Acer vs. Lenovo for heavy-duty use (build quality)

[mitya]

I'm perennially in the process of choosing a new laptop. It's pretty much come down to:

- Acer V5 552: A10 2.5gHz, 6gb RAM, 1tb HD [£400, link]
- Lenovo Z510: i5 4220, 8gb RAM, 1tb HD, GeForce GT740 [£600, link]

The question is: would you trust an Acer of this sort of class with daily, always-on, heavier usage? I got it for my mum and it's perfect for her lighter, occasional use (plus it's visually gorgeous), but I'm thinking the hardware quality wouldn't be up to my requirements. Like I say, it would nearly always be on, mostly for web dev but occasional games and music production.

So I'm talking build quality here, not so much specs (I'm fine with the specs on both).

The Lenovo is a safer bet, sure, but it's a lofty £200 and 50% more expensive.

I've done a lot of research into Acer build quality and, predictably, there's people out there saying they're the best thing ever and also the spawn of Satan. Lenovo's, it seems to be agreed, is quality (at least at this sort of price.) Any modern takes on where Acer are at these days with quality?

Thanks in advance

 

[zsolt_93]

Its more expensive but its better in every single aspect. Both in performance and quality. I vote for the Lenovo

 

[pigulici]

From what I see at my firends, I will stay away from Acer, high specs+low price+low quality, at least from medium/heavy tasks point of view...

 

[Ja.KooLit]

From what I see at my firends, I will stay away from Acer, high specs+low price+low quality, at least from medium/heavy tasks point of view...

+1 had acer laptop before.

I vote for lenovo.

 

[Ahhzz]

Long-time Tech support says take the Lenovo.

 

[mitya]

Thanks, guys. I'm starting to see a pattern emerge.

 

[RCoon]

I also say Lenovo. A long time ago I would have said avoid Acer at all costs, they used to be pretty cheap and crappy, they've improved, but the Lenovo processor is far better, and general build quality on the Lenovo is far better. We recently bought 6 of their i5's and they're nice, though the mouse trackpad is a filthy thing to work with.

 

[Black.Raven]

By a long shot lenovo, Ive seen 10 year old laptops from them and they still work. my acer laptop that i needed to buy for school, is after 3 and a half years not that good anymore. its bussines travelmate i5(sig)

 

[DRDNA]

Lenovo all the way! Long time Tech support here too and it is an easy choice!

 

[lastcalaveras]

lenovo ftw my x220 has been brilliant for the 3 years I've had it

 

[MustSeeMelons]

Lenovo!
Had an Acer laptop for 2 years, didn't any major issues (just overheating), but it felt cheap.

 

[de.das.dude]

both are pretty much same. but lenovo a bit better off.

 

[mitya]

Thanks again, guys.

Surprised the Lenovo is 1366 x 768; for £600 wouldn't you expect to be in full HD territory?

 

[PLAfiller]

Thanks again, guys.

Surprised the Lenovo is 1366 x 768; for £600 wouldn't you expect to be in full HD territory?

First- I think Lenovo, not just the brand here, but this 200 pounds extra reflect the specs as well.

Second, tell me about it!!!!!!! Its my biggest gripe with these guys. I have E530 Edge from the business-consumer hybrid series. I know why I bought it last year- you can see the specs in my signature (I changed ram and HDD). But the only thing in their offers is that shitty resolution. Even the new geneartion this year is the same old crap with the resolution in the low-mid segment.

Anyway I have some notes, you may or may not be aware of already. So I had the chance to compare the business and consumer segment in some areas. A friend of mine has Y5xx and s400. First thing: maintainance- the consumer series (like Z) definitely has a nasty way of cleaning the dust out of the heatsink (in my opinion and compared to my E530). In your case seems to be relatively easier- only one lid on the bottom, but that doesn't mean you will get to the heatsink right away. When we were re-pasting his gaming Y5xx we took apart the whole thing. After the repaste the temps dropped with 10 degrees in idle and I can't remember how many in load. You can see complaints about Lenovo's paste appication. I guess you wouldn't want to do that with the warranty and stuff, but if you can negotiate it with the seller would be great, trust me on this one. Second keyboard, the business series are miles away- but I am not gonna go into details, because its not relevant here. Third, the USB-support is excellent on consumer series, you shouldn't have any problems with USB 3.0 devices, unlike EDGE series, where the Lenovo forum has its fair share of complaints about it. Last thing I wanted to mention- the sound. If the Z-series sound anything like the Y-series, I think you will be very satisfied. Business-series, let's just say they put sound so that they can fill in the graph in the specifications

Long story short, Z510 looks like a really nice machine. I also own their Thinkpad Travel Headphones, in case you want to give them a spin and need feedback.

 

[de.das.dude]

to be honest. i went lappy shopping some months ago and had planned on a lenovo. but i wasntsatisfied with its quality. plastic was cheap. i settledfor a samsung np355vsc05in

 

[FreedomEclipse]

to be honest. i went lappy shopping some months ago and had planned on a lenovo. but i wasntsatisfied with its quality. plastic was cheap. i settledfor a samsung np355vsc05in

kind of irellivant as the NP355V5C is cheaper and inferior spec wise. They both cover different price points

 

[de.das.dude]

kind of irellivant as the NP355V5C is cheaper and inferior spec wise. They both cover different price points

EXACTLY my point. the lenovos were similarly priced here but inferior. samsung offered me way better goodies


this all depends on the locality. laptop prices vary greatly.

 

[mitya]

Thanks again, guys, and particularly @IZKoce for your detailed points.

Perhaps I should think about getting one built at something like PCSpecialist.co.uk. Just it seemed when I looked there was little if no saving, at least where laptops are concerned. Better warranty deals, though.

 

[erocker]

I have four Lenovo's for my auto repair business. They've been great, no issues.

 

[TRWOV]

+1 Lenovo. The motherfuckers are like tanks.

Acer is fine if you're not going to move it much, basically as a desktop replacement. Their hinges break over time (metal joints with plastic retainers are a bad combination


EDIT: The V5 series seems to use a different kind of hinge. I don't know how are those constructed, seem to be of higher quality than the ones I've used.

 

[ZetZet]

I mean, people say acers fail, but my friend who is really bad at keeping stuff in good condition had acer laptop and it worked for years.

 

[TRWOV]

My Acers didn't fail either, the hinges just broke. One has its screen held on a wall by double sided tape. It's a stationary laptop for controlling a laser cutting machine so it really isn't a bother. The other had its screen ditched and connected to a monitor, mouse and keyb as a POS.

Still, these V5 look to be better constructed. I've only owned regular Aspires, none of the E or V series.

 

[mitya]

I believe the V5 is an Aspire...

 

[Melvis]

Lenovo hands down. Acer are the worst by far. If you havent made a recovery disc when you first get your acer and your hard drive fails tuff luck as acer wont send you a recovery disc.

 

[NK THE FOX]

I will vote for lenovo, as i have a lenovo of model g560, with 2gb ram, 350 gb hard disk, and it has been 4yrs since i am using it, not a single problem except the casing . i had some problem with windows 7 but now with windows 10, no PROBLEM