Before i buy my first laptop, people always ask me goes branded one like acer, toshiba, sony and others... So, I was lookin for a best laptop, once and for all... so do less further upgrade in the next few years.

Some people also keep on asking me, buy clone den what kind of brand is clone? is clone better and cheaper? Hyundai? Is branded provide me a better functions and quality? All this are maze in my mind!

My frens bought an Acer TravelMate 8200 model-one of the latest model , after few days, the hardware something like SMART chip burn , den send to warranty in Singapore. They said is hardware problems and faulty something like that. Toshiba is gud brand, i always like it, juz the prices is higher than a normal laptop with same spec. So...

What shud i buy?
clone or branded?

Try IBM, hardly spoilt.

Take my word, dont buy clone laptop, I experience on clone laptop (assembly in Malaysia) the quality is so bad, they broken down easily (I have seen many customer come to service).

Branded laptop, categories to 2 classes. First class = IBM, fujitsu, Sony and Toshiba. Second class = Compaq, Acer, Dell, Twinhead, HP and etc.

Third class = clone laptop, new and unpopular brand (You guess)

Buying laptop is not like buying PC, you will need support internationally, so buy something which having the better support.

I am not a fanboy but I can share some of the experience I have.
ACER = Cheap, Higher Specs, Moderate quality
TOSHIBA = Higher Price (Not very expensive), Medium Specs, Good quality

You did mention about HDD Smart Failure, that doesnt mean that the laptop is bad, remember ACER doesnt manufacture HDD, they assembly component. If you get something like battery failure, dead pixel, casing crack, mainboard spoil and etc then you can said that brand is bad.

agreed with what karising said . Brands like Toshiba, Acer, Fujitsu and etc doesn't manufacture their own HDD, CD-ROMs and etc...

To me, the things that i go for is; price, specs, after sales services and international warranty (coz i used to bring my laptop to overseas for studies)...

ever thought of getting a Apple MacBook Pro?

This post has been edited by goliath: Mar 10 2006, 12:00 AM

yearps...go for branded notebook! build quality,after sales, peace of mind

IBM rox

i'm using acer laptop now...but still din face any hardware problems yet.....

i'll give a thumb for acer...

How long have u been using?

Acer user ere too. Have been using it for 15 months and still it is good in performing tasks. Been using it to play games like Warcraft 3 (RoC & TFT), NFS : U2, FM2006 and more as well as programming such as C/C++ and Matlab..

This post has been edited by goliath: Mar 10 2006, 06:00 PM

good.what model is it?

ibm design is quite boring...for me..toshiba is the best..compare with its perfomance price ratio....fujitsu...good quality..but price..expensive
...acer..nice also...esp ferrari

Acer TravelMate 8005LMi. Can consider an antique now , since the introduction of Intel Core Duo and DDR2 and PCIE thingy

aslong its working,its worth it.
after all,technology are going reall fast,theres no way we could catch up.

For me... I'm a Toshiba user and have used 2 Satellite notebooks. The older ones have a more solid build quality compared to the newer ones. Newer ones have a nice CSV screen and are lighter.

Clone laptops you have to choose properly, there are some that are more durable and some that feel like they may fall to pieces at any time.

get branded ones so that you have good after sales service especialy for RMA

It all comes to how much u wanna pay ... the more u pay the better u get ... juz my 2 cents.... hehehe

Acer not bad one la .... my sis use acer (lupa wat model) 6 years ... pentium 2 ... till now still watching vcd and online wit it ... (rosak HD once) only ...

6 years people !!!!

actually it also depends on ur luck ... sometime u buy tat time got some problems and stuff...

This post has been edited by jamezco: Mar 12 2006, 01:49 AM

wow.. 6 years is a long time..

as long as u take good care of your laptop, sure it can last long... except u run out of luck buying laptop with so many problems...

that's true.
bad luck,get a laptop which has faulty or defect.

Bought an acer ferrari 4002WLMi... Nvr looked back since Only the dual cores make me sad abit la but nvm haha!

Only thing thats inevitable is that u gotta watch the heat... Especially with laptops with graphic cards like my ATi Radeon x700 mobile. Generally the more heat, the shorter the lifespan of my parts

So, i must control myself... A good cooler pad goes a long way.

anyway,if u are a gaming kind of person,its better to get the Acer ferrari rather getting the core duo.

Even branded laptops nowadays are using 'clone' parts as they do not manucafture the part themself. The difference between Branded brand and clone brand is 'after sales support' such as Dell or Acer or any other brand. But chaplang clone brand normally the sales after service is moderately slow to none (no service). So be careful.
Basically whether it is branded or clone it all brings back to where U make Ur purchase from either from a reputable store or fly by night one. The store staff attitudes to start off first (first impression). If the staff there is unfriendly or rude then U'll have trouble when U laptop got problem infuture. They'll let U go through hell before U can sort things out! Another beware

i think toshiba got manufacture their own HDD and rom, some fujitsu model even using toshiba drive.....

for me, i like IBM design........ they got their own style, for not ibm user, may feel that they are same design, but if u really use few series of IBm laptop, u may know the difference already... just like jay chow song, u may feel the same if u are not really listen to his song, right? hahaha!

Toshiba good, but some got minority technical support for some model....

Fujitsu rox! But the design is "soft", suitable for girls..... haha! but nice la....

cool! 6 years!!!!!!!
Why acer never think to find the user like ur sis to promote their poduct and convince the consumer!! haha!

Wow...since when twinhead is considered branded notebook?
With due respect to your experience, it's not a matter of clone bad brand good or vice versa. Just depends on who makes them and at which pricepoint they're designed for.

There's been posts in this forum that kutuk kau kau on a non-branded machine and recommending Dells when in actual fact they're both an identical machine under the skin.

Admitedly, the inner workings of the industry is not public knowledge but notebookforums.com (can't recall the addy..google) is a good start. Cheers

Twinhead is a branded notebook la? 1 thing i dont understand about twinhead's warranty. It says all twinhead come with 3 years limited local warranty & 1 year limited international warranty.what does that mean?

my wife uses Toshiba Dynabook , I use Fujitsu P series notebook. Both no problem. Reliable even if my 1.5 yrs old son messes with it....I allow him anyway.
Does clone sounds good to you?? Guess u got the drift...good luck.

well, my fren use a hyundai laptop 2 years liao no problems except adaptor always rosak !

feel like buying twinhead but twinhead very fragile, drop or spill a bit can cost damages or faulty to it liao !

Hahahah...ok ok...they are a brand but so is ftec, hyundai or any other that's out there. Twinhead is struggling taiwanese manufacturer that hasn't really got any markets except in SEA. They only have 2 niche models plus 2 seriously outdated models.

I think Apple notebooks can consider as 1st class notebooks.
The cheapest is iBook RM3999. The other models quite expensive.
For me Apple notebooks has class on it's own.

Dell & ACER are good in after sales services. Clone Laptop also got sales after service but DIY la! LOL!!

with notebooks, fragile components, u need good after sales support.. so I guess we can compare here between the various experiences.. I had my AC sensor on my Fujitsu kaput.. thought it was the LCD.. called, replaced within 24 hrs.. pickup n deliver.. totally satisfied..

twinhead is taiwanese brand manufacturer in china.

so williamngwl,is twinhead good?
And what does the 3 years limited local warranty & 1 year limited international warranty mean?

3 years including parts and labour?

first year international part & labour warranty,second & third year only labour free of charge,part have to pay

so do u think its good?

Toshiba Dynabook ? is this a new series. I'm a Toshiba user myself and am using my second Toshiba already.

Get branded ones like Dell or Toshiba. 2 yrs later still can order a new battery compared to a what-model-hyundai-or-any-other-clone-brand-did-you-say-sir laptop?

TSST optical drives = toshiba-samsung

Toshiba do make HDDs too.

Ask for u guy's opinion.

1.Acer
2.Compaq
3.Twinhead

Which brand is better in terms of quality?

Compaq, i guess

Thanks for your opinion,once again,for more opinions:

Anyway,if u do really want to get a clone laptop.
OneSource Computer Shop in SS2 have it.

For a average one:
Intel Centrino Technology
Pentium M 723 1.0Ghz/2mb cache/400FSB
Intel 855GME + ICH4-M
14.1 XGA TFT
Intel 2100B
Combo Drive
40GB HDD
512mb RAM
SD/MMC card reader
6 Cells Li-ion
PCMCIA Type ll ,RJ11,RJ45,IrDa, 3 x USB2.0,lEEE 1394,Mic in,Line in,Spk out,VGA Out,TV Antenna(option)
2.2Kg with battery
RM2699.00