Mobile Buyers' Guide: 14" and Larger Notebooks and DTRs
by Dustin Sklavos on June 30, 2010 12:53 AM ESTNotebook and DTR Wrap Up
The more astute readers are liable to have noticed certain patterns in our picks, in that some manufacturer names come up more than others. We've listed a fair number of alternatives, but a few names generally fail to make the grade. HP, Lenovo, Fujitsu, and to a lesser extent MSI and Toshiba could all use work.
At a basic apples-to-apples level, HP notebooks are frankly just not price competitive in the metrics we're examining. HP charges $200 to upgrade to the Mobility Radeon HD 5650 in any of the notebooks that support it, and that's highway robbery compared to what Acer and ASUS offer. They also almost completely rule themselves out for serious multimedia work, as there isn't a single modern HP notebook with FireWire or ExpressCard. It's a strange thing to keep harping on, but if you've sat in a class with other video students who are just trying to find the best deal they can for cameras and the hardware to edit with, it definitely matters to some and at least a few notebooks from any vendor should support these features.
All is not lost for HP, as their ENVY products have good build quality and look nice; find one of HP's periodic sales and the ENVY line is worth considering, but at the current prices it's substantially more expensive than the competition. HP also has business notebooks that are quite nice, with magnesium alloy frames that make typical consumer laptops feel like they're made of cheap plastic… probably because they are. The ProBook and EliteBook lines compete with the likes of Lenovo ThinkPad and Dell Latitude/Precision notebooks, but we didn't spend a lot of time looking at business options in this guide.
Speaking of Lenovo, the ThinkPad line has traditionally been solid and easy enough to recommend, but like most business laptops it's pricy. The IdeaPad line, on the other hand, has shown itself to be somewhat schizophrenic. Lenovo can't seem to settle on a style for their IdeaPads, and the notebooks are often overpriced for what you get. If you do want something extremely solid, a ThinkPad becomes easier to recommend, but even their screen quality has gone the way of the consumer (low resolution 16:9 widescreens). That's something you might need to research for yourself to determine if you want to make the trade-off.
Speaking of overpriced, but speaking concisely, Fujitsu notebooks often simply don't offer the same kind of power as other notebooks in their price class. If you want something business-class, you're still better off shopping at Dell, HP, or Lenovo, and for the tasks we're putting our notebooks through in this round-up, most of Fujitsu's current line is a tough sell.
Toshiba's offerings come down to a matter of taste. Toshiba notebooks are very distinctly styled in the marketplace, but they're inexpensive and make a reasonable alternative to Acer/Gateway machines in most of the lower price classes. The Qosmio is still overpriced and ugly compared to what ASUS offers for high-powered gaming and media notebooks, but Toshiba's less expensive notebooks can be compelling. Helpfully, Toshiba and Acer both have a strong retail presence, so you can check them out for yourself and determine which vendor's machines you like better. Personally, we prefer the wider selection of machines equipped with solid discrete GPUs in Acer notebooks, but your mileage may vary.
MSI notebooks do remain another healthy alternative, but unfortunately their retail presence is scattershot and mostly confined to their cheaper, less powerful notebooks. This is a shame, because anyone willing to take a gamble is liable to find a fairly well-built and well-specced machine. Like Acer, though, the keyboards can be frustrating enough to completely mar the experience.
Wrapping things up, there are also a lot of whitebook vendors that use Clevo and Compal-based notebooks. Clevo machines are monsters, but if you simply must have ultimate power at any expense, they're generally a good choice. The Compal systems we've seen on the market look reasonable as well, though price-wise they simply can't compete with the mass produced big OEMs. AVADirect, Sager, and others will sell you highly customizable notebooks, but you pay for the privilege (and it's a shame Clevo still hasn't come out with a good keyboard layout).
Hopefully it's clear that our recommendations aren't meant as the end-all-be-all; prices fluctuate, matters of taste and aesthetics come into play, and different people weigh different features with varying degrees of importance. At the end of the day, though, we're confident that our picks are going to be among the best options for the various market segments we've listed. Vivek will have a separate ultraportable guide up next week, with a focus on smaller sized laptops with better battery life. In the meantime, if you have other notebooks you think deserve a mention, or if you happen to come across an amazing deal, our comments section is open for input.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
63 Comments
View All Comments
MedX91 - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Fortunately AT does focus on other rigs than mainstream ones. Just got totally frustrated with a 1400$-Machine from Dell (Latitude 6410) which is poorly assembled, with grabs on the display and other lapsi as well. Never ever again.mele - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
While I realize that things like design and looks are very subjective. I can't help but find almost all of the mentioned laptops downright ugly. Some are not that bad, but if Im spending a 1000 or more dollar on a piece of machinery I want it to look and feel good too.Below are just a few things I'd like manufacturers to pay more attention to:
- Plastic usually feels cheap.
- A form factor that does justice to the term portable (and yes, even a 15 or 17 inch laptop, doesn't have to feel chunky)
- Already mentioned above - Screen quality does matter!
- Battery life - while I personally don't need 10 or even 14 hours, it's ridiculous that many average performing laptops still can't top 2,5-3 hours while in use.
- You shouldn't have to struggle to work with a trackpad.
- Hinges shouldn't break or crack while they do the thing there are made for...
- Be conservative when putting in (blinking) lights. They should never be a distraction.
- in case of doubt: simplicity usually gets the job done!
I have high hopes for the new Envy 14, as it might be one of the first laptops that combine Macbook good looks with powerful components for an attractive price. I just wish more manufactures would care about their design. The outside of the laptop should be more than just the box you put stuff in.
Dustin Sklavos - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I don't totally disagree and it seems like a lot of changes in the industry have almost nothing to do with customer feedback (16:9 aspect displays, I'm looking at you).I do take issue with expecting amazing battery life out of an 8 pound land monster, though. About the only really powerful machine I know of that gets good battery life is the Dell Studio 17; with the 9-cell battery it pushes more than four hours. This is the exception, not the rule.
And frankly, if you're going to be spending up on a performance laptop, you need to weigh costs of components, etc. The notebook market is nicely cutthroat; many manufacturers hit their low prices by using cheaper shells and they do have to cut some corners. If you want great battery life, great portability, and great looks, expect to pay for it with a business-class notebook. Prices generally really are where they ought to be for what you get.
mele - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I think that perhaps I wasn't clear enough. Please allow me to clarify.I have no trouble with high performance, or otherwise beast-like machines having a battery life of 30 minutes or on the other side of the spectrum, machines with 10+ hours of battery life that perform like a high-end smartphone. However I do feel that the balance between battery life and performance is off. It feels like the middle segment performance wise is nowhere near the middle in battery life. All I'm saying is that between 3.5 and 5 hours of battery life (which is not like, outrageous imo) on a middle off the road laptop should be much more common than it is now.
As for the other part. Of course I realize that great battery life, great portability and great looks are gonna cost more. Combine it with good performance and you're going to have to fork over a boatload of money. That's the fine. However, I do feel, as with performance vs. battery life, that the balance between specifications and other important qualities of a laptop (like design, chunky-ness, built quality etc..) is off.
It is in my experience these qualities get more value to people over laptop purchases (time), since they just didn't realize the 'other stuff' is important too.
GSJ - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
This notebook was mentioned in the U30jc article. Google search does confirm the existence of such a notebook. Some Asus articles from Taiwan mentions it's spec.It is basically same as K42J mentioned in this article but with USB 3.0 and non-glossy finish.
Any info on when this notebook will be launched in US.
Axbattler - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
It would have been useful to include the weight of the various laptop mentioned. Granted that at 14, and especially 15" and beyond, weight might be secondary to some. However, the lighter 14" can also be not too far from the heavier 13", which I consider quite ideal for frequent travels, while more likely to have better GFX cards.Another thing that would be nice to mention is connectivity. ExpressCard and FireWire aside, the presence of eSATA is handy, especially if it is going to act as desktop replacement. While they are getting more common, they still can't be taken for granted.
fabarati - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
My mother was in the market for a new laptop, 15"-ish, with HDMI. Basic performance, etc. After much looking, I settled for the then brand new, not reviewed yet Dell Vostro 3500. I went for what was the cheapest one, with a core i3-330m and igp. Only extra was changing the colour to red. It turned out to be a really good laptop. And cheap too!teohhanhui - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I ordered the Dell Vostro 3400 (red as well). Can't wait for it to arrive.jgrunhut - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I'm on my second Vostro 3400. Absolutely love it, except for an irritating fan noise issue (still waiting to be fixed via a simple BIOS update).One of the cheapest thinnish (<1.2 in) laptops I have seen to date (only paid $619 CDN for i3 350, 3 GB RAM, 320 GB HD, intel Core graphics).
It would be great if Anandtech could review one of the new Vostro 3000 series laptops... especially if you could use your muscle to get Dell to hurry up and fix this fan issue ;)
fokka - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
so was my mother in law, ordered her the cheapest vostro 3300 with 3 years warranty. great little sucker.