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



## mitya (Feb 23, 2014)

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


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## zsolt_93 (Feb 23, 2014)

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


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## pigulici (Feb 24, 2014)

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...


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## Ja.KooLit (Feb 24, 2014)

pigulici said:


> 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.


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## Ahhzz (Feb 24, 2014)

Long-time Tech support says take the Lenovo.


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## mitya (Feb 24, 2014)

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


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## RCoon (Feb 24, 2014)

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.


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## Black.Raven (Feb 24, 2014)

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)


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## DRDNA (Feb 24, 2014)

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


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## lastcalaveras (Feb 24, 2014)

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


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## MustSeeMelons (Feb 24, 2014)

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


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## de.das.dude (Feb 24, 2014)

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


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## mitya (Feb 24, 2014)

Thanks again, guys.

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


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## lZKoce (Feb 24, 2014)

mitya said:


> 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.


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## de.das.dude (Feb 24, 2014)

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


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## FreedomEclipse (Feb 24, 2014)

de.das.dude said:


> 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


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## de.das.dude (Feb 24, 2014)

FreedomEclipse said:


> 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.


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## mitya (Feb 24, 2014)

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.


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## erocker (Feb 24, 2014)

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


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## TRWOV (Feb 24, 2014)

+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.


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## ZetZet (Feb 24, 2014)

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.


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## TRWOV (Feb 24, 2014)

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.


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## mitya (Feb 24, 2014)

I believe the V5 _is_ an Aspire...


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## Melvis (Feb 25, 2014)

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.


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## NK THE FOX (Oct 10, 2015)

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


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## RejZoR (Oct 10, 2015)

Had 2 Acer's and still have their tablet, sister had Acer as well and it was great considering how much abuse it went through. Great devices. Had one Lenovo and I don't want to ever see this fucking company ever again. The worst pile of crap with pathetic components (WLAN was absolute garbage with 5m range apparently) and moronic case design. I had to tear it apart from above to access fucking HDD. I didn't mind that on Aspire One because it was tiny, but on S205, it was just idiotic. And wireless was absolute shit compared to older Aspire One as well as the fact they had to replace the screen while it was in service for the stupid WLAN. And then HDD died and that's the point I got rid of it and bought cheapo Compaq with exactly same hardware specs. Except it has a Broadcom WLAN which at least fucking works. And so far everything is working perfectly.

I ain't touching Lenovo ever again. People constantly spit on Acer, but from my experience, they make pretty decent devices. Far better than those from lenovo, that's for sure.


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## Atomic77 (Oct 13, 2015)

I believe Acer is part of the same huge conglomerate that took away Packard Bell and Gateway so I don't know much about that brand. If I were you I would also take a look into HP and Lenovo I don't know much about them either.


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## NK THE FOX (Oct 13, 2015)

Its your point of view about lenovo, and my point of view about lenovo, is that lenovo has good product. my cousin bought a acer laptop in 2011, 5 month later than i buy my laptop and his battery, screen, etc got problem on the third year, mine is still going in good condition, 4 YEARS without replacement of anything. that laptop i bought it only in Rs21000, but my cousin's acer was Rs430000


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## n-ster (Oct 13, 2015)

Thinkpad L and T series are pretty awesome in terms of case quality. The X1 Carbon as well obviously but that's expensive, the new Thinkpad Yoga 460 will be carbon as well, but again, expensive

Like many companies, they have good products, they have so-so products


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## CJCerny (Oct 13, 2015)

The Lenovo Z series isn't really rugged. It is a consumer laptop--meant for use around the house or an occasional use outside the home. If you are going to be constantly lugging this laptop all over, you really want a Thinkpad model.


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