Most reliable laptop

[EdfromCocoa]

In process of buying a 17 inch Laptop- Open to all brands.

What's important to me is reliability and Tech Support. What experience have any of you had? Like do they answer the phone or do you wait? Can you understand what they are saying and most important is what they say fix the problem?

Willing to spend under $2K. Looking at HD/3D, SSD (worth it?), great CPU (Intel 5 or 7), 6-8 G RAM (which is best bang for the buck?), at least one USB 3.0 port, etc.

I would appreciate any help.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[Bolas]

I've had good experiences with www.xoticpc.com tech support. You can talk to an actual person, in the USA, with a single button press on their phone number (press 1 for sales, press 2 for support -- not a labyrinth of options to get to a human).

Consider Asus G74SX-3DE or Sager NP8170 for under $2k and configure it the way you like.

SSD is worth it for the boot drive if you can get one... even a small SSD for the primary drive is a much better experience than a HDD.

Here are a couple different options that I configured at www.xoticpc.com. One has 3D, the other has a more powerful cpu and gpu, depends on what's important to you, I suppose. Only problem is neither one has an SSD. You'd probably have to up your budget to $2200 or so to fit in an SSD, or go with the Sager and not upgrade the cpu and gpu as much.

ASUS G74SX-3DE - PRE ORDER
- FREE!! UPS GROUND SHIPPING (Use Coupon Code FREESHIP in Checkout - US Only, Not Available to Alaska and Hawaii)
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Screen (1920x1080) 120Hz 3D Ready w/ 3D Vision Glasses
- Included nVIDIA Wireless 3D Glasses (Bundled with 3D Screen)
- ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) 30 Day Pixel Guarantee - (Included on ASUS Standard NON-Upgraded Displays)
- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) - Standard (Does not support DDR3 1600MHz Ram)
- Stock OEM Thermal Compound ( IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU Provided FREE with Processor Upgrade!)
- nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 3,072MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- No Video Adapter
- 16,384MB (16GB) DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4GBx4)-
- Standard Finish
- No Afterburner Light Package (Afterburner light package will add 2-5 business days to production time)
- No Light Bar - Default
- Standard White Backlit Keyboard
- Standard Matching Color WASD Keys
- - 750GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Default
- - 750GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Default
- 6X Blu-Ray Writer/Reader + 8X DVDRW/CDRW Super Multi Combo Drive- Default
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 8-in-1 Card Reader: MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory Stick/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo
- No Back Up Software
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- No Fingerprint Reader
- Asus G Series Gaming Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Pre-Installed + Drivers & Utilities Disk
- No thanks, do not create backup recovery DVD's
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 2 Year ASUS GLOBAL Warranty 24/7 Support / 1 Year North America (N.A.) Accidental Coverage (Accidental Requires Registration)
- No Xotic PC Gear
$2,038.00

Sager NP8170 / Clevo P170HM
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080)-
- Included nVIDIA Wireless 3D Glasses (Bundled with 3D Screen)
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- -2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM, 2.2-3.3GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6970 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 8,192MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
- Standard Finish
- ~ 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- ~ 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)-
- HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- ~ Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included)
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- No Back Up Software
- None Standard--
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs
- No Xotic PC Gear
$2,004.00

Here's an option with a good SSD for the boot drive, but a bit more pricey and no cpu upgrade.

Sager NP8170 / Clevo P170HM Sager NP8170 / Clevo P170HM
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080)-
- Included nVIDIA Wireless 3D Glasses (Bundled with 3D Screen)
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- - 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6970 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 8,192MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
- Standard Finish
- ~ 120GB Intel 510 Series Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA III)
- ~ 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)-
- HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- ~ Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included)
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- No Back Up Software
- None Standard--
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs
- No Xotic PC Gear
$2,099.00

With xoticpc if you pay by cash (payment via Check, Money Order, Cashiers Check, Wire Transfer, or PayPal eCheck) then you get a 3% discount off the price, so the prices listed would end up being 3% lower if you aren't charging it.

 

[996GT2]

Did I hear someone asking "most reliable laptop?"

Thinkpad. There is no substitute.

 

[Bolas]

Did I hear someone asking "most reliable laptop?"

Thinkpad. There is no substitute.

My dad's got a Lenovo Thinkpad that's a couple years old. Not a gaming laptop but a great road warrior ultra thin and light with long battery life. Great keyboard and no problems with it yet.

They don't really support gaming, though.

 

[vbuggy]

I think Lenovo are a tad overrated, but by no means are they a bad choice. The only problem is I'm not sure whether you'd get a worthwhile W710(? The Sandy Bridge 17-inchers aren't on Lenovo's site yet) for that restricted a budget.

Same goes for what I would recommend in place, the Elitebook 8760w - as basically the range starts at ~$2K.