About laptops (Acer especially)

psdf · June 27th, 2008, 09:24 AM

For the past few days I've been looking for a new laptop. The best one so for has been an Acer. It has the best specs and so on but it seems a lot of people say they are unreliable... Is this true or just bs and rumours? Are they really THAT bad?

The other one I'm thinking about buying is a HP. The specs are worse (1GB less of mem, smaller HD and slower GPU). Do you think the HP would have better reliability?

Nocturnal · June 27th, 2008, 09:28 AM

No, they truly are awful. My boss had one at work. It always crashed (''memory dump''?). He now uses a Dell, like everyone else.

psdf · June 27th, 2008, 09:31 AM

Somehow it seems that Acers either work perfectly OR they totally self-destruct and then you are left to fight with the guarantee department...

Vette Boss · June 27th, 2008, 09:35 AM

The problem with Acer isn't the hardware itself, it's the bloatware that comes installed from the factory. It's entirely useless and takes hours to remove. Reliability seems fine to me. Take care of it and it will work fine.

Apart from the software, the build quality is down a bit compared to others, the plastics definitely feel lower grade. For instance, even the hinge for the screen feels cheap and sticky.

Nocturnal · June 27th, 2008, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by psdf

then you are left to fight with the guarantee department...

Theres no fight, they deny all knowledge until you get bored and stop calling. Im using an Acer desktop at work, and to be fair its not bad. But Id never buy one myself.

jensked · June 27th, 2008, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vette Boss

The problem with Acer isn't the hardware itself, it's the bloatware that comes installed from the factory. It's entirely useless and takes hours to remove. Reliability seems fine to me. Take care of it and it will work fine.

Apart from the software, the build quality is down a bit compared to others, the plastics definitely feel lower grade. For instance, even the hinge for the screen feels cheap and sticky.

My thoughts/experience exactly.

We have two Toshiba laptops and those are great. Not much bloatware, well built.

Blind_Io · June 27th, 2008, 10:20 AM

Dell blows, I had one. HP seems ok as long as you don't tax it too much, but it does come loaded down with tons of extra software that just hobble the system. Never had an Acer, but I've seen other people go through several while my laptop is still running like a champ.

Fork out a little extra money and buy an Asus, you will thank yourself later.

Viper007Bond · June 27th, 2008, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vette Boss

The problem with Acer isn't the hardware itself, it's the bloatware that comes installed from the factory. It's entirely useless and takes hours to remove. Reliability seems fine to me. Take care of it and it will work fine.

Apart from the software, the build quality is down a bit compared to others, the plastics definitely feel lower grade. For instance, even the hinge for the screen feels cheap and sticky.

That's easy to fix with a wipe outta the box, but I'd do that regardless as I hate pre-installed stuff, crap or not.

Vette Boss · June 27th, 2008, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

That's easy to fix with a wipe outta the box, but I'd do that regardless as I hate pre-installed stuff, crap or not.

What you're left with, though, is a laptop which is a little bit worse in just about every way. Asus may cost about $150 more, but it's worth it to have a quality product.

Andrewticus · June 27th, 2008, 10:41 AM

I try to reinstall the OS as soon as I get a laptop anyway. I'd much rather have all my drivers and software than the bloatware that comes with a new computer.

Scooby5 · June 27th, 2008, 10:42 AM

Both Acer and HP suck IMHO........ i stick with Toshiba.

epp_b · June 27th, 2008, 10:46 AM

I've never owned an Accr, but every one I've ever touched on a store display feels like it's going to fall apart.

I'd stay away from Acer. My boss has only good things to say about Dell.

swek · June 27th, 2008, 10:52 AM

I've seen bad build quality all across most brands.

If you want one that won't fall apart go for a Lenovo.

teeb · June 27th, 2008, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vette Boss

The problem with Acer isn't the hardware itself, it's the bloatware that comes installed from the factory. It's entirely useless and takes hours to remove. Reliability seems fine to me. Take care of it and it will work fine.

I agree with this.

I've got an Acer - a 5920G - and it's great. Well, it was once I removed the crap on it. The gemstone series is nice and shiny - designed by BMW Design apparently (thankfuly no Bangle involved), it feels well-built and it's not let me down yet after 9 months of hard ownership.

It's also survived a number of bangs and scrapes that I reckon would have killed a shoddily-built machine (a foot drop onto a tiled stone floor, for example).

smib · June 27th, 2008, 01:19 PM

Why was it only a foot off the ground?

TopGearDog · June 27th, 2008, 02:48 PM

I have a Acer 5920G and i like it alot. I cant find any real fault with it except i was forced to get it with Vista. But Acer is kind enough to provide drivers for Win XP (which was one of the reasons i got it, very few other makers provide that) so i can put XP on it if i want for less bloat and better performance. If you put XP on it, only thing that doesnt work is the webcam, which i never use anyway.

I would have liked a little better battery life, but with a 2.2ghz CPU and a 8600GT videocard, it's bound to be powerhungry.

There may be better laptops out there, but most brands like Lenovo, Dell and HP cost a pretty penny more then same spec Acer. At least where i live.

Greatgraddage · June 27th, 2008, 03:56 PM

Another happy 5920G owner here. Prety happy with it, 7 months old now and no problems. Had an Aspire before that, died after 3.5 years, not a bad innings considering the heavy use it had (on at least 8-10 hours a day virtually every day, a lot for a laptop).

BerserkerCatSplat · June 27th, 2008, 05:07 PM

I'd get an Asus, their warranties for notebooks are 2 years and their customer service kicks ass.

prizrak · June 27th, 2008, 05:50 PM

I got an Acer TravelMate C310 (yeah it's a tablet go away). had it for two years, dropped it about 10 times, a couple of times it was open. Didn't even flinch. The case is metal though not plastic, the only thing that failed is the power supply so I got a replacement for $20 images/smilies/smile.gif

Battery life is absolute crap, for battery Dell is the shit. Warranty wasn't a problem for me, never even had to talk to anyone, filled out an online form, they gave me an address to send it too, got the thing back 3-4 days later and they fixed some stuff I didn't report. Pretty easy to work on by yourself as well took me about 10 minutes to take it apart once I got it.

So there you go this is my experience you can take it or leave it images/smilies/smile.gif

mclarensmps · June 27th, 2008, 07:19 PM

Nothing wrong with Acer's except their QC isn't great and you may end up with one that has lemon-ish components. A couple of my friends had Acer Travelmates, which were perfectly fine, but my dad had the same thing, and it's MB blew out 6 months into service. Acer was good with their warranty, however, and daddy dearest was able to get it fixed free of charge.

I personally hate anything made by ASUS, so I can't offer any help on that front.

I have an HP Pavillion that I ended up with for free, and, it came with Vista installed, which looked cool and all, but made the thing sluggish as hell. HP doesn't support Windows XP for that particular model, so when I "downgraded" to XP, it was a bitch and a half to get all the drivers for the various components on the machine, however, once I did get all the drivers, the thing works like a bloody charm! The ergonomics of the thing aren't the best, I must warn you, though, because often while typing, your palm will hit the touchpad and you end up typing completely elsewhere.

Good luck with whatever you end up choosing images/smilies/wink.gif

June 27th, 2008, 09:24 AM	#1
psdf Joined: Dec 1st, 2007 Last Online: September 23rd, 2008 Posts: 152 Rep Power: 7	About laptops (Acer especially) For the past few days I've been looking for a new laptop. The best one so for has been an Acer. It has the best specs and so on but it seems a lot of people say they are unreliable... Is this true or just bs and rumours? Are they really THAT bad? The other one I'm thinking about buying is a HP. The specs are worse (1GB less of mem, smaller HD and slower GPU). Do you think the HP would have better reliability?

June 27th, 2008, 09:28 AM	#2
Nocturnal Joined: Jun 19th, 2008 Last Online: 10:48 AM Location: UK Age: 21 Posts: 177 Car: '91 Mazda MX5 NA6CE Rep Power: 2	No, they truly are awful. My boss had one at work. It always crashed (''memory dump''?). He now uses a Dell, like everyone else. __________________

June 27th, 2008, 09:35 AM	#4
Vette Boss Joined: Nov 14th, 2004 Last Online: 05:04 PM Location: United States, Britain, in time Age: 22 Posts: 2,861 Car: Nissan Altima 3.5-litre SE Rep Power: 30	The problem with Acer isn't the hardware itself, it's the bloatware that comes installed from the factory. It's entirely useless and takes hours to remove. Reliability seems fine to me. Take care of it and it will work fine. Apart from the software, the build quality is down a bit compared to others, the plastics definitely feel lower grade. For instance, even the hinge for the screen feels cheap and sticky. __________________ 2003 Nissan Altima 3.5SE SHIFT_the future

June 27th, 2008, 10:20 AM	#7
Blind_Io Dispenses buckshot medication for all undead patients. Joined: Apr 5th, 2006 Last Online: 03:23 PM Location: Richmond, California, USA Age: 27 Posts: 8,664 Car: 2004 Honda Civic Coupe 2000 VFR800 Interceptor Rep Power: 96	Dell blows, I had one. HP seems ok as long as you don't tax it too much, but it does come loaded down with tons of extra software that just hobble the system. Never had an Acer, but I've seen other people go through several while my laptop is still running like a champ. Fork out a little extra money and buy an Asus, you will thank yourself later. __________________ Life is like riding, you have to keep your balance to keep moving. Deacon of Dirt, Head of North American Anti-Environmental Inquisition (Left Coast Division). founder of The Church of Gear's Two Wheeled Sect. Zombie Slayer, Extraordinaire. Reasonable rates, inquire within.

June 27th, 2008, 10:42 AM	#11
Scooby5 Joined: Mar 24th, 2005 Last Online: October 9th, 2008 Location: A Scot in Singapore Posts: 399 Car: '06 Subaru Legacy 2.0L GT Wagon Rep Power: 19	Both Acer and HP suck IMHO........ i stick with Toshiba. __________________ The species of whale known as the Black Right whale has four kilos of brains and 1,000 kilos of testicles. If it thinks at all, we know what it is thinking about. -- Jon Lien (Professor, St. John's University, Newfoundland)

June 27th, 2008, 09:31 AM	#3
psdf Joined: Dec 1st, 2007 Last Online: September 23rd, 2008 Posts: 152 Rep Power: 7	Somehow it seems that Acers either work perfectly OR they totally self-destruct and then you are left to fight with the guarantee department...

June 27th, 2008, 10:41 AM	#10
Andrewticus Joined: May 13th, 2008 Last Online: July 24th, 2008 Posts: 40 Rep Power: 3	I try to reinstall the OS as soon as I get a laptop anyway. I'd much rather have all my drivers and software than the bloatware that comes with a new computer.

June 27th, 2008, 10:46 AM	#12
epp_b n00b of the year Joined: Jun 23rd, 2006 Last Online: 04:04 PM Location: Canadaland :) Posts: 4,450 Car: 1995 Nissan 240SX Rep Power: 36	I've never owned an Accr, but every one I've ever touched on a store display feels like it's going to fall apart. I'd stay away from Acer. My boss has only good things to say about Dell.

June 27th, 2008, 10:52 AM	#13
swek Global Moderator Joined: May 19th, 2004 Last Online: 04:57 PM Location: Hamburg, Germany Age: 26 Posts: 4,304 Car: Does a bicycle count? Rep Power: 41	I've seen bad build quality all across most brands. If you want one that won't fall apart go for a Lenovo.

June 27th, 2008, 01:19 PM	#15
smib Joined: Aug 31st, 2007 Last Online: 01:01 PM Location: Bristol, Connecticut Age: 21 Posts: 898 Car: 2008 Scion tC - I got it back! LFS Status: Rep Power: 23	Why was it only a foot off the ground? __________________ PunisherBass: ANYONE with an IQ higher than a jar of mayo wouldn't be able to get through the scientology mumbojumbo without laughing their ass off. Clegg: PunisherBass, quit insulting mayo. "Sorry for the short replies, I can't use my left hand. In fact the whole left side of my body feels like it got hit by a planet. The right side is better, it only got hit by a truck." -Blind_Io

June 27th, 2008, 02:48 PM	#16
TopGearDog Joined: Feb 20th, 2007 Last Online: Yesterday Location: Iceland Posts: 346 Car: '98 Ford Escort 1.6 Rep Power: 12	I have a Acer 5920G and i like it alot. I cant find any real fault with it except i was forced to get it with Vista. But Acer is kind enough to provide drivers for Win XP (which was one of the reasons i got it, very few other makers provide that) so i can put XP on it if i want for less bloat and better performance. If you put XP on it, only thing that doesnt work is the webcam, which i never use anyway. I would have liked a little better battery life, but with a 2.2ghz CPU and a 8600GT videocard, it's bound to be powerhungry. There may be better laptops out there, but most brands like Lenovo, Dell and HP cost a pretty penny more then same spec Acer. At least where i live. __________________

June 27th, 2008, 03:56 PM	#17
Greatgraddage Joined: Jun 7th, 2004 Last Online: 03:19 PM Location: Wales, UK Age: 22 Posts: 914 Car: Saxo, 106. Rep Power: 19	Another happy 5920G owner here. Prety happy with it, 7 months old now and no problems. Had an Aspire before that, died after 3.5 years, not a bad innings considering the heavy use it had (on at least 8-10 hours a day virtually every day, a lot for a laptop). __________________ Currently Drive - Saxo Currently Want - Saab 93 Aero

June 27th, 2008, 05:07 PM	#18
BerserkerCatSplat Hormone Induced Joined: Jun 21st, 2005 Last Online: 08:32 AM Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 5,616 Car: Pimpmobile Rep Power: 65	I'd get an Asus, their warranties for notebooks are 2 years and their customer service kicks ass. __________________ OSPhoto

June 27th, 2008, 05:50 PM	#19
prizrak Joined: Apr 2nd, 2007 Last Online: 01:44 PM Location: Brooklyn, NY Age: 25 Posts: 1,471 Car: Audi A4 1.8T Rep Power: 18	I got an Acer TravelMate C310 (yeah it's a tablet go away). had it for two years, dropped it about 10 times, a couple of times it was open. Didn't even flinch. The case is metal though not plastic, the only thing that failed is the power supply so I got a replacement for $20 Battery life is absolute crap, for battery Dell is the shit. Warranty wasn't a problem for me, never even had to talk to anyone, filled out an online form, they gave me an address to send it too, got the thing back 3-4 days later and they fixed some stuff I didn't report. Pretty easy to work on by yourself as well took me about 10 minutes to take it apart once I got it. So there you go this is my experience you can take it or leave it

June 27th, 2008, 07:19 PM	#20
mclarensmps Joined: Mar 28th, 2006 Last Online: 05:07 PM Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Age: 24 Posts: 855 Car: 1992 E36 BMW 318i Rep Power: 15	Nothing wrong with Acer's except their QC isn't great and you may end up with one that has lemon-ish components. A couple of my friends had Acer Travelmates, which were perfectly fine, but my dad had the same thing, and it's MB blew out 6 months into service. Acer was good with their warranty, however, and daddy dearest was able to get it fixed free of charge. I personally hate anything made by ASUS, so I can't offer any help on that front. I have an HP Pavillion that I ended up with for free, and, it came with Vista installed, which looked cool and all, but made the thing sluggish as hell. HP doesn't support Windows XP for that particular model, so when I "downgraded" to XP, it was a bitch and a half to get all the drivers for the various components on the machine, however, once I did get all the drivers, the thing works like a bloody charm! The ergonomics of the thing aren't the best, I must warn you, though, because often while typing, your palm will hit the touchpad and you end up typing completely elsewhere. Good luck with whatever you end up choosing __________________ Interviewer: Mika you've been a superb world champion for the last two years but your reign, for now, is over. How do you feel? Hakkinen: Sooo Saaaaaaaaad

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