laptop issues, thinking of trading in for something else?

[Viscra Maelstrom]

i'm just haunted by these things, aren't i?

so after having gotten my laptop back from service on the 28th, i experienced it crashing earlier tonight unexpectedly with no traceable cause. since i have no idea what the hell could have caused it (googling for specific model gives me nothing useful or that matches up with my experience, or an earlier model), and i know it's not overheating issue since it clearly does not overheat when it crashes, i'm thinking maybe i should trade it in for something else, if my warranty permits it.

the laptop itself is an Asus N550JK-DS558H, and it cost me about 1100 dollars to buy. keep in mind i'm in Sweden, and computers are more expensive in the EU generally, so what you'll show me might be much higher in price here.

i don't know if i can do this or not, but i'm open to suggestions as to what to trade it in for. something with a good CPU for music production, adequate storage for storing samples and games, and okay or good video-card for some light gaming would be my criteria for what i'd want in the new laptop. maybe a decent display too, but not a 4k display or something similar because that's probably excessive.

if anyone knows what i could do to fix this, i'd like to hear it, but as i said, i have no idea what the cause is at all. if anyone knows what laptop i could get, then i'd like to hear that too. nothing is final, so i might not trade it in at all, but i'm strongly considering it at this point.

[Redfox123]

my laptop is the biggest toaster there is´
i will end up building my own
you can build a good laptop for 1000 bucks and not spend it all in one hit

[Caligari87]

I personally really like HP laptops. I've got a Pavilion G6, love the full-size keyboard with numpad. They're not the thinnest, or the lightest, or best screens, etc, but I like it and by compromising a little on those things you can spend the money on faster proc / more RAM, SSD, etc.

Toshiba's Satellite series seems good, although I don't have much hands-on experience. Also full-size KB with numpad in some models. Pretty sure they're business-class, which means a little more expensive but better build quality.

If you want to move up a class, IBM ThinkPads are awesome, durable, business-class laptops, and can be had for cheap if you're willing to go refurb/used or a slightly older model (businesses cycle these out frequently, often barely used). I've had a couple of these (one newer, one old) and I really like them. Be careful NOT to get the shittier "thinkpad-label" ones from Lenovo; this might take some research.

Note most of these are probably basic/business laptops, which work great for me. If you're specifically looking for a gaming laptop, I can't really speak for that. I think there's some models in these lines that have gaming-capable CPU / GPU though.

[Viscra Maelstrom]

i've heard the opposite of HP laptops though, i.e. that they're garbage and you shouldn't bother with them. i've heard of business-grade laptops, i'm not sure if i'm eligible for a trade for those, if i'm even eligible for a trade at all. i might have to go broke and buy a new one entirely in that case. so far though i've been recommended to either HP, Dell, Toshiba and IBM here, so i at least have some place to start. i thought Asus would be good too, but man is this laptop not what i thought it would be.

[Hellser]

IBM still makes personal computers (at least.. laptops)? Whoa.

Edit: Actually. They don't make laptops anymore. They've sold that stuff off to Lenovo.

[YukiHerz]

Just remember, don't buy Lenovo.

[Viscra Maelstrom]

Just remember, don't buy Lenovo.

i've heard the ThinkPads are good from them, but that's basically it. it'd probably cost quite a lot over here, but if i can get my money back on my purchase, it won't be too big an issue.

[Project Shadowcat]

I've had better and better luck with Dell. I've had a credit account with them, so if I need a new machine I tend to go through them (and eat some of the extra cost over time). Their XPS line is the best blend of cost-consciousness and raw power you can get from them. However, I am not sure how expensive they are where you live.

Late EDIT: To reinforce Eruanna's point on reliability, I have an XPS laptop from 4 years ago that its only sign of damage is the wear print of my left hand right below the WASD position. I've taken it to a lot of places, too, so I can say from first hand experience that they have definitely made these things to last.

[Rachael]

You're right - HP and Lenovo laptops are crap - sorry but they are. They break very easy, are even built to, because the cost of components are very cheap and they're designed to break over time in order to force you to buy a new one.

Unfortunately, the longest-lasting laptop I've ever had, was also the most extremely overpriced one. I personally do not like Apple as a company, I do not like the way they do things, but their laptops are very sturdy and do not break easy. If you don't like Mac OS, you can always load Windows on it with Boot Camp. When I had my MacBook I just used Mac OS as a diagnostic OS when Windows broke - or to reformat the Windows partition. (It went through several reformats)

That being said, I don't know how well other laptops hold together. A lot of people I know like Asus - they are more tolerant to use and abuse than some of the other brands and in general people seem to be happier with them. They aren't as pricey as Apple, either.

If getting a Swedish keyboard wasn't an issue, I would suggest just buying it in America directly, and seeing if you have a friend traveling to Europe anytime soon, and get it for the low price while they courier it for you. Unfortunately, getting anything with a Swedish keyboard is expensive as hell here. (I've tried, because I needed to have one for my friend coming from Sweden) Swedish keyboards also have one extra key that American keyboards do not - so you can't just convert them over, either - a very important key, at that.

[Caligari87]

Never had any problems with HP, but maybe I'm just not very demanding or something.

[randi]

I've had better and better luck with Dell.

My laptop is a nearly 10-year old Dell Precision M4400, if that's worth anything. It still works just fine for almost everything. It even has a neat feature where I can take off the bottom panel and get at the insides with only one screw. The only issues I've had with it are that it's too slow for certain things these days, like 1080p YouTube videos.

[demo_the_man]

i've heard the opposite of HP laptops though, i.e. that they're garbage and you shouldn't bother with them.

I have a HP laptop and i can attest to that, it overheats alot and broke for absolutely no reason. I would recommend a dell laptop, as my last one worked for great for several years before Moores law made it crap and i changed machines