If you are planning to buy a laptop, then you will have to choose between the models of the mentioned brands. Buyers often do not know what is hidden behind the manufacturer’s name and simply choose a gadget based on its hardware. This is logical and partly even correct, but it is also worth taking into account the characteristics of the brand.
The manufacturer reviews below are not based on personal experience, but on customer reviews. Before compiling a profile of the company, we took into account dozens of consumer reviews of the brand’s popular products on various Internet sites.
Let's start with the most common manufacturer.
Lenovo laptops (China)
This is a Chinese brand that produces not very high-quality, but inexpensive computer equipment. It is the low cost of gadgets that makes the company’s products popular and in demand. Sellers are sure to fill their store shelves with Lenovo equipment, since they are the most popular.
The advantage is the low price of laptops with good hardware. Only in the line of this brand can you find a model with a processor, for example, Intel Celeron 4415U with 8 GB of RAM for 20 thousand rubles. A laptop with similar characteristics from other brands will cost 2-3 thousand rubles more on average.
Based on reviews on the Internet, it becomes clear that Lenovo in Russia (it’s hard to say as in other countries) is characterized by low-quality and unprofessional service. The brand's budget laptops often break down and rarely work inefficiently (possibly due to an ill-designed cooling system). It is especially unpleasant when problems occur after the warranty period has expired.
However, poor build quality, materials and ill-conceived hardware layout are characteristic features of budget laptop models (IdeaPad, V, E lines). Expensive gadgets generally receive positive reviews and work properly. For example, the Lenovo THINKPAD X1 Carbon Ultrabook (5th Gen) laptop worth 125,000 rubles receives good reviews - it does not break down immediately after purchase, works properly after the warranty period has expired, and is generally a high-quality product.
If you want to purchase a device from Lenovo, do not choose a cheap model, as the chance of it breaking is high. You can safely buy expensive gadgets from the brand - for the most part these are high-quality products.
Price
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-54K-358L | Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15API (81UT00AURK) |
| average price: RUB 27,999 | average price: RUB 28,990 |
| country of origin: China | country of origin: China |
| warranty: 12 months | warranty: 12 months |
Both models cost a little less than 30,000 rubles, but still the Acer Aspire 3 A315-54K-358L will cost an average of a thousand rubles less, although it will be inferior in terms of price/performance ratio, especially if you need a device for gaming. On the other hand, a laptop from Acer is initially more oriented towards office work, and it can still handle most games, even at the lowest settings, so it’s a stretch, but we’ll give the victory in this criterion to the Aspire 3 A315-54K-358L.
Acer (Taiwan)
In terms of quality and cost of its products, Acer is approaching Lenovo. The company primarily produces budget laptops, which are also available in all stores and are actively sold. Note that inexpensive models more often collect positive reviews, and negative ones are rare. Buyers write about the low quality of components: controller, video chip. They meet the warranty period, but later problems begin (not for everyone).
In terms of reliability, Acer ranks higher than Lenovo, although it also produces inexpensive models. Two identically specced laptops from Lenovo and Acer are about the same price, but the Acer is more likely to last longer.
Both brands are worth each other - it’s hard to say which one is better. Here it is appropriate to compare individual laptop models, but the average digital equipment repair shop has approximately an equal number of models from Acer and Lenovo with typical “sores”.
Difficulty of choice
When buying laptops, you need to compare the characteristics of specific models, because the two brands have decent models in their lineup. But as statistics say, Acer has more powerful processors if we consider budget devices in the same price category. That is, a Lenovo laptop with a processor of the same power will cost more.
In addition, Lenovo has a wider range of models; over the past year, the brand has introduced more new products to customers.
Users often pay attention to the appearance of the device, but this is an individual matter. Lenovo devices do not have a very thin, elegant design, but in comparison with their opponents, they look more presentable.
To summarize, I would like to say that both brands produce decent equipment. The main thing is to decide on the price tag and decide for what purpose you are purchasing a portable device.
HP (USA)
This company is one of the first successful ones in Silicon Valley. The brand’s equipment is popular in the USA, Europe, and Russia. Unlike the previous two manufacturers, the reliability and build quality of HP laptops is much higher, as is their price.
Budget HP models, at the same price as Lenovo or Acer laptops, will receive weaker components. If Lenovo offers a device on the Intel Core i3 platform (rarely i5) for 20 thousand rubles, then an HP gadget for the same money will be equipped with a less productive chipset of the AMD A6 or Intel Celeron U series level. Such a laptop is more likely to be assembled from high-quality materials - it will receive effective and thoughtful cooling, which will allow the hardware to work confidently even under heavy loads. This will increase the service life of the gadget.
When choosing an HP laptop, the buyer pays for higher quality build and components, hardware layout and reliability. The only thing is that at HP the service is very lame, communication with customers is at a low level - representatives of the centers do not want to meet customers halfway and in the event of a laptop breakdown they can make a template reply to the user’s request.
Display quality
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-54K-358L | Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15API (81UT00AURK) |
| screen: TN+film, 15.6″(39.6 cm); resolution 1920x1080 pixels. | screen: TN+film, 15.6″(39.6 cm); resolution 1920x1080 pixels. |
| color rendering: 45% NTSC | color rendering: 35% AdobeRGB, 55% sRGB |
| Pixel density: 141 ppi | Pixel density: 141 ppi |
| display: rating 4.45 out of 5.0 | display: rating 4.5 out of 5.0 |
It’s difficult to find high-quality displays in the budget segment, so the compared models expectedly received an outdated TN+film matrix with a matte finish and weak backlighting, the same diagonals of 15.6″ (39.6 cm) and an identical resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. In addition, these displays have the same pixel density (141 ppi) and maximum refresh rate with a ceiling of 60 Hz. The only difference is in the color gamut parameter: the Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15API screen transmits 35% AdobeRGB and 55% sRGB, and the Acer Aspire 3 A315-54K-358L covers a range of 45% NTSC. In general, it is difficult to notice sharp differences in the quality of color reproduction; for their cost, the displays produce almost the maximum possible, plus both screens suffer from the quality of the factory contrast settings, so you will have to adjust the parameters manually. Thus, in this criterion we can safely establish parity - not a single model will provide the highest image quality, good viewing angles and reliable work outdoors.
Asus (Taiwan)
The company makes reliable laptops that work for years without breakdowns. Users still encounter problems, but they do not have pronounced and systematic “diseases”. By purchasing a laptop from this Taiwanese manufacturer, there is a high chance of getting high-quality hardware in a durable case.
Moreover, both budget models and expensive ones differ in reliability. However, inexpensive solutions are most often low-performance and only suitable for working with office applications. For the same money you can buy a more powerful device from Lenovo, which is what buyers do.
According to reviews, Asus equipment “lives” for 5-6 years without breakdowns. Minor defects are possible in certain models, defects also occur, but this is rather rare. In any case, the Taiwanese brand Asus is head and shoulders above the same Lenovo and Acer.
How will we compare?
It’s easy: we take one model from each brand and compare their characteristics. But there is one condition - price. We take laptops that cost $500, no more. Otherwise the comparison will be unfair. Our task is to determine which brand offers the best “filling” at the same cost. We do not take into account the design and unimportant characteristics such as weight, case thickness, screen diagonal (a standard 15.6-inch diagonal is enough) - all this is just an attempt to confuse the consumer by selling cheap hardware at a high price just because the case, you see, is made in a cool design.
Dell (USA)
One of the largest American (and world) manufacturers of computer equipment. The brand's products are widespread in Russia and are distinguished by their reliability, long service life and indestructibility.
Unlike Acer, Lenovo and even Asus, Dell laptops are well built, they receive high-quality, efficient cooling, thanks to which the components work stably under load.
Basically, the laptops are well made: powerful hinges for opening the monitor, comfortable keys and high quality plastic. It's rare to read negative reviews about Dell models. There are complaints about ineffective technical support, but these are minor things.
Sound quality
| Acer Aspire 3 A315-54K-358L | Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15API (81UT00AURK) |
| sound: 2 speakers, Acer TrueHarmony | sound: 2 speakers, Dolby Audio |
The audio card is one of the components on which manufacturers of budget equipment save especially zealously. As a result, Lenovo used simple Dolby Audio type acoustics with two speakers in the IdeaPad S145-15API, which do not like it when users turn the sound up to full, i.e. Ultimately, you can only enjoy music or watch movies normally using headphones. The situation is a little better with the Aspire 3 A315-54K-358L. Acer TrueHarmony acoustics are used here with smoother sound and a larger range of adequately transmitted frequencies, so you can do without headphones, but the sound quality in them will be even higher, so in this criterion, a laptop from Acer is better than Lenovo.
Results: Apple is expensive, Toshiba is slow, what about the rest?
We have collected subjective opinions of servicemen in Moscow, with which we generally agree. The list does not include sub-brands or smaller brands such as Razer, Alienware, Predator and others. These brands tend to have higher reliability than their parent company's products.
Simply put, gaming laptops are justifiably expensive because of their reliability. But from a performance point of view, they are overkill for everyday tasks, such as Internet surfing, word processing and Photoshop.
Hewlett-Packard/HP
HP makes the least reliable laptops. This company's laptops break down seriously and expensively - motherboards, power control modules, thermistors, and so on fly off.
“What makes you think, I don’t agree!” According to all statistics, in all countries, all over the world. This is a fact, accept it even if you have been using HP all your life and have never encountered any problems.
Acer
Acer is almost keeping up with HP in terms of repairs. True, the breakdowns are not serious - the keys, screen hinges, lid latches, and screw attachment points break.
The company mainly uses the most budget-friendly technologies and materials in the manufacture of cases, but the computer can still be used.
Apple (Macbook)
Apple is difficult and expensive to repair. Especially if the warranty period has expired. The laptops themselves are twice, and sometimes even three times more expensive, with the same characteristics as their competitors. In Russian services, we saw difficulties in understanding how much more reliable MacBooks are than Windows laptops.
Repairs are carried out by official Apple service centers, while the owners of such expensive “tchotchkes” are very reluctant to take them to third-party private companies. There are no meaningful statistics.
Toshiba
Toshiba does not offer attractive warranty terms. And the company is literally drowning system performance with garbage services and applications. Some of them can't just be deleted because you'll get errors every time you boot.
You need to reformat your new computer immediately after purchasing it if you want it to perform to its specifications.
ASUS
Asus is built on ultra-reliable motherboards. The company grew up supplying cool components to other companies like Dell. Their laptops are usually reliable. The problem arises when you do encounter a hardware problem (no one is immune from this).
Trying to get them to honor their warranty is a real quest, they don't favor retail customers. There is proof. Asus simply does not have a spare parts supply department.
Dell
Dell has been building customer service for years. As if in contrast to competitors such as Asus, their warranty support promises to be absolutely outstanding. But in fact, it barely reaches the “tolerable” level. You heard right. It's much better than what everyone else has (except Apple). Post-warranty repairs are sometimes even cost-effective.
Dell laptops are generally easier to disassemble and reassemble than others (check out iFixIt), so repairs are cheaper out of pocket, parts are readily available, and their motherboards last more than 10 years in most cases.
Consider market conditions
The conditions under which a laptop is purchased are the economic situation, the purpose of the purchase, market trends, the prevalence of form factors, and the niche nature of the product. You already got the general picture in the field of computer maintenance and repair in the first paragraph. Now explore the acquisition environment.
Let's remember 2020
The economic situation is unstable. For the 2019/2020 New Year holidays, gaming laptops with maximum configurations were still popular in conditions of a normal ruble exchange rate. When suddenly the “coronavirus” loomed, which literally shocked the economy around the world.
In Russia, the shocks were further aggravated by the fact that oil went into negative territory. This whole story has gone with remote learning, distance learning and buying “just to get something” cheaper, because before there was nothing at all.
For example, if Apple is not on top right now, and everyone is saying that MacBooks are about to be rebooted, then it’s probably worth holding off on the Mac ecosystem, right? If you absolutely understand what you are overpaying for, then go ahead. But in most cases, the rush is due to being hooked by massive marketing.
In most cases, the rush is due to being hooked by massive marketing.
Or, on the contrary, at the peak of Chromebooks, you could experience a high-tech cloud “experience” for cheap. Now stones will fly for distorting Russian, but with Chromebooks it was just an “experience”, not an experience.
What are the best laptop brands to choose for work and study?
ZEL-Services »Press Center »Articles »Which are the best laptop companies to choose for work and study?
30.10.2020
Apple is expensive and cannot be repaired, Toshiba "sinks" in performance, Acer crumbles after a few years, and Asus doesn't even have a spare parts department...
But is this really important if you just want to know which laptop is best for work or study?
We learned to navigate the market for computer components and equipment based on the advice of engineers at the service centers of the largest laptop manufacturers. Who else better determines which companies are worth choosing for work and study, and which ones are better to avoid now in 2020 and 2021?
