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My last two laptops have been highly repairable. Previous was a Clevo barebones (I forget the model, it was rebranded as Medion). Current is an MSI GE66. Both o
by esperent 3y ago
My last two laptops have been highly repairable. Previous was a Clevo barebones (I forget the model, it was rebranded as Medion). Current is an MSI GE66. Both of them can be opened 60 seconds with a screwdriver.
Both are gaming laptops since I do 3d work. So they are not featherweights.
The Clevo is a workhorse that is still going strong as a media center like... 8 years later I think? It traveled the world with me for five of those years, across deserts, beaches, and jungles, and never complained.
I can also speak for the quality of MSI support. When I first got the laptop there was some weird problem with hibernating - I think it was a Windows/Nvidia driver bug in the end and it resolved itself after a week or two.
A few months ago the screen started to have issues. In both cases I was able to get in touch with someone at MSI support within a few hours via email, and the person carried out a real, human conversation with me (even made a few jokes).
In the case of the screen they took it in for repairs, and I think they replaced pretty much the entire laptop internals and screen panel. Note that I had opened it to upgrade RAM and SSD so the factory seals were gone, but they didn't say anything about that. It took about 12 days to repair because they shipped the parts from Taiwan to Vietnam. Not great but not the worst I've heard. Initially they said it would take six weeks but when I said I needed it for work they expedited the shipment (six weeks would have been totally unacceptable and the tone of my message would be very different so, ah, well done to them there I guess).
- the-grump 3y agoMy experience is similar as far as big machines go. I have been thinkpads that are easy to work with. That said, the new stuff is definitely built cheaper than what you could buy in prior years, and the small "ultrabooks" are annoying to disassemble. They use hard clips requiring a spudger/pick, tiny screws, and in some cases solder modules onto the mainboard. Having a portable option that is built around being easy to repair and modify is something I have to support, even if it's not perfect.