Computers to be feared
Now that I’m a blogger (add that to the list – project manager, boyfriend, hunk, role model and now blogger) I have decided to upgrade my laptop. My needs are quite minimal as I only really need to use online services. I’m not a gamer and most of my document creation takes place on my work computer. So I am happy to get something entry level to replace the 2 year old HP Pavillion laptop that overheats so badly you could cook your dinner with it.
I have considered Dell, but I’m never home to receive deliveries. Apple are a little out of the budget. So I’ve taken my search to the tech stores of Milton Keynes. I’m avoiding HP, so on my current budget I’m looking at Toshiba, Acer and brands I’ve never heard of.
So the question I’m asking is whether there are bad computers anymore? My negative experience with HP has turned me off their devices, but as the technology of these laptops is so similar I wonder if I’m being unfair. Are there brands we should seek to avoid? And if so, is that fear justified?
I write this from outside Currys/PC World which has been evacuated because of a fire alarm. Maybe someone left a HP Pavillion switched on overnight… 
Like this:
I can’t really answer your question properly, but worth throwing it out there that Pete and I both have Acer laptops, and they’re brilliant. Good luck with your search!
Ah, the salesman was pushing Acer. But I went with Toshiba instead, just seemed the better deal.
I dislike Toshiba computers. If you must slum it and avoid a Mac, go with Lenovo or Dell. Also – how are you defining “overheating”?
Ah, I went with Toshiba. I’ll share any complaints with you then.
By overheating I mean uncomfortably hot to touch.
That’s not overheating. Most computers do run “uncomfortably hot to touch” now which is why manufacturers generally refer to laptops as notebooks – to discourage people from actually putting them on their laps. If a computer properly overheats it either crashes spectacularly or a safety switch shuts them down, but they have to get very very hot indeed (around 100-120 degrees C) to cause that to happen.
My first laptop was a Toshiba Satellite Pro A10 and it ended up costing me more in repairs than it did to buy outright. Just sayin’.
I had associated the problems with the laptop with the heat as they seemed in the same area: battery replaced, 2nd battery not lasting, not holding enough charge to run longer than 10 minutes.
And it was hot.
Unfortunately lithium ion batteries don’t last forever. Limitation of the technology. Do you exercise the battery as you should?
You mean charge up, then let it run down? If so, yes I did. It took 10 minutes to run down before switching off without warning.
Not quite. Lithium ion batteries need regular cycling (once every couple of weeks) to stay in good condition, but they cannot be overcharged and they do not have memory, unlike NiMH and NiCad batteries. Taking ten minutes to run down before switching off without warning are the symptoms of the battery crystallising, which is usually the result of the battery not being cycled for too long.