Consider a priority on hardware quality?

I rarely notice any topics or discussions on hardware quality. I know, there are comparisons and a poster might say A is better 'quality' than B but I am talking about when you upgrade or take the notebook apart.

Which brand or if possible, brand and model, do you recommend for that?

I mean, is an Asus *BRAND?* an easier laptop to work on, take apart, upgrade etc. than a HP DV#? What about a Sony VAIO or a Toshiba Satellite series (more recent ones - the black ones with the 'weird' keyboards).

I think there's so many to choose from and some lines like Lenovo and Dell have both consumer and business lines. But, rarely is there a comparison between hardware quality and ease of maintenance. I guess some shops can give an opinion on what's easier to deal with if those newer models ever make it in there. It also depends on what the buyers do with their laptops. Not everyone is careful and some buyers are careLESS! ;-)

However, I thought posting in the 'aftermarket' and 'upgrades' section might provide some insight and opinions on which laptops (and hopefully, some posters can list or mention the brand model numbers too) are at the top in terms of hardware maintenance when you decide DIY upgrades is preferable to paying a shop. If you take it in a shop, perhaps a laptop that is pleasant to work on might be enough to get a repair tech. into a better mood, too.

I'd like to take this into consideration when shopping for a laptop whether it's a $500 machine or a more expensive dynamo of a machine for $1100+! Sometimes something fails or you want more RAM or a faster CPU or a SSD in there or whatever.... it might be an easier task if the laptop construction is easier to deal with than a competitor/brand/model, right?

Any recommendations? Experiences????

 

Interesting topic for sure.
I take them apart frequently and I would have to say they are mostly built the same these days.

I am fairly sure that there are not too many fundamental manufacturers and a lot of machines are more alike than different.

It seems that no matter the Cachet of the brand once you get thema apart they look alike to me.

I guess the one exception in my experience is the Panasonics in general.
These are genuinely constructed with a goal of survivability in harsh settings.
The catch here is that instead of being easier to work on they are often harder to deal with as they are ruggedized and sealed more than most.

On the other hand they often have more room inside to work and mod because the cases are big.

So I am not sure that build quality and ease of service are really related unless it is that the better built units may be harder to work on?

Certainly a lot of machines these days seem to be built on a single main board with peripherals plugged in much more so than it used to be.
This sort of implies not much service can be done if the big board fails.

Anyway I still have some fun trying.

Ed

 

Clevo's are usually good for upgrading/servicing. I only have to remove 7 screws on my Clevo M860ETU for full access to my RAM, GPU, CPU, HDD, mini PCI-E slots, etc. With my Asus G1S, it was much more complicated.

 

Courtesy Cnet:

 

Part of the problem itself is that apart from a few companies, most "brands" subcontract to an ODM, which does the actual design work. Thus, 2 different models that are branded, say, HP, can actually be designed and built by two completely separate companies. A helpful article from the XoticPC online retailer helps illustrate this ( Custom Laptops, Gaming Notebooks, Custom Gaming Laptops | XOTIC PC).

 

All good replies! Interesting article! Which brand names have 'Clevo design or components?' Any?

I think the MSI, Asus and Samsung laptops do look very similar.

It's interesting that MSI and Asus were brought up as ODMs. I happen to think both are decent quality for the most part and I would consider either brand.

If I had to rank or at least give a top three, I would choose:
Asus * MSI * Samsung

Do you think this is a reasonable assessment? The reason I include Samsung in that group is because they seem to be like the other two, in style/design so whatever ODM they use seems to be the same. Perhaps, someone knows who Samsung uses? The R580 series, for e.g., seems good and receives good reviews as far as I know. With Asus or MSI, you know you're getting an ODM and therefore, have a decent idea of what to expect?

Out of the other brand names, Dell, Toshiba and maybe Lenovo are worth a look but I wonder if QC is somewhat suspect. However, I think Toshiba's Satellite series seems to be the best out of those three, perhaps?

The four laptop brands I would look at include Asus, MSI, Samsung and Toshiba. I'm not sure about Lenovo and I think Dell seems to disappoint many buyers and their rep seems to be taking a hit.

I also suspect the four I mention would be easiest to upgrade as well.

Comments?

 

The last "major" brand that I recall using a Clevo design was Alienware and Voodoo several years back. I don't think any major brands use Clevo anymore, but they're easy enough to find from Sager and other resellers (Malibal, Kobalt in the UK, etc). While Asus computers have a decent design and quality, I think their quality in terms of upgrading varies a lot depending on the particular model. For example, the G73 has a bit of notoriety as being difficult to service. This is a case of where the fact that Asus makes so much of the components that go into their own notebooks works against them; since they make almost everything they put in there, they can just go ahead and design it as something akin to a single monolithic structure, which is bad for upgrading. Really, if you're looking for the best notebooks for upgrading and service, you're probably best off looking for a notebook that's listed as being sold as a whitebook or barebones kit. Those are intended to be sold as a frame and motherboard with self-bought components dropped in. Oh, and for a minor list of ODMs and some of their major relationships, the Wikipedia article ( List of laptop brands and manufacturers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) isn't horrid, although almost certainly incomplete.

 

In my experience Sony doesn't like users fiddling with things other than HD/Ram. Other components were very hard to access on few Vaios I've touched, and Sony doesn't publish repair manuals.

Dell does publish repair manuals, and I found working with their regular lines to be quite easy. Adamo line was hard to disassemble - everything is custom made or soldered on including HD and ram.

 

Like I offered above,Panasonic are built to a different standard.
I have seen videos of the R&D and Manufacturing plants and the design goals alone are in a different league than most portable machines.
Granted they design for the Niche market of the Toughbook.

They also manufacture many of the internal parts as well as casting the rugged casings too.

They have developed test equipment and "Torture Chambers" to help make sure they are track.
And if course many Toughbooks meet different Mil Spec standards of survivability in the field.

All of this seems to make a difference.