I am going to buy a laptop....what should I get?
- Thread starter Tchay
- Start date
zeturi
DEMON PIE!
I've been using Dell computers since I can remember, they've never failed me.
Their customer service, however, was absolutely horrendous. Due to an error in their system, they charged me twice for an 800 dollar computer, causing multiple bounce charges in my bank account that added up to about $200.
Their customer service, however, was absolutely horrendous. Due to an error in their system, they charged me twice for an 800 dollar computer, causing multiple bounce charges in my bank account that added up to about $200.
Tchay
Frequent Poster
snowpenguin said:
That looks *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ing sick!
J.D said:
That ALSO looks *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ing sick!
this is ganna be tough to decide on. I think I am leaning towards one of those small black macbooks. They are cheaper and pretty nice.To narrow it down a little more, I want a fairly small laptop with close to 2.2GHz, 2GB+ RAM, and no bigger than 1" thick. Thx for the ideas guys! I still am not sure if I should go with a macbook or a windows laptop though
XCVG
ModRetro Legend
I don't get why people love Mac so much. There was this guy in a store, and he was explaining the advantages of a Mac, and they all seemed like disadvantages to me.
And anyway, you can run hacked OSX on most PCs if you want.
But back on topic. Just go to a store that sells laptops and browse. If you find one you like, go look it up on the internet. Then if you are sure, go back and buy it. Say no to all the service plans, extended warrantys, etc.
And anyway, you can run hacked OSX on most PCs if you want.
But back on topic. Just go to a store that sells laptops and browse. If you find one you like, go look it up on the internet. Then if you are sure, go back and buy it. Say no to all the service plans, extended warrantys, etc.
AfroLH
Frequent Poster
HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311 HP Mini 311
Upgrade to 3GB of RAM, and OC to 2.2 GhZ.
Which is unnecessary considering this thing can play games above it's system requirements due to the awesomeness of the NVidia ION.
Upgrade to 3GB of RAM, and OC to 2.2 GhZ.
Which is unnecessary considering this thing can play games above it's system requirements due to the awesomeness of the NVidia ION.
pLover
Apparently plover is a type of bird.
This is to anyone out there who might get a Mac: ALWAYS get the extended warranty. Most products often crash right after the extension runs out so that you just pay extra, but all Apple products (in my experience) have trouble right after the extension kicks in, then you go in and get the part replaced and you're set for a long time.XCVG said:
Also it's just good to have because they say accidental stuff isn't covered, but I've gotten all my repairs on accidental stuff for free because of the warranty.
You mean the awesome Asus G50vt?
THAT is a winsome laptop.
THAT is a winsome laptop.
Check eBay, it goes brand new for under $700 all the time. And it gets a lot more than 2.5 when not gaming, maybe 2.5 hours WHILE playing games.
The Mini 311 is nice, though. Probably better for you.
The Mini 311 is nice, though. Probably better for you.
What? Even a low, low end desktop is going to eat 3 or 4 times as much power. :-/
Bibin
Frequent Poster
Bibin's laptop suggestion text wall v0.8
Dell's latest run of laptops seem to all have the same terrible trackpads that seem to refuse to move unless your finger has been down about 0.6 seconds, which produces a noticable lag when you want to just move a tiny bit. I recommend against dell.
I recommend so hard for a ThinkPad. Honestly, I suggest a T61, when IBM was still involved in development. The newer, lenovo only ones I've not liked as much, in terms of build quality, specifically sturdiness and the keyboard. The X series, like the X60, may be just right for you. It's got a solid processor, HDDs far above 40GB, and is very light (< 3 pounds), and 1" thin. You can have one for about 400 on eBay used, less if you get lucky.
As for HP computers, personally, I don't like them - they tend to get quite hot, the style is very shiny-plasticy, and the glossy screens are a disaster. They do tend to have decent speakers and keyboards, though, but the mouse leaves a lot to be desired. I don't recommend these hulking mammoths, but they are not too bad for not-so-mobile laptop use.
Don't get me started on Sony.
Asus is pretty rock solid. I am not that fond of the style, but they aren't too wannabe-flashy, and from experience with asus motherboards, I can say I've liked their performance. Check out some of their notebooks if you want pretty good stability and battery life.
Maybe even consider getting a used MacBook Pro - even the oldest, slowest one is a little faster than what you need, and you can get one in good shape for under 700 easily. It's simple to upgrade the screen to be 1920x1200, should you want that, and it's a very solidly built machine that is very flexible in terms of what operating systems you can install. Mine, for example, runs Mac OS X Snow Leopard, as well as Windows 7. The keyboard is fairly good, too, and the backlight for it is a feature I didn't expect to like so much, but it is useful in the dark.
See? I argued for an apple computer without fanboy points. Those are valid points. Not participating in a war.
Dell mice are rebranded logitechs.
Dell's latest run of laptops seem to all have the same terrible trackpads that seem to refuse to move unless your finger has been down about 0.6 seconds, which produces a noticable lag when you want to just move a tiny bit. I recommend against dell.
I recommend so hard for a ThinkPad. Honestly, I suggest a T61, when IBM was still involved in development. The newer, lenovo only ones I've not liked as much, in terms of build quality, specifically sturdiness and the keyboard. The X series, like the X60, may be just right for you. It's got a solid processor, HDDs far above 40GB, and is very light (< 3 pounds), and 1" thin. You can have one for about 400 on eBay used, less if you get lucky.
As for HP computers, personally, I don't like them - they tend to get quite hot, the style is very shiny-plasticy, and the glossy screens are a disaster. They do tend to have decent speakers and keyboards, though, but the mouse leaves a lot to be desired. I don't recommend these hulking mammoths, but they are not too bad for not-so-mobile laptop use.
Don't get me started on Sony.
Asus is pretty rock solid. I am not that fond of the style, but they aren't too wannabe-flashy, and from experience with asus motherboards, I can say I've liked their performance. Check out some of their notebooks if you want pretty good stability and battery life.
Maybe even consider getting a used MacBook Pro - even the oldest, slowest one is a little faster than what you need, and you can get one in good shape for under 700 easily. It's simple to upgrade the screen to be 1920x1200, should you want that, and it's a very solidly built machine that is very flexible in terms of what operating systems you can install. Mine, for example, runs Mac OS X Snow Leopard, as well as Windows 7. The keyboard is fairly good, too, and the backlight for it is a feature I didn't expect to like so much, but it is useful in the dark.
See? I argued for an apple computer without fanboy points. Those are valid points. Not participating in a war.
J.D said:
Dell mice are rebranded logitechs.
Twilight Wolf
Frequent Poster
Right, my experience with laptops in a nutshell:
First one I ever used was a Compaq of some sort from 2004 or so. Pile of crap, and SLOW.
Next up: A Toshiba Satellite, cir. 2006. My sister's. Much faster and MUCH more reliable. Getting old and slow now, though, so she's upgrading soon, hopefully.
My laptop: Another Satellite, 2007. Decently speedy on Vista even with only 1GB RAM, and even though stuff keeps crapping out on it, it just keeps going.
MacBook: Good, solid build, nice and stable. The battery won't hold a charge at all any more, though, even only a year and a half old. Fail battery, good stuff for all the rest. As for the OS, I couldn't get into it, probably because I was so much more used to Windows.
My Mom's laptop: Yet another Satellite. Pentium Dual-Core with 1GB RAM. SLOW. Unreliable trackpad that has a tendency to make the mouse cursor jump all over the screen.
My Dad's laptop (AKA my gaming computer until I can afford to finish my desktop build): An HP Pavilion Entertainment Laptop or something. Our first non-Intel computer too, I think. Good speed, far superior graphics-processing capability compared to our others, having an Nvidia chipset as opposed to Intel. Battery life is good, trackpad's good, but a bit heavy. Runs fairly cool. Very good overall.
First one I ever used was a Compaq of some sort from 2004 or so. Pile of crap, and SLOW.
Next up: A Toshiba Satellite, cir. 2006. My sister's. Much faster and MUCH more reliable. Getting old and slow now, though, so she's upgrading soon, hopefully.
My laptop: Another Satellite, 2007. Decently speedy on Vista even with only 1GB RAM, and even though stuff keeps crapping out on it, it just keeps going.
MacBook: Good, solid build, nice and stable. The battery won't hold a charge at all any more, though, even only a year and a half old. Fail battery, good stuff for all the rest. As for the OS, I couldn't get into it, probably because I was so much more used to Windows.
My Mom's laptop: Yet another Satellite. Pentium Dual-Core with 1GB RAM. SLOW. Unreliable trackpad that has a tendency to make the mouse cursor jump all over the screen.
My Dad's laptop (AKA my gaming computer until I can afford to finish my desktop build): An HP Pavilion Entertainment Laptop or something. Our first non-Intel computer too, I think. Good speed, far superior graphics-processing capability compared to our others, having an Nvidia chipset as opposed to Intel. Battery life is good, trackpad's good, but a bit heavy. Runs fairly cool. Very good overall.
hailrazer
Frequent Poster
I have bought laptops exclusively for the last 10 years.
HP are total CRAP !!!..
One the screen dies.
Two others the power jacks stopped working
One the hard drive crashed 4 times.
Latest one the screen hinges broke.
ALL of them right after the warranty was up. Had to repair myself.
I have since switched to Gateways. $ of them and not a single problem. So......
DON'T EVER BUY HP LAPTOPS !!!!!
HP are total CRAP !!!..
One the screen dies.
Two others the power jacks stopped working
One the hard drive crashed 4 times.
Latest one the screen hinges broke.
ALL of them right after the warranty was up. Had to repair myself.
I have since switched to Gateways. $ of them and not a single problem. So......
DON'T EVER BUY HP LAPTOPS !!!!!
Tchay
Frequent Poster
Wow. Thanks for the advice guys! You are all awesome. (see, this is why I love having nerd friends 
). I am considering the Thinkpad suggested by Bibin. The Macbook is also a possibility since it has Windows 7 and great speed.
@Palmertech - yes, that is what the review said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QHdR-jInlw
at 4:45 and 5:00 he states the battery life for gaming/non-gaming mode
@Hailrazer - thanks for the tip, I was actually considering the HP but now I will stay away from those. The Gateways have some nice stuff. Has the fan ever bothered you? And, unfortunately, the versions with decent speed (>2 GHz) and RAM (3-4GB) are in the $900 range
). I am considering the Thinkpad suggested by Bibin. The Macbook is also a possibility since it has Windows 7 and great speed.@Palmertech - yes, that is what the review said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QHdR-jInlw
at 4:45 and 5:00 he states the battery life for gaming/non-gaming mode
@Hailrazer - thanks for the tip, I was actually considering the HP but now I will stay away from those. The Gateways have some nice stuff. Has the fan ever bothered you? And, unfortunately, the versions with decent speed (>2 GHz) and RAM (3-4GB) are in the $900 range
samjc3
#1 Female Member
i second bibin's suggestion about the thinkpad. the t61 is beast. (dad has one). i have two older thinkpads that still work great. one is from 2001 and beat to crap, but it still works great. albeit, the battery holds no charge. but it was a ni-mh beast anyway. and the other one is from 04 and still holds a chrge and all that, in addition to working.
