1 in 3 laptops die in first three years

[SacredCow]

So your new laptop computer died in inside of a year. "I'll never buy a computer from again!" I've heard the protests time and time again.

Yeah, maybe you got a lemon, but no matter which brand you bought, you truly are not alone in this situation: An analysis of 30,000 new laptops from SquareTrade, which provides aftermarket warranty coverage for electronics products, has found that in the first three years of ownership, nearly a third of laptops (31 percent) will fail.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/154921


:shrug:

I've always felt like I did OK if a laptop performed well for 2 years. 3 years, and I'm perfectly content and start shopping for a replacement. If hardware doesn't break, then it's most likely obsolete after 3 years anyway. Or, the latest and greatest software won't run on it...

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. I buy Macs

They last a lot longer than 3 years.

[we can do it]

4. +10

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. In my house we 4 Mac laptops

Two are about 6 years old, one is 2 hrs old and the other a year old. All still run great.

[SacredCow]

5. If I didn't have work-related software that won't run on a Mac....

I probably would, also.

[Elwood P Dowd]

8. A couple of my friends run both Windows and Apple's latest OS X on their

MacBooks.

[MattBaggins]

13. but isn't itunes all anyone needs?

[we can do it]

49. It Will Now- Boot Camp Is Faster Than PCs Too

[WhollyHeretic]

6. They were 4th in the study. n/t

[elocs]

11. True enough. My Mac Mini lasted 3.5 years. Now it's a trendy doorstop. n/t

[we can do it]

51. Still Using 98 IMac DVE and Our 99 IBook We Donated Is Still In Use

My friends have gone thru 2-3 times that many PCs

[HughMoran]

20. Study doesn't prove that out - middle of the pack

I buy Toshiba and Dell and do just as well, so brand loyalty is nice until actual numbers are presented.

[Robb]

52. In a two-year study, yeah.

I'd like to see how many other companies have 17 year-old laptops out there working just fine (see my other post re: Powerbook 180). :D

[rollingrock]

66. 17 years old?

they have to be very slow speed with those ancient 400 mhz processors? so of course they will last a lot longer because the old 1st and 2nd gen computers have slow processors that create very little heat compared to modern laptops that run many times faster, and produce much more heat. heat being the enemy of any computer. laptops were also a lot bigger back then, allowing for more airflow inside the case which helps to reduce the temperature.

[proud2BlibKansan]

53. The only study that matters to me is my own

[HughMoran]

54. lol, yes, that is understood

I can't use a Mac as an engineer, but I have nothing against them per se.

[Robb]

50. Yep. I've got a Powerbook 180 that boots up fine.

Used it about a year ago, actually, to run a very obscure compiling program.

I've never had a Mac laptop go bad on me, actually. I've got a small stack in a box that were running when I put them away. :shrug:

[ddeclue]

55. My friend's MacBook Pro has had two hard drives and a battery die in a year. Not so impressive. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

57. Under warranty though

:)

[ddeclue]

59. nice but the real thing of value is all the data she has lost twice..

I tried to help her by getting her a portable backup drive but she's not very computer savvy so of course the data never got backed up and I'll end up resetting all her email accounts and trying to recover hopelessly lost data and all this while she's job hunting again.

I've had some bad laptops in the PC world but considering how much more a Mac is, you'd think they'd be more reliable. Not really - just more expensive.

You know what used to be really reliable were the IBM Thinkpads and the Panasonic toughbooks. I don't know if the Thinkpads are still any good since IBM stopped actually making them and sold their name off to China but I have an old one that is still reliable.

Sony VAIO's suck in my humble opinion having been throud 2 of them since 2000 (in addition to several other laptops) So does the HP DV8000 series - I have mine about 18 months before the screen died.

Right now I mostly use a little netbook I got in England called an Advent4211C which is basically an ASUS sold under a different brand name. I got it about a year ago and it is mostly in working condition still but it is starting to fall apart mechanically where the battery goes and the case is starting to come apart. I expect to get maybe another year out of this dixie cup netbook.

[Leftist Agitator]

89. I've got a Vaio, and I couldn't be happier with it.

Got it in August of 2008. On the other hand, I've had 3 Dells over the years that were absolute pieces of shit. Go figure...

[Lorien]

69. Doubtful. nt

[ddeclue]

71. What is doubtful?

:shrug:

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=3206649&

Mac laptops are less reliable than PCs
Research reveales 17% of Apple laptop fail within three years
Gregg Keizer

Apple laptops are less reliable than those manufactured by Asus, Toshiba and Sony, says SquareTrade.


Research by the after-sale warranty company revealed that Apple took the Number 4 spot, behind ASUS, Toshiba and Sony, which held Number one through to Number three, respectively.

Over a two-year period, slightly more than 10 percent of Apple laptops - the company sells two lines, MacBook and MacBook Pro - failed in some fashion, said SquareTrade. The projected failure rate of Apple's laptops within three years, added SquareTrade, was 17.4 percent.

ASUS, Toshiba and Sony, on the other hand, sported projected three-year malfunction rates of 15.6 percent, 15.7 percent and 16.8 percent.

"It's not really surprising that Apple's in the middle of the pack," said Vince Tseng, the vice president of marketing at SquareTrade.

"What was surprising was that ASUS came out on top."

Tseng defended his company's rankings against the inevitable backlash by opinionated Mac owners.

.....

more at link..

[Lorien]

68. Yep. My mom has my first Mac and it's doing just fine

seven years old-soon to be eight.

[shanti]

80. yes

the two laptops, toshiba and compaq, that i had before my 2004 ibook lasted about 18 months each. they were 2006 models. on the compaq, the hard drive failed. on the toshiba, it was the screen. my mac is still going strong, go figure.

[Captain Hilts]

2. My Thinkpads took a beating every day for YEARs. GREAT machines.

One even survived a serious drop without any problem.

I've got one going on 7 years - and I bought it used. And have a newer model also.

[deadmessengers]

10. I had a Thinkpad when I worked for IBM

That Thinkpad was the best laptop I've ever used - it was the best thing about working for that company. I've got hands the size of SUVs and type like I'm playing a percussion instrument, and my company-issued T60 took all the abuse I could dish out. I've got a Dell D610 (an older higher-end corporate model) that's done quite nicely for me, as well, although the low-end consumer Dells have started to get a reputation for unreliability.

[Captain Hilts]

12. That T60 is a BEAST! Mine is still chugging after being on 12 hrs a day for 7+ years.

I'm turning into my media machine.

I have the first generation Lenovo right now, and I like it too, but am suspicious of newer Lenovo models.

[amborin]

74. mine, too! i've dropped it, too, 3x. 1st time was under warranty & they replaced the hard drive;

[Captain Hilts]

87. I was visiting my grad school. I knocked the thing and it flipped into the air and

seemed to hover in the air the way the hubcap does in A Christmas Story. I leaned over, picked it up, tried to turn it on only to find...that it hadn't turned off! About a half hour later a big guy from Africa who had been sitting across from me and saw the whole thing got up to leave and leaned over to me closely and said in one of those great accents: they are very rugged, aren't they?

They are!

[amborin]

76. i got my Thinkpad 4 yrs ago largely for the keypad! so easy to type on it!

[guruoo]

29. 'Built like a tank' ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7072932&mesg_id=7073724

[nini]

64. I agree.. my last one lasted about 6-7 years (work one)

the one I have now is going on 3 - no problems.

I love the little light on the monitor that shines on the keyboard :D

[FarCenter]

3. My Thinkpad 385 still runs OK.

bought May '98. Had to replace the CMOS battery.

A lot depends on how it is used -- whether it is being carried around and dropped or subject to vibratioin; whether it is in a dusty, smokey, corrosive or otherwise hostile atmosphere (e.g. toner fumes from a copier); and how intensively the disk is used.

[JCMach1]

72. You will have to shoot your IBM Thinkpad... they never die

Just upgrade your OS to Linux and forget about everything else.

[ecstatic]

9. I'm very impressed with HP

I wanted a Dell but my mother surprised me with the HP notebook. It still works after 5 years but it has 512mb ram and I've used up most of the 60gb hard drive. I used it almost every day as my main computer. I dropped it several times. Surprisingly, the hard drive has not crashed yet. The only major problem is that the battery needs to be replaced so it always needs to have the charger on. I think HP has a superior power management system as well--even if you leave the charger in, it only appears to send that charge to the laptop when it's needed.

Prior to HP, I tried Gateway (another gift) which was the worst experience of my life. Stay away from Gateway!

I'm trying out a brand I never heard of (Lenova) and I'm hoping for the best. It was a gift to me so I'm grateful. It's funny, I haven't been in control of any of my laptop choices because someone else always beats me to it.

[Xithras]

22. I'm not

I have a two year old HP Pavilion widescreen dv-Series that has had two hinges replaced (HP has conceded a design flaw in my model), a power brick failure, a dead bluetooth module, and a total failure of the media button bar above the keyboard. HP replaced the hinges under warranty both times, and sent us a power brick replacement, but we're on our own now that the warranty has run out. We don't abuse this thing AT ALL, but you have to treat it with kid gloves to keep from breaking it.

At the same time, I have a two year old Dell Inspiron laptop that I use for work that has been dropped, drowned, frozen, and abused in airline cargo holds, and it has never had a single failure of any type. Heck, I just pushed it through its second OS upgrade, and it's still chugging along as reliably as the day it was built.

[ecstatic]

28. You know what? I forgot! I did have to return it once

LOL! I forgot all about that! The lcd screen started to go totally blank at times.

[pink-o]

31. I can't remember when I bought my HP Pavillion, but it was definitely BC

Before Carly. I guess that makes it at least 5 years old. I had more memory put in and bought an external hard drive for all my pix and the killer photoshop CS 2 program, but otherwise it's done well by me.

[closeupready]

63. Isn't that funny - my experience with Dell/HP is just contrary to yours.

I bought a Dell Inspiron and everything started to go wrong from the moment I turned it on - disc drive, hard drive clicked, many other issues, whereas my HP has been going for two years now - there are some minor issues, but it's rock solid still and works fine. I actually bought it when Woot was selling a bunch for $500 each. Very good deal.

[katkat]

35. gak to HP

Wait until you spend two hours trying to get through to HP "tech support" in India, and finally someone answers who has no clue about anything except how to ship the notebook back if it's under warranty.

[orwell]

39. The newer HP's are having quality control problems...

DV5000 and DV8000 series are having motherboard failures and keyboard problems.

We used to recommend them but not any more.

HP is in denial about some of the problems.

[JI7]

79. HP is horrible for me

[kevinbgoode]

82. me, too. I've been through TWO desktops from them

...one a warranty replacement that died in less than TWO years. Never again. . .and certainly never a laptop from them.

[Greyhound]

84. If you get a good one they're fine, but when you get a bad one, and since they have

outsourced everything to Chinese subcontractors there are more and more bad ones, you are well and truly screwed. The last line had class-action level lawsuits for every model, defective hard drives, displays, hinges, keyboards, motherboards, DVD drives, touch screens, etc.

HP is a hollow corporation, there is literally nothing left except executives, lawyers, a tiny engineering core, and their support staff. If they went chapter 7 tomorrow the court would find no assets to liquidate to satisfy creditors, just a paper entity through which to funnel money off-shore.

[PhiBetaCretin1]

14. I keep buying IBMs on eBay

Have 2 T43's and 1 R40 (as well as an older one with Win98 SE on it, waiting for me to offload all personal files and then ditch it). I've never had a problem with any IBM.

I've been thinking of getting a new laptop just to have Windows 7, and was thinking of shopping around for a "bargain." But this article now has me reconsidering...


---> :argh:
I thought I'd throw in the computer emoticon just because no one else has yet. LOL

[Captain Hilts]

32. They're the toughest out there. I swear by them. nt

[Fearless]

15. My dell works fine 6 years in... even after spilling something in it...

And it not working for about two weeks a year ago.

[ElboRuum]

18. Question...

Is the laptop one of the older, heavier ones with cooling fans in the back? Or is it one of the newer ones with the heat sinks on the bottom?

[HughMoran]

21. I have 10 year old Dells that still run

Those old ones never seem to die - got stacks of 'em in MIS room.

[ElboRuum]

25. Why I asked if they had fans...

I bet the newer ones die because active heat sinking (by blowing external air across the sink vanes using fans) is better than passive sinking through the chassis if your surface isn't heat-conductive, like most tables you might work with them on. Basically, passive sinks are near useless if they have no airflow and are in contact with non-conducting materials. The heat has nowhere to go, so it just builds up in the case. Add that to the fact that newer processors generate far more heat than processors of 10 years ago (3GHz+ clock rates with multiple cores vs. < 1GHz with single cores) and its no wonder the newer ones tend to fail.

[ecstatic]

30. I have a 10 year old dell pc, but the hard drive did crash once

I think that was more due to Microsoft ME than Dell but I'm not sure.

[ElboRuum]

45. That would depend.

If you can reinstall the OS and have no problems (this is ME so when I say "problems" I'm speaking only from the standpoint of "can the OS boot") then it was a corrupt OS. If you reinstall the OS and it doesn't boot, or it boots, but eventually bricks, then the drive is likely damaged. Some drives give you a heads up when they are about to fail. You might hear a louder click occasionally coming from the drive outside of the normal drive noise.

[Fearless]

36. Cooling fans.

[cbdo2007]

16. As long as you get a 2 year warranty at least you will be fine.

After that, like the poster said it's probably outdated anyway so you'll need a replacement.

[katkat]

60. no, you don't need a replacememt after two years

That's why we wind up with gigantic landfills, that attitude.

[ElboRuum]

17. Seems high... and it is... artificially so.

Anything breaks if you treat it poorly... and it says that "20.4 percent of failures are due to hardware malfunctions". These are the ones of concern to me, not the one that people spilled coffee on. 1 of 5 fail in three years due to hardware malfunctions, probably due to the effects of poor heat dissipation in newer laptops. To meet the "slimmer, lighter" form factors, fans have been eschewed for heat sinking through the laptop chassis.

[LisaM]

19. And what happens to the other two?

Leaching poison into landfills, I'd guess.

[slackmaster]

23. As someone who once had the unfortunate duty of supporting laptops, I have this to say

People can be very rough on them.

[SacredCow]

33. Probably so...

I bought my most recent laptop from BestBuy (A first for me- they usually don't have good prices, but this time they did). They were trying to sell me their service plan and telling me that they'd replace the screen even if I drop-kicked it. I doubted that, though, and declined their overpriced plans.

Previously, I had an Acer (one of the worst ones, according to the article) and it was a trooper. After 3 years, the casing was cracked, some fittings were worn out, and the screen was having some issues. But after 3 years of almost daily use, multiple trips through airports, etc... I really couldn't bitch about its longevity.

[PJPhreak]

24. My Sony Viao blew out its Motherboard while it was just sitting on a shelf.

Took it back ot Bestbuy and after 4 weeks they had it back to me,it was only 3 months old at the time. Thank the powers that be for warranties,for I could not afford another one at the time.

For that matter I can't afford a new one now!

Its been running perfectly for the last 4 years now,Tho I hope saying this won't jinx it now!

[Cheap_Trick]

26. Square Trade is a great way to get an extended warranty on practically all electronics.

Very affordable.

[guruoo]

27. Glad nobody ever told my machines about this...

IBM Thinkpad T22, 10 years, heavy usage, still works as new playing backup
for my 1yr old Asus EeePC.
HP pavillion ze4600 (bottom of the line), heavy usage, 7 years, faded keyboard,
but still works as new.

And: Apple IIsi desktop (retired), 19 years, zero repairs, still works as new.
Power Computing PowerCenter Pro desktop, 14 years (replaced cooling fan, added 2ed HD)
Works as new.

[JerseygirlCT]

34. My brother (an IT guy)

says he buys used ones from Ebay, and just treats them as basically disposable.

It *is* sort of annoying. It's not like they're quite at the disposable price point yet - where a few years might make sense...

[uppityperson]

37. I've gotten some nice ones off ebay in the past. Minor issues but

work fine. $150-200 for a yr old laptop works for me.

[katkat]

40. me too old ones on ebay n/t

[LWolf]

38. My desktop was 7 yo when it got fried

by an electrical storm last summer.

Just the motherboard. I got a new motherboard and a new tower so I could have more usb ports, hooked up the old monitor, keyboard, etc., and away we went.

I can't afford to buy a new system every 2-3 years.

[katkat]

41. fried - did you have a surge protector? n/t

[LWolf]

44. Yes, and the 'puter was off.

Of course, it also fried my tv, my dvd player, my cable box, my phone, my phone line, my cable line, and 4 outlets in the house.

I've always loved thunderstorms, but I've never experienced one that moved in and just stayed, for many, many hours; they usually blow in and move out quickly.

2700 strikes recorded locally that day. It was one in a series of storms that lasted for 3-4 days.

[ElboRuum]

47. Won't do you any good unless you unplug them. n/t

[ElboRuum]

46. Surge protectors are powerless against lightning.

They only protect against light line surges and troughs. A bolt of lightning is more than a match for its protections.

[katkat]

62. thanks for the info

I did not know that. I'll unplug the stuff if there's a thunderstorm nearby. At least a surge protector means just a few plugs have to be pulled instead of many :-)

[Steely_Dan]

42. I Assume The Study Doesn't Include Macs...

I have a ten year old laptop from Apple that I no longer use. However, it runs great. I currently have a MacBook Pro. Flawless.

-P

[ElboRuum]

48. Yup. 4th. Behind Asus, Toshiba, and Sony, and a hair in front of Dell. n/t

[Shagbark Hickory]

43. Me and my immediate family has had laptops (plural) die within 3 years.

I am not surprised in the least.

[SoCalDem]

56. Just go here (link included) for great deals on refurbished

and the best part is that they are usually business turn-ins, so they are NOT loaded full of crap like AOL etc:)

Got a fantastic wireless laptop for my husband's crack ebay habit..for under $300:)

http://www.hcditrading.com/

[HughMoran]

58. I believe this BTW

I've seen the carnage.

[Iggo]

61. "dies"...and thanks for the info.

I'm in the market for one, and now I'm certain I'll be getting the extended warranty, and insurance if they have that. (Do they have that?)

[rollingrock]

65. Heat is the great enemy

of microelectronics. laptops have far too many electronic components crammed together inside a super-thin, tiny space. which restricts airflow inside the case resulting in high heat levels that greatly limits their useful lifespan.

edit: in general, the faster the processor, the hotter the computer runs. so the older 1st and 2nd generation laptops tend to last longer because their slower processors don't run as hot as the newer, faster models.

[ddeclue]

67. It's the smoking and oversized laptops with overclocked processors that die earliest!

:P

[JCMach1]

70. Would say closer to 50%

[TroglodyteScholar]

73. In an unrelated story, 1 in 3 laptops are Macs.... n/t

:evilgrin:

[JackDragna]

75. I wonder if it's because of the abuse.

I mean, people treat them like crap. I've seen people where I work just not know how to carry, repair or handle them. Considering how many get issued/purchased by tech numbskulls, this doesn't surprise me.

[shanti]

77. except for macs

i bought mine used a year ago, 2004 model. still going strong, i'll never go back....

[MSchreader]

78. I have a military-surplus Toughbook

The only way it stops working is if I screw it up ... like I did last week. :blush:

The good news is that when I do that, I can throw it across the room and it will not break. :argh:

[Selatius]

81. I have a Dell Latitude C640 from 2002 that's still kicking. It is a workhorse.

I've had that laptop on for weeks at a time without rebooting. It's still running Win2k, but I'm typing this message on a much newer Dell Inspiron 1545 bought at the end of August when they did a back-to-school discount special. So far, no problems with this new laptop, and I've also had this on for weeks at a time as well.

[katkat]

86. weeks at a time without rebooting

Are you working 24 hours a day, or does wasting energy mean nothing to you.

[Selatius]

91. FYI, I put the computers in sleep mode when not in use. nt

[cowcommander]

83. The biggest problem with laptops is how people treat them

I used to repair laptops a while back, and the most common problems were cracked screens and dead hard drives from people manhandling them roughly, and of course liquid damage from spilled soda or coffee. Laptops are fragile devices, they really need to be treated with care. However, you should also keep in mind that laptop batteries won't last forever, they lose the capacity to hold a full charge over time and need to be replaced in two to three years.

Overheating is also a big problem with laptops, people don't realize that you need to keep the exhaust vents on the back and sides of the laptop clear at all times! Dust can build up to ridiculous levels in a year and clog them up, overheating the electronics inside and frying it for good. Buy a can of compressed air and blow the crap out regularly!

[Raine]

85. THANKS for the suggestion about the compressed

air ... I'll get some. :hi:

[KillCapitalism]

88. I have an Acer...great lol.

I bought an Acer Aspire timeline 4810t earlier this year b/c I needed something that was relatively cheap. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it lasts me for a while.

At least it's sloooow (1.4GHz Intel single core processor, and an Intel integrated GPU) so heat shouldn't be too much of an issue. It has a 14" screen, but it's really not much more than a glorified netbook.

[Twinguard]

90. My last laptop was an Alienware.

Like a complete fool, I didn't spring for the extended warranty. After about two years of use, the motherboard fried. I had multiple problems with it during it's lifetime. It was shipped to me with a bad video card. I sent it back to them for a new video card, and during their testing, they found that the Ram was bad too.

I was meticulous about making sure it was clean and had proper air flow. One day, I turned it on and got a screen full of garbage. I took it to a highly trusted computer repair friend of mine, and he was able to determine that the motherboard had crapped out due to excessive heat. After contacting Alienware (which was now owned by Dell) and explaining the problem, they gave me the verbal middle finger and told me that it was my fault for not buying the extended warranty and that despite sending me a computer with faulty parts they wouldn't help me unless I coughed up a huge chunk of (non-refundable) money, and even then they couldn't guarantee anything. If you are familiar with Alienware machines, you know that they don't come cheap. I wasn't about to give them more money for a non-guaranteed fix. Fuck them.

My brother, sister in law, and one of my co-workers were also Alienware users, and I don't know if it was coincidence or what, but within a week of mine shitting the bed, my brother's had the exact same problem as mine. He got a similar response from Alienware as I did. His laptop was about a year and a half older than mine and he had bought the warranty, but it had expired. I told my co-worker exactly what had happened and what to watch for. Within about a month, his machine did exactly what mine and my brother's machines did. I don't know what Alienware told him, but I would guess it was a story I was familiar with as about a month later he was sporting a Sony VAIO. As far as I know, my sister-in-law's Alienware still works fine.

I replaced mine with an Apple macbook pro, and fell in love almost instantly. I don't have any work software that I can't run (or aren't compatible), and I don't play that many different games so the ones available on mac keep me plenty entertained. I like the photo, music, and video programs much better than what I was using on my last machine, and Itunes is the same as it was. After switching to mac, my only regret was that I had wasted my time and money on Alienware.

ok...
/rant off