Slim laptops vs bulkier

There is a trend in laptops to make these ultra thin laptops that are ok but I prefer laptops that are slightly bulkier so that you have easy access to the components, can easily do upgrades, etc. Do you guys know of brands that aren't so slim and have easy access to the components?

I agree, I've actually been buying second hand Alienware for a while now for exactly this purpose. It's got easy access to both ram, hard drives and disk drives. Plus the cooling is built well enough to allow me to clean it out if necessary. I don't think it's worth buying Alienware at retail price though...but, there are other lesser known manufacturers that build laptops more modular. I can't say I've had any direct experience with them though.

I work on both all the time so upgrades/fixes are no big deal with either type. Most slim laptops these days require removing the entire bottom panel to access the hard drive & memory. I've even encountered some regular laptops like. That and the occasional one(usually Dell) that requires you removing the entire top panel / keyboard to access the hard drive.

If you're just a normal user & don't need an optical drive, I'd say go for the slims. If you're a gamer, go for the big bulky ones. Avoid "Asus" gaming laptops. These days, Asus likes to integrate memory into the motherboard... so if the memory goes bad, you need a new motherboard.

I prefer hardware w access panels to both hdd/ssd and memory

it just makes sense

It isn't just laptops, but desktops too.

SO few full (or even small) sized towers. It's all throw away shit.

Cylotron said:

I work on both all the time so upgrades/fixes are no big deal with either type. Most slim laptops these days require removing the entire bottom panel to access the hard drive & memory. I've even encountered some regular laptops like. That and the occasional one(usually Dell) that requires you removing the entire top panel / keyboard to access the hard drive.

If you're just a normal user & don't need an optical drive, I'd say go for the slims. If you're a gamer, go for the big bulky ones. Avoid "Asus" gaming laptops. These days, Asus likes to integrate memory into the motherboard... so if the memory goes bad, you need a new motherboard.

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Thanks for the tip about asus. I bought one of those ultrabooks without an optical drive and really didn't care for it. I don't use an optical drive a lot but for the few times I did need one I hated using an external drive. I wound up buying a used elitebook which is actually nice, has everything I need plus has a dedicated graphics card and not some bs integrated one. I was checking out the new elitebooks and it looks like they are slimming down as well.

sparksterz said:

I agree, I've actually been buying second hand Alienware for a while now for exactly this purpose. It's got easy access to both ram, hard drives and disk drives. Plus the cooling is built well enough to allow me to clean it out if necessary. I don't think it's worth buying Alienware at retail price though...but, there are other lesser known manufacturers that build laptops more modular. I can't say I've had any direct experience with them though.

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How is the reliability on the alienwares? I have also looked into those and noticed on ebay there are quite a few being sold as-is for parts.
They are quite expensive as well, are they worth the hype?

Business laptops....
they are meant to take a beating and have parts replaced.

Once you start getting into gaming laptops, you've already wasted too much money.

NeoSneth said:

Business laptops....
they are meant to take a beating and have parts replaced.

Once you start getting into gaming laptops, you've already wasted too much money.

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Thinkpads. High build quality. I don't understand why people buy shit laptops just because they're different jazzy colours. Get a better machine for around the same price that you won't need to replace after a year.

I like the 15.6 inch Toshiba Satelitte 665 line. I have an i3 A665, my mother has a dual core AMD C665, and my uncle has an i3 C665.

They all have easily replaceable hard drives, RAM, and even keyboards. My mom's C665 was vomited on by one of the kids she watches and I was able to buy a replacement keyboard for 10$ on eBay and replace it without even opening the machine. It has a plastic strip above the keyboard that covers two screws. Unscrew them, disconnect ribbon cable, replace. My uncle has dropped his on his concrete floor in his basement multiple times, still works. Mine still works great as well, but I've never dropped or spilled anything on it.

Working computer retail/warehouse for the last five years has taught me that most brands of laptops are garbage. HPs, Acer/Gateway/eMachines, MSIs, Samsungs, Dells, Fujitsus... Lenovos are either really unreliable or really reliable, no in between. Apples are reliable but overpriced and proprietary as fuck. Asus, Sony/Vaio, and Toshiba are the most reliable in my anecdotal experience, by far. I swear there are some HP models we get returned almost 1:1. Don't ever buy an HP DV6000.

Endlessnameless said:

How is the reliability on the alienwares? I have also looked into those and noticed on ebay there are quite a few being sold as-is for parts.
They are quite expensive as well, are they worth the hype?

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dont get an alien ware as-is. they use giant CPU fans that can't be replaced once they go bad

Alienwares are Dells. Big, overpriced, overheating Dells.

malfunction charts aside, hp & dell also have the highest recall rates(hp I believe being #1). the recalls are mostly for batteries/power cords, but often times are also motherboard related issues.
so if you buy a dell(alienware) or an hp, make sure you check your model occasionally on their sites for any possible recalls.

A toshiba laptop with XP. Nobody would ever try to steal that in an airport.

None of those graphs correlate their own statistics......

I have a Clevo laptop and I love it.

Fox1 said:

I have a Clevo laptop and I love it.

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Clevo is good. MSI isn't so bad either.

norton9478 said:

It isn't just laptops, but desktops too.

SO few full (or even small) sized towers. It's all throw away shit.

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We have mini towers at my work and me being IT, I occasionally have to dig into them and just hate it. You have to rip everything out sometimes to get to one part.

Endlessnameless said:

How is the reliability on the alienwares? I have also looked into those and noticed on ebay there are quite a few being sold as-is for parts.
They are quite expensive as well, are they worth the hype?

Click to expand...

I've got an old M14x R1. I've put that thing through a lot of gaming and coding and it's still kicking with no problems. I guess it depends on how you treat it. I've also swapped it out with an SSD and I usually clean out the fans every year or so. If you're looking for a better price performance though Asus does make some good stuff. I've recommended theirs to most of my friends who don't want to be arsed for paying the premium Alienware does (or doesn't) warrant.

I buy most of my laptops from users on the [H]ardforum. Typically people on there are the type to treat electronics very well, but also want the latest and greatest. It makes for a pretty good second hand market I must say.