Buying a laptop

[AltF4]

Hey guys,

So I've decided to buy a laptop this summer and I'm in the process of deciding what exactly I want. I'm perfectly familiar with computers, of course, but not necessarily with particular vendors.

I was wondering if any of you had any notably bad or good experiences with any of the major vendors of laptops. (Dell, HP, Sony, etc...) you can never trust reviews posted on the vendor's website, and online reviews in general can be questionable. So I was hoping to hear some of your thoughts.

I've had a good experience before with my Dell desktop, so there's always that.

 

[Mugquomp]

I have a Dell laptop (Latitude D810) and like it pretty well. It's about three years old now, but still works with only the occasional strange noise. And it's held up pretty well to being mistreated. There are scuffs all over the place, I've spilled some ...liquids on it, and it's none much the worse for wear, except some keys stick (most notably "t" and "w" when I try to open or close tabs in firefox and end up sometimes opening 50 blank tabs at once or closing all of them by mistake). I can't speak much to their customer service because I haven't used it in awhile, and I don't think they'd help me much since I wiped Windows off my laptop and probably forfeited my rights to (...but also my need for...) customer service by doing that, but it was good last time I used it for my parent's computer.

All of my HP products (an old computer, printers, etc.) have always been trash. I'll never buy something from HP again. Perhaps I've just had bad luck, but I'd recommend against purchasing something from that company.

Other than that, I'm not too knowledgeable about different companies. Sony has always been pretty solid for me, but I've only owned their walkmen (the cassette kind, not the new mp3 ones) and cd players, so I have no clue how their computers work.

Just my thoughts, but hope they help you a little. Getting a new computer is always exciting. New hardware just zips right along compared to the old stuff.

 

[Gerudo Warrior]

i had a bad experience with a Hp laptop. It worked fine for 2 years and then the screen died..... and because i was passed the warranty there wasn't a thing i could do about it. So, i just hook it up to a screen when i want to use it.

 

[KOdEx]

I have a Compaq F500 laptop, its less than a year old, has this stupid dead pixel pixel floating around on the screen only noticeable on white or black backgrounds though. Other than that the wireless doesn't work out of the box in Linux(it came with vista, and the bloatware), and its a pain to get it going manually so I just bought a wireless USB adapter.

 

[DOWSER]

I have an hp pavillion. Works great! Don't buy a cheap laptop. Spend a good $700 - $1000 on one that has better quality.

 

[evileric]

These day Dell XPS M1530 is onsale, after reading lots of good reviews about it, I purchased two of them, one for my brother, one for me. We both love the laptops. I was impressed with the fact that in contrast to my other laptops, the battery seemed to last forever and did not lose charging capacity over time. Dell really does a good job, maybe you can look at the deal

http://www.dealstudio.com/viewtopic.php?t=38524&ru=290

 

[SkylerOcon]

Don't chance it with HP. Within three months of getting an HP desktop, the computer locked itself into safemode and wouldn't get out of it.

DELL makes good stuff, but there customer service is a bit lacking. After all, change the D to an H and you know what you get.

I don't have any expirience with any other companies, but Sony usually makes good stuff so I don't think that they'd be a bad choice.

 

[blueGhost]

If you don't mind, I'll just ask this here instead of making a new thread. What's the current standard for dual cores processors? (2 gigahertz? 1.8 what?)

(btw, don't buy from hp. I have a pavillion desktop and the monitor crapped out on me after one year. The pc also locks up for some reason every now and then.)

 

[TheBuzzSaw]

I doubt this is what you are looking for, but I have this:
http://system76.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=47

Abandoning Windows entirely was the best decision I ever made. Now, I own this too:
http://system76.com/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=82

 

[Sensai]

Abandoning Windows is a liberating feeling that I one day hope to feel. I had done it for a bit, but then I discovered TF2...my sweetheart!

I know that I could get it to work on Linux, but for some reason or another I have yet to do it. It'll probably be a weekend project coming up...

Anyways, computers.

I've had pretty shotty experiences from HP and from Compaq, especially in the laptop department. My sister has some Toshiba computer that seems to work fine (I tweak it now and again).

A friend of mine has a Sony Vaio (spelling?) that he is in love with, that I don't think he's had any problems with.

I have an Asus G1S myself and adore every little bit of it, aside from the fact that when I got it I was scared to death that it was overheating (it wasn't).

That answers your question, I think, but I'll keep going anyways:

Are you buying this computer for anything in particular? If you're not, or if it's simply for schoolwork or something non-games related, you might.../gasp\, try a Mac?

 

[TheBuzzSaw]

TF2 = Team Fortress 2, right? That works in WINE under Linux.

 

[AltF4]

Yea, WINE's pretty sweet. It's about to go into 1.XX version too! I haven't had any luck trying to play games on it though... They run all choppy and slow. I think it might not be recognizing my video card or something. Or maybe it's a Direct X problem... I'll look more into it.

If I were to buy a Laptop, I'd do a lot of school work on it primarily. And some work related things. But school for me entails compilation and stuff like that. I need good number crunching performance, not necessarily the beefiest video rendering on the planet, if you know what I mean.

 

[TheBuzzSaw]

Yeah, it sounds like you just have some minor tweaking to do. If WINE runs choppy, it's probably incorrectly accessing your graphics card. It depends on what games you are playing, too. Did you check the WINE DB?

If you want performance, go with LINUX, of course!

 

[Sensai]

Honestly, I have to agree with Buzz. If you're going for performance, like school and work related, Linux is probably your best bet.

...given, that doesn't really answer your question.

I dunno; I really like my Asus...and you can get a pretty good deal for not too high of a price. Pretty sure I saw a souped up version of my current laptop (this one had 4gigs of RAM, 320 GB HDD, nVidia 8600GT, 2.0 GHertz dual-core) for about 1400, tops.

 

[TheBuzzSaw]

If you are genuinely interested in Linux: http://www.system76.com/

Otherwise, take your pick of Windows machines.

 

[secretcode]

Stay away from Acer. For the love of God STAY AWAY FROM ACER. I recieved the laptop for a Graduation Present last year, and while the machine is reasonably fast for the price ($400), this thing is made of parts that makes Lead-Based Painted Toys look awesome... Well. More Awesome (I's a rebel), But remember, what's you pay for is what you get.

Toshiba or HP is the way to go. They're usually top of the line.

 

[AltF4]

Sytem76 seemed marginally more expensive than just at Dell. And I can install Ubuntu myself, I don't need them to do that. In fact, I wouldn't mind a fresh install of Windows anyway. I'm just going to triple boot it as well. I was kind of hoping that place would be much cheaper by not bundling Windows with it.

 

[TheBuzzSaw]

Sytem76 seemed marginally more expensive than just at Dell. And I can install Ubuntu myself, I don't need them to do that. In fact, I wouldn't mind a fresh install of Windows anyway. I'm just going to triple boot it as well. I was kind of hoping that place would be much cheaper by not bundling Windows with it.

Well, the incentive is that the hardware is completely compatible. Whenever I install Ubuntu onto my laptop, all the hardware is found and configured. That is not a simple task on other systems. So, yeah, System76 is a tad more expensive, but I love the hardware. Not having to fight to make anything function makes me a happy saw.

 

[Xsyven]

I'd stay away from Sony Vaios. Mine breaks itself periodically. Right now, it's power input barely works, I can't left-click unless I tap the mouse pad, and it turns off if I move it too suddenly. =/

 

[Grand Mango]

I don't have a laptop right now but my toshiba was good for about 3-4 years before the screen died.

If I were going to recommend something I'd probably go with lenovo, a friend of mine in college has one and his has been running for at least 7 years now. He's still has windows ME or 2000 or something that old, but it still works after that many years.

 

[t0m0]

I myself have an Asus eee pc, the 701. And it works great, it runs Xandros (Linux), and if your planning on using the laptop for web browsing, notes, and very casual gaming then thats the perfect machine for you. AND ITS CHEAP

 

[AltF4]

Hmmm, Dell sells laptops preinstalled with Ubuntu as well. Nice. There's fewer options for them, though.

 

[Sensai]

Um...is buying a computer with Ubuntu already installed something you want? Why not just install it yourself? Also: mind if I ask what you're triple booting? Ubuntu, Windows, and...?

Wow, Vaios break easily? That's really too bad. They look like they'd be pretty decent...

Macs are outta the question, right? Usually when someone mentions Apple computers in a conversation concerning 'new laptops' they get laughed at...so, I figured I'd just get that outta the way.

 

[AltF4]

Yea, I planned on installing Ubuntu myself. I'll have that, Windows and Backtrack. Just like I do on my desktop right now! I only mentioned the Dell thing because I happened across it and didn't know Dell did that.

 

[ericfynn]

For buying a laptos the most common question we get around here is simple: "What laptop should I buy?" Being a generally difficult person by nature, I usually respond with my own series of questions: "What size screen do you want? How much do you want to spend?" and so on.

 

[Vlade]

Yeh it depends on what you need, and what you're willing to pay. Are you going to be using your laptop for gaming? Or just web-browsing and casual use? Perhaps it's more for productivity?
For an all-purpose one I would recommend a Toshiba, but it may not be that great for gaming.

 

[Plazma]

im using a dell inspiron 1526 and it works great. the only thing i dislike about it is vista

 

[Morrigan]

im using a dell inspiron 1526 and it works great. the only thing i dislike about it is vista

Then change the OS.

 

[T-major]

if you plan on playing games on it, get a USB mouse to use. controlling games (most of them) with the built in mouse is a pain.

 

[Morrigan]

if you plan on playing games on it, get a USB mouse to use. controlling games (most of them) with the built in mouse is a pain.

Controlling EVERYTHING with that mouse is a pain.

 

[Phelix08]

If you have the money, then buy an apple laptop . It's the most reliable and fast computer I've used, and OS X is amazing. I know it's quite a bit more for an apple computer than a similar computer by someone else, but in my opinion, it's worth it. I have a few year old PowerBook G4, and it still works as well as when I bought it.

Plus, with the newer intel-based Macs, you can run windows and linux on it also (apple runs windows faster than windows does :o).

 

[Morrigan]

Speaking of which...I'm getting a 17" Macbook Pro And due to my bad luck with technology stuff, I'm sure a new model will be announced the day after I buy it.

 

[DragonBlade]

I like the new eeepc 10'' with 40 GB SSD, but it may not cut it if you do not have a decent desktop to fall back on depending on what you do. You can always buy a desktop for intensive things (like Starcraft 2 ) when you really need it and I dont think UMPCs will need to be upgraded very often for basic use unless youtube suddenly decides to go 1080p or something, so it should leave you with extra for a decent desktop if you dont have one already that is.

 

[Rishi Dadhich]

Hi,
It's to have laptop for traveling purpose i mean only for portability i suggest you just go for dell
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[Leech]

i haven't have any fatal problems with any of my computers yet.. except for when my newest one came with Vista.. i downgraded to XP and its fine.. all of my computers work okay..

 

[kinny]

I don't have right now....I am also thinking for it....can't tell you exactly...sorry!!!!










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[Ganon-Apocalypse]

Dell Inspiron 1525

My Dell Inspiron 1525 is good, but if you use the Aero interface with Vista the battery life quite a bit shorter than advertised. But you can always use Vista with the XP visual design, the battery life will be the advertised amount with that.

 

[GenesisJLS]

Being an IT professional, nothings beats a Macbook. If your into games and resource heavy applications I would recommend a Macbook Pro. I personally use my Macbook to record and edit video using imovie, Photoshop and general every day use. It's a great machine for a price. You even get $100 off if your a student, so in total it will cost $1000.

 

[Sensai]

....it costs 1000 if you're getting the lowest model (MacBook, I think) in white.

And I don't think I've ever seen anyone honestly recommend a MacBook for gaming. Not trying to discredit you, just thought it was funny.

TBH, though, my girlfriend just got a MacBook and I've had some time to tinker around with it....it's good. I think it's just 'cause I've been on Vista a lot lately, but, Leopard's a **** fine OS. There were a little quirks that took some getting used to (CTRL Q to actually quit things, for example) but they're definitely better off than Vista machines.

...except in gaming.

 

[Morrigan]

Well, you can use BootCamp for gaming and still use the Mac, that's what I'm planning to do with mine.
There are some programs I need that aren't Mac compatible, so WinXP is really necessary for me.