Current design fads in laptops that you hate.

I dare say anyone who uses SD cards NOT in a DSLR. =p

I currently hate soldered WLAN cards the most. We're expecting 802.11ax very soon; I can understand a soldered WLAN card in a 10" tablet, but not in something like Dell XPS 15 2-in-1.

 

Another thing which thin compromises is build ruggedness.

Laptops companies need to realize that not everyone is enamored with apple design. If we wanted thin fragile crippled laptops, we would buy apple. There is a reason why many people don't buy apple (and it's not just cost).

 

I don't think that's completely true. Alot of the gaming thin and lights have full metal chassis and are pretty sturdy. My wifes plastic MSI on the other hand, which is probably twice a thick as a thin and light, is about the least structurally sound machine I've ever seen.

 

Really? Because I trust MSI build quality WAY more than I trust the half-as-thin Gigabyte.

Maybe "feel" isn't an appropriate judge of quality. The cooling capacity on an MSI never left me question it. This Gigabyte will spike to 100 C and then spontaneously shut off. I have to run games in 100% fan speed just as a preventive measure. Even then, sometimes it overtasks.

Nothing wrong with putting a 1070 in a 15" with a 4k screen. Just a silly idea to try and make it look like a macbook air.

 

Don't forget not all metal is equal. Aluminum is especially soft - people just believe it's the "best choice" because Apple does it.

A metal chassis that meets a mil-spec rating probably has a magnesium frame, which is stiffer and stronger.

 

I'd still rather have an aluminum frame than alot of the flimsy plastic ones. My Y50 (not sure if qualifies as a thin & light, but was aluminum) stayed as solid as the day I bought it up until the mobo shorted out 3 years later. While my wifes GE60 has been falling apart since about a year after she got it, as well as many other plastic MSI laptops from what I've heard.

 

Dell said to release new carbon-fiber notebooks in 2H19 digitimes.com | 25 April 2019

Carbon fiber notebooks will stage a comeback soon, as Dell is reportedly to launch new notebook models adopting carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic chassis in optional colors in the second half of 2019 and HP is also expected to follow suit. And their Taiwan chassis partners are gearing up to roll out different colors of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic casings, according to industry sources.


Taiwan notebook chassis makers are actively moving to develop multi-color carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic chassis for notebooks by directly coloring carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic plates instead of conducting surface coating. Among them, Mitac Precision Technology, an affiliate of Getac Technology, is expected to ramp up its shipments of color carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic chassis to notebook brand vendors in the US in 2019.

Not all plastic is created equal. And not all create the chassis equal as MSI.

 

I have had 3 MSI laptops. None of them were "falling apart", despite extensive plastic construction. I don't know who you are talking to on that.

 

Not all aluminium is created equal either: the thick stuff that Alienware used on the M17X R1/R2 was great, but the crap that Dell put on my old XPS was pathetic. The palm rest on that thing has deep holes in it where my hand has corroded the aluminium. I'd take plastic any day over that stuff, since it is less reactive and will not corrode.

 

Agreed. Nothing annoys me more than hearing a product is made from "aerospace grade aluminum" - different parts of the plane/rocket are made from different alloys, whether 6061, 7075, or a cheaper grade like 5052.

Salespeople love to oversimplify.