Notebook Brand With Best Build Quality (Revisited)

I included brands that were left behind in the other poll, that are actually quite important, like Asus (which actually builds Mac's among others) or Compal (which is the second largest manufacturer).

 

Asus is not the largest OEM manufacturer, its actually Quanta followed by Compal, Wistron & some others. Asus probably comes in 5th or 6th in terms of shipments.

 

You're right. Corrected.

 

another observation. It might be interesting to break out each mfg's consumer line from their business line systems. For example there is a pretty big difference between Dell's Inspiron and Lattitude lines as well as for HP's consumer lines and their Business lines. I am sure Gateway and others have business lines that are purported to have more durable construction.

 

That's a good idea, but then it would have too many variables. May be that poll should go in the specifics brands forums. This is mostly a general poll.

 

hehehehe...I knoooow... Maybe next go 'round it would make for an interesting option. I was thinking that the satifaction people have with the business class systems has the potential to skew the results for the vendor's that offer them. Apples to apples sort of thing. That's the thing with polls, just what level of granularity is sufficent.

 

Well, and then there's brands like Fujitsu that don't have business vs consumer distinction, and just make butt kicking laptops for everyone

Malia

 

I've used many different brands and find IBM/Lenovo to have the best build & reliability. Asus comes in at a close 2nd.

I also like compaq/hp business class notebooks.

 

Apple makes macbooks with polycarbonate and macbook pros with aircraft-grade aluminum. Enough said.

 

I still feel that Sony gets my vote. It's the brushed metal body that makes the build quality strong. You definitely pay for it, of course.

 

Asus wins all the way. They have really well built laptops, not just a brushed metal body, but a solid construction all the way through. They are quality products, so I don't mind paying for them.

 

I feel that Asus, LG and Lenovo are the leaders when it comes to build quality. Sony and Samsung are good as well.

 

How about the HP business line of notebooks? nc and nx lines?

 

Fujitsu? Really? I don't know anything about them. I've never paid any attention to them. I have to read up on them now. Buying notebooks is tough!

 

IBM and Asus are on the top. However, when it comes to performance to price ratio (including accessories and laptop features), Asus wins.

 

ibm all the way, though you pay a hefty premium for quality. unless you get the cheap(er) R series.

 

IBMs are butt ugly though. Apple and Sony have the best balance of aesthetics and quality. Apple definitely gets an A+ for aesthetics in my book. And their screen looks awesome.

 

well some ppl like the look of ibm. I prefer classic black than any greyish no matter how nicely grey metal is done.

somewhat asus is so popular but problem is I can't get any where to look for asus laptops, to see how it is, many store here in us don't actually sells them. Well I guess that same goes for ibm but luckily a friend does own one, making me interest into "thinkpads". I would really like to see how asus notebook is.

 

HP all the way.

 

The one notebook i have coem across which has never had any faults of any kinds was my old Toshiba Portege so I voted Toshiba.

 

Well from what I have heard, Lenovos are great but I have never used one. My dad's X41 had a hard drive failure in sector 0 so that doesn't make them so reliable in my P.O.V.

All I can say is what I know. My Portege was flawless for 4 years so...

 

Why polls are good:
Most of us have had more than one laptop and we can compare, and many of us have used or knew many different laptop brands (from friends, job). Also, most of us have read this forum a lot and know quality issues of some brands, which made us choose one brand over another (in a money/quality decision).

And there ARE clear signs of built quality, like heat control, endurance, how solid the pieces fit, how compatible are the components to each other and to the motherboard, how is the screen quality among others. And as the case of Jess_paws, an issue with the hard drive it IS an issue of the laptop brand, because even if the HD is from another brand, it also has to pass their quality control (Lenovo).

 

Also, I think the poll is giving some reliable answers right now.

 

ASUS does make some nicely built notebooks followed by Lenovo/IBM

 

Thanks moderators, let's talk about notebooks.
Compal also makes good quality machines doesn't it?

 

Hmm...close race between Asus and Lenovo/IBM. I voted Lenovo/IBM because they've always been known for top quality, but I totally agree about Asus notebooks being great quality (not saying Asus is "great" while Lenovo is "excellent").

I voted Lenovo/IBM over Asus because they seem more consistent in the build quality. Asus has some laptops that aren't as good (like the A8J) in build quality, so Lenovo is the better one in my opinion.

 

I see the lack of Clevo. I don't know if you are counting Sager as Clevo though. I feel that Clevo > HP in terms of build quality; Macs aren't far behind. Sony is sturdy, but I've come across some rather flimsy models. A friend of mine's Sony is so messed up that if you move it a wee bit to any side, Windows gives BSoD (He probably didn't take care of it well, but I found it rather hilarious)

..and not to forget those Thinkpads. I could use them to whack someone annoying, and it'd still work perfectly.

 

Come on, do I even have to say?

 

Whats with these polls, never really showing the correct ODMs:

Quanta designs/makes some seriously nice and sturdy notebooks. They are the largest notebook manufacturer in the world.
- notably for Sony, Apple's Macbooks, Lenovo/IBM, Gateway, Dell, etc.

Compal is the right up there as well, with great designs. They are 2nd largest.
- notably for Toshiba, NEC, some Dell's, HP, Compaqs, etc..

Clevo is probably the most well-known boutique brand manufacturer in the world.
- more well known with re-branding from Alienware, Sager, VooDoo PC, Falcon, etc..
- known to be luxury notebooks, and the best for the money.

ASUS is right up there.
- making their own notebook lines
(but has recently made a contract to produce the next Toshibas)

MSI (Micro-Star Intl) is another great designer/manufacturer.
- like Asus, they have their own line of notebooks that get re-branded.

Then you got:
AOPEN (Acer)
Arima
LG
MiTAC
Uniwill
Twinhead
Foxconn
FIC
ECS

Dont you see that these polls are a bit inaccurate in portraying the "name brands", when in reality, the options that are being voted are skewed since you have several "brands" being designed/manufactured by the same ODM. And since Quanta and Compal combined, they produce about 90% of the world's notebooks... wow.

I believe that poll's should reflect the best OEM (not "brand") notebook build quality or customer/tech support. Its the OEM that should either get the blame or the praise... with the "bloatware" or software package.... good/bad technical support... etc.

I'll vote Clevo.... wait, its not there, geez.

Note: Sager sells Compal and Clevo's. (see what I mean, which do i vote for?)

Game On People,
-Gophn

 

For me Asus and secondly, Lenovo

 

My thoughts exactly.

I demand a recount!

 

Well, I'm sorry, I included as much as I saw mentioned in the forum main page. Vote Sager if you want. Sorry guys.

 

You seem to take all of the brands from the forum sections, maybe you should modify the Sager to make it Sager/Clevo like I suggested for the forum title to change.

 

I guess, but I don't think I can modify a poll.

 

Next to Panasonic who is the most rugged, IBM/Lenovo is the best in terms of build quality on the ThinkPad line although Clevo with their more luxery built laptops obviously gives you what you pay for. Most of the keyboards used on the ThinkPads are the best I've seen though and since the keyboard is one of the most important factors in terms of build quality I don't see any of these other brands beating them out. The MacBook Pro's are pretty decent though expensive. I wouldn't touch an Asus personally unless it was one of the high-end expensive models. Their cheaper models look like generic crap from Compal.

 

I agree, just talking about the IBM keyboards is great quality, the connector used in it is easier to take in and out of laptop, and the metal plate of keyboard is much thicker than others. No wonder there is no flex in the keyboard.

I think it is the panasonic w5 is rated at 3 ft drop and I believe I read somewhere the X60 thinkpad is also rated at 3ft. so IBM/lenovo is pretty close to panasonic in the physical built quality part.

only thing I would complain is that not all thinkpads are flexview

 

I am surprised to see asus past IBM

 

Your wrong Gophn, its up to the OEMs to create their design and its up to them how much money (budget) they want to spend on build quality, design, and research and development.

ODM's just build it. Its like the construction workers who build bridges. They just do the building, its up to the engineering design team to tell them what to do.

Get it?

 

I mean its not like toshiba says to [insert ODM] ; "Build us a laptop".

(ODM builds them a laptop and hands it to them)

Toshiba: "Oh thanks you, this looks of [insert here] build quality. Let us define our company prospectives based on this model. It costed [blank] much to make? Ok lets market it to [blank] crowd! Thanks reliable ODM!

=/

Alienware: "Oh sweet this is exceptional design. Lets become a boutique manufacturer."

Obviously it didn't happen like this...

 

How do we know for sure? Certainly that could explain many oddities in the notebook market today

 

panasonic rugged notebook are the best when it comes to build quality... unfortunately, they are all expensive...

 

I've been very impresed with my HP dv1207us. It's had water spilled on it twice, once on the keyboard and once on the touchpad. The keyboard one actually forced it to shut down and not reboot. Water was running out of the keyboard. lol. I flipped it upside down, and let it dry out over night. Next morning turned it on and it is still working a year later with no problems. The touchpad also dried out next dat and worked again as well. What can I say, I have kids that aren't all that careful.
As for the toughness, once I forgot to zip up my lap top bag and the laptop literally flew out of the bag, hit the ground, bounced twice, forcing to pop open and yet it still booted and all was fine. That was like 6 months ago.
So in my real world testing, I have to vote Hp.

 

I am using an Asus S96J VBI.

I am telling you the quality of my laptop is amazing, I felt a Dell E1505 and several Toshiba's and Gateways and my S96J surpasses them all easily.

After handling my laptop and being able to specifically use a Dell E1505 I have to stay that the E1505 feels very cheap and plastic compared to my S96J.

Laptops which I could not tell much of a difference between them and my S96J were HP's, Sony's, and Mac's.

 

ASUS laptops have a very nice build quality.

 

I guess none of you guys got the news, but IBM doesn't make laptops anymore. It's now lenovo, and since they started even if they have the same design, the thinkpads have been getting crappy. Sony's are now the most reliable.

 

what about Gigabyte notebooks?

 

All notebook manufacturers take parts made by other companies and place them in cases also made by other companies. Occasionally a manufacturer might make a couple parts that go into the laptop, but most of the time the only thing unique about a company is the logo on the front. Build quality does not vary between laptop brands. There are some exceptions, but this rule covers all major brands.

 

I agree, but more parts than you think are made by the individual manufacturers.

 

Oddly for me, HP seems to be having a bad build quality ( most probably an isolated case for me.) i had to send in my nx6115 for two times because of the hard disk failing,

Asus for now (most probably an isolated case for me) has no problem, and it has an excellent build quality.

 

It is odd the same 2 laptops keep receiving one vote. As soon as Lenovo gains one more vote than ASUS, ASUS gains one vote. If people are voting as they find the post, the votes would be more random. The odds of this one to one relationship being random is low. I think some people are voting more than once. :laugh: