Dude, I'm getting an Asus

[Naer]

Me thinks this will be my final computer, unless this upcoming one gets lost or stolen. It's a
Acer Aspire E

• 6th Generation Intel Core i7-6500U Processor (Up to 3.1GHz)
• 15.6-inch Full HD Display, NVIDIA GeForce 940MX with 2GB DDR5 VRAM
• 8GB DDR4 Memory, 256GB SSD; Memory Speed - 2133 MHz
• Windows 10 Home
• Up to 12-hours Battery Life

gonna hand down the one I have now to my niece or cousin overseas(hp stream 11)

Crossing my fingers someone doesn't post in this threads saying that it's a shiet laptop

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, my personal experience with Acer consumer-line laptops hasn't been so good in the durability dept.

I give it three years, TOPS, before it falls apart on you.

OTOH, a friend of mine just came into some Acer TravelMate laptops (their business line from 2008-2009 era), and one of them was still pretty solid looking.

I might guess that they are still built better than the HP Stream line of laptops, those are more like toys than any laptop I think I've ever seen.

I might look at Lenovo's business lines of laptops, or a ThinkPad. I've got a Lenovo, I think B50-series, with an AMD small-core quad-core APU in it, it's pretty solid, I toss it around a bit on my bed, still running great.

Edit: I think that the Acer TravelMate laptops have a Magnesium chassis. My Acer consumer laptops, were mostly plastic.

 

[KillerBee]

Is it this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834315303
Looks like the included 8GB memory is one stick - so it's upgradable to 16GB without throwing it away which is great.

I'm jealous - still running my Acer Aspire Pentium Dual Core 3GB memory on Win10
though after 10 years it could use a replacement keyboard now and a new battery.

 

[Naer]

lol, why did i say asus in thread title? Beats me.

Should have said, "dude, I'm getting an acer

 

[NeoPTLD]

Many consumer class laptops are not meant to be serviced. You'll find that there are many plastic snap tabs holding the thing together. One of the most common wear and tear point is the power jack. Service friendly laptops have it behind a connector so you can change it as a module or do soldering on the side. On consumer laptops, the jacks are directly soldered on the board and the official service procedure is to replace the board. The only alternate is unsolder and solder right on the main board which is not very easy and quite risky.

Power jack will usually fail after a few years of regular use. I suppose it's a planned wear out so you'd buy another one faced with the quote to replace the main board.

 

[Naer]

Is it this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834315303
Looks like the included 8GB memory is one stick - so it's upgradable to 16GB without throwing it away which is great.

I'm jealous - still running my Acer Aspire Pentium Dual Core 3GB memory on Win10
though after 10 years it could use a replacement keyboard now and a new battery.

It's a bit better version than that one. Mine has a faster i7 and an ssd hdd. same graphics card. I'm not looking for superman performance. just potential to do more. As for the ram sticks, if that is true, great

 

[Naer]

Well, my personal experience with Acer consumer-line laptops hasn't been so good in the durability dept.

I give it three years, TOPS, before it falls apart on you.

OTOH, a friend of mine just came into some Acer TravelMate laptops (their business line from 2008-2009 era), and one of them was still pretty solid looking.

I might guess that they are still built better than the HP Stream line of laptops, those are more like toys than any laptop I think I've ever seen.

I might look at Lenovo's business lines of laptops, or a ThinkPad. I've got a Lenovo, I think B50-series, with an AMD small-core quad-core APU in it, it's pretty solid, I toss it around a bit on my bed, still running great.

Edit: I think that the Acer TravelMate laptops have a Magnesium chassis. My Acer consumer laptops, were mostly plastic.

Many consumer class laptops are not meant to be serviced. You'll find that there are many plastic snap tabs holding the thing together. One of the most common wear and tear point is the power jack. Service friendly laptops have it behind a connector so you can change it as a module or do soldering on the side. On consumer laptops, the jacks are directly soldered on the board and the official service procedure is to replace the board. The only alternate is unsolder and solder right on the main board which is not very easy and quite risky.

Power jack will usually fail after a few years of regular use. I suppose it's a planned wear out so you'd buy another one faced with the quote to replace the main board.

Looks like it's potentially not my final notebook. meh

 

[VirtualLarry]

Power jack will usually fail after a few years of regular use. I suppose it's a planned wear out so you'd buy another one faced with the quote to replace the main board.

I had thought that the power jack failed in my Acer, when in fact, it was the cord in the charger, that had become internally twisted. I bought a new charger, and it started charging again. Before, I had to angle and twist the cord 'just right', before it would charge.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

I might get caught in the value proposition net again, please help.

Was set on getting The Lenovo Yoga 710 (or possibly Thinkpad Yoga 460), than all of a sudden boom, Acer Spin 5.

i5+8GB+512SSD = 850€ + asus active stylus (wacom?) support.
How do i resist this?

http://www.notebooksbilliger.de/ace...e/eqsqid/0f556fac-a718-49a7-a829-16885c4ab68b

I know it's a new line, but.. Sounds to good to be true?

 

[cbn]

lol, why did i say asus in thread title? Beats me.

Should have said, "dude, I'm getting an acer

You can still edit the title with this new forum software.

 

[Naer]

So far, I like it. but okay, I'm having framerate problems when I have a browser playing music while I have CS:GO running.(I'm guessing it's a stability issue, this isn't a top tier notebook) I guess the solution is to use something less task intensive in the background. Will the native windows media player work in place of having internet radio on? I'm guessing I will have to conjure up a playlist, which isn't a big deal to be able to multi task with a game app

also, is there a way to disable the built in keyboard. I want to use a usb mechanical keyboard with it. I've managed to place it with the recliner feet so that it doesn't touch any keys but would like the option of not being so cautious when mounting the mechanical keyboard on this notebook. The built in keyboard is very cheap

 

[NeoPTLD]

I stick by one rule. Always OEM from reputable store or major brand power adapters and batteries. Liability is significant when there's an incident and US based companies who stand to lose millions from being sued would have better control over quality. Fires almost always start at the power adapter or battery.

I had thought that the power jack failed in my Acer, when in fact, it was the cord in the charger, that had become internally twisted. I bought a new charger, and it started charging again. Before, I had to angle and twist the cord 'just right', before it would charge.

Mine didn't completely fail. It progressively became intermittent and the plug became more prone to camming out. It's a function of how often its plugged/unplugged and pivoted. If it gets used daily you'll likely need to replace one or both in a few years.

A good design practice is to use wear resistant materials on the laptop side and put all wearable elements on the plug side but it removes one of the common reasons to need to buy a new laptop so it's probably intentional that they do not.

Looks like it's potentially not my final notebook. meh

You want something that lasts? I'd look for a business class laptop even if you can only afford a used one. They're designed for repairability in mind. Consumer laptops suffer structural damage they're opened. You'll break a few snap latches every time you open it up. It'll go back together if you don't break too many but structural strength goes down with each one you lose. You know you're dealing with consumer grade stuff when its ten times harder to take apart than put together. A simple upgrade can be a several hour surgery.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

Are there any numbers comparing reliability of OEM consumer lines by price bracket?
Does some independent testing company do this?

Lenovo Yoga (Yoga 3 14) is not really reliable either, judging by my test sample of 1 (charging issue on the MB, MB replaced), but service was effortless here in Croatia. But build seems to be holding very well after 2 years of un-gentle treatment.

What I ma interested is, are Acer laptops in the same price range (800-1200€) on the same level? Again on the sample of 1, my screen hinges broke completely after a bit more after a year last time I had Acer (10years ago).

 

[giantpandaman2]

If you want something to last more than 2 years, I follow this simple rule. Only buy from the business line from any manufacturer. All consumer line stuff is designed to die soon after the warranty expires. You might pay more up front for the business line computer...but it's a better value in the long run since it won't have to be replaced. Computers don't get obsolete nearly as fast these days so a good notebook could last 5+ years without being "too slow."

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

Thanks for the reminder.

Common wisdom, when you think about it, but it's mostly applicable for laptops only.

There are very few business class convertibles. Even those that are available (Thinkpad Yoga), are not AS RELIABLE or higher build quality as regular business lines.
And, they are missing consumer features like dedicated nvidia GPU (as low end as they might be, it's still 2-3 times of what integrated offers). And they have often worse screens.

For example i would for sure get the Thinkpad Yoga 460 for 300€ over the Yoga 710 if it had Nvidia 940MX GPU option, but here in EU it does not, for whatever reason.

I suppose business does not have as much need for convertibles.

 

[NeoPTLD]

Advertised specs and price often dominate the consumer market. Especially in America. Every second of production time and every penny in material costs counts. There are laptops with a nVidia Quadro GPU. A GPU is a second physical processor but you pay for it reduced battery life or increased battery size.

Is there a enough volume to justify a convertible mobile workstation? I have no idea.
I know you can't have top end in cheap, performance and quality all together.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

I'm probably oversimplifying it, but the way I see it.. Take a consumer laptop.. Give it higher quality build.. Charge200-300€ premium.. Profit
But alas, it's not the way it works, so I'm missing something.

 

[NeoPTLD]

I'm probably oversimplifying it, but the way I see it.. Take a consumer laptop.. Give it higher quality build.. Charge200-300€ premium.. Profit
But alas, it's not the way it works, so I'm missing something.

It could be different in Europe, but in America it's "but someone else has comparable specs for 200-300€ less" and every brand says every product they sell is high quality.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

It could be different in Europe, but in America it's "but someone else has comparable specs for 200-300€ less" and every brand says every product they sell is high quality.

It's the same here.
But, there is still a market for Tkinkpads and comparable lines.

 

[NeoPTLD]

Check out my thread about my disastrous experience working on my consumer grade netbook. It was $400 a few years ago. I am not sure if higher priced consumer grade ones are much better if the price is going towards higher performance rather than serviceability beyond warranty. Business grade laptops are designed for extended service with the idea time is money in mind.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

Check out my thread about my disastrous experience working on my consumer grade netbook. It was $400 a few years ago. I am not sure if higher priced consumer grade ones are much better if the price is going towards higher performance rather than serviceability beyond warranty. Business grade laptops are designed for extended service with the idea time is money in mind.

Thanks, it was an interesting read actually.

I'll try to investigate some, what is actually more cost effective for consumers:
- buying higher specced consumer grade with ~3y life expectancy
- buying business class for longer life expectancy

I imagine, going with the consumer line, you sacrifice reliability for being on the newer more powerful HW (like thinkpad yoga not coming with Nvidia GPU in EU). I wish I only knew which is more important TO ME

Sorry for hijacking thread, but I'm in a pickle