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Subject:RE: Laptop for graphics, writing and fun From:"McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> To:"CL T" <straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com>, <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:04:14 -0500
Not to look a gift-horse (free advice) in the mouth, but I'm trying to
figure out the point of Colin's posted links.
We know that sometimes content on websites gets moved after somebody
sends a link, but assuming that I landed on the same articles that you
were reading when you provided those links (below) earlier today, they
don't seem to support your contention at all, especially w.r.t HP.
Your first link has one good observation about repair _response_. This
makes me think that I'd best buy a plan when I buy a laptop.
The repairs-needed history, on the other hand, is summarized by both
Consumer Reports and CSM as being essentially a non-issue with all the
brands falling within 4 points of each other... and HP not at the
bottom...
The second one (PC Mag from "07.10.03" izzat the date? Which could be
"2007.Oct.03" or "July 10, 2003"mentions HP being pushed from a letter
grade of A to B, while several others are B, C, D and even E. So,
again, "floating near the bottom" sounds fishy. It's actually near the
high end of the pack. I did not download the PDF - I decided to take
their summary as representative of their findings.
The third link was a general one that didn't mention specific rankings.
It's only mention of HP was (with DELL) as an _example_ of manufacturers
that didn't want to talk to Gartner about reliability. If they'd
mentioned even one manufacturer that DID talk to Gartner or other
reviewers about reliability, then I would see the mention of HP as
having some significance. As it stands, it doesn't. YMMV... but I'm not
sure why it would...
As a general rule, we already knew that laptops tended to break more
than desktops and servers, because... surprise... laptops get toted
around, bumped, dropped, etc....
I don't know about you, but as frequently as I find myself inside my
desktop (I test our company's hardware in it) I would still find myself
operating the closure and hinge of a laptop more than the side-panels of
a desktop. So the point of that article is uninteresting to someone who
has already decided to purchase a laptop versus a desktop model.
The final article "What are the Most Reliable PC Products?" was a very
generalized survey FROM OCTOBER 2004!!! (No uncertainty about
date-format on this one.)
When I checked my calendar, we were this far [ ] away from 2009. I
think we already mentioned that HP went through a rough patch several
years ago. Any surveys in 2004 would have been looking at reports from
the years prior to 2004 (and maybe the first part of 2004 at best)...
so... um... what was the intended point again? I started this thread,
and I'm not really interested in 4-year-old tech. I want the best I can
afford of this year's tech to last me until 2013 or so. I don't want to
grab onto HP as a fetish, but I don't want to reject it for no apparent,
current reason.
Regarding your final point, I'll definitely avoid any machines with
nVidia 8600M inside. :-) But given that many/most are offering 9600M
or 9800M, that's not a big issue either.
- Kevin
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-
> l.com] On Behalf Of CL T
> Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 12:46 PM
> To: McLauchlan, Kevin
> Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: Laptop for graphics, writing and fun
>
> Lest I be accused of providing info without a source? All about
laptops,
> brand reliability and support, from 2004 to 2008.
>
> Sorry, HP is never in the top and frequently floating near the bottom
(for
> laptops).
>
>
> http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/05/12/laptop-reliability-
> %E2%80%93-the-best-and-worst/
>
>http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1186140,00.asp
>
>http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?newsid=6308
>
>http://www.infotoday.com/linkup/lud100104-goldsborough.shtml
>
> Enjoy!
>
> Oh, also do a search on the recent problems with certain Nvidia
chipsets
> overheating and contributing to laptop failure. (This from a raving
Nvidia
> fan.)
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