lol just found this report

this is also pretty recent. is HP really that high in terms of reliability. i thought lenovo would be more reliable.

 

Always back up your data and I would replace my laptop every two years anyways.

 

I can't help but think that this is messed up somewhere. I agree that Acer and Apple belong at the bottom, but it seems this is regarding consumer level laptops and most users of this site agree the the consumer level of HP are not very good, and I've seen quite a few issues with Sony too (though just on hard drives with sony really, motherboards more with HP). I really think experience is more important than these studies, because I've seen studies that put apple at the top before, and I KNOW that that is not true.

 

I wonder how the report came up with the failure rates... I can't see any of the laptop manufacturers releasing numbers that make them look bad.

 

they were collected from squaretrade and what they receive in repairs i guess

 

LOL

That sounds funny;;;;;;

 

yes. It just seems like they are bad because they sell so many of them. HP Is #1 in the marketplace as far as Notebook sales go. They sell millions every quarter.

Their customer service is among the worst though.

 

HP sells so many notebooks that the misfortunate people with malfunctioning machines on this forum are a tiny percent. Lenovo has probably the best service but i am not impressed by the realibility of the hardware. The extra price you pay for a Thinkpad comes from the whole package - durability of the materials, 100% compatibility and premium service

 

So far *knock on wood* my HP hasn't had any issues that weren't my own fault, a strange quirk in the OS, or a combination thereof. It does tend to get rather hot on the underside, but I have no clue how to check the CPU temperature, so by the low usage (usually 10% or less) I assume it is far from overheating. Tech support is wonderful for troubleshooting when it comes to little mishaps, and I hope I never have to see what they're like with major system errors - as I'm hoping to have a very reliable machine.

Gateway, however, isn't as bad as it may seem - though I can definitely see why it's on the bottom rung of the ladder. Mine lasted a good three years, even though it constantly ran hot (the air coming from the vents was uncomfortable to touch) and the hinges cracked well after the miniscule 30-day warranty expired. The backlight had flickering issues ever since the hinges cracked, recently getting to the point where I have to squeeze the backlight to make the display turn on at all. Probably not safe, but effective either way. It continued to work, and that's what I think matters in the long run is that, when it's time to replace the old computer, it can hang on long enough for you to get the new one. I actually still use it, as a matter of fact; but it requires an external keyboard since the built-in keyboard actually stopped working all together. And it loves to BSOD on me.

At this point in time, I wouldn't disagree with the reliability rates of HP or Gateway according to the quoted article. Let's hope it stays that way...

 

^ My HP is plagued by issues; the Nvidia card failed, the heatsink, fan assembly, motherboard, wireless card, and hard drive have all been replaced (some more than once). I also know that my model issue spans across several of HP's older mainstream models. I don't think HP belongs at the top of the list...

 

Well when you add up all the various surveys, HP lands in the middle. As most other surveys have it.

I mean, on the flip side, you have a consumer's report survey that describes HP as teabagging schweaty monkey balls.

 

Yeah, HP was ranked dead last for service by Consumer Reports - Apple and Lenovo were 1st.

As for reliability, don't forget that the SquareTrade warranty kicks in AFTER the manufacturer warranty expires. Based on my own experience (heat-sink fan failed after several HOURS of use), my guess is that many more HP laptops fail within the first year. Would love to see some stats on that..

So maybe if your HP laptop is going to fail, it will be more likely to happen during the warranty period. In a sick sort of way that's a good thing, except HP repair sucks so much. On the other hand, it means you can't be lazy about backing up, even with a new laptop.