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I'm thinking about getting my wife an inexpensive laptop for her work. I don't think she needs anything fancy(she sells health insurance).
Snorkeldeep mentioned his preference for IBM thinkpads. Also, I saw an ad for a new Dell for $500.
Any suggestions?
Just picked up one for my dad, I'm not a big Dell fan (one I had at work was truely terrible) but this one seemed like a pretty good deal. 2.2GHz Celeron, 40Gb HD, 15in screen, CD-RW/DVD drive, 1-yr warranty, for $650. Just a basic laptop, nothing fancy.
one thing to keep in mind is laptops arent quite as easy to fix as desktops and getting a warranty for as long as you want the thing to last is a good idea.
I have a Dell Laptop and am very happy with it.
I agree with the warranty thing. I have a dell and the hard drive and then motherboard and power supply all failed within a few months of each other. They couldn't figure out the power problem so they just gave me a brand new laptop. :)
Overall, fast customer service, and they sent a tech over to do any serious (ie motherboard replacement) repair work.
At least it worked until a part failed, and then it wasn't difficult to fix. I've dealt with friends' HP and Sony laptops that were messed up but not in a way that you can get hardware support, so they just have to deal with funky computers. At least when dells break, they break cleanly and start working again once you replace a part. ;)
IBM just sold their PC business to a Lenovo, a chinese company. Thinkpads are great laptops, but there may be some service issues in the coming years as Lenovo works the kinks out.
TECH TALK BIAAATCH!!
The battery on my new Thinkpad suXors. I'm getting less than 1.5 hours out of it. May be a bum battery, though, and we're looking into it.
I haven't owned an IBM (pc) for a few years, but I remember alot of parts were proprietary if/when you wanted to upgrade. Not sure if this is still holds true.
I'm on a Dell and no complaints here. Check out the (discounted) refurbished ones on Dell's website. By the way, congrats on graduating. Huge kegger tonight w/ the wife and kids? ;)
Another nod for the Dells. I don't know the exact number of them that I've purchased for my Company, but I can tell you they have been BY FAR the most reliable of any manufacturer.
ThinkPads - People either love 'em or hate 'em. I'm in camp #2. My Boss is an old-school, hardcore IBM guy. Spent $3500 on his ThinkPad about this time last year. To date, he's replaced the battery, the "slice" (base unit), a dvd drive, the entire screen once and the bezel surrounding it twice.
He *did* purchase the warranty on it ($100?), and it's more than paid for itself already. Not a bad idea, regardless of the make you decide on.
I'd completely stay away from Sony or Toshiba.
I would stay away from the Thinkpads. I have one for work and the motherboard has already had to be replaced. The guy next to me has the IBM tech at his desk constantly trying to fix his. Maybe this is abnormal, I don't know, but my opinion is they're junk. Also mine, at least, is a real brick. I feel like I'm going to throw my back out when I have to bring it home.
EDIT: Looks like EPskis' boss is having about the same experience with his Thinkpad.
IMHO Toshiba has the most kick ass laptop out there, but they're pricy. Check around (Circuit City, Best Buy, Costco, etc.) for after Christmas sales and snag one at a discount.
My IT person is big on ThinkPads (IBM) and Dell. I have a Dell that I've had no problems with, other than I spend too much time in here.
Get at least 512k RAM; RAM is cheap and it will run better.
IBM still retains the service business, they make a ton of money off that and will not get out of that. Expect the build quality to drop though, Lenovo's production facilities and QA are fairly primitive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stu Gotz
Toshiba's are nowhere near as bomber as they used to be, they're really working on cutting costs since they pay a bunch more in labor as their laptops are made in Japan, not China like everyone else. They're not bad, just not clearly better than other brands the way they used to be.
I'd go with a Dell. Almost all laptops are actually made by the same company in Taiwan regardless of what brand you buy, especially the inexpensive ones, so you're not looking at big quality differences between them. Dell probably has the best combination of price and support out there.
I've heard good things locally about PC Laptops stuff in SLC. I'm going in to check on them this week. Seems the many of the local real estate crowd likes them for reliability (as opposed to cussing the Gateways). I'll let you know what I find out on price etc...
On a Dell Latitude right now. Have had it from work for year and a half, no complaints.
Our company goes with Dell only.
Have a Dell PC at home too. Been happy with that too.
On a Dell Latitude right now. Have had it from work for year and a half, no complaints.
Our company goes with Dell only.
Have a Dell PC at home too. Been happy with that too.
Dad has an Dell Inspirion and it is killer, but lots of dough. Bro has a Dell laptop of some kind too.
Hell, Dell.
so cheap it would probably be worth it to get 512 megabytes instead.Quote:
Originally Posted by irul&ublo
No HP laptop love? Seriously?
Big E-Quote:
Originally Posted by Big E
That sounds like exactly what I am looking for. Which model and what configuration? How long for delivery?
I've never had a Celeron processor. Any noticeable difference from a Pentium (I won't be running any massive video editing or anything.)
ok...I'm stoopidQuote:
Originally Posted by fez
I'll addSEARCH FUNCTION JONG!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Xover
there have been at least two or three almost identical laptop questions asked in the past 6 weeks. Me, eDub...others?
My wife and I both have HPs, different models, both get 3-4 hours on battery and have been good machines. Hers came well equipped for a little over a grand, but they build em cheaper. She has a zt series, I have a nc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Endlessseason
Here's the link: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...=i1000F2&s=dhsQuote:
Originally Posted by eDub
It's an Inspiron 1000, they had a big sale on them a few weeks ago which is when I grabbed it, $650 + free shipping. Honestly, performance-wise, I have no idea. It's for Christmas, so when it came (in about a week), I took it out, turned it on to make sure it worked, shut it down, packed it in the box, and I haven't opened it since.
Hopefully it will be fine for my dad's uses - mostly e-mail, internet, and MS Office.
I recently bought a Fujitsu Lifebook 6000. Came nicely configured. So far, no problemos. Love the screen.
Suggestions:
No Celeron chips! Get the new Intel Centrino chip instead.
Get built-in wireless.
40 gig HD minimum
Consider the size and weight if you're planning to travel a lot with it. I limited myself to a 14 inch screen when looking and 5-5.5 lbs max. Ended up with a 13.1 inch screen and 5 lbs.
My wife had a Fujitsu that worked well for her for a number of years. Finally something broke on it that wouldn't allow the screen to open and close properly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Viva
I don't know if built-in wireless is really needed. The wireless G PC cards are pretty cheap now-a-days.
Apple iBook. If you don't need the latest and greatest, go for a model that is a step or two back from the most current edition. For even further savings you could get a refurbished one.
just remember that when buying a computer (laptop or otherwise) from a major corporation (ESPECIALLY Dell) to re-install windows before you do anything with it and get rid of all that promotional crap that comes along with it, otherwise your computer with run like mud.
im on a compaq x1000 and havent had any trouble with it. only complaint is the battery life has gone to shit. i think its probably cause it just sits on a desk plugged in all the time. could that be the reason? or what..
I have a HP and a thinkpad (for work). The HP is not bad, but the modem really sucks big ass. The thinkpad works great though. I have had it for 2.5 years and use it about 55 - 60 hrs a week and never had a problem. I would recommend the thinkpad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by belgian
What specific "promotional crap" are you referring to? (I've purchased in excess of oh...300-350 systems from Dell and can't recall a single that came with "promotional crap".) You also advocate doing a complete reinstall on a new system? That's bold.
House: Yes, that can absolutely affect battery life. Typically, if your laptop is plugged in, the battery is bypassed (as a power source), yet will continue to be charged by the power supply. If you aren't running the laptop from the battery, it has almost certainly developed a "memory". The best way to avoid that is to run it off battery power & run the battery down until it's nearly drained before you recharge it. Chances are, your existing battery won't get any better - but if you replace it, that's how you'd avoid damaging the new one.
Thanks for all of the advice.
I just purchased her a Dell Inspiron 600m.
-Pentium M725 1.6GHz
-512Mb Ram
-60GB HD
-4 year warranty w/ accidental drop insurance
It is light and thin(5 lbs and 1.6 inches), which I thought she might like. I hope she digs it and finds it convenient.
HoHoHo!
Good choice - she'll love it!