Sturdy Laptop Required

September 3, 2012 8:38 AM

Laptops with Next Business Day Warranty (on-site) in the UK

I'll be looking to get a new laptop in the next few months. My previous 2 laptops have been Dells. I've had a 3 year NBD warranty with each of them and more than got my money's worth from that each time. The amount Dell charges for the parts I've had replaced would buy new laptops several times over.

My first laptop, the motherboard burned out every 12 months and I had a couple of power cable replacements over 3 years too. This new one has several serious design flaws. First the power port is on the side and until we moved it was the opposite side to the plug socket, which means it gets tugged a lot. Secondly, the adapter port is held in place by 2 small plastic clips which break easily and then the whole base of the unit needs to be replaced to fix those 2 tiny plastic clips. I've had that happen 3 times in under 3 years. When the plastic clips breaks, eventually it wont charge.

I use this laptop for work so I can't be sending it away to get fixed. If it breaks, I need someone here the next day to fix it ( or a part sent out in the case of power cables)

The only reason I've stuck with Dell is because of the warranty, maybe Dells are terrible quality and I wont have this problem with another brand but I can't risk it if there isn't next business day warranty.

So are there any other laptop makers that offer the same warranty but maybe with a higher quality product?


It rarely leaves my living room so its not like it gets thrown about on mountains or anything. Its occasionally slides from the soft sofa cushions about 1.5 ft down to the laminate floor.

TLDR:

I need a new laptop that:
1. Comes with a 3 year next business day warranty (on-site)
2. Can withstand being used for 10-14 hours per day on AC power, and being left turned on (in standby/sleep - whatever you get when you shut the lid) near enough 24/7
3. Can survive minor knocks and slow drops of <2ft
4. In the UK
5. Is not a Dell

posted by missmagenta to computers & internet (5 answers total)

Lenovo offer next business day on-site warranty for their laptops. You can buy accidental damage cover as well.
posted by pharm at 8:49 AM on September 3, 2012

PC Mag recommends, amongst others, two HP laptops.

The HP EliteBook 8560w can come with a 3 year on site next day warranty if you choose the relevant care package.

I had a crappy Dell and it survived years of 10+ hour days on AC power. Modern laptop batteries should all be good enough for this in my view.

According to CNET's review, "The HP EliteBook 8560w proves that a manufacturer can offer a powerful, secure, rugged mobile workstation that looks good"

and

"is built to meet military standards (MIL-STD 810G) for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude, and high temperature. HP's updated the DuraCase chassis materials to make the 8560w tougher than previous EliteBook models (which were already pretty tough). This includes a stronger display enclosure and frame. To protect against bumps and drops, the 3D DriveGuard uses a three-axis digital accelerometer that parks the hard drive to minimize damage to your data. It's definitely made to take the abuse of travel, though our review system's travel weight was 10 pounds, of which 2 pounds was the power brick."
posted by MuffinMan at 9:17 AM on September 3, 2012

I should add that 17"+ is preferred. I'm not a designer but I'm a web developer so I work with big PSDs a lot so I like a big screen. I never take it anywhere so portability isn't really a concern (just like to work from the sofa)
posted by missmagenta at 9:27 AM on September 3, 2012

I can't believe a thread on computers has gotten this far without someone recommending a Mac. Have you considered it? The Macbook Pros tend to be pretty sturdy (and, in particular, the Magsafe power adapters make it pretty impossible for you to have the power adapter problem you describe). As someone who came from PCs, I'm pretty happy with my Mac these days. Maybe you have a reason for not buying a Mac, but if not, you should consider one.

The standard Applecare is pretty good, but this may be the sticking point for you; I don't see next day, on-site service options.
posted by Betelgeuse at 1:37 PM on September 3, 2012

Yeah, the reason no one has suggested a Mac is that Applecare doesn't do next day on-site Betelgeuse. The only way to get next day on-site with Apple is to buy 2 of everything and stick the spare in a box.
posted by pharm at 1:45 AM on September 5, 2012