Does HP make a laptop with reliable hinges?

[Epicurus1]

The hinges on my HP 17t failed after a year and a half.  Fortunately, I purchased the extended warranty,

Evidently, this has been a problem with HP laptops since 2011.  It's a design/materials issue.  The problem probably arises because metal screws and hinges are screwed into plastic.  The plastic gives way after a year or year and a half,.

Doe HP make a laptop with reliable hinges that last, preferably a laptop with an aluminum or metal case?

I would pay more for a laptop that lasts.  Can't American engineers design a reliable product any longer?

Can anyone recommend an HP model or a model from another manufacturer that lasts at least 5 years?

P.S. After10 years of hinge problems, HP should have found a solution years ago.

[Huffer]

Nothing is screwed into plastic. Metal screw mounts are embedded into plastic and the screws attached into those metal mounts. The problem arises because the hinges are made from very light metal and after some usage they tend to seize up so that the torque on the mounts becomes excessive and the laptop pulls apart. 

You are correct that this has been known for years. Engineers who design these things have to keep weight and laptop thickness down to a minimum. HP and other manufacturers could go back to building the Sherman tank laptops offered 15+ years ago but no one would buy them. 

What screen size laptop are you looking for? Another 17 inch model? I can tell you that the mobile workstation models have never had screen hinge issues but they are bulky and expensive. 

[Epicurus1]

Thanks for the reply. 

A friend has an Apple MacBook Pro that is 10 years old, and he hasn't had any hinge problems so apparently it is possible to build a thin, lightweight laptop that doesn't fall apart in 18 months.  Maybe HP engineers should buy one and see what Apple is doing right.

The MacBook has an aluminum case instead of a plastic case.  Maybe that would help.

[Huffer]

Also costs over a thousand dollars. HP builds laptops at all points on the price spectrum. And if you google it you will see the Macbook is not free of hinge issues. 

[Epicurus1]

Thanks again for the reply.

An aluminum case costs $1000? 

Since you probably already know, please tell me which HP models will last at least 4 or 5 years without issues like this.

Lastly, will the repair I am going to get from HP merely give me the same quality hinges I bought originally (i.e. ones which will last 12-18 months), or will the new hinges be better? 

This experience got me thinking about a broader issue.  To all those people who believe the "market" will solve every problem, how many people would buy a laptop knowing that within 18 months the hinges are likely to fail?  The reason manufacturers get away with enriching themselves by selling defective products is because they don't have to disclose even known defects.  Imagine how many people would buy a laptop if the description on the box stated that the hinges are likely to fail within 12 to 18 months of purchase.  Few to NONE.  Most corporate fraud is perpetrated on the public not by misstatements of fact but by omission, i.e. failure to state material facts. 

[Huffer]

Interesting theory. No I meant a MacBook costs at least $1000. Apple builds for a different market segment although I also admire their engineering. The market is not perfect but it sure beats a command economy dictated by those who think they know what is good for everyone. That's called socialism. 

[Epicurus1]

Since you didn't answer the question, I presume my new set of hinges will last only another 12 to 18 months.

Did I suggest that the solution was a command economy or--ugh--the dreaded "socialism?"  No.

How about a regulation that requires manufacturers to disclose known defects if they don't want to rectify them which would allow consumers to make an informed choice?

Or do you want to argue manufacturers should have the right to cheat consumers by lying by omission?

BTW, if you had taken an economics course, you would have learned that all modern economies are what are termed mixed economies, i.e. economies which have segments which are private and market driven (capitalist) and segments which are public (socialist).  In the U.S. examples of the public segments of our economy are the military, the police, the fire department, roads, bridges, parks, etc.  We started out with private police and fire companies until people found out that the fire companies were setting fires in order to drum up business.  There are enterprises where markets result in perverse incentives and undesirable results.  The term for this is market failure.

[Huffer]

You do not want to compare resumes with me, friend. You can presume what you will. Cheap rhetorical trick.

HP sells millions of laptops and a few have hinge issues. Also true of other manufacturers, by the way. A list of everything that has a 2% or 5% chance of going wrong would just fly over the head of the average consumer. Take it up with your legislator. 

[Epicurus1]

The hinge problem affects only 2%-5% of HP laptops?

That is somewhat reassuring.

[Huffer]

That's probably high. But of course there are no statistics published. You have never answered what size screen you are looking for. The laptops with external hinge mechanisms like the Spectre 13-v series seem not to have hinge issues at all. 17 inch models seem more prone which makes sense as the torque would be greater the bigger the lid that is on the hinge. The mobile workstation models also seem to have no hinge issues.