Laptops

Pretty vanilla question here :roll: but I know theres some smart people on here who can give me some solid advice.

I was generously gifted a laptop of my of choosing before I leave home. So now the pressures on to pick a winner. I'm a bit of a Luddite, not to the point where I can live without a computer, but its unlikely that I'll ever use it for anything more strenuous then watching a live game online. Looking for something solid, frills not necessary, and on the lower end of the price scale(but not crap). If I go over $800 theres gotta be a real good reason because if taking advantage of your grandparents generosity doesn't make you feel like a sicko I don't know what will. So again value for money, solid, easy use, fewest headaches possible. Durability is important. Any recommendations?

 

Spencer, I would advise you to buy a Dell. I have one, my wife has one, my brother-in-law has two and none of them have ever had any issues for us. They are quality and they are durable which is obviously important.

A few things you should definitely get:

At least 2GB of Memory
At least 100 GB hard drive
Dual-Core Processor

One downside of Dell in the past was having to wait to get the computer in the mail but now some Dells are sold in stores like Best Buy.

Personally, I like the Dell Inspirons the best. I have one myself. I have the Dell 1505. The newer version, the 1525 looks really nice.

One last thing to check on is the screen. Some laptops have the shiny screen that can have some nasty reflections from any kind of light versus the nicer, less shiny screens. I guess it all depends on what you like with that.

Regardless, you could get the Dell I described for $700-$750. That is the way I would go. If you have any questions, let me know.

 

Dell.

I bought one in 99. Succeeded by a hand-me-down given to me by my son in about '06. The one I'm using now.

And when they try to sell you the extended warranty.. think of this. My son bought it at the time he gave it to me. My motherboard failed a year later. And three days before the warranty ran out, my cooling fans {CRITICAL} and display bezel/hood were replaced. Free. One day notice.

I wouldnt buy the extended warranty for a tv or a car.. but once you get used to your laptop, that's a whole different story. You want to replace that at a time of YOUR choosing. Not when it fails.

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Dunno what sort of durability you are looking for, but my wife got a wild hair and ordered one of those HSN/QVC laptop packages. Meaning it was loaded with every bit of crap software they could tout, so they could make it look like a bargain at their target $1700 range.

Fortunately, though it was no-name, it has a metal clamshell and is quite solid and durable on its own, though the power plug entry to the clam is fragile.

Here's a hint.. you want built-in wireless adapter. For typical use it should require no add-ons that compromise how you pack or carry it.

 

Spencer, once you go laptop you never go back! They just make that much more sense. That said, with a laptop you get a host of other concerns about battery life, screen size and quality, keyboard issues, and if you have a Toshiba (like myself), some really frustrating power source issues, especially where the cord plugs into the back of the computer.

However, I did help a computer tech friend unload some computer parts on ebay not that long ago. From that experience, I can not recommend Dell, Gateway, HP or Compaq. Toshiba seems to be okay, but Heather hit the nail on the head with Sony Vaio. Not only was there only one sale of this brand (meaning only one instance of this computer tech guys having to deal with that brand over many instances with the others), but it sold at a very high value. Seems that those in the know will take nearly any piece of a Sony Vaio they can get their hands on, and try to upgrade another system or fix the one they get. Apparently a very good re-sale value, which in my mind equates with high quality and satisfaction.

 

Seems to me premium price/high demand for parts works two ways.

Brings to mind parts for British Sports Cars of the sixties.

I can't say anything about the Vaio, though I was in on an ad hoc working group on what features they would promote in the line, but seems to me they had better not be designed and built by the same people that make the A/V stuff.. which is like wrapping crap in a linen napkin..

 

If you go with Dell, be sure to scour the net for deals. There are always specials running. A good place to start is www.gotapex.com. They have an up-to-date list of the various Dell coupon codes. Also, compare the home and business sections of the Dell site. Sometimes they have lower prices in the business section for machines that are almost identical to those in the home section. They also have an outlet section of the website for refurbs and such.

 

BINGO, Martin!

BTW.. forget the Dell Customer Support horror stories of more than a couple years ago. Only idiots {and liberals - heh} would continue doing what doesnt work and Dell aint idiots. Michael Dell might be a Liberal, though.

 

Get a Macbook. It's a fantastic computer and you'll not have to deal with viruses, spyware and the general and inevitable slow down of Windows over time. Of course, if you want Windows, you can always install it on your Macbook using Bootcamp. Plus, you get a student discount at the Apple store online. And, I think you can still get a free iPod touch if you are a student and order a Mac. Double check that, though. Anyway, it may be a bit above your price range but I think you'll be very satisfied with it.

 

Go Macbook. It is a bit pricey but OS X runs lightning fast. I get very impatient when I boot up my old '04 gateway desktop. Plus the lack of viruses and the added magnetic plug in feature keeps maintenance costs down. You'll probably end up paying more for a windows machine in the long run unless you have great anti-spyware and virus programs but by then you could have bought a macbook for the same price. If you do go Mac I recommend MIcrosoft Office for mac i think its the same price as the windows version.

If you must go windows make sure you have a reliable anti-virus & anti-spyware. Get as much RAM as you can within your budget and a good graphics card if you're going to run vista. Other than that I've been out of touch with windows since switching to a mac. The only reason I'd want windows anymore is to program

 

Macs are faster and "cooler", but that comes along with a high price, Dells are your best bet for matching performance with price. But make sure along with your laptop you get an anti-virus software because a bug on a desktop will slow it down, but a bug on a laptop will drive you crazy with the snail-like pace it'll operate at.

 

See I have a theory about viruses on macs. I enjoy to occasionally program some simple applications but when my family switched to mac I found it difficult to be anything but an employee of apple or a hardcore mac fanboy to develop any sort of program on OS X. So less developers = less viruses plus a Unix core doesn't exactly hurt the macs chances of being easily susceptible

 

I think I got your meaning..

Oxymoron = Open Source Software security. Just wait...the Mac Hack Attack WILL happen, and when it does, I'll surely be a little smug about it.

It is to laff.. the unix freaks carping about MicroSux flaws, when the guy sitting right next to him is probably exploiting those just for grins.

To realize that, you just have to think what problems we have with spammers on this site. Many of the 'hole exploits' are done with the same knowledge-set that built the PostNuke and PHPBB modules in the first place.

 

Thanks for all the responses! I'll look into the Dells, Vaios, and Macs. Leaning Dell at the moment.

 

Only too true 'fog! Well I've certainly had bad experiences with Dell but that was probably because it ran Windows Me.... and then upgraded to XP SP1...........

 

Hi Spencer,

I've been a PC buyer for various companies over the years. Dell is my normal staring point for anything. The after service care is excellent. The web site is very strong and the pricing is very competitive. The one downside is that you need to but the re-build cd as an optional extra and rebuilding the machine back to factory default is a pain in the arris.

I'm using a Vaio at the moment to write this. It's small and sylish, powerful enough to do word processing and video streaming, but like for like is more expensive than the Dell. There are some really good tools to support auto updating of Sony drivers and factory installed programmes and I re-build this laptop using the support partion on the hard disk. It took 30 minutes, I did not need to find and other resource to get built and back on the wireless network.

The only thing against Macs is the lack of software compared to the PC market - but if browsing and documents are all you want then you don't need the versatility. Again, I find that there are more people out there who can help with a Windows issue when I'm stuck than with a Mac.

Good luck and happy hunting.

 

One other thing to consider is that with a Mac, both the operating system and the computer are from the same company. So, if you have a problem, you know who to talk to. And, Apple's customer service has been rated pretty highly.

While there may be more Windows programs out there, in a vast majority of cases, there are Mac equivalents which are as good, if not better, than their Windows couterparts. And, if you really, really have to have a certain Windows program, you can install Windows via Boot Camp and viola! You have a Windows laptop.

The only prohibitive factor is the price, which actually is not much more than a similarly equipped Windows computer. It's just that Apple doesn't let you customize as much and they start you off at a bit higher level than some of the Windows PC companies.