Should you choose a laptop with a metal case?

Question

laptops

Does it make sense to choose a laptop with a metal case, besides aesthetics, is there any practical benefit?
Many reviews mention that a metal case dissipates heat more efficiently, is that true?
Are there any modern materials comparable in strength to metal? Some phones, for example, are made in carbon fiber, but this does not apply to laptops (and does it make sense)? It seems that Sony had models with such a case.

Answer 1

Yes, the metal case has a great practical use. Improved thermal management is just one of the factors. The main one is the reliability of the case and the safety of its contents. Were in ancient times, about 5-7 years ago. solid plastic products with metal stiffeners. Now consumer goods rule the ball. For show off, some manufacturers stick an aluminum overlay on the plastic of the upper part of the case - a kind of foil cardboard.
But you must understand that a good thing will cost good money. Good luck.

Answer 2

I have a macbook pro 13, it's made of aluminum, it has a core i5, but it heats up only at the time of video processing or during long calculations in Matlab. The bottom cover is heated, but not so much. All other elements remain cool.

Answer 3

There is another interesting factor, the metal cases of laptops are tactilely unpleasant for me.
Slightly rough plastic is much better.
As for strength - Lenovo are good. There are no problems with heat dissipation either, I have NVidia on board, when it works at full strength, it heats up, but not excessively.

Answer 4

Lenovo has a magnesium alloy case in the ThinkPad series, like carbon fiber is even somewhere.
With regards to metal - I don’t like it - it dissipates heat, but on contact surfaces - hands lying on the keyboard, or knees if standing on them.

Answer 5

I have a magnesium alloy dell vostro v13. I have never heard how the fan works, I have never felt excessive heat transfer to my hands and knees. But the iron in it is not powerful, and therefore the temperature is not high.

Answer 6

From experience I can say that in theory it’s worth bothering with attaching the screen to the case. The ancient ASUS A3F made of ordinary plastic still works fine for me, but with one mechanical problem. The hinges between the screen and the body in it are iron, almost eternal. But due to the old age of the body plastic, the fastening of the body to the hinges collapsed. Because of this, the screen has to be leaned against some kind of object in order to work normally.
In practice, your laptop will most likely break down earlier for other reasons
. My advice is that it makes sense to bother with case materials only if you are sure that you are buying a really reliable thing, but it is expensive as always.
For example this one:

Answer 7

So far, mainly "carbon" is available. Real carbon is expensive and resembles tempered glass in properties. It is strong enough, but then it crumbles. However, the bulk of the hulls go "under the Carbon". So don't win the price. Everything else is from the Evil One. Intel, in order to promote its "own" development of "ultrabook", not wanting to reduce the cost of processors, forced manufacturers to look for ways to reduce the cost of other components. Hence the new wave of interest in carbon fiber in the manufacture of laptop cases.

Answer 8

My sister, a designer, bought herself an aluminum laptop of a certain model IWKA012, it weighs 1.3 Kg, on i5, it lasts 6-8 hours. He often takes it with him when he travels on business trips. I saw this laptop myself, I liked it, it's Ivy Bridge on I5, SSD 128, very smart and quiet. The display is very bright 1.3, rich colors. It cost $ 700, she bought it for herself in January, she says that she is satisfied. I myself am skeptical about non-branded laptops, but if there is hardware from Intel, a branded SSD and memory, then you can not overpay for the brand itself.
I myself go with the ThinkPad X220 - also metal, also quiet.