Lap top

[zr nate]

where can i go to buy a quality Laptop without spending thousands? I use word, windows and itunes etc so don't need anything super cool. Any advice would be appreciated.....

[SuperDave]

Avoid Vista and the micro lap tops as I'm told they struggle to run more than two programs. HP, Compaq, Toshiba are the best brands in lap tops; just go for something cheap from them. Only thing left to consider is hard drive space.

[CHA54]

buy whatever has the best warranty, the laptops with a "full metal jacket" or complete mag-alloy casing are much better than the plastic notebooks too. These days you wouldn't really want to get anything with less than a core2 duo cpu, 3gb of system memory and dedicated video card/ram

[STYLSH]

There are a few MSI ones seemed to be very good value! Will you ever use this laptop for games since they have very nicely specc'ed out laptop that doesnt cost arm.

In terms of build quality, you can't go past Asus though - 2 year global warranty too. :) My one is 3 years old and hasnt had a single problem, still plays current games too! However they do have a small premium in terms of price for the quality.

Edited July 4, 2009 by STYLSH

[the_random_hero]

Picked up an AWESOME laptop from DSE for my girlfriend not so long back, dualcore 2.4ghz processor, 3gb RAM, 256mb graphics, 160gb HD, etc for around $1100 outright.

[Leroy]

Avoid Vista and the micro lap tops as I'm told they struggle to run more than two programs. HP, Compaq, Toshiba are the best brands in lap tops; just go for something cheap from them. Only thing left to consider is hard drive space.

No way dude, stay well away from HP and Compaq.

Toshiba is top notch, as is Fujitsu, as is ASUS.

I would be going ASUS... but how big do you want it to be? You can pick up a base spec ASUS notebook for around 800 bucks. Its 15" (so a bit chunky), but seeing as you don't need to run anything super on it, anything else would really only be paying for cosmetics.

[CHA54]

Anything from Quanta's usually pretty good, the Compal's are typically a bit cheaper Those are the two biggest manufacturers anyway... Make sure you dont buy anything from old-stock with a nvidia graphics card though.

Edited July 6, 2009 by CHA54

[cruzer]

asus are really good everyone i know have had asus and have had no problems

[Oldsaltoz]

Quote:

No way dude, stay well away from HP and Compaq.

Toshiba is top notch, as is Fujitsu, as is ASUS.

Have to agree with this, Compaq, HP and Dell all have exclusive drivers and some even have exclusive software and hardware, making them difficult to repair and costly for replacement parts or even repairs.

Make sure any portable has all industry standard available parts and programs with no hidden partitions, and you should get better performance and reliability with cheaper repair costs.

[CHA54]

what notebook has "all industry standard available parts"?

I know I've worked on a few HP's and Dell's that share parts like motherboards, CPU's, LCD assemblies, Video cards etc. Hell, I even flashed a HP with a Dell BIOS to get better video performance :P

[MR22ZZ]

Get a Lenovo, they are built like a brick.

Other than that, I've got an ASUS which runs brilliantly, but is very plasticy and is showing wear and tear and starting to fall apart after just 1 year.

Steer clear of HP and Compaq.

Dell is not too bad, but not as good as the Lenovo.

[SuperDave]

Curious to know the reasons behind avoiding HP/Compaq (same company anyway).

[Leroy]

Curious to know the reasons behind avoiding HP/Compaq (same company anyway).

I can't remember the proper term for it (along the lines of __ware: eg - nagware, spyware, etc), but HP, Compaq, Dell (and even Sony Vaio to a small extent) always come bundled with a whole heap of unnecessary programs/processes that constantly run and slow the machine down. I'm sure this is either 1. product placement, or 2. an attempt to ensure you have to bring your product directly to them for servicing.

Often (as cha54 said) you can get rid of them and live without.

Unfortunately, a huge proportion of the time, they are installed through other programs - or are proprietary drivers (or similar, eg power management) - and you will either delete something you wanted, or (worst case scenario) the hardware simply wont run.

(PS - mr22zz - Lenovo is the old IBM. IBM now limit their branded activity to business software/security, whilst outsourcing the hardware side of their business to Taiwanese firm Lenovo)

Edited July 7, 2009 by Leroy

[CHA54]

The reasons I hear the most from companies that have shifted away from HP is the level and speed/response of service they receive doesn't meet expectations and that delivery times and orders dont meet expectations through resellers. The second point isn't as much of an issue if you're buying old stock and dont want something custom built for you.

Having been in the industry so long now I've noticed that it's swings and roundabouts... Some companies in particular will change to another manufacturer for the hell of it every three years when the fleet is up for renewal (talking 5-20 thousand systems here, not just one or two :P). Have also seen some instances where the company will switch back to their old supplier within 12 months of the initial change when delivery and service once again doesn't meet SLA's and expectations.

Another thing you see is where a new CIO comes in from a different company/organisation, then makes the decision to change to his preferred vendor even if the previous vendor has been supplying perfectly good service from for a number of years without issue. This can really annoy the "troops on the ground" especially when they're so used to working with one company's products and know them very well.

Edit: with regard to the bloatware, all the customers I work with develop their own SOE... All manufacturers provide easy-to-access drivers/management applications that allow technical users to develop these SOE's. Some manufactuers even publish guides to assist the technical staff in loading the drivers and configuring the OS for best performance.

Eg, my work laptop runs vista, it runs perfectly and is extremely responsive/fast. I was previously a bit anti-vista but the guys have done a good job with the SOE so it runs better than my previous XP setup.

IMO the pre-installed apps from HP (Trial Mcaffe security suite etc) aren't really a reason to not buy HP/Compaq.

Edited July 7, 2009 by CHA54

[MR22ZZ]

(PS - mr22zz - Lenovo is the old IBM. IBM now limit their branded activity to business software/security, whilst outsourcing the hardware side of their business to Taiwanese firm Lenovo)

I know this, and that's why I recommend them.

The IBM Thinkbook platform was unbreakable and this is what the Lenovo is based on.

I know several people with Lenovos since the rebranding and all of them are 100% satified.

The price difference is why I bought an ASUS over the Lenovo and I regret it.

[BanHien]

....Some companies in particular will change to another manufacturer for the hell of it every three years when the fleet is up for renewal (talking 5-20 thousand systems here, not just one or two :P). Have also seen some instances where the company will switch back to their old supplier within 12 months of the initial change when delivery and service once again doesn't meet SLA's and expectations. ....

Totally agreed - Can't say HP or Dell or .... laptops are bad because just one unit or two.

BH

Edited July 15, 2009 by BanHien

[69.NIX]

Asus or Dell - had both never had any problems

i'm a mac book pro person, so yeah......