What laptop should I get?

[DiscGo]

I currently have a Sony Vaio and I hate it. I'm looking to get a new laptop and this is the laptop at which I am currently looking: This one (http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=A8BD70F2FA1D43DEA0E8890120B6F648)

Does anyone else have a better suggestion? I'd be curious to know what laptop you recommend and why?

Thanks guys

[stefan]

I currently have a Sony Vaio and I hate it. I'm looking to get a new laptop and this is the laptop at which I am currently looking: This one (http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=A8BD70F2FA1D43DEA0E8890120B6F648)

Does anyone else have a better suggestion? I'd be curious to know what laptop you recommend and why?

Thanks guys

so, i think you should first describe what you dislike about the vaio and, subsequently, describe what you're looking for in a laptop. all of 'em are different, so knowing what you're focused on might help those with experience make more precise suggestions for ya.

[Alex]

It's all really comes down to your liking and need (like stefan said).

1. Are you a PC manly man or a Mac tree hugger? ( :lol8: had to sneak that one in there)
2. Do you use your laptop for gaming?
3. Do you do heavy photoshop/video editing?
4. Do you need it light and small, or don't care about weight size?
5. Do you want a desktop replacement or on the go ?
6. Do you need bunch of USB2, Firewire, DVD-R, BlueRay/HD-DVD?

There is a crazy sale in Dell, (today only, it's part of their 10 days of deals deal) M1210 looks very nice. Its light weight, big enough screen, plenty of RAM and has a decent card for occasional gaming.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/dod_xpsm1210?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

But reply to my questions above and I am sure everyone will throw in their own opinions and you can chose from.

If you are going with a PC brand, stick with Dell or HP. Those are the major players in laptop business. I heard good things about Utah based company PC Laptops, but I just don't trust the "little guys" anymore.

I have used a Dell laptop as my desktop at work for about 10 years now. My work is full HP and all but one (mine) are HP laptops. They are just as good as Dell really, all bells and whistles.

[asdf]

http://www.alienware.com/product_detail_pages/Aurora_mALX/aurora-m_overview.aspx?SysCode=PC-LT-AURORA-M-ALX&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT

MuhHAHHAHAHAHAHA

aww...too bad its the price of a used car. But we all SHOULD have one.

[stefan]

that laptop's 15 LBS :lol8:

[Alex]

that laptop's 15 LBS :lol8:

And your point is? It's a good exercise when you go home or drag it to the bathroom....err did I say that out loud?

[gonzo]

One of my coworkers has an older AlienWare laptop, and he's not impressed. Sure, it looks sweet, but the sucker weighs about 560 lbs, has horrible battery life, and isn't all that fast.

I've also been less than impressed with Dell's laptops - especially the low end models. Cheap keyboards, so-so displays, bad battery life. I do like my HP laptop though.

[donny h]

Looking to drop 5K+?

http://www.stealthcomputer.com/portables_notebook.htm

[gonzo]

Looking to drop 5K+?

http://www.stealthcomputer.com/portables_notebook.htm

How is that Stealth? You could spot that sucker from a mile away.

[stefan]

Looking to drop 5K+?

How is that Stealth? You could spot that sucker from a mile away.

:lol8: :lol8: :lol8:

[stefan]

that laptop's 15 LBS :lol8:
And your point is?


uhh ... that's like heavier than all but the heaviest bowling balls and stuff

[asdf]

One of my coworkers has an older AlienWare laptop, and he's not impressed. Sure, it looks sweet, but the sucker weighs about 560 lbs, has horrible battery life, and isn't all that fast.


Key word here is "older". But they are a bit over priced

AMD Turion

[PunchKing]

NERDZ!!!!!

[stefan]

NERDZ!!!!!

uh oh ... them's fighin' werdz :nono: :haha:

[Alex]

NERDZ!!!!!

...and proud of it :haha:

[Scott Card]

I have a Dell Inspirion 9400. It's silver. It has a big flat screen with pretty colors. When I push the little round button it turns on. I can type real good. I can play a movie. I like it a lot. (That pretty well sums up my knowledge and contribution to this thread.)

[sparker1]

Unless you pay a fortune for them, laptops are likely to have more problems just because of travel bumps. I have been happy with both my HP laptops. The current one has a 17" screen (very bright, BTW), dual core, 2GB of RAM, NVIDIA graphics, large cache, 120GB of HD, lots of USB, etc, etc. It cost less last year than the ThinkPad you are looking at, despite having much more in features. When I was active and running computer centers, some others in my position always bought IBM. We had as good or better results with others and saved millions.

[DiscGo]

My Sony laptop has been horrible. It will tell me that I have an excellent signal and not allow me to access the internet (all the time). With or without a wireless card. The battery life is very poor, and is just all around poor. The laptop is fine when I plug it in, but the battery life and the wireless capability just suck.

So I am pretty much looking for the opposite in this purchase. I would love to spend less money, I just don't want to compromise quality. I would like to be able to surf the web, watch a movie, look at pictures and keep track of finances without worrying about my cord falling out or the battery life dying.

Thanks for the help guys. I hope you are all doing great!

P.S. Hopefully if I get this laptop soon, I'll start being on more again.

[Iceaxe]

There is a crazy sale in Dell, (today only, it's part of their 10 days of deals deal) M1210 looks very nice. Its light weight, big enough screen, plenty of RAM and has a decent card for occasional gaming.

OK, Alex... I just ordered one of these suckers and I'm holding you responsible. I've been meaning to get a laptop for a while but never got around to it. I had been looking at Dell's and the price was good so I pulled the trigger.

Now I can spend even more time on the computer. :haha:

I pretty much wanted the computer to do my books on and so I can keep track of my Fantasy Football team while watching the games on the 50" plasma. :2thumbs:
.

[Alex]

I am on RSS feeds for Dell deals and this is the first time I saw they do thise 10 days of Deals deal. That laptop is a great buy for the money.

One trick to these big names computers is to uninstall all the crappy adaware/shareware/trial software they put on them to keep the price of the hardware lower. Make sure to uninstall Norton or it will drive you insane. I really like AVG it's free and does the job right.

I am not big fan of Google Desktop either, takes a lot of resources to run and constantly grinds your harddrive.

[R]

There's nothing sexier than a MacBook Pro...

http://store.apple.com

-R :nod:

[nelsonccc]

There's nothing sexier than a MacBook Pro...

http://store.apple.com

-R :nod:

Definately the way to go. the new macs run both systems, fasst. I run Autocad and 3D Max in windows, switch to mac for photoshop. Love it. When I get to the office I plug it into the 23" screen. Ummm yummy. Works just as fast as my PC Dell laptop, but it absolutely gorgeous without any of the problems I had with my PC laptop.

[asdf]

I really like AVG it's free and does the job right. :2thumbs: AVG is some good stuff.
I run AVG, SpyBot and AdawareSE.

I will be in the market for a laptop soon. My last laptop was $2500 500mhz, 15inch LCD, 256SD ram, 10gig drive, 16mb video, and a $350 4x external USB CD-R :roflol: :roflol: :roflol:
I could rip a dvd over night :roflol: :roflol: :roflol:

[nosivad_bor]

There's nothing sexier than a MacBook Pro...

http://store.apple.com

-R :nod:

Definately the way to go. the new macs run both systems, fasst. I run Autocad and 3D Max in windows, switch to mac for photoshop. Love it. When I get to the office I plug it into the 23" screen. Ummm yummy. Works just as fast as my PC Dell laptop, but it absolutely gorgeous without any of the problems I had with my PC laptop.

i never looked into it that much but when i say autocad wasn't mac compatible i never looked much further. so your saying you can get it to run by installing windows on the mac? or is there a program that fools acad into thinking its running on windows?

rob

[Iceaxe]

One trick to these big names computers is to uninstall all the crappy adaware/shareware/trial software they put on them to keep the price of the hardware lower. Make sure to uninstall Norton or it will drive you insane. I really like AVG it's free and does the job right.

:lol8: Funny you should mention this.... I told Dell not to install any of their crappy programs on my computer... they said OK but it will cost you $10 extra.

I paid the $10 extra. I considered it a bargin not to have all the crap loaded on.

[Gutpiler_Utahn]

If I was to buy a laptop, I'd stick with the Dells. End of this month (6/29 I think) they launch their latest & greatest systems, tough I don't remember the names. I was able to play with some of them during the training classes and I have to tell ya... they're pretty sweet. Personally, I think Dell made a mistake by switching over strictly to Vista, but all in all, the dell computers have a built in diagnostic feature that is a life saver when trying to find out what broke.

By the way... Alienware? That's also Dell... They bought them out so they could use them to test the latest/greatest technologies before incorporating them into the Dell systems. :roll:

[R]

http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

[the voice]

Crazy where we are at today with technology. Back in the 80's IBM introduced the AT which stood for Advanced Technology and sold for 10 to 15 k. Today, for $500 to $3,000 it is incredible what you get. What are you using it for and what is your budget? Right now my laptop is an Acer running an AMD Turion 64 processor. The support has been OK. My desktop is a Dell Precision 650 running a ZEON Processor and the support has been awesome. A good friend just bought an HP and the support is OK. He has had some issues when he wanted to get help to find the drivers to run it as a dual boot system. Like I said it really depends on what you need. I have been thinking of going to a new Ma Book because it will dual boot the mac OS and Windows and I can run final cut pro on it. Just a little problem, the cash. My Father in law is looking at a new laptop and I am doing some recon for him this weekend. My recommendation would be DELL. The best value is one that is driven by an AMD Turion 64x2 processor and you want to make sure the support states that is is North American support - Not fine dell support which is out of India. On laptops because they are mobile I would definitely get the extended support and damage, because stuff happens. Circuit City has a pretty good customer review on their products. We will probably be going with Dell or Acer fro my Father in law. Hope this helps Have great weekend !

[stefan]

if price is an issue, you might want to consider a refurbished mac

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=3929D548&node=home/specialdeals/mac

one is even up to 45% off

EDIT: the 45% is now gone. these also change frequently so check back.

[stefan]

actually i'd recommend gettin' this laptop ... only 30 incher on the market

http://www.talics.de/wp-content/images/powerbook.jpg

[Iceaxe]

OK, I just got my new laptop from Dell today..... what a piece of shit!

I turned it on and...... nothing..... :frustrated:

I called Dell, spent an hour on the phone with them, they are sending me a bunch of parts that I have to swap out, parts will be hear next week and no promise this will fix the problem..... what a bunch of crap....

....I think I'll slug Alex next time I see him.

:compthrow:

[stefan]

parts? what gives? :ne_nau:


shane ... man, i'da lost it

[nelsonccc]

There's nothing sexier than a MacBook Pro...

http://store.apple.com

-R :nod:

Definately the way to go. the new macs run both systems, fasst. I run Autocad and 3D Max in windows, switch to mac for photoshop. Love it. When I get to the office I plug it into the 23" screen. Ummm yummy. Works just as fast as my PC Dell laptop, but it absolutely gorgeous without any of the problems I had with my PC laptop.

i never looked into it that much but when i say autocad wasn't mac compatible i never looked much further. so your saying you can get it to run by installing windows on the mac? or is there a program that fools acad into thinking its running on windows?

rob

The new mac OS will partition the drive and you can hold down the alt key during boot up and select which OS you want to run. They've had a beta version of it for a while now. You can get it at their website as long as you're running the Mac OS on an intel based board.

Before the new OS came along I ran it in a windows emulator and to be honest with you I never noticed a slow down vs. the autocad on my pc.

[Iceaxe]

They are sending me a new hard drive that is imaged and a new DVD R/W.

I can turn the computer on but it gets to a progress bar and never moves past that. Like the computer is looking for something it can't find.

You can access the DVD from an ESC while booting but that piece of crap doesn't work either. I put the set up disk in the DVD and it carved a circle around the top of the disk... real quality :roll:

We'll see what happens when the new parts get here, but I don't have time to spend screwing around with it so they get one chance to fix it and then its going back....

:rockon:

[the voice]

They are sending me a new hard drive that is imaged and a new DVD R/W.

I can turn the computer on but it gets to a progress bar and never moves past that. Like the computer is looking for something it can't find.

You can access the DVD from an ESC while booting but that piece of crap doesn't work either. I put the set up disk in the DVD and it carved a circle around the top of the disk... real quality :roll:

We'll see what happens when the new parts get here, but I don't have time to spend screwing around with it so they get one chance to fix it and then its going back....

:rockon:

Sorry to hear you are getting off to a rocky start with the Dell. Not that it helps, but at least they will send you the parts and work with you instead of telling you that you have to send it to them to get it fixed like acer told me I was going to have to if I wanted the shell on the screen fixed. Estimated time 2 to 3 weeks. Wasn't what I understood when I signed up for the extended contract. In business, that is totally unacceptable. So it is a Mac for me and we send the acer off, get it fixed and the wife gets a laptop. Still considering Dell for my father in law however. Which model did you get? With it having those issues did you ask them just to replace the whole unit since it is brand new. They should be able to just DOA the thing. I really hope it works out :2thumbs:

[Alex]

They are sending me a new hard drive that is imaged and a new DVD R/W.

I can turn the computer on but it gets to a progress bar and never moves past that. Like the computer is looking for something it can't find.

You can access the DVD from an ESC while booting but that piece of crap doesn't work either. I put the set up disk in the DVD and it carved a circle around the top of the disk... real quality :roll:

We'll see what happens when the new parts get here, but I don't have time to spend screwing around with it so they get one chance to fix it and then its going back....

:rockon:

Ouch Shane, sorry to hear you are having so much issues. I haven't had one bad Dell laptop yet. I can take a look at it if you like, bring it by my house.

[asdf]

So I am pretty much looking for the opposite in this purchase. I would love to spend less money, I just don't want to compromise quality. I would like to be able to surf the web, watch a movie, look at pictures and keep track of finances without worrying about my cord falling out or the battery life dying.

Well if you are looking for a good cheep laptop - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=17

[Alex]

So I am pretty much looking for the opposite in this purchase. I would love to spend less money, I just don't want to compromise quality. I would like to be able to surf the web, watch a movie, look at pictures and keep track of finances without worrying about my cord falling out or the battery life dying.

Well if you are looking for a good cheep laptop - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=17

That's the problem, he got a semi cheap laptop...

[Rev. Coyote]

Disc;

Hope all is well in Alaska, and you're having a riot.

OK -- Laptop. I have a Mac and a Dell. The Dell is a business computer (a reconditioned unit) supplied by my company. Not a bad little machine, but I run virus updates (AVG) every day and run cleanup and defrag about every three days. All I do on that machine is type articles into Word docs, do limited Internet stuff, use Outlook for company e-mail, and run a weird database program we use (called FAME). The Dell is a Latitude D620 running Windows 2000.

The Mac (G4 iBook) is the better of the two. Way faster, great wireless (Mac uses a thing called Air Port), and a really sweet media bundle. I'd go Mac. I've used them since (get this) 1987. Oh, and I also have a Mac desktop G4, another great machine. PC people can get real nasty about Macs in much the same way Chevy people get nasty about Toyotas.. But in this case a more apt comparison would be Hyundai (PC) v. Mercedes. Hyundais will get you across town, but...

Another great thing about Mac is viruses are extremely rare -- just not enough jackasses out there writing them. Mac CAN get a virus, but (knock on wood) I've not dealt with one yet on any Mac I've had. Also, the photo program that comes standard with the Mac iLife bundle is probably my favorite thing, since I take a lot of pics.

If you're a "gamer," I don't know what to advise.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Rev. Coyote

[Alex]

Rev you have valid points, but Hyandai vs Merc? Come on now.....let's not go that low. There are no viruses for Macs because just like you stated, only 7% of the computer world uses Macs, so for the hacker to make the most damage he'd write a virus that hits the majority (PC world).

If you Mac people pimp Macs enough, you will get enough viruses than you bargained for.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Jkrn6ecxthM

[Rev. Coyote]

Rev you have valid points, but Hyandai vs Merc? Come on now.....let's not go that low.

I use both PC and Mac side by side, so the comparison is clear.

Now mind you, Hyundais are much better than they used to be, just like PCs are. But it's basic transportation.

I was surprised though to hear Disc dissatisfied with the Sony. I thought they were really nice machines.

[Alex]

Rev you have valid points, but Hyandai vs Merc? Come on now.....let's not go that low.

I use both PC and Mac side by side, so the comparison is clear.

Now mind you, Hyundais are much better than they used to be, just like PCs are. But it's basic transportation.

I was surprised though to hear Disc dissatisfied with the Sony. I thought they were really nice machines.

Viao used to be the Walmart quality laptops, I am not sure where you shop bud.

[Rev. Coyote]

Viao used to be the Walmart quality laptops, I am not sure where you shop bud.

Really? I just made an assumption, having had good experiences with other Sony products. Never tried one of their computers.

(Bud?)

[Alex]

Well, they are ok laptops, I have done a lot of service on them in the past and the hardware on them is really cheap and doesn't last for anything. Overheating issues and flimsy plastics. They may have changed now, I am basing my opinion on my past experiences.

[asdf]

Viao used to be the Walmart quality laptops, I am not sure where you shop bud.

Really? I just made an assumption, having had good experiences with other Sony products. Never tried one of their computers.

(Bud?)

Every viao I have ever worked with had issues. All OEMS suck but building your own laptop it not nearly as cost effective as a desktop.

As far as macs.. they are pretty sweet I would love one to edit video (but I also need a camera). For some reason I don't like the fact that Mac would have both my nuts with hardware and software as apposed to MS just have one.

[ericchile]

ASUS has some nice laptops that are good specs or build your own from their chasie.

[Iceaxe]

For those still playing along at home...

I got my new parts from Dell (harddrive and DVD), put them in and same old problem, its still a piece of crap and will not boot up.... this is supposed to be one of Dell's higher end laptops....

anyhoo... I have to spend two more hours on the phone playing the boot and try this game... I keep telling the tech I want to return or exchange the laptop.... finally I told the tech I was going to shove the laptop up his ass if he didn't connet me with someone who had the power to get me a new one (those were my exact words).... that seemed to work..... 15 minutes later after being transfered 5 more times around Dell Hell and I had a new laptop on the way. Only down side is 10 to 15 days.

:rockon:

[Alex]

Man what a nightmare man, I feel bad for you. I am just going to stop referring anything/anyone to anyone from now on.

Like I said in the past, I went through about 7 Dell laptops in the past and never have I had experience like that. The DellIndian support is pretty bad though, I tend to agree. You really have to get to higher level techs to get anything done.

[Iceaxe]

I don't blame you Alex.... I just hope the replacement works.

[ericchile]

I find that anyone that gets DELL's from the workplace they are great... I have had about 30+ in my workplace with little to no problems...

I recommended my wife's cousin get one.... She basically had the same problem as above, and got a dud.... Since I was the in between man, I demanded that they send a completely new one (She hadn't had it 3 days when it went belly up)...

Dells at work = good
Dells at home = sucks (plus you India tech support)


Best thing to do if you find yourself in a situation as above is tell them you are going to do a charge back on your credit card if the problem isn't fixed quickly.

[Alex]

I have ordered about 7 laptops for home users (cheapo kind) and all of them have been great....

[DiscGo]

Click here: This is the laptop with which I went (http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/hp-pavilion-dv9500t/4505-3121_7-32432739.html?tag=prod.txt.1)

[sparker1]

This is a later version of what I bought last year. Mine has 1.81 GZ AMD processors and only 120GB of HD. Also, yours comes with Vista while mine is XP. I like the screen a lot, and most of my use is photographs. The HD is all that slows my system, they need to address that for all machines, not just HP. I think you will like this one. I never buy extended warranties for anything, except laptops. They will likely need something over the next few years and that means going to the shop. The warranty makes me feel better.

[asdf]

no dvi or hdmi.... :ne_nau:

[the voice]

I find that anyone that gets DELL's from the workplace they are great... I have had about 30+ in my workplace with little to no problems...

I recommended my wife's cousin get one.... She basically had the same problem as above, and got a dud.... Since I was the in between man, I demanded that they send a completely new one (She hadn't had it 3 days when it went belly up)...

Dells at work = good
Dells at home = sucks (plus you India tech support)


Best thing to do if you find yourself in a situation as above is tell them you are going to do a charge back on your credit card if the problem isn't fixed quickly.

OK, I am still on the quest for a new laptop for my father in law. Despite all the issues Iceaxe has had with his Dell experience, I think we are still leaning towards Dell. Conclusion - Buy it under the small business section and go with the Latitude or Precision, which has North American Support and seem to be made much better. The Inspiron and even the XPS from what i can tell are India support. Also we are going with the 3 year limited warranty plus 3 year NBD ( next business day support ) on site service and adding the accidental damage, cause I just don't want to deal with any issues. we will pay a bit more but I just don't have the time to deal with the Dell Hell. For that matter every other option except for MAC we looked at had worse options for service. Every thing is mail in support or depot support. The MAC Apple care seems to be OK it is just the price tag is almost double for close to the same config. Comments - Feedback :ne_nau:

[Iceaxe]

I'm sending this to you from my new Dell Laptop. Dell replaced my piece of crap laptop with a new one that appears to be working great.

Just thought ya'll might like an update.

All things considered I would rate their customer server "fair" on this deal. Sure not like a brick and mortor store where you take it back, hand it over the counter and say give me a call when you get it fixed.

:popcorn: