Is there such a thing as a laptop that doesn't need to be replaced every few years...

So far, the Asus is doing okay, although the hard drive has already been replaced under warranty. The speaker is horrible, and the fingerprint recognition login only recognizes my print maybe 15% of the time.

I've taken a completely different approach now. I finally got some cloud space when I bought an Office license, and put anything and everything on my computer on the cloud. So next time a laptop goes belly up, I just get another one and get immediate access to everything through the cloud. No more worrying about being able to recover what was lost. I keep very little on the Asus hard drive.

 

I know I'm late to the party, but based on personal experience the best laptop I had was a Macbook Pro running Windows 7.

I don't like OS X, but with running reliable Intel based hardware plus Windows 7 that thing was solid as a rock. Plus if there was ever a problem I could just waltz in to the Apple Store and be like "Oh you know Microsoft durr hurr hurr....screwed up my laptop!" and the people there would fix it.

At work we just bought a couple dozen Dell Inspiron laptops because they were cheap. They're of pretty flimsy construction but we figured we'd roll the dice and see if they'll last a year-ish.

Doing what you're doing with the Office 365 in the cloud is a great idea. I have mostly done the same. I still use Office installed locally but do keep almost all my important stuff in the cloud.

 

Hopefully the Asus will last awhile for you. I agree with GD, the cloud has some real benefits especially when it comes to backups and access to your data from anywhere there is an internet connection.

Just a suggestion, if you aren't already; keep a local copy of your critical files as well. I have backups and then backups of my most critical files. You can just grab an inexpensive USB stick and use that if you want.

And you might want to consider encryption/password protection if you have sensitive data and want to keep it from prying eyes. Not a laptop issue, I just like to remind people about security. Keep up to date with your software patches, use good passwords and don't reuse them, virus protection, and encrypt sensitive data. What did I forget, oh yeah, brush and floss every night.

Sorry, my kids think I'm paranoid when it comes to computer security. But I see a lot of stuff that just shouldn't have happened. And as always, just because your paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you!

Cheers

 

you're not your haha

 

I just replaced the screen and then the hard drive in my Lenovo. I consider them like a drop phone from Seven Eleven!!!!! Really ticks me off, I lost a lot of pictures in the hard drive crash.......................................

 

2009 Macbook Pro. Still running like a champ with no issues. I have no idea what I'll replace it with, though.

 

Well... yeah... okay...

 

I think it's finally time to replace my 2011 Macbook Pro. I've already upgraded the ram and added an SSD... but trying to edit HD video on this thing just isn't cutting it. I can't even preview most video files without it being totally glitchy. This machine has been great... but unfortunately I need something with a better processor and graphics card.

 

So...get another. They are the most mechanically reliable laptops out there.

 

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012),
2.5 GHz Intel Core i5,
Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB
128 GB SSD

Runs like a champ, never a problem

MB

 

I have a couple of old Lenovo Thinkpads from 2008 and 2009. I use them in the garage (think dust, heat, cold, and fluid spills) and around the kitchen (similar but less dust and cold). None have missed a beat. As mentioned earlier, getting a sturdier (if heavier) frame helps from a longevity standpoint, and running older but proven software (Windows 7) helps on the reliability front too. YMMV