Consumer VS Business Laptop...Quality Difference Worth the Price?

[mephiston5]

Assume similar specs in terms of CPU, RAM, graphics card, hard drive, etc. Are business laptops worth the extra money (generally $300-$400 it seems) for a similarly configured system?

I assume business laptops generally have tougher cases. What else are you getting for the extra money? If one plans to use the laptop for 3+ years on a pretty much daily basis, is it worth spending the extra cash for a business class machine?

 

[Emulex]

yes;yes;yes.

you get real support 3/3/3 next business day on-site repair. i had a flaw in a screen - they were out next day with a new screen installed.

the new screen was flawed too. i had things to do but they will come out again and replace the 17" again. and again until i am satisfied.

i guarantee you every HP business class laptop i've bought still functions and every hp consumer laptop i've bought/friends have bought have failed - oddly right out of warranty.

right when the model lines change (right NOW @ hp) you can get super deals at TD or hp business outlet.

HP elitebook is my favorite - the less rugged plastic probook is not so bad.

It's cheap to uplift your warranty for ADR/DMR/Computrace professional as well. ADR is obvious - spill your slurpee- covered. DMR - you keep your hard drive and destroy if it fails or appears to fail - Computrace professional - tracks a whole lot more than location.

I've probably handled 50+ elitebooks (all models) and only the one i got for free had an issue and i think it was probably why i got it free

 

[Hacp]

Depends on the premium. If its a 200 dollar premium and you get a hefty warranty, then yes it is worth it. My keyboard broke on my E6400. Called Dell and got a replacement keyboard the next day.

 

[Aarondeep]

Even if you are out of warranty on a business class laptop, the parts are usually much easier to find and cheaper to replace than on consumer grade machines.
Lenovo (thinkpads), HP, and dell make good business machines.

 

[brxndxn]

No docking port = junk, imo

even apple

 

[Emulex]

you know everyone is going to usb 2/3.0 docking now. once lightpeak is out i'm sure that will nail the coffin shut since you can (3.0/lightpeak) run anything.

This way you can have 10 physically different (tablet/netbook/ipad/whatever) plugged in to the same process fab.

Docking port: 99% of the business customers buy a docking port which comes with an extra power supply. execs, road warriors etc. elitebooks all have them but the models vary with generations - standardizing on a usb variant when the time is right only makes sense

 

[videobruce]

I went with a business model for two reasons. Neither was available with any consumer model I saw.;

1. I wanted it to run on XP with the associated drivers, not that overly bloated Win7 that is on every consumer model,
2. I wanted a non glossy screen at 1600x900 in a 15.6" model instead of trying to read through a glossy 'mirror'.

I narrowed it down to Toshiba and HP, but ruled out Toshiba since their choices for AMD processors was very limited. I wound up with a HP Probook 6545b that they just dropped the price $150 on top of the orginial 15% discount.

 

[corkyg]

Business model - I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Emulex]

probook is nice its a less rugged elitebook. both are extremely solid. haven't seen a dead pixel ever

 

[dawza]

I just set up a Probook 5310m and it is really nice. This one was a decently-spec'd SP9300 model for sale at the HP business outlet for $550 (pro-tip: most business refurbs look brand-new).

The 5310m is not quite as bulletproof-feeling as the Elitebook 2530P, but it is far better than your standard Inspiron/Pavillion/etc. Quite the svelte little system.