So it's time to buy a laptop...

Airplay355

I'm going away to school next semester (University of New England in Biddeford Maine) and I'm going to need a new laptop. I'm currently using a 7 year old sony Vaio desktop as my machine and it holds up pretty well for being 7 years old.

I've been looking at laptops and it seems HP has the best deals and such. I've looked around but I'm not really sure where to get the best deal for the least amount of money.

I'd like to have atleast 2gb of RAM, 256 RAM on a dedicated video card, a screen that has a resolution of atleast 1440 x 900 (i think thats the right ratio), 80 gb of HD space, a dvd burner, and preferably the t7200 processor, unless there's a faster AMD one (i don't know how to compare amd to intel).

So that's what I'd like but more is always better. I'd like to have the laptop for a while. I think I'll need to spend $1500 - $2000 but the closer to $1500 the more justifyable all the extra goodies will be.

So is HP my best bet?

Fireman32

I happen to like the HP laptops. Although my next laptop will be an Apple. I have a few friends with the HP's and they love it.

John in MA

It's hard to get a laptop that's any good these days, but the some HP models and corporate Dells are OK. I'm a fan of R-series Thinkpads, too.

Early B.

With your budget I'd go with Apple.

danger boy

git yerself one of those laptops that plays Blu ray discs too. they only run about 3K though. :eek:

BottomFeeder

Heard good things about IBM's, but, in my converted opinion, Apple's are truly the way to go. Easier to use that PC's, more fun, can do anything PC's can and you don't have to worry about viruses and spam.

Go Mac & you won't go back.

Airplay355

I don't want an apple because i like to play games and I'd probably have problems with game compatability.

michael_w

We use t42 and t60 thinkpads at work and they seem to hold up pretty well. It's more of a less flashy design that's built to last in comparison with hp / compaq. Another guy at work spent a fortune on a fuji laptop and it's really cool but with a 10" screen just not all that great to work with. Crazy battery life, weight and size though...

I've had nothing but problems with apple computers / laptops, but that's just me. I'll be sticking with windows or linux for a while.

cmy330go

I've had really good experiences with Toshiba, and recent Compaq, and HP models. However I would avoid any new models with Vista on it. I would consider a good used or refurb model with XP. Vista is just far too resource hungry, and far too slow.

ben62670

You can still get Dell's with windows XP on them. Vista suck donkey. When you go to dell's site select small office, and configure machine. There will be an option for windows XP home. Get it. I can't stress enough the compatibility issues with Vista.

markmarc

Come this summer, Apple will be releasing OS 10.5, with built-in dual OS support, so you can boot into either Mac or Windows natively.

If you stay windows, do yourself a favor and order it online with XP, NOT Vista. Bluntly put, Vista isn't ready yet, not enough third-party support.

liordra

BottomFeeder wrote: »

don't have to worry about viruses and spam.

viruses I get, but spam ? my (vast) experience say different. you're gonna have to use spamassassin or any other spam filter which works and has nothing to do with apple.

like some other ppl wrote. If u r into games, u can pick up a mac and run it with win-xp. no problem.

Macs pack a lot of goodies though. the sound card for example is great, I can really tell the difference between my mac book pro and my other IBM laptop, when I listen to my Senn 595.

If u r sold on a PC , I'd look at acer. some guys at work swear by them.

george daniel

I would say Dell,, until I saw my brother in laws new apple--he travels about 300 days per year (bicycling in other countries) and swears by it. Good luck.

edbert

Go with Apple. They have actually come out with a program that will allow you to run Windows in a separate window while still in OS 10.4, so you don't even have to reboot to use it. That way you can keep all your games, but have all the multimedia capabilities of a Mac. Granted the price may seem higher, but you have to factor in the amount of extra software that you get with a Mac.

exalted512

I needed a laptop for school and I ended up buying a Dell.

My friend has a Mac and had to get rid of it because almost everything he did in school he couldnt do on his mac. They have the new one thatll let you run windows, but I know someone else that has one and the machine is very slow and cost more than my Dell.

If you wait, Dell has very good deals about once a month. I wouldnt own another laptop. Their customization is great, shipping is fast, and you can still get them with XP
-Cody

shawn474

I have one of the new Dell laptops that we got through my job. Got it re-imaged (came with Vista and reimaged with XP). VISTA SUCKS!!!!!! There were like eight or nine of us that got them and every one of us got rid of Vista. I like it a lot and it does what I need it to do.

FWIW, if the Apples would have supproted our software that we use, I would have ordered one of those.

Shawn

MSALLA

I just bought a laptop. I wound up with a Gateway that is good enough for what I need. BUT.... I looked at dell and found if you look under small business you can get a good sale right now. Pick a base system and then pick out options you want . I was looking at $280.00 off when I went to my cart. After you hit $1300.00 The savings gets even bigger. We use dells for work and they have been reliable.

ledhed

I'm also looking at getting one and the only decent option I have found is the Dell Precision line. I do video editing so my requirements are a bit different but the last one I configured had the T7200, 2GB RAM, 512MB Quadro graphics card. It was close to 3K new but, if you get the least RAM and HDD then you can buy better (more RAM, larger and faster HDD) from Newegg and install yourself cheaper than Dell does.

If looking at Dell, check out the outlet - some major deals can be had there.

FWIW, similarly equipped HPs were at least 500 more and for me, Apple doesn't offer anything powerful enough or large enough not to mention they are at least 1K more than similar PCs

Airplay355

so far it seems an HP with all the specifications i stated costs alittle under $1600. I'm not sure i will be able to better then that anywhere.

bobman1235

Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's good. You'd be a lot better off NOT going with HP. Dell, Lenovo (aka IBM), or Apple are all FAR better choices than HP as far as performance and reliability.

audiobliss

bobman1235 wrote: »

Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's good. You'd be a lot better off NOT going with HP. Dell, Lenovo (aka IBM), or Apple are all FAR better choices than HP as far as performance and reliability.

My thoughts, exactly.

Any word on the new Lenovo laptops? I've always drooled over the IBM's, but I've had the chance to 'play around with' a few of the new ones here recently, and they feel pretty cheap. It doesn't necessarily mean they are, but the actual laptop beside the touchpad seems to give a good bit more when squeezed than I'd like.

SWFalken

I have used Apple Powerbooks exclusively since 2000. They are both reliable workhorses that never give me any problems. As for software compatability, I got over that after about a year. Apple's OS is a much better day to day Operating System than Windows will probably ever be. My entire life is on my P-Book, work, personal, financial, everything. Up until recently, gaming on the platform has been pitiful at best, but i think that is changing slowly. The only game that matters "WoW" is mac native, as is X-Plane, the only real flight simulator on the market for desktop systems. You get over Windows so called productivity software very quickly. There are translators available for every file format ever created, and it doesn't really matter very much anyway because if you really need a system to work from home with, your employer should supply you with it anyway. Any 21st century employer that can't supply employees with out of office hardware for work at home isn't worth working for anyway. Macs are great personal computers, and powerfull enough to use for small enterprise. I run my business on one, both the creative side and the day to day running of the financial end.

Shizelbs

I don't love the company, and Michael Dell seems like kind of a ****, but Dell seems to offer a pretty good laptop for the buck.

We have an HP at home, and its fine.

Airplay355

My girlfriend got a dell and it feels like a plastic POS. Not to mention all the horrible software spidered into it. She has problems with hers freezing all the time. I'm inclined to stay away from Dell I guess, even though I did consider Alienware which is a Dell company.

MSALLA

Airplay355 wrote: »

My girlfriend got a dell and it feels like a plastic POS. Not to mention all the horrible software spidered into it. She has problems with hers freezing all the time. I'm inclined to stay away from Dell I guess, even though I did consider Alienware which is a Dell company.

Everyone out looks to be a plastic POS. The gateway I bought is light weight plastic. It was cheap and I don't use it except for bill paynig and club polk. I think if you want real quality, you have to have it custom built or go with a desktop.

audiobliss

Well, I'm not a fan of Dell, perhaps more because of the company than because of the products, I'm not entirely sure.

But, at any rate, where I work we get discounts on Dell, and three of my 'co-workers' have Dell laptops. They all perform flawlessly and they're happy with them as far as I know.

Take that however you will.

I used to be quite opinionated on the subject of laptops. I.E. I loved Compaq, hated HP (I own an HP...HORRIBLE experience), hated Dell/Gateway, loved IBM. But then I read something someone said, maybe even on this forum, about how any given person can have any kind of an experience with any given company, and the experience entirely mis-represent the company.

And I'm not real sure where I was going with that, but I guess I'm a little more open minded about laptops than I used to be.

PhantomOG

I just wonder if these laptop brand bashers are the same ones that complain about people saying American cars are unreliable.

ledhed

MSALLA wrote: »

Everyone out looks to be a plastic POS. The gateway I bought is light weight plastic. It was cheap and I don't use it except for bill paynig and club polk. I think if you want real quality, you have to have it custom built or go with a desktop.

If you go with models past the standards, such as Dell's Insprion line, you get nicer materials such as full Magnesium Alloy and sealed keyboards etc. etc.

Link to comparison

exalted512

My xps m140 laptop fell out of a truck with the screen open on a rock drive way...couple scratches, lot of bad words, but no problems.
-Cody

Airplay355

a sony vaio FE series with everything except 1 GB of RAM instead of 2 came to $1390 pre tax and shipping. I bet I could get a stick of RAM a lot cheaper from newegg then from Sony. So far that seems like my best bet. Plus it's a 15.4 inch screen instead of 17" so the battery life should be better and it will be easier to lug to class.

I looked at the Dell business laptops and they are a lot nicer then I thought, but seem to be too expensive for me with all the things I want. I'm guessins because they come with nicer warrantys and a lot more tech support.

Oh well. Sony has been good to me so far. 7 years and it's still ticking away, I suppose it would make sense to stick with what's good

MSALLA

ledhed wrote: »

If you go with models past the standards, such as Dell's Insprion line, you get nicer materials such as full Magnesium Alloy and sealed keyboards etc. etc.

Link to comparison

We use the Insprion's at work. I have 2 of them but for highend internals, the options are limited. Your not going to get a system that is able to do extensive grafix work until you get up to the XPS.