Discreet Dolls

HP Computers

Shades

Shades of .....
Feb 8, 2002
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Need to get a new laptop computer...have had Dell Inspirion, worked well. Had a disastrous experience with Toshiba, won't go there again and now have a Compaq which has worked well.
I'm looking at the HP with a 17" screen, 1.60GHz Intel Core i76-720QM....with 6gb ram and 640gb core...not a bad looking machine...but would appreciate my learned brothers and sisters thoughts on the quality/reliability of HP these days...
many thanks...
 

Shades

Shades of .....
Feb 8, 2002
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That was my complaint about Toshiba...had to send to Japan for the parts! I thought servicing on HP might be more reliable...thanks for the input djk
 

Cobster

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Apr 29, 2002
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HP has a horrible rep for customer service.

Search HP on the Consumerist. Also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuV64ON-jv0

You should look towards ASUS if you're looking for Windows. When I used Windows, I used to buy ASUS motherboards when building my systems and they were solid.

I'm with DJ on this one, HP support is BRRRRRRRRRUTAL.
Called in for a friend's laptop last week.
Of course, ended up calling India and talking to "Bob" and the language barrier alone was enough to piss me off, but then having to HAGGLE with them that they were obligated to fix something they knew was a problem and it was under warranty, THAT was a chore in itself.
 

Shades

Shades of .....
Feb 8, 2002
2,993
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Thanks for this input...I spend too much of my life dealing with "customer service" that ain't!
I don't want to go down that road again, if I can help it.
What's Dells quality rep now? I know they went through a rough patch, but has it improved? I had to replace the HD on my vostro 400...that was an expensive exercise...it was well off warranty so the customer service wasn't an issue.
 

WoodPeckr

Protuberant Member
May 29, 2002
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Here's the record


http://www.tuaw.com/2009/11/17/this-just-in-macbooks-are-more-reliable-than-netbooks/

Were I in the market today it would be Asus or Toshiba laptop.

Agree HP phone support SUCKS BIGTIME!
Called HP as couple times for a couple HP printer parts and all the guy from India tried to do was sell me a new or pricey 'refurb' printer in its place.

I have a Dell desktop and Phone tech help has been good the few times called to test them out.

My 2½ yr old Toshiba laptop has been flawless to date.....knock on wood. Toshiba phone support has been good. Called them asking about any possible warranty repairs and they told me there were 6 repair shops ~10 miles from were I live that could be used if needed. They said there was NO NEED to ship laptop to Japan for repairs or parts.

Maybe there is a different policy in place for the GWN.
 

Shades

Shades of .....
Feb 8, 2002
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Awesome graph...thanks woodpeckr...
My experience with Toshiba goes back 3 years and they had places that could do the repairs but not that necessarily had the parts. Getting the parts is what took the time. First repair, took 3 weeks. Second repair was 4 weeks and counting and Staples just replaced the computer.
But, if the Toshiba experience has improved...maybe...Good to see that Dell is in the middle...
By the way, what is a GWN...or dare I ask!
 

WoodPeckr

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May 29, 2002
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AnimalMagnetism

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Apr 21, 2006
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I agree with everyone in regards to HP. my favorite laptop manufacturer is ASUS, as djk stated their motherboards are top quality and the product is solid. Asus warranty is valid worldwide
I have also recommended Toshiba to many people, as they seem to go on sale and are easier to find than Asus.
 

djk

Active member
Apr 8, 2002
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the hobby needs more capitalism
I assume you are looking at Windows only. The logic I would use is that most PC manufacturers treat their products as commodities and you should expect any after sale service to be "just okay" at best. So you will want to avoid dealing with them if possible, look towards those with the lowest failure rates.

In other words, ASUS. Also, those specs in your first post tell me will be used for gaming? If so, you will get MUCH better value if you build a desktop machine.

Awesome graph...thanks woodpeckr...
My experience with Toshiba goes back 3 years and they had places that could do the repairs but not that necessarily had the parts. Getting the parts is what took the time. First repair, took 3 weeks. Second repair was 4 weeks and counting and Staples just replaced the computer.
But, if the Toshiba experience has improved...maybe...Good to see that Dell is in the middle...
By the way, what is a GWN...or dare I ask!
 

AnimalMagnetism

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Apr 21, 2006
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goalie000

Wanting more!!
Sep 7, 2001
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Your place!!
A friend of mine has a Dell desk top and just bought a new hard drive and some soft ware from them and they totally lied to make the sale. The friend had to pay someone to install everything and get the computer working again. The Dell sales person told them that they could install everything themselves easily with no problems or cost. When the stuff arrived Dell told them there would be an additional charge for Tech help to install the stuff. Fuck Dell!!!
 

xmontrealer

(he/him/it)
May 23, 2005
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Have you looked at the Apple portables?

I've been a Windows PC guy since the early days. However, when my son needed a portable a year ago I got him an Apple. It is much more user friendly than the HP portable I have, and it boots up and shuts down completely in seconds, as compared to much longer for both of my own Windows computers, being the HP portable and a Dell desktop.

To me, in a laptop that I don't leave turned on for days at a time like I do my desktop PC, that feature alone makes the Apple much more useful and time-efficient.
 

djk

Active member
Apr 8, 2002
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the hobby needs more capitalism
Have you looked at the Apple portables?

I've been a Windows PC guy since the early days. However, when my son needed a portable a year ago I got him an Apple. It is much more user friendly than the HP portable I have, and it boots up and shuts down completely in seconds, as compared to much longer for both of my own Windows computers, being the HP portable and a Dell desktop.

To me, in a laptop that I don't leave turned on for days at a time like I do my desktop PC, that feature alone makes the Apple much more useful and time-efficient.
It depends on what shades needs are. If it's going to be primarily gaming, I say he should skip Windows laptops and build a desktop. Otherwise, if it's general use and he has mentioned one of his deciding factors is great customer service then yes, I'd agree.
 

Powershot

Active member
May 18, 2003
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As an aside, you should look into upgrading your laptop with Windows 7 as well as an SSD drive.. Even my 1.3ghz laptop boots up in 15 seconds. I wouldn't build a system without an SSD boot drive now.

Have you looked at the Apple portables?

I've been a Windows PC guy since the early days. However, when my son needed a portable a year ago I got him an Apple. It is much more user friendly than the HP portable I have, and it boots up and shuts down completely in seconds, as compared to much longer for both of my own Windows computers, being the HP portable and a Dell desktop.

To me, in a laptop that I don't leave turned on for days at a time like I do my desktop PC, that feature alone makes the Apple much more useful and time-efficient.
 

AnimalMagnetism

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Apr 21, 2006
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As an aside, you should look into upgrading your laptop with Windows 7 as well as an SSD drive.. Even my 1.3ghz laptop boots up in 15 seconds. I wouldn't build a system without an SSD boot drive now.
Very good point. SSD(solid state drive) are much faster and being non mechanical are more reliable.
Have an SSD as your boot drive and a secondary larger conventional drive for storage and back ups
 

Twister

Well-known member
Aug 24, 2002
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GTA
Suprised you didn't have luck with Toshiba, I found it to be one of the better ones....
 

Shades

Shades of .....
Feb 8, 2002
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Great input...have to make the decision soon. The computer is being bought for business purposes (real estate) so likely won't be used for gaming.
Reliabilty and speed are the two key factors as well as screen size and quality (for presentations). I'm an iPhone user, but haven't migrated to the computer yet. The real estate world and offices tend to be PC based so would always have to do the apple pretending to be a PC to fit in routine. The ASUS rep from the Woodpekr graph and the price at Best Buy (thanks animal mag) looks like the leader in my consideration right now.
I like the look of the HP...but...I hear what everybody has been saying about the customer service.
 
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