Do other people have the same problem with the Spectre x-360 15 - model 15-BL-112DX

[vasubandu]

I am curious if I was just unluckyof if this model has a lot of problems.  I purchased a refurbished Spectre x360 15, model 

15-BL-112DX. According to BIOS, it was made on 12/29/2017, so it out of warranty less than 16 months after it was made. I purchased it last Spring. It has been by far the worst laptop experience I have ever had, and that goes back to 486 days. It has always been slow, but got worse so I did a completely clean fresh install of Windows 10 64 Pro. Three months later, it is painfully slow again. I know how to avoid and find malware and viruses, and it tested clean. Now the monitor often shows a ghost of thje top twop inches of the screeen along the bottom. and and light points streak up to the top of thje screen. So I did another totally cleaninstall of Windows 10, and now my event log is full of errors. I have spent hours trying to track them down, but Microsoft is not veryt helpful these days. I just finished the reinstall of windows, and I have 20 Kernel-Event Tracing Event ID 2, 15 Provisioning-Diagnostics-Provider Event 100 warnings, 14 DeviceSetupManager Event ID 123 warnings, and Time Service Event ID 562 warning. Before I found anm ugly solution, I was getting all kinds of DistributedCOM Event ID 10016 errors. I have never seen anything like it. I cannot get the IntelAudioService to start, and periodically get some device in Device Manager that it cannot identify and that has no driver. 

IO am going to have to replace it, and I just wonder if the HP Spectre line is ready for business. I have mostly had Thinkpad laptops, and never had issues like this. I know that I might just be unlucky, but I thought I would check before investing in another HP. I am not saying that my experience is normal, but it would help to know what others have experienced.  Thanks.

[Huffer]

You have a lemon there. The key is the ghosting on the screen. I believe you likely have a bad motherboard/video card. It happens. I see a lot of laptops and have owned a lot of laptops and it happens to Thinkpads, and all other computer hardware. Right now I have a Thinkpad X1 Carbon and I am generally happy with it but I would not recommend it to anyone else as we have bought two of them for my office and both have very weird issues with the Thunderbolt ports. But I digress. 

What kind of laptop to buy is a very personal choice. I feel like I know more than the average consumer and I would not hesitate to buy an HP laptop that met my needs in terms of specs. I don't really think of laptops as brands I think of them as a collection of hardware components because just about all of them are made in exactly the same few giant factory complexes in China from the same pool of parts. Branding is how "the man" wants you to think about products but its not reality. Get the best deal on the laptop with the features you want and need. HP is nearly always price competitive because of the volume of product it sells. 

[vasubandu]

Thanks, that is helpful. I had a 3rd generation X1 Carbon and was entirely satisfied with it. The Spectre seems well made, but I hate the function keys. The X1 Extreme looks interesting. My son has a 17 inch MSI gaming laptop with a 17.3 inch screen that weighs just shy of 5 pounds. Tempting. I prefer a 15 inch screen, but the14 inch X1 at 1080 was OK.

I tend to see them same way you do. This has been my first foray into HP. Dell sells crap as I see it. I have to say I am not impressed with their current lineup.

Any else out there that I should be looking at? 

[Huffer]

I have not owned anything other than HP and Lenovo for quite some time. If you could give us a list of your specific needs (screen size, etc.) and budget it would help to narrow down the options out there which can be overwhelming. 

[vasubandu]

Thanks.I am the same as you. all HP or lenovo. I have wanted to like the Asus Zenbook series, but I just can't quite get there. My kids are into gaming, and I actually like the Razer and MSI laptops. Might look a little out of place in court, but so do I. But the Razer 15.6 is 4.5 pounds. The X 1 Extreme 1080 is 3.76. The Spectre x360 15t Touch is 4.59.

I have been impressed with the Razer build quality, but $1,900 seems a bit rich even with the specs. https://www.amazon.com/Razer-Blade-15-Smallest-i7-8750H/dp/B07D39HTMS/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=Razer+Blad...

I find it hard to fault the X 1 Extreme. You mentioned Thgunderbolt issues, but I had plenty of those with my HP.

The again, the normal X1 is still hard to comprehend. For around $1,400, a 2.5 pound laptop that functions. I just wish their configuration options made more sense. Feels like I am buying floor mats for a car. 

I really like my kid's MSI, but the new 15.6 runs $1,600 well equipped, and weighs 4.11 pounds. The crazy one is the GS 75 with a 17.3 inch 144 Hz 1080 screen and RTX 2060 video. It weighs 4.96 pounds and can be found for $1,900. 5 pounds is a lot these days, but with a 17 inch screen, I might go for it.

All told given my good experience with Lenovo and my not so great experience with HP, I am learning towards the X1 Extreme. I am too cheap to payu retail, and except for the HP, I have never had a problem.  Right now it looks like Lenovo has a nice 8400H machine for $1,500. I guess I need to talk to people who have used them.

Thanks for your insights.