Laptop Computer

[justBLAZE]

So i got a little surprise check in the mail today from a 401K plan I had when working for a bank right when out of high school.

 

I'm in a market for a laptop as I never had one! I was wondering what you guys like as far as brands go?

 

I remember someone here swore by Lenovo laptops, that's new name for IBM home products, correct?

 

I'm trying to keep this purchase under $800.

 

Probably going to go with Dual T6400 processor, those are standard.. Is Intel better then AMD?

I want 4GB operating memory, decent size hard drive, trying to keep in around 15" for portability.

Wirless b/g/n would be great, decent sounds, can't think of anything else?

 

Do you guys have some suggestions?

 

I know most of the members here are very computer savvy any tips or advice would be great.

 

 

[BigSqwert]

Just don't get this...

 

 

[FlaSoxxJim]

Just don't get this...

 

 

or this:

 

Edited April 10, 2009 by FlaSoxxJim

[Buehrle>Wood]

[bigruss]

So i got a little surprise check in the mail today from a 401K plan I had when working for a bank right when out of high school.

 

I'm in a market for a laptop as I never had one! I was wondering what you guys like as far as brands go?

 

I remember someone here swore by Lenovo laptops, that's new name for IBM home products, correct?

 

I'm trying to keep this purchase under $800.

 

Probably going to go with Dual T6400 processor, those are standard.. Is Intel better then AMD?

I want 4GB operating memory, decent size hard drive, trying to keep in around 15" for portability.

Wirless b/g/n would be great, decent sounds, can't think of anything else?

 

Do you guys have some suggestions?

 

I know most of the members here are very computer savvy any tips or advice would be great.

Dell has become very reliable for laptops. HP is sketchy in my mind, my gf has an uncle who works for HP and it still took her half a year to get any type of customer service for the crap she got.

 

Lenovo has a fanbase that will stand by them forever, but they seem to cost more.

 

Try Slickdeals.net or DealsofAmerica.com, they seem to have a ton of updates on the latest deals, sometimes lenovos, mostly Dell.

 

Personally I have a Dell, spent about $700, has decent specs all around, 3GB ram, 250ishGB Harddrive, Duo Core Processor (cant remember the actual model), upgraded screen (I think its 15.6in), and of course wireless. Sound is really weak tho, you would want to buy headphones or speaker system (I went with Logitech z-2300, awesome). I havent had any real problems with the laptop at all, Ive been really pleased with it.

[bigruss]

HP deal

 

If you trust HP go for this, looks to be exactly what youre looking for, just follow those directions by the original poster.

[Wise Master Buehrle]

I love threads about computers. I have been a computer guy for 5 years now and here is the latest on laptops from my knowledge and experience:

 

1) HPs die the most. Unless you purchase extra warranty time (which I would not consider, as several people with dead HP laptops and extended warranties from Circuit City are basically up s*** creek), these computers are not even on option. This includes Compaq, as HP bought them awhile ago.

 

2) Dells are okay but are kind of flaky. It always seems like Dells get stupid random problems that most of the time you can get fixed with your warranty, but after the initial warranty those stupid little problems start costing money to fix.

 

3) Lenovos are great. I really like them and it seems they have continued the tradition of rock-solid ThinkPad computers as well. I'm typing this on my T42 from 2004 as we speak. It runs strong and I even use the S-Video out to display whatever I feel like streaming at the time on my TV. These are most definitely an option.

 

4) Toshibas have a pretty good reputation as well. Generally, I consider them one of my favorite laptops as well.

 

5) Sony's are rare but the ones I have seen I have been somewhat impressed... their desktop lines not so much however...

 

6) Acer's aren't bad if you're looking budget but otherwise forget it.

 

7) This one will probably get overlooked, but there's a company called ASUS that manufactures all kinds of computer parts... motherboards, graphics cards, LCD's, and now they have forayed into the laptop business. While I can't vouch for the laptops because I've never seen one or tried one, I can safely say that ASUS makes great computer products that are of high quality. I'm hoping/assuming the laptops will be the same way. If you go to www.newegg.com, I looked at a few of their models and noticed that they have a 2 year warranty standard... that's awesome right there. Best Buy would charge you a lot to get a 2nd year on a warranty for an HP, so that feature seems very good IMO.

 

Hope this helps.

[NorthSideSox72]

First, your "surprise check" from your 401k is going to cost you some money at tax time if it was any more than $1000. So if I were you, I'd put it in an IRA before you get taxed AND penalized for it.

 

But if you insist...

 

I was a die-hard Thinkpad fan. All three laptops I had owned before this one were Thinkpads, and were awesome in every way. Not flashy, but reliable, fast to load (less bloatware), and tough.

 

Until my last one, that is. The battery started becoming loose, went bad, replaced it, started to not be able to work when unplugged. The plastic bits that hold the battery in place were broken, and its not like that is a modular piece like a drive that can just be replaced - you have to get it repaired at a shop for a fortune. And be aware, this is an ongoing issue if you use a higher capacity battery with Thinkpads.

 

So, I got my first non-IBM/Lenovo laptop - this HP dv5t. And I love it so far.

 

One word of warning though - AVOID VISTA IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. This OS is utter and complete trash.

 

[CanOfCorn]

MacBook

 

/thread and discussion

 

[justBLAZE]

I don't think I'm ready for an Apple yet!

 

I wish that check was more than a grand! Thanks for all your help.

[BobDylan]

First, your "surprise check" from your 401k is going to cost you some money at tax time if it was any more than $1000. So if I were you, I'd put it in an IRA before you get taxed AND penalized for it.

 

But if you insist...

 

I was a die-hard Thinkpad fan. All three laptops I had owned before this one were Thinkpads, and were awesome in every way. Not flashy, but reliable, fast to load (less bloatware), and tough.

 

Until my last one, that is. The battery started becoming loose, went bad, replaced it, started to not be able to work when unplugged. The plastic bits that hold the battery in place were broken, and its not like that is a modular piece like a drive that can just be replaced - you have to get it repaired at a shop for a fortune. And be aware, this is an ongoing issue if you use a higher capacity battery with Thinkpads.

 

So, I got my first non-IBM/Lenovo laptop - this HP dv5t. And I love it so far.

 

One word of warning though - AVOID VISTA IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. This OS is utter and complete trash.

 

Disagree on Vista, agree on Thinkpad.

[Brian]

Disagree on Vista

 

Agreed. As long as you have enough RAM, Vista is all good. I went all out and got 4 GB.

[NorthSideSox72]

Agreed. As long as you have enough RAM, Vista is all good. I went all out and got 4 GB.

The problems I have had with Vista have nothing to do with how much memory I have.

 

Its OS controls. USB ports for example... I start up with various USB items plugged in or not, different each time (may or may not have certain iPods hooked up for example). This causes Vista all sorts of problems with the way it addresses ports. Another example, it takes forever to start up, BUT ONLY if I have the backup drive attached. If not, its lightning fast. Turns out that is because of the Windows Search engine, which insists on scanning certain things before starting up - not a function of RAM, just bad OS component design.

 

Plus a wide variety of other issues, OS just plain fails at times, services fail for no apparent reason, and that irritating and idiotic design where every time a program wants to show you a message or act, you have to tell Vista "no, I really mean it", or "yes, show me the message", at which time it feels the need to stop everything else and just show you that.

 

Vista = garbage OS. XP Pro was just so, so much better.

 

[3E8]

Samsung sells their laptops in the US now

[BobDylan]

The problems I have had with Vista have nothing to do with how much memory I have.

 

Its OS controls. USB ports for example... I start up with various USB items plugged in or not, different each time (may or may not have certain iPods hooked up for example). This causes Vista all sorts of problems with the way it addresses ports. Another example, it takes forever to start up, BUT ONLY if I have the backup drive attached. If not, its lightning fast. Turns out that is because of the Windows Search engine, which insists on scanning certain things before starting up - not a function of RAM, just bad OS component design.

 

Plus a wide variety of other issues, OS just plain fails at times, services fail for no apparent reason, and that irritating and idiotic design where every time a program wants to show you a message or act, you have to tell Vista "no, I really mean it", or "yes, show me the message", at which time it feels the need to stop everything else and just show you that.

 

Vista = garbage OS. XP Pro was just so, so much better.

 

You can turn both of those features off, which I did.

[mr_genius]

MacBook

 

/thread and discussion

 

 

i think my next laptop will be a mac. or just get something with linux, no way i'm paying for windows again. i'm done with microsoft unless it's work related and i have use their stuff

[DrunkBomber]

I just got a new Toshiba Satellite today. Its crazy how much prices have dropped the past few years.

[NorthSideSox72]

You can turn both of those features off, which I did.

Not sure which you mean... I may have already tried. But if you have pointers, I'm all ears.

 

[daa84]

i have always been a PC user who has always hated macs and the stupid marketing campaign and yuppy type people taht brag about using apple like its some sort of cool club (http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant..........so funny)....

 

but my gf has an apple she uses at home, and also a PC laptop for work laying around...and for random crap like surfing the net, i always go for the apple now...you open it, and its ready to go...so much faster than any PC ive ever used...i still dont like alot of the interface crap, and some of the other user functions...but for random everyday tasks i will admit i actually think its a superior computer, and has yet to slow down...also has less virus problems...i actually would consider gettign one now, when i was firmly against it before

Edited April 11, 2009 by daa84

[BobDylan]

Not sure which you mean... I may have already tried. But if you have pointers, I'm all ears.

 

If I understand correctly, these are the two things you are talking about:

 

http://www.dq.winsila.com/tips-tricks/disa...erformance.html

 

http://www.petri.co.il/disable_uac_in_windows_vista.htm

 

Also, I highly, HIGHLY recommend this product to any PC user: http://www.tune-up.com/products/tuneup-utilities/ That product is a lifesaver.

Edited April 11, 2009 by BobDylan

[almagest]

So i got a little surprise check in the mail today from a 401K plan I had when working for a bank right when out of high school.

 

I'm in a market for a laptop as I never had one! I was wondering what you guys like as far as brands go?

 

I remember someone here swore by Lenovo laptops, that's new name for IBM home products, correct?

 

I'm trying to keep this purchase under $800.

 

Probably going to go with Dual T6400 processor, those are standard.. Is Intel better then AMD?

I want 4GB operating memory, decent size hard drive, trying to keep in around 15" for portability.

Wirless b/g/n would be great, decent sounds, can't think of anything else?

 

Do you guys have some suggestions?

 

I know most of the members here are very computer savvy any tips or advice would be great.

It really depends on what you're looking to do. Most of the time, I recommend getting the smallest laptop you're comfortable working with (12 or 13 inch screen should be fine), and monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers/docking station for home use.

 

You don't need 4 GB RAM unless you do lots of video or photo editing, play lots of newer games (not recommended on a laptop anyway), or for some reason keep 70 copies of applications open constantly. 2 GB should be fine, and believe it or not less RAM can help a bit with battery life.

 

Ditto on processor speed. I have a Linux EeePC with a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom which runs everything I throw at it. If you can find a great deal on a machine with a faster processor, go for it, otherwise get something more reasonable and use the extra money for a nice bag, and/or the accessories I mentioned above.

 

Intel offers better performance than AMD, but AMD is generally more reasonable. You almost certainly won't notice a difference, so go with whatever is the better deal.

 

Lenovos are workhorses, but really ugly. I like ASUS, HP, Toshiba, and Dells are okay. Check Newegg for some pretty good deals. I buy all my hardware there, and really can't recommend them enough.

[NorthSideSox72]

If I understand correctly, these are the two things you are talking about:

 

http://www.dq.winsila.com/tips-tricks/disa...erformance.html

 

http://www.petri.co.il/disable_uac_in_windows_vista.htm

 

Also, I highly, HIGHLY recommend this product to any PC user: http://www.tune-up.com/products/tuneup-utilities/ That product is a lifesaver.

Thanks. I did the first thing already a while back when researching the issue, it didn't work. But I haven't done the other one, or tried that product - so thanks!

 

[kapkomet]

Disagree on Vista, agree on Thinkpad.

 

 

The problems I have had with Vista have nothing to do with how much memory I have.

 

Its OS controls. USB ports for example... I start up with various USB items plugged in or not, different each time (may or may not have certain iPods hooked up for example). This causes Vista all sorts of problems with the way it addresses ports. Another example, it takes forever to start up, BUT ONLY if I have the backup drive attached. If not, its lightning fast. Turns out that is because of the Windows Search engine, which insists on scanning certain things before starting up - not a function of RAM, just bad OS component design.

 

Plus a wide variety of other issues, OS just plain fails at times, services fail for no apparent reason, and that irritating and idiotic design where every time a program wants to show you a message or act, you have to tell Vista "no, I really mean it", or "yes, show me the message", at which time it feels the need to stop everything else and just show you that.

 

Vista = garbage OS. XP Pro was just so, so much better.

Vista is s***. Total s***. The resource allocation alone makes it so, and I won't get into the other flakey crap.

 

[justBLAZE]

I just got a new Toshiba Satellite today. Its crazy how much prices have dropped the past few years.

 

Me too!

 

Thanks for all your help guys.

[Y2HH]

I hate to break it to you Windows using folks with 4 gigs of ram, or those you recommending Windows users get 4GB of ram, but unless you're running the 64 bit version of that OS, you don't actually have 4 gigs of ram. It may report that you have 4GB installed, but you actually only have about 3.1 gigs of addressable space.

 

XP, Vista, etc, can only address 4GB of ram total, and that includes memory reserved for address space (which you can never use), memory on your graphics cards, shared memory for your graphics cards, and then the RAM installed in the system.

 

64 Bit Vista/XP can address well over the 3.1 artificial cap on regular Vista/XP.

 

And no, I'm not BSing you. Even Microsoft will tell you this if you ask them nicely: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605

 

From the article:

The reduction in available system memory depends on the devices that are installed in the computer. However, to avoid potential driver compatibility issues, the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista limit the total available memory to 3.12 GB. See the "More information" section for information about potential driver compatibility issues.

 

Sorry for the bad news but it's pretty amazing how many people don't know this.

 

For the record, while at home I use a MAC/OSX now, but up until last year I've used/worked on various flavors of Windows since the early 90's. I still use Windows XP sp3 for my work laptop and workstation, but as a end user, I'll avoid using Windows if I can now, and that includes Win7, which I've had before technet even released the beta.

Edited April 12, 2009 by Y2HH