other than audio production.
Screen perfect, trackpad+keyboard work perfectly, all USB/thunderbolt/SD card ports work fine. Charger works fine.
trashbat said:
I'm not a fan of Apple at all, but I have a 2014 MacBook Pro from work and - Staingate degradation of the screen coating aside - it is still going strong.
Really easy to remove with baby wipes (I think its the lanolin in them). I was worried about damaging the screen so lived with a stty finish to it, before biting the bullet. Very easy and will have you an almost 100% perfect looking screen again in about 10mins.You'll wonder why you lived with it so long (well, I did!).
Edited by ReverendCounter on Sunday 16th October 13:16
ReverendCounter said:
Really easy to remove with baby wipes (I think its the lanolin in them). I was worried about damaging the screen so lived with a stty finish to it, before biting the bullet. Very easy and will have you an almost 100% perfect looking screen again in about 10mins.
You'll wonder why you lived with it so long (well, I did!).
Cheers. It's due for replacement anyway - if I decide to remain in this job - but I might give this a go.tty finish to it, before biting the bullet. Very easy and will have you an almost 100% perfect looking screen again in about 10mins.You'll wonder why you lived with it so long (well, I did!).
Edited by ReverendCounter on Sunday 16th October 13:16
I did just under 11yrs on a 2009 MBA - heavy regular usage and travel and other than a slight shine on a couple of keys it was pretty immaculate and all worked perfectly (even the battery was still reasonable).
Sold it on for £150 via eBay too.
I think I paid about £900 at the time (it was in Thailand it IIRC it was about that), knocking off the £150, over the 126 months, works out at less than £6/mth … not bad really.
Only stopped using it as I went with an iMac instead.
I am in likely to be in the market for a laptop again though and won’t look further than a new Apple machine - yes they’re expensive but they do last well.
Sold it on for £150 via eBay too.
I think I paid about £900 at the time (it was in Thailand it IIRC it was about that), knocking off the £150, over the 126 months, works out at less than £6/mth … not bad really.
Only stopped using it as I went with an iMac instead.
I am in likely to be in the market for a laptop again though and won’t look further than a new Apple machine - yes they’re expensive but they do last well.
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