Hardware Single Most Important Laptop Quality (Your opinion)

[Drink the Bleach]

Pick one, you may or may not discuss.
I won't add options that can be controlled by the user like memory or storage upgrades. Or things like Bluetooth, cameras, or fast wifi speeds because those have become standard in most laptops these days.

I have an HP Envy 17t 3D edition, its only okay as far as gaming goes, but the #1 thing I've loved about it most is not it's speed, gpu, or swanky keyboard; but its ability to never get uncomfortably hot, even after hours of Gamecube or PS2 emulation while connected to the TV, or when I'm on my bed and have my laptop in a place where heat could easily build up, it never warmer than just warm.

As far as my future goes, my next laptop I'll consider, heat control will be one of the most influential qualities I look for. I know some of my older laptops could seriously give you 1st and possibly 2nd degree burns because they got so hot.

 

[migles]

i can vote for cpu OR dedicated gpu, but can't vote for both aka "hardware performance" ?

 

[Drink the Bleach]

i can vote for cpu OR dedicated gpu, but can't vote for both aka "hardware performance" ?

I fealt like they nedded to be separated because they're 2 different qualities, even though they work together...

And in gaming, GPU is more important than CPU, but some people may value CPU over GPU. Its appropriate they're two different options on the pole.

 

[Zanoab]

No build quality or durability? I'd rather have no battery than have to contact customer service every other day.

 

[Drink the Bleach]

No build quality or durability? I'd rather have no battery than have to contact customer service every other day.

I was thinking of putting a chassis option, but realized most laptops these days come with a sturdy chassis often finished with brushed metal.

Unless you meant something else by build quality, like reliability in which case I forgot that, as well as many other things. If you're talking about how reliant the unit as a whole is then we should ask ourselves "how well do we take care of our stuff?" Its not the manufacture's fault if some gawky teenager drops their laptop and something on it then breaks. My laptop is 2 years old and doesn't have a single scratch on it and I expect it to last atleast another 5 years, but thats not because of the manufacturer, thats because of my own care.

 

[Foxi4]

Dedicated graphics. The CPU is no longer as stressed as it used to be when it comes to gaming, but the GPU is crucial and unlike a lot of other components it usually cannot be upgraded, or at least not easily. You can't afford to skimp on something you won't be able to change later down the line - you can buy a bigger hard drive, you can buy more memory, you can even change the screen, but chances are that a GPU upgrade will be more hassle than getting a new laptop.

 

[CompassNorth]

No options to have no shitty plastic case? A laptop with a durable case is always my priority

 

[VinsCool]

A lenovo Thinkpad IS the laptop to have if we want durability and quality. It also features most options of the poll. It is not the most powerful one, but at least it does a pretty good job for in many aspect

 

[FAST6191]

I was thinking of putting a chassis option, but realized most laptops these days come with a sturdy chassis often finished with brushed metal.

Unless you meant something else by build quality, like reliability in which case I forgot that, as well as many other things. If you're talking about how reliant the unit as a whole is then we should ask ourselves "how well do we take care of our stuff?" Its not the manufacture's fault if some gawky teenager drops their laptop and something on it then breaks. My laptop is 2 years old and doesn't have a single scratch on it and I expect it to last atleast another 5 years, but thats not because of the manufacturer, thats because of my own care.

Can I come join your magical world please? It sounds a lot better than this one where most laptops that cross my path are built around cheaper plastic than the stuff that shields my sandwiches.

I can upgrade RAM, upgrade hard drives* and sometimes upgrade wireless as well. To that end I will probably cost it out there.
*probably will

I suppose I can run an external screen and via a bit of black magic I can sometimes even upgrade screens but for the most part I do want a good screen of high resolution, thankfully someone in laptop builder land decided to end the farce that was post P4 era laptops.
3d is a gimmick and touchscreen... most people I know ignore it until they get to a tablet.

Other options... I guess I like bluetooth as an option, SD readers are nice to have and would not be too troubled to have a webcam and a microphone inbuilt. Now if something wanted to give me VGA or HDMI input so that I could use the laptop screen for general purposes then we have something to discuss.

CPU and graphics... I do not care to have the latest and greatest games when on the go. Assuming I can't upgrade then observe it but mostly ignore it.

Audio... yeah I have headphones.

Noise. Deafen me if you have good reason to, as mentioned above I have headphones.

Heat. Most of the time it is dead fans, bad BIOS settings, bad thermal paste or heat pipes clogged with dust that takes out machines via heat... actually I think I did see a really cheap laptop that did this once.

Keyboard, never found a single laptop (at least this side of luggables with mechanical keyboards) that I would care to type on at length and an external keyboard is just a USB port away.

Battery. Will it last long enough for me to press save/copy and paste and press save, move from one room to another, maybe showcase a basic overview to someone? If so then I am good.

Weight and size. I weighed my bag the other day and apparently I wander around with about 12KG of tools in it, a few more is not going to hurt. Size means bigger screen, possibly more battery and bigger keyboard (or possibly just number pad) and I like that.

So yeah other than maybe screens being high res (and reasonably colour accurate) I guess I am back at durability. I would love to go in for the full on tuffbook stuff but I will settle for lenovo or dell business class, indeed most of this could probably be summed up as "give me your business class device".

I would like something that is easy to service but I am beginning to think that is one of those magic fairy land only options.

 

[zeello]

wacom support

but, because of that, weight/size and heat matters a lot

 

[driverdis]

for video playback purposes, a 1920x1080 screen is the way to go. especially with applications like the Windows 8 Netflix app only allowing "Super HD" (not to be confused with ultra HD [4K]) using a 1920x1080 resolution panel.
with even a 1600x900 panel, netflix will no go past 720p. Super HD is Netflix's 1080p ~5800Kbit/s (~5.8Mbit/s) video stream, which the highest quality stream they offer.

 

[Drink the Bleach]

Can I come join your magical world please? It sounds a lot better than this one where most laptops that cross my path are built around cheaper plastic than the stuff that shields my sandwiches.

I can upgrade RAM, upgrade hard drives* and sometimes upgrade wireless as well. To that end I will probably cost it out there.
*probably will

I suppose I can run an external screen and via a bit of black magic I can sometimes even upgrade screens but for the most part I do want a good screen of high resolution, thankfully someone in laptop builder land decided to end the farce that was post P4 era laptops.
3d is a gimmick and touchscreen... most people I know ignore it until they get to a tablet.

Other options... I guess I like bluetooth as an option, SD readers are nice to have and would not be too troubled to have a webcam and a microphone inbuilt. Now if something wanted to give me VGA or HDMI input so that I could use the laptop screen for general purposes then we have something to discuss.

CPU and graphics... I do not care to have the latest and greatest games when on the go. Assuming I can't upgrade then observe it but mostly ignore it.

Audio... yeah I have headphones.

Noise. Deafen me if you have good reason to, as mentioned above I have headphones.

Heat. Most of the time it is dead fans, bad BIOS settings, bad thermal paste or heat pipes clogged with dust that takes out machines via heat... actually I think I did see a really cheap laptop that did this once.

Keyboard, never found a single laptop (at least this side of luggables with mechanical keyboards) that I would care to type on at length and an external keyboard is just a USB port away.

Battery. Will it last long enough for me to press save/copy and paste and press save, move from one room to another, maybe showcase a basic overview to someone? If so then I am good.

Weight and size. I weighed my bag the other day and apparently I wander around with about 12KG of tools in it, a few more is not going to hurt. Size means bigger screen, possibly more battery and bigger keyboard (or possibly just number pad) and I like that.

So yeah other than maybe screens being high res (and reasonably colour accurate) I guess I am back at durability. I would love to go in for the full on tuffbook stuff but I will settle for lenovo or dell business class, indeed most of this could probably be summed up as "give me your business class device".

I would like something that is easy to service but I am beginning to think that is one of those magic fairy land only options.

So which one did you pick? :3

 

[jurassicplayer]

Single most important laptop quality... ._.
That it works ._.

 

[kristianity77]

I put battery life. I dont play games on the laptop so therefore GPU isn't an issue and CPU isn't massively important either. I don't watch films on the laptop as I've got a telly for that so really its just about the battery life. Mine is used mainly for work (office) , torrents and just general messing about either on the internet, and MAME. Other emulation is done via PSP which pretty much covers everything.

 

[Clydefrosch]

for basically 99.9% of what i do with my laptop... battery life would be the most important thing, taking a certain amount of processing power for granted (like enough to browse the internet and watch videos). then probably keyboard. and then cpu and gaming related stuff.

 

[Arras]

Size and weight, aka portability. The thing a laptop is designed to do. If I wanted most of the other things I'd get a desktop. Battery life is a important too, but for me a bit less so.

 

[DinohScene]

Screen resolution and GPU.
Other then that, batterylife, I dun care for, nor the weight n size.

Thing has to be fast, have atleast an HD (1680x1050 or above) display and a good GPU.

 

[Originality]

I've always picked laptops on GPU strength (mid-range or higher, but never IGPs). But now, I'm leaning more towards battery life.

 

[trumpet-205]

To be honest I care more about heat and noise. I don't do intensive gaming on laptop ever.

 

[grossaffe]

There is no single most important feature for me. Like many things in life, it's about balance.