Can we talk about build quality?

Okay, let's use another model for notebooks instead of cars, because it's not going very far.

 

A notebook that is also a StepMaster, that would sell I reckon.

 

To sum this whole thread up:

Audi's suck - it's a well known fact.

In fact, even a guy like me who has a hard time remembering which car is mine in the parking lot [and I own a bright green Ford Tempo] knows that. :>)

Asus' on the other hand is great and you can even drive an Audi over it and it'll still work. Some suggest kicking it instead of the dog, but nothing works quite as well as fido so we've voted to stick with fido.

If you can't count past 3, stick with Dell - if you make it to four, go for the Thinkpad cuz' you're a thinker after all. If you can get to 5, you probably earn enough to buy an Asus [any model with a W for Winner in front of it] and you belong here. I think that's what Justin meant anyhow.

 

I forgot that a majority of this forum is still college age and don't know their behind from a hole in the ground... so the the conversation and comparisons between cars and computers should stop there... It was all in good fun for those that understood what I was talking about, but you must actually understand to get it.... saying you understand doesn't mean you do. I really do love who people don't know the difference between quality and dependability... but like a car and a computer....... that's what you have a warranty for. Never had a single problem worth mentioning (knock on wood) with any of my audi's or asus'...... at least problems that I didn't create. I wouldn't keep any german car outside of it's warranty unless it was only a weekend driver that keeps low miles...... I know for a fact how much little things on my car cost, without the right insurance and warranty, their a giant bill waiting to happen. Once you get into 6 / 8.. hell, 10 years..... you will pay more to fix a german car than you may have bought it used and certainly more than it's worth.....but I don't think I'm worried in the least about my car for a ton of reasons....

Now, before I get a call/email/pm about someone running a car over their asus, don't be stupid..... I know and hear of people a couple times a week who frequent this forum and do stupid stuff and then don't know how to fix what they did........ this ranges from as simple as testing out the hidden recovery partition and losing all of their documents, to pushing on their screen to see if the color gets displaced and breaking their screen..... so PSA - just don't do anything dumb!

The simple matter of fact is that you pay for what you get....... look at it that way. Yes, in the situation of a computer, the biggest cost is the configuration and then would be the resolution of the screen and say dedcated graphics.......... but build cost (which includes materials and design) influence the price a good deal as well and what's what you're looking for. My initial statement which placed certain models at different numerical values stands true.... you'll see this over time as they're not something that can always been see right away (unless you have say a Z96 and compare it at the same time to a V6), but there are differences and that's what you're paying for... not everyone could afford it, but before you say one asus is overpriced or whatever.... you need to consider what makes up the cost.

Finally, pretty much all Asus models are excellent machines and will get through the designated warranty period like the star quarterback through a gym class..... The bottom line is how it'll work and Asus' motherboards are the heart of the systems and even if the case breaks into 10 pieces, that motherboard is going to last 4-5 years and still boot up without problems...... Beyond that, I think this thread could have ended on the first page and everyone still be on the same page...

 

Please don't stereotype the college crowd, we're not all dumb.

 

I'm still very much on that level, so it's not that big of a deal for me to call everyone else on it..... It's not meant to be personal, but between 20-25 or so most of what their knowledge is based on is from what they've read and not much personal, hands on experience.... with everything. I mean we're in a forum where I see people give advice on notebooks based on what they've seen in pictures and/or read..... without ever holding it or owning it...... that's bad, especially when people see the response and leave the forum after getting what they want and not knowing the advice came from someone who shouldn't have given it in the first place....... that's the kind of "generalization" I see in a lot of responses around the forum.

.... It's like how certain people of a certain culture can call their buddies certain names and it's not PC to use the term yourself and vice versa....... so when I say that most college age people don't know much, that's personal experience speaking and everyone knows probably just as many people who seem dumbed down after going through college as they know people who actually took it seriously. So it's not meant to offend, it's meant to make people think and realize they may not be that person, but they know people like that and there's no reason that wouldn't spread to a simple online forum like this

 

Ok back on topic or I'm going to suggest to the mods they close this up because I don't think we can really push it to that next level.....

Comparing build quality needs to be kept seperate from physical dependability because they're not the same thing.... Keeping that in mind, the difference between all of Asus' systems is not that great... it's like coin collector comparing two coins under normal light and sitting in your hand they look the same.... but undera microscope, you can see all the reasons why one is worth it's face value and one is worth 100x it's face value...... Although that may not be the best comparison...... afterall, it is hard to really compare anything to computers, but you have to talk on two levels.... when comparing Asus to everything else, there isn't much up in the Asus range of build quality, but they are up at the top with some others...... but if you want to break down the invididual models against themselves..... then you have to look at a different scale. I hope that makes sense. Then, finally, on a whole, from features, to design, to materials and details........ I really don't think there's anyone in the world that can beat Asus..... they're a very balanced system maker and everything carries a lot of weight. A lot of companies simply care about specifications........ power and performance... Asus has always been so much more than that and that alone is their biggest selling point.

 

I understand where you're coming from and I take no offense. By the way I just got done fixing the quarter panel on a 2005 TT. They are very lovely cars.

LOCK IT UP!

 

I was curious has anyone ever owned an Asus laptop that have lasted for over 3 years without the need for repair or the use of their warranty?

 

Justin, thanks for all of your help on this thread. When I started it, I didn't quite realize it would blow up like this!

 

I heard someone mention Compaq in a post earlier, and they didn't swear even once.

Since this is a thread about build quality, please allow me: !@#$%^&*

 

yep!

welcome to the forums!

 

Although you probably want to hear from end users - there aren't too many people on this site - if any at all - that are outside their warranty periods..... and probably no one with a system more than 3 years old.

I can speak as a user and a dealer and just point out a few things that you and others should know.

1. Parts for your system are made until the last production date of that model. Typically Asus will use a design for 3 years (or at least that's been the going trend for the last 5). So, if you have a model like the W7 which just came out this summer, Asus *should* be making W7 models till the summer of 2009. Now as chipsets change, sometimes the chassis change a little.... but are mainly kept identical. This means that parts will still be made in 2009 and you may be able to get parts off of the newest model or even upgrade or swap parts with whatever is being made then....... batteries will be made till they go End Of Life (EOL).

2. With an Asus motherboard problems during or even after warranty are unlikely, but will of course happen to a handful of people. Under warranty, you've got no problems what so ever..... outside of warranty, if the model you have is no longer made, parts could be hard to find. Usually it's just a matter of ordering them from Taiwan, but after a certain period, you may be out of luck. We started seeing the parts for the first model we ever imported go completely dead about a year and half ago - which was 4 years from the original manufactur date......

3. The original computer we imported back in late 2000 is still running. Now, it has had upgrades over the years, but that's more because we had parts lying around and once it got old, it was given to a little kid who has beat the hell out of it for the last couple years.... We physically replaced the entire chassis about two years ago...... put a new keyboard on it.... put in a larger hard drive and a new faster dvd burner (in 2000 I think it orginally came with an 8x dvd PLAYER and that's it).... new battery. When this was about 2-3 weeks old it got soda spilled on it and I cleaned it up... it's still kicking today. Now, today without a new battery, it'd probably be tied to a plug somewhere... that's obvious. Batteries today are better than back then, but you still have to assume that. The hard drive was fine.. the optical drive was fine.. the chassis was fine... the keyboard was fine..... it just looked years and years old and like I said, we had the parts and it's obviously a symbol of where we were and where we are.... Not everyone would want or need to do that. But that 4 year old computer looked like it just came out of the box when we redid it. I don't think it's possible for someone to own any notebook for close to 6 years and use it EVERYDAY. Either you're going to get sick of it and just buy a new one, or your physical needs are going to grow. Like with this old M1a, technology is just sooooo much ahead of where it was and I think our top of the line system today costs less than that did new. So, although any tech device could just break at the snap of your fingers, Asus' motherboards power through and have a great deal of stats and happy customers to prove it (notebooks and desktop motherboards)..... if you can take remote care of the system, it's going to last and worst case, parts can be replaced. It's more likely that you'll grow sick of looking at the same old thing everyday and you go out and start to research a new one rather than it is to just break down and then you're forced to buy something quickly...... a position far too many people claim to be in.

 

Four years is prety good, by then you could proabably by an old laptop for parts on ebay, my old compaq is knocking on 7 years old now (P2 300mhz) and the only major thing wrong was the memory on the motherboard died last year, but I was able to buy a motherboard and chassis for the same laptop on ebay for $15 USD and swapped the mobo myself, it has now got a 100gb 5400.2 seagate HDD which gave it a performance boost and my gf is using it for email and office stuf, still going strong.

if you keep your system well maintained it will last a long time, most people load them up with rubbish, and they get viruses and bloatware they think they need a new PC a good reinstall of windows evey now and again doesnt hurt.

 

Yeah... I think I forgot to mention in the whole thing about how ancient the parts were..... the hard drive was probably 10gb maybe...... so even though things last - you don't know what's going to be out in 2-4 years and if you're broke and can't buy a new system, upgrading my just be needed to keep you trucking....... 3-4 years ago, I know we could think about it (because desktops had things like this available), but would anyone thing they'd be using a 2.0ghz dual core cpu with 2gb of DDR2 667 and 160gb hard drive? I doubt it.....

NZ brings up a great point........ the reason a lot of people get new systems is because they say "my system is slowing down"... that normal, but the system doesn't slow down. At least, unless your software becomes a lot more advanced or you do a lot more than you used it..... that slowing down is probably coming from junk programs (spyware, adware, viruses)..... all things that make you think your system is getting "slower".... but your computer is just as fast 4 years down the road was it was when you took it out of the box - while running the same programs... So, I'd say a lot of people buy new computers when they really don't need to, but most people who frequent a forum like this one probably already know these things.