My Laptop DIED - Time to Pick a New One!

[JonoT]

 

Deciding on a new laptop is a somewhat daunting task, how do you choose something that fits all categories in terms of performance, screen quality, sound, and a great keyboard? It is hard, but not as necessary as dramatic as this usually...

[aisle9]

The answer is always ThinkPad.

[5x5]

LMG is a business - surely they'll get a business laptop with enhanced security and durability such as a ThinkPad/Latitude/EliteBook, I thought to myself.

>Watches video

>Picks Razer BS - a notoriously failure-prone device. Welp. Time for bed.

[aisle9]

7 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

LMG is a business - surely they'll get a business laptop with enhanced security and durability such as a ThinkPad/Latitude/EliteBook, I thought to myself.

>Watches video

>Picks Razer BS - a notoriously failure-prone device. Welp. Time for bed.

The Latitudes were awesome up through the 6420. The size of a tank, yes, but also as sturdy as one. After that, it's been downhill for that brand. The Latitude 5490 I use at work is a constant ball of overheating and the wifi breaks on me a couple of times a day. I haven't touched an EliteBook since the first-gen Core i processor days, but the people I know who use one generally like them.

 

If we're going to be really honest about it, even ThinkPads took a dip in quality after the T430 generation. They're still rock solid but Lenovo's made some disappointing design choices over the years, and especially now with the 390 and 490.

 

The best thing I can say about Razer is that their QA has been consistent from day one.

[5x5]

Just now, aisle9 said:

The Latitudes were awesome up through the 6420. The size of a tank, yes, but also as sturdy as one. After that, it's been downhill for that brand. The Latitude 5490 I use at work is a constant ball of overheating and the wifi breaks on me a couple of times a day. I haven't touched an EliteBook since the first-gen Core i processor days, but the people I know who use one generally like them.

If we're going to be really honest about it, even ThinkPads took a dip in quality after the T430 generation. They're still the best by far, but Lenovo's made some disappointing design choices over the years, and especially now with the 390 and 490.

Agreed, though the Latitude 7000 series are still good if you ask me - though Lenovo's decision to axe battery bridge was horrible.

[MaXeraph]

Why didn't you consider the X1 Carbon 2019 ?

[numenorean]

30 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

The answer is always ThinkPad.

I just got my gf the latest x1 carbon and when typing on it, it was like, like love making between my fingers and keyboard

[numenorean]

3 minutes ago, MaXeraph said:

Why didn't you consider the X1 Carbon 2019 ?

Probably because Lenovo didn’t send them a free one

[GoldenLag]

still waiting for the Huawei Matebook X Pro.............

 

 

 

 

edit: attempt number 4 i think? in terms of laptop vids

[xnamkcor]

Linus owns a Switch? What brand? I'm partial to Netgear.

[shuri]

6 minutes ago, xnamkcor said:

Linus owns a Switch? What brand? I'm partial to Netgear.

Computer with a bunch of bridged 10GBE cards running Windows Server

[massivvvv]

He should've definitely tried the HP Envy 13 full config. It has the same specs as the Blade and an infinitely better build quality. Actually using it right now and it's just simply amazing. 

[Sandbass]

1 hour ago, aisle9 said:

The answer is always ThinkPad.

+1

I am using a mid-spec ThinkPad Yoga 12 (Broadwell) for 4 years now. Besides the questionable choice to equip it with mini hdmi (y would you do that, lenovo? There is more than enough space for a full size port...) and the missing biometric options (would love to have a fingerpint-reader) I absolutely love that machine. Built like a tank, amazing keyboard, wacom digitizer. The 5200u might not be up to date, but it never let me down, even with stuff like light use of Premiere, AutoCAD and so on.

I would always go with a Thinkpad.

 

Still, Lenovo made some stupid decissions when designing the latest models. Would be nice if they listen to customer feedback like they did, when they removed the dedicated trackpoint (another thing that I could not live without) keys during the Haswell-generation and brought it back with Broadwell. 

[Computernaut]

Is that chocolate rose left over from when they decorated his wife's office?!

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

@LinusTech come on... really? you say you've never had a razer laptop last longer than 2 years, why would you go with them again? if there are manufacturers (dell, hp, lenovo etc) that make devices that last 7 years or more why would you get one by a manufacturer that you have personally had bad experiences with?

 

i mean i get that you are sponsored by these brands and that if it breaks you can probably politely ask razer for a new one even after the warranty is over and they will probably provide one because you are well... you. still, i don't think you should recommend razer laptops to your audience if they have such a poor reputation for reliability. 

 

a lot of us use our devices longer than 2 years (my laptop is from 2012 and still works fine, you actually reviewed it when it was launched, the EliteBook Folio 9470m) and frankly i expect a device to last longer than 2 years. a laptop of that spec is a big investment and it just doesn't feel right to me that you still recommend razer laptops considering this. 

[N.tony]

I tried reading the "Fun fact" at the end of the video, but it was covered by three floating pieces. But I was determined so I used adblocker to zap all of them and now am too lazy to disable it back.

You brought this onto yourself 

[William Payne]

@LinusTech Linus could you go more in depth into your preference for touch screens? I have used a touchscreen laptop in the past and it was handy but as a photographer I get annoyed by any spec of anything whether it be dust or a smudge on my screen. 

[melete]

So close to joining the XPS master race...

[YellowJersey]

9 hours ago, aisle9 said:

The Latitudes were awesome up through the 6420. The size of a tank, yes, but also as sturdy as one. After that, it's been downhill for that brand. The Latitude 5490 I use at work is a constant ball of overheating and the wifi breaks on me a couple of times a day. I haven't touched an EliteBook since the first-gen Core i processor days, but the people I know who use one generally like them.

 

If we're going to be really honest about it, even ThinkPads took a dip in quality after the T430 generation. They're still rock solid but Lenovo's made some disappointing design choices over the years, and especially now with the 390 and 490.

 

The best thing I can say about Razer is that their QA has been consistent from day one.

 I swear by Thinkpads. I've got a T500 from 10 years ago that I still use (though it's largely just for media consumption now) and a T530 that's still my main photo editing and mission-critical work machine after 7 years. My current casual machine is a T450 (refurb) and so far so good, though I have been having problems with the right mouse button. It's specs won't blow anyone away, but it satisfies my needs.

 But to each their own. The Razer seems like a nice powerhouse of a machine, but for me, personally, I wouldn't buy a laptop from the same manufacturer if I only got two years out of the last one, especially given how much Razer laptops cost. Longevity is a big deal for me. Fancy screen and powerful hardware, not so much.

[RoseLuck462]

Uh, is Razor not going to replace his laptop?

 

It doesn’t seem right that the laptop would fail after just 1 year...

[NeuesTestament]

19 minutes ago, RoseLuck462 said:

Uh, is Razor not going to replace his laptop?

 

It doesn’t seem right that the laptop would fail after just 1 year...

Normal for Razor products

[NeuesTestament]

The video was actually pretty bad in my opinion. I like the concept but for it to be decent it would require a wider selection. Why only a MacBook Air and no Pro which is the better overall product? No ThinkPad? 

 

This is just a filler video 

[Homelessscootalo]

Since he feels he had to choose a new laptop now, I would go with a MB Air until MS launches the Surface Laptop 3.

[Video Beagle]

2 hours ago, NeuesTestament said:

The video was actually pretty bad in my opinion. I like the concept but for it to be decent it would require a wider selection.

 

I wouldn't say "bad", but I would have liked a bit more..like why these particular models? Was it indeed just "I need something to take on this trip and these are what we have on hand right now" which if so, would be an interesting look at what kind of hardware you have lying around, theoreticly, in the review pile.

[Anansie]

Dear Linus, 

 

I love your content and the sensible attitude you bring, you can be the voice of reason in your takes on the tech industry. 

 

However, this video skipped over a very important aspect way to fast, and the video was painful to watch for me because of that.  The laptop was 11 months old, it has a faulty charging system, this can be fixed through RMA, by doing a fix up yourself or with one of the many tech tubers who would gladly co create (Louis for example) a video about fixing this. Instead you skipped over both fixing or RMA, and just jumped into needing a new one. 

 

As a major voice in the tech industry you have a responsibility to teach people on how to deal with faulty tech, using new tech for 1 year is not sustainable at all, and you can set a standard by first trying to fix the device. If that does not work out you could call out Razor for their faulty system, although I understand that razor is a major sponsor of your channel, I have your integrity in high regard and I think you would not be held back by this. 

 

You even say it yourself, you have not had a Razor last more then one year, yet here we are with a Razor blade again. We live in a world with limited resources, and if everyone used high end tech for one year we would blow through those resources at a rate that your and my kids might never even be a tech youtuber

 

Please take up your responsibility and fix the old laptop, and if you need a new laptop because of pressure from manufacturers or a review pile, please show how to responsibly take care of the old one by fixing and selling or bringing it to a recycling company. Maybe even talk to a recycling company and let them show us the problems they encounter recycling old tech, as most of it is still not made to reuse at all. 

 

Lastly, please add some business laptops to the mix, Thinkpads, Elitebooks and Latitude 7000 series are all a major step up from consumer laptops and I wish more people knew this, as they last longer and have a much better quality/price ratio in my opinion.