Laptops are getting much worse

Yesterday my three years old ThinkPad X220 has died. I also have a X230, and a W520. I started looking at a possible replacement, and I found out that once again these laptops seem never to really improve.

For me, the fact that every laptop is now more like the Macbook Air is not really a good thing. It means you lose important functionality like a removable battery or upgradable RAM.

It also means that since almost two years ago classic keyboards have disappeared completely. I think now only some Alienware laptops still have them, and it's not even close to being the same thing. The old ThinkPad keyboards used to be so comfortable and perfect, I can never get used to the chiclet keys which I see everywhere. That's why I got a W520, it was the last laptop series from Lenovo to have the classic keyboard, which I'll always find much more pleasant to use.

Now we have a lot of IPS screens, and even double pixel laptops with very high resolutions that smooth out pixels like smartphones, but the actual quality of those screens is really really bad. Contrast ratio is bad, and they only have very small AdobeRGB range. Even the Macbook Pro Retina has something like 65% range, while we've had smartphones that got to 99% or close for a while now. Lenovo has released a 4K laptop, but the colors are really bad on it, the yellows are the color of mustard.

In 2012 I ordered a Precision Dell laptop with an IPS screen upgrade which had the most accurate colors on the market, it was truly a thing to behold. Sadly, I had to return it because it had very distracting corner tint, the lower bottom corners had extremely annoying purple spots. It was so bad that Dell had to discontinue it. Which is a shame because I've never seen any other laptop screen even get close to it.

I got an upgrade for a 99% AdobeRGB TN screen for my W520, which I think is just about the best you can get currently. The colors are simply gorgeous, and it was well worth the money.

But even if you look at professional ThinkPad laptops, you'll now see they are indistinguishable from a Macbook air.



The trackpad buttons are gone, now we have a button less trackpad like the Macbook Air, which I always disliked. Its AdobeRGB range is only 62%, for a professional laptop that costs $2000 meant for graphic editors. Lenovo has even eliminated matte screens, now it's fake matte and much glossier than it used to be.

Now I'm left with zero options for a comfortable laptop with removable parts, a great keyboard, perfect color range, and built like a tank. I'm going to stick to my W520 for probably years to come. Or I might end up getting a Macbook Pro Retina, if every PC manufacturer is going to desperately try to copy Apple and never even get it right.

I use Thinkpad T420 on my work and it's a spectacular piece of equipment, never had a hiccups with it in years (others who had problems, it was only the battery).

But… It's not a "console". The hardware inside is not ment to emulate one.
I'd never install a game on it.

At home I have both laptop (with 740M card/chip inside) and desktop PC.
Honestly, I dunno why I just don't sell this laptop. I don't use it almost at all. I take it with me if I need it for something but that happens very rare and is never games. It's ASUS laptop, not ex-IBM. And while it is working like a charm, I just can't force myself to watch games on the stoneagesize 17˝screen.

So no. I don't think laptops are getting worse.
Users are getting worse. Laptop is not ment to be a console.
Buy desktop PC.

That's not what I'm talking about at all. In fact I agree that it's futile to use a laptop to play even remotely demanding games.

I'm talking about ergonomics, which have been sacrificed in favor of gimmicks made to have laptops look fashionable and be ever thinner.

Hence why I own a Sager. 680M is getting a bit long in the tooth I suppose but it rips through anything I've played. It isn't particularly light or thin, so it cools well. Love it. If you really want to game on a laptop you should start with the likes of xoticpc.com.

Originally Posted by Humanity has risen!
For me, the fact that every laptop is now more like the Macbook Air is not really a good thing. It means you lose important functionality like a removable battery or upgradable RAM.

For me, its worth the trade off. I have only ever upgraded two components on a laptop, more RAM for a 2000 Gateway after it was already 5 years old and moving to an SSD in my '08 Toshiba that died this summer. These days though, you can easily get enough RAM or hard drive to last you for the life of a machine IMO.

It also means that since almost two years ago classic keyboards have disappeared completely. I think now only some Alienware laptops still have them, and it's not even close to being the same thing. The old ThinkPad keyboards used to be so comfortable and perfect, I can never get used to the chiclet keys which I see everywhere. That's why I got a W520, it was the last laptop series from Lenovo to have the classic keyboard, which I'll always find much more pleasant to use.

I will give you that, though I have adapted to new keyboards (heck, I love my Surface Pro Touchcover now!)

Now we have a lot of IPS screens, and even double pixel laptops with very high resolutions that smooth out pixels like smartphones, but the actual quality of those screens is really really bad. Contrast ratio is bad, and they only have very small AdobeRGB range. Even the Macbook Pro Retina has something like 65% range, while we've had smartphones that got to 99% or close for a while now. Lenovo has released a 4K laptop, but the colors are really bad on it, the yellows are the color of mustard.

Hadn't noticed bad color/contrast, but I tend not to notice that kind of thing unless its really, really bad.

But even if you look at professional ThinkPad laptops, you'll now see they are indistinguishable from a Macbook air.

While it may share some features (like the lose of the button mouse thing), that looks nothing like a MacBook Air.

Originally Posted by Humanity has risen!
That's not what I'm talking about at all. In fact I agree that it's futile to use a laptop to play even remotely demanding games.

That depends on the laptop. As I've said in another thread, there are laptops designed for gaming, and those work very well, even for demanding games. But I agree that most laptops don't.

I'm talking about ergonomics, which have been sacrificed in favor of gimmicks made to have laptops look fashionable and be ever thinner.

Needless to say (but I say it anyway) those laptops don't aspire to be thin and light and Macbooky. And they tend to come with full fledged keyboads. Downside is that they're expensive and heavy.

pibbur who wonders if he has mentioned his Asus republic of gamers laptop.

The Asus ROG I've seen in store many times. The finish is just too cheap to inspire me confidence.

I really do think build quality has taken a huge toll in the last decade or more, though there's a reason why laptops that used to cost 3000-4000 dollars now cost 1500-2000 in spite of the inflation. A lot of that is the use of the lowest Chinese bidders for components.

It's nothing like the ThinkPad line back when IBM was running it, these things would last forever and through any shock. It was a real tank. The difference from IBM to after Lenovo bought it is night and day. My X220 is way more cheap plastic than the older laptops and the keys kept getting stuck.

Today we have one of two extremes: either a huge cheap casing like with gamer laptops from Asus, MSI, etc that are suspicious-looking, or a flat chrome rectangle, and almost nothing in between.

Originally Posted by Humanity has risen!
The Asus ROG I've seen in store many times. The finish is just too cheap to inspire me confidence.
….

Doesn't look cheap or suspicious to me, it's a solid build and it has served me very well. But of course, if it's looks does affect you confidence in the product, don't buy it. I wouldn't either.

pibbur who has refrained from buying several things based on similar observations.

Originally Posted by Humanity has risen!
It's nothing like the ThinkPad line back when IBM was running it, these things would last forever and through any shock. It was a real tank. The difference from IBM to after Lenovo bought it is night and day. My X220 is way more cheap plastic than the older laptops and the keys kept getting stuck.

Today we have one of two extremes: either a huge cheap casing like with gamer laptops from Asus, MSI, etc that are suspicious-looking, or a flat chrome rectangle, and almost nothing in between.

That is true and due to the shift in the market and technology. Laptops are very popular now with many brands and they are all competing in the mobile computing market, and so you get the varying quality.

Moreover, the technology is moving very fast so that consumers are more worried about cost than lifetime of a laptop (and of course your average greedy manufacturer will take this as a green light to cut corners and use cheap materials and components for their laptops).

My primary computer is an Alienware laptop and it plays every game I've thrown at it on max settings and high framerates. It stays cool and doesn't overheat, has a beautiful screen and works flawlessly. I'm very happy with it and would recommend it to anyone.

I owned an Alienware M11X when they released it and it's true it was a good laptop, I gave it to someone else who still uses it today. Of course though it tends to overheat and reboot, though that's any gaming laptop.

I don't care about gaming on a laptop anymore, I want:

-A classic keyboard that is very comfortable and a joy to use
-An IPS screen with high AdobeRGB color range percentage
-Solid build quality
-No buttonless trackpad

Originally Posted by Humanity has risen!
…Of course though it tends to overheat and reboot, though that's any gaming laptop….

No. I've had mine for a year, used it a lot. It has never overheated.

pibbur who realizes he has posted about his gaming ROG before. On several occasions. And that he probably should stop because it's boring. And who only occasionally follows his own advice.

I decided I'll go buy a Macbook Retina 13 inch this morning to replace my broken netbook, seeing as Best Buy Canada has it on sale until the end of this day. I'll just get the matte screen cover and put it over to diminish the annoying reflections.

Apple says their screen is matte but it's really glossy with barely reduced reflections.

I've gotten too bothered by the Windows 8 "hot corners" that will never go away no matter what you do.

I find it scrolls much too slowly on any browser that is not Safari, sadly. It's simply very grating, more than I expected, and my daily activities and work depend on using a multitude of browsers. I'll return it later this week.

Hopefully Crispy doesn't see this post

Actually now, I think the more I use it, the more I like it. I'll give myself until the end of the 14 days that Best Buy allows you before returning laptops.

It is certainly very sleek and well integrated, and overall pleasant to work with.

The one thing I cannot get used to is the trackpad, I don't understand how people can bear these things. But I largely use a mouse anyway.

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Hence why I own a Sager. 680M is getting a bit long in the tooth I suppose but it rips through anything I've played. It isn't particularly light or thin, so it cools well. Love it. If you really want to game on a laptop you should start with the likes of xoticpc.com.

Alas Clevo (Sager etc) seems to have lost its crown on cooling. Most copper heat sinks are warped out of the factory and you need to mill them flat if you want anything under 80'C. Also on the flagship 17" (P17xSM-A) the PCH aka southbridge runs over 100'C and you need to cut a hole through the metal chassis with an angle grinder and pile on thermal pads up to the keyboard to remedy. Not that the others are much better (except the discontinued Asus ROG 750JZ) - Haswell generally is a hot beast, though the latest 980M gtx cards take some of the pressure off…

i picked up a new ASUS laptop (did not go for a touch screen one), and love it. i laughed when i read all the news stories/editorials a few years ago that declared the pc industry "dead" with the arrival of tablets - outside of surfing the internet on the couch, they're not good for anythign else important in my life (gaming, ms office, web dev)

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/02/asus-zenbook-nx500/

So Asus is coming up with a laptop that will have 4K screen resolution, and most of all a special technology from 3M that will ensure full Adobe RGB range (108 %) for the very first time in a laptop with an IPS screen at that resolution.

This is huge, this will be the best laptop screen ever when it releases. There will even be a "Republic of Gamers" version of the same laptop.

It will be expensive though, more than $2000 US. Also, no matte version, touch screen only.

Laptops are more and more about picking your own poison though. Even Lenovo has started to include pitiful, thin matte covers in their ThinkPad T andW series laptops.

Originally Posted by anakin57
i picked up a new ASUS laptop (did not go for a touch screen one), and love it.

Can you link to a page that gives the specs of your new ASUS? I might pick up an ASUS laptop and want to see what you went with.

My Alienware M17X R4 also never goes over 70 degrees, even under full load. Never had an issue with heat whatsoever with it. I'm not sure if I'm just lucky or if that has to do with the high quality builds of Alienware laptops.