soxman352000 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 This fall I will be attending my first semester at college. I want to buy a new notebook because my current notebook is out of date. I'm looking to spend $1500 and I refuse to buy a Toshiba brand because I've had problems with Toshiba in the past. If you can help me, you don't have to be very specific. I would just like to know what the best brands you believe are the best. I would just like a notebook that preforms well and doesn't have to have any picture shops or movie makers. Thank You so much for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Wal-Mart special? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 As long as it's not a Mac, go for it. HP, Dell, and Acer are all solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish71 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Just picked up a macbook pro for work. As a linux/unix guy I am looking to see what this puppy can do. HP or Dell or IBM are solid from the PC side. Acer makes me want to vomit in my mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 my mac is fantastic, does everything i want, great support from apple, its video editing programs and simplicity are remarkable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 I've had good success with HP, Sony, and Dell. A lot will be determined by what you will be using it for. I am finding myself using mine for presentations more and will get a bigger screen next time. I also want a decent docking situation so I can use it almost like a desktop when I'm at home. ALthough that last feature is fading since I put in a wireless network at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ May 31, 2006 -> 09:37 PM) Acer makes me want to vomit in my mouth. Why is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3E8 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 The best notebooks are macs. But it sounds like you just need something servicable, in which case you don't need to spend anything near $1500 really. I've had good luck with Dell in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimpy2121 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 I just got a 17" widescreen HP for $1,600 last week and I have had absolutely no complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 I'm on a PowerBook G4 15". Gets scratched a little easy (the case, not the screen....screen is tough). Get yourself a wireless router on the cheap and you can be realllllly lazy, like me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasox24 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 I've had great success with my laptop, which is an HP, as has my friend, who also has an HP. I guess screen size depends on the person, but I have a 14 in. widescreen, which I think is plenty big, and I wouldn't want anything bigger. However, my friend has a 17 in. widescreen and loves it. Therefore, my advice is to definitely look at the computer in-person if you can, rather than buying it online or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 I haven't been particularly happy at all with my Dell. Lots of parts that just fail to work together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 QUOTE(3E8 @ May 31, 2006 -> 10:56 PM) The best notebooks are macs. But it sounds like you just need something servicable, in which case you don't need to spend anything near $1500 really. I've had good luck with Dell in the past. ^^^^^^ I used to sell Sony, HP, acer, gateway Compaq, IBM. IBM by far makes the best PC laptops, and I would say Dell is in second place. I would stay away from HP and Compaq, and Sony's cust serv seems to really piss people off although I like their units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish71 Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 (edited) QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jun 1, 2006 -> 11:49 AM) ^^^^^^ I used to sell Sony, HP, acer, gateway Compaq, IBM. IBM by far makes the best PC laptops, and I would say Dell is in second place. I would stay away from HP and Compaq, and Sony's cust serv seems to really piss people off although I like their units. Dell pissed me off with my last laptop the Inspiron 5150 which was a lemon. Recommended by our Dell Rep for power use. A True Pentium 4 3 Gigahertz instead of the mobile pentium. The heat from the chip would cause a problem when some of the plastic would melt onto the motherboard, when it would cool down it became locked, and the slightest touch on the top of the would break some of the sodering on the motherboard. This of course happened after a year, which means no warranty. When I called into support, they knew exactly what the problem was before I got the words "It just shuts off by itself" out of my mouth. In fact there are websites dedicated to that piece of crap lemon 5150. A new motherboard is required to fix it, or sodder the board yourself. I soddered the board, got a few months more out of it, then just bought my new powerbook. If you have a Inspiron 5150 and have support, pick up the phone right now and make the call to support and get your motherboard fixed. You will run into the problem, its just a matter of time. The new dell laptops are much better, but I am a linux/unix guy who pretty much uses XP only at home. So OSX is BSD Unix and in our tests all of my apps work better on it, than with Linux under Dell. The sad thing is I worked for a company that used NEXT boxes when Jobs left Apple for that period of time. Those wierd things worked pretty well. And to answer SF1, Acers are piles of dogs***, made out of parts built by the cheapest companies on earth. We bought a company that had a s***load of new ones. A year later, we sold those pieces of s*** off, and replaced them with Dells that dont break. Edited June 1, 2006 by southsideirish71 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonxctf Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 i've got some used laptops coming back to me off-lease from a local Illinois school. 3 years old, nice Compaq/HP laptops. asking price is $350. if you want details, email me at [email protected] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 SSI, I know what you are talking about. I have a Lat D600 with the cent processor. It works fine for me. My Mac laptop is still a rock however. Its a G3 from around 2001, still works like a charm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonxctf Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 QUOTE(jasonxctf @ Jun 1, 2006 -> 08:59 PM) i've got some used laptops coming back to me off-lease from a local Illinois school. 3 years old, nice Compaq/HP laptops. asking price is $350. if you want details, email me at [email protected] by the way, it goes without saying that these laptops are in good working order, but do not come with any type of warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonkeyKongerko Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 If you can afford it and don't mind the heat, definitely get a Macbook Pro. The whole PC vs. Mac thing will be moot soon as these new Macs support XP and should run Vista too (just make sure to avoid integrated Intel graphics). Hardware-wise, there is really no comparison. I've heard the black ones are more expensive and harder to find, but don't let that stop you. Notebookreview.com is your friend if you haven't met already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewashed in '05 Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 Everyone has different opinions, but one thing you must do is make sure it will meet your needs or something that will surpass your needs. For example make sure you get something with a lot of memory and good speed. Heres a link to pcworld.com. They do a lot of comparisons and ratings on lots of electronics. This one is for laptops. Check it out, they do some pretty good evaluations. http://pcworld.com/resource/infocenter/0,c...Laptops,00.asp# Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soxman352000 Posted June 2, 2006 Author Share Posted June 2, 2006 Thank you so much everyone, I've been reading and comparing and I truly appreciate all of your input and opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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