Would you buy another HP?

[fmmsf]

I have a Compaq since 2007/2008 and then by 2009/2010 give it to my brother and got myself an Acer. I got both - as opposed to other models - because of the price factor: they both represent the lowest class each of the OEMs have to offer.

That said, up to this day, the Compaq keeps working just fine (whereas the Acer is really trying my patience).

As a matter of fact I do intend to buy a new DV7-7xxx when they come out. They look good on paper and in the pics and the price seems ok.

From what I understand of what I've read here the heat and airflow problems that plague/plagued HPs consumer lappies are a thing of the past, right? 2011 generation did not have those problems?

[StormJumper]

I got three HP right now a DV4, DV5, DV6 all with Intel chipset not the dreaded AMD chipset that was a total disaster. But they are used and so far they worked fine and I upgraded the CPU to duo 2 core. I think those models model I got since being Intel UMA which most likely avoided the AMD video failures. But so far I own Gateway M-6860FX, Gateway P-6860, Gateway NV52, Dell 1525 and so far three gateway of which two have ATI video still are working and the Nvidia gateway is still running. So I think it has more to do with the past company dealing with selling bad GPU chipset that caused alot of problem for HP and others leaving a bad taste in one's mouth and lack of proper cooling design caused overheating. But also I think some overheating was related to the environment it was used in and like a desktop should be taken apart to clean out the dust and reapply the thermal paste to improve the cooling. "Dust is the enemy of all computers-laptop and desktop-worse in the case of laptop." But I would say if you want a gaming rig be ready to spend good money for it and sacrifice weight portability. Otherwise I usually say a HP, Dell, Toshiba(maybe more but those are the one I see often at electronics retail outlets) would be the laptops to look at for affordability and portability in a decent package. But as with any laptop it could be brand new and die the very next day you buy it without warning.
So do you research before just buying a laptop unless you know or had experience using it then it would give you a better idea what to look for and what is not to buy - just because the price is lower doesn't mean it is a bargain. So one shouldn't be too hasty to judge past products from current unless the problem just seems to follow model to model then it would be conceivable that there is some kinda systemic problem and those model lines should be avoided like a plague. I like to add a dedicate GPU is nice to have a well I too am a gamer but work is taking up a good portion of my time but I like to have that option when I get to have it.

[pepper_john]

hum. what you guys are saying is consistent with what I see in my company.

my company switched to hp last year after bad experience with dell. still there are too many issues with the build quality of hp notebooks.

[StormJumper]

hum. what you guys are saying is consistent with what I see in my company.

my company switched to hp last year after bad experience with dell. still there are too many issues with the build quality of hp notebooks.

As with anything quality regardless of company is good and bad points that is what happens when company outsource their products rather then make it at home and built quality products they go with the lowest common denominator and guess what that is what the business and public gets. Unless you go with a high price custom builder then your paying out of the nose for that product. So regardless companies have a love and hate track record.

[Xyzl]

I would not buy another HP notebook after my HP DV6T-6100 fan became inoperable after 7 months of gaming. Since I dropped the laptop top twice, HP believes that I was at fault. I dropped it over 5 months ago and it appeared to have minor damages on the exterior casing of my laptop. I'm not sure exactly sure sure what caused such event. Apparently, I have no accidental damage coverage on my standard warranty. At least now I know why people have a hatred for HP. The cost of the repair would have been around $300 if I opted for it. I hope that Lenovo Thinpads live up to the hype. My fan sounded worse than the one in the following video: HP DV6 Laptop Fan Noise - YouTube

[Kuroi-Tsubasa]

I would not buy another HP notebook after my HP DV6T-6100 fan became inoperable after 7 months of gaming. Since I dropped the laptop top twice, HP believes that I was at fault. I dropped it over 5 months ago and it appeared to have minor damages on the exterior casing of my laptop. I'm not sure exactly sure sure what caused such event. Apparently, I have no accidental damage coverage on my standard warranty. At least now I know why people have a hatred for HP. The cost of the repair would have been around $300 if I opted for it. I hope that Lenovo Thinpads live up to the hype. My fan sounded worse than the one in the following video: HP DV6 Laptop Fan Noise - YouTube

Do note that no consumer laptop (HP, Dell, Asus, Apple, whatever) comes with accidental warranty coverage as standard (you have to always pay extra for that). Always read the fine print on large or expensive purchases. And depending on the nature of the drops, it's possible that it could have very well have been the cause of the fan problems.

But yes, from personal experience I can say that Thinkpads are as tough as nails. I don't use a case or special bag for mine; it gets tossed in with the books in my bookbag and hauled around campus all day. Only "problems" so far with that is that I broke off one of the locking hooks and I damaged the plastic grill over one of the vents (all cosmetic). However, Thinkpads are the only business-class laptop that don't come with accidental warranty as standard (iirc, I'm not sure that Dell's or HP's NBD includes accidental); they come with the standard 1yr depot warranty that consumer laptops carry for the most part.

[HTWingNut]

Most consumer Asus laptops come with 1 year accidental damage warranty. But that's about it as far as I know.

[Kuroi-Tsubasa]

Most consumer Asus laptops come with 1 year accidental damage warranty. But that's about it as far as I know.

Ah, completely forgot about their "1+1" warranty. ...

Anyway, my point still stands. Unless an additional, accidental warranty is bought with a consumer laptops, don't expect the OEM to fix it if they know it's been "abused" (in whatever way they define it).

[Xyzl]

At least now I know that I should always read the fine print within warranty plans. As a result, of this incident I plan to build my own desktop as soon as I can get the money for it. Luckily, I have experience with building desktops.

[ilvhse]

um don't drop your laptop and it wont break.