N6460 ... reliable and good buy?

I'm planning to buy a new laptop to replace my old, slow IBM T30.

I found Fujitsu N6460 does meet my criteria pretty well when shopping a new laptop. (I don't play games that often, but mainly web surfing, watch movie, photo editing)

Before I make any decision, I would like to know how reliable is Fujitsu's laptop compared to other brand names, such as Asus, HP, Toshiba and Dell?

Is Fujitsu's machine reliable? When purchasing the laptop, do I really need the extended warranty?

I'm still deciding whether I should get the HP 9500 or the Fujitsu N6460. If they are similar in performance, reliablility, and pricing, I will go for the Fujitsu.

Thanks

 

I purchased a Fujitsu N series Lifebook about 3 years ago and have loved every minute of it. I use it for work and general home stuff. I do notice it gets hot if you sit it on your lap while using it, but that has never created any problems for me. I am looking to upgrade, and I am going to buy another Fujitsu because it has been my favorite laptop ever.

 

I don't think you will have any problems with reliability. Fujitsu notebooks are built very well, and are very strong. The HP is also built very well. We could advise you which is better, based on specification, but it would require you to post the configuration of each notebook.

 

I googled the HP 9500 all I got was a bunch links to an inkjet printer of that model Anyways like Zero said the build quality of Fujitsu laptops are good but I have to say I've had my share of problems with my laptop all of them hardware related. At least FS support is good where I live

 

I made a typo on that. It's HP dv9500t
I realized both dv9500t and the n6460 are very good laptops, which is a tough decision for me.

One more thing...
While the N6460 battery can only last an hour or so, however the HP dv9500t battery can last more than 2 hours.

Though, I can get the N6460 T7100 for a pretty good deal.....so should I wait a little bit and look for something else in the market?

 

I'm not enitrely sure about the battery life of the HP, but it would depend alot on the configured notebook. There are various reviews on NBR, all of which will mention something about the battery life. It may be a good idea to read some of the HP notebook, and also of the Fujitsu notebook. It will help you decide, if your not sure on which to choose.

Also, if you would like some more suggestions on possible notebooks, it may be a good idea to fill in an FAQ, and post a new thread in the "What Notebook Should I Buy" section of the forum. There are some very good forum members there, who will be able to suggest some criteria matching notebooks.

 

The Fujitsu will generally be more reliable. Other individuals may have different experiences but in terms of ranking, Fujitsu overall has a higher quality rating than HP. My previous HP has had issues but if I were to buy another HP, it would be a business class notebook.

My only dislike is the preconfigured 17in Fujitsu's typically come with extremely slow 4200rpm drives. And also lack of battery options on the 17in models....where as HP usually offers higher capacity batteries.

 

I have the N6460, the only issues I've had sofar are a little bit of light bleed in the center of the LCD;

http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/9366/lcdbleedzq3.jpg

(it look like there are 3 stuck pixels in that image, which freaked me out when I saw it, but it appears to have been the angle and illumination. I ran 2 dead pixel programs on it, and couldn't reproduce those 3 pixels). But you can clearly see the light bleed there and it's really a little less obvious with the Fujitsu load screen so bright. BTW, the default for the LCD is F'in bright!

Also is won't recognizing one of the two 1GB Kingston DDR2 SODimms that worked fine on my Gateway where they pass Memtest no problem. So it looks like I mistakenly chose to downgrade from 2GB to 1 GB think I could save some scratch, if you're unsure just spend the money. I'm now running 1GB of Kingston + one of the 512MB Samsung sticks that shipped with it.

Also the graphics drivers it ships with are the 8.383 / Cat 7.6 drivers, which are old if you want to play Bioshock or Quakewars. You cannot update yourself, and there is not 'opt in' option that is available to XP Fujitsu owners.
Must wait for Fujitsu to push the next Catalyst release.

Overall pretty good quality sofar, although the touchpad is a little mediocre compared to some, but I don't use it much as I prefer an attached trackball for day to day use.

As for the HDD, I suggest you 'downgrade' to the single 100GB 5400RPM drive like I did, and then add a second HDD later (in order to do that you need to buy a separate HDD cage from the parts section). I'm either going to add the Fujitsu 160GB 7200 RPM drive or the 200GB Hitachi 7200RPM drive. Right now I can only get my hands on the Hitachi, not the Fujitsu, and I don't want the Seagate.

Anywhoo, I'd say that an extended warranty usually isn't worth it unless this is a secondary computer for you. I plan on updrading this in less than 2 years so the money spent on a warranty would be better spent on a replacement.

The only thing that concerned me was the dead pixel possability, and the LCD insurance was tempting, but I didn't take it and the LCD shipped fine other than the mild light leakage (not noticeable when playing games like Bioshock or Oblivion, only notice it at startup).

 

It it very possible to download and install new Catalyst drivers w/o Fujitsu's help.

All you need to do is run the modtool:

http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool/

Works perfectly. I did it 2 days ago on my N6460. Good luck.

 

It doesn't sound like what you're doing is all that demanding. A new faster hard drive and more memory along with a clean install may speed things up considerably on the T30. The T30s screen is matte whereas the Fujitsus is glossy.

 

I have an N6410, it was so good I also bought an N6460. You will to be enjoy very much this laptop.