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01/04/2006 01:39:04 PM · #1 |
Can anyone tell me what the best laptops are as far as Quality and performance? I am looking at Dells and Toshibas. But am open to suggestions. Would be mostly for internet, graphics (photoshop), photo storage, some gaming.
Looking for something that is fast, durable, reliable with a big display. Budget 1,500 - 2,000.
Any e-coupons would be appreciated. |
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01/04/2006 01:44:07 PM · #2 |
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01/04/2006 01:58:09 PM · #3 |
| If this were for me, I might consider Apple. But its for my son who is graduating from the Marines this month. I am pretty certain he doesnt care for Apples operating system. Probably just not real sure of himself with it. Thanks for the link though. I've always wanted to explore Apple. I guess after having a Windows based system for almost 10 years now, its hard to make the switch. LOL |
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01/04/2006 01:59:36 PM · #4 |
| Toshiba's have a good reputation for durability. |
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01/04/2006 02:07:48 PM · #5 |
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01/04/2006 02:12:38 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by theSaj:
Toshiba's have a good reputation for durability. |
All my friends who went to college with Toshibas have had huge issues with them. I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole, myself. I prefer Dell - have had an Inspiron system for 2 years without so much as a single glitch.
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01/04/2006 02:14:15 PM · #7 |
both my husband and i have toshiba laptops... they're good sturdy laptops that bang aroudn my car and goes everywhere with me .. and are used daily
dunno why your friends had problesm with em ... but it maybe how they treated them
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
Originally posted by theSaj:
Toshiba's have a good reputation for durability. |
All my friends who went to college with Toshibas have had huge issues with them. I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole, myself. I prefer Dell - have had an Inspiron system for 2 years without so much as a single glitch. |
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01/04/2006 02:25:25 PM · #8 |
I'd have to put my vote with Lenovo (formerly IBM) Thinkpads. I recently purchased an X31 which is one of their smaller ones, so it probably doesn't fit with "a big display", but you could look at the T series (or any other line).
I got my X31 to replace a 15" Powerbook. Frankly, the Powerbook was one of the worst laptops I ever had with a lot of flaky hardware. Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful thing when it worked, the screen was nice, the ambient light sensors were a great gimmick, and I'll admit I liked the aluminum casing much more than the plastic feel of the Thinkpad--but there were lots of hardware issues that Apple wouldn't recognize (including a really finicky LAN port). There were also a lot of stability issues that Apple couldn't explain. I eventually replaced it though because, in the normal course of moving it between rooms, when I closed the screen, it opened up with a crack along the diagonal. My Thinkpads (I have a T20 from 2000, and the X31 from June) on the other hand have been through much worse than my Powerbook ever had been, and are no worse for wear. I can't see myself getting anything other than a Thinkpad in the near future after having experience with Apple, Dell, and Fujitsu (which has really great service people, by the way, but I don't think it quite makes up for the hardware while IBM had both solid hardware and great service people).
The X31 also has a built-in compact flash reader, meaning if I want something to unload images to and view on a larger screen, all I do is bring along the relatively small laptop in the Lowepro CompuTrekker's back pocket and no other cabels or accessories. I think the X40 or one of the other lines has a built-in SD card reader instead.
I ordered it with minimum amount of RAM and hard drive space, and ordered a 100GB 5400RPM drive elsewhere and 1GB of RAM from Crucial for a total price of about $2000 (I paid $70 for the Crucial RAM, Lenovo wanted $700 for the same upgrade).
With all that said, of course, I don't use Photoshop (or any other Adobe product on principle [whee, I can feel the flames already]), so you might like OSX better than I did on the sole reason that it runs that software natively. You might also find that the problems with an Apple system are a magnitude less than with a MicroSoft-centric system, instead of higher like I found (compared to a non-MicroSoft-centric system). If you don't go with Apple though, I definitely suggest Lenovo for both quality hardware, features, and (at least when they were IBM, haven't dealt with them since) support.
editted to add: 'natively'
Message edited by author 2006-01-04 14:29:13. |
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01/04/2006 03:13:33 PM · #9 |
I've got a Dell, which cost me pretty close to $4,000 Canadian.
It's served me pretty well for the last two-plus years, but I do have a beef.
There is a known issue with the display, which I had to use a workaround to fix. I didn't have time to call them about it until ONE day after I'd had it for a month. I would have had to send it back to them for service & wait who knows how long to get it back. Chances are I won't be buying Dell ever again.
And to think, I've bought over $250,000 of equipment from Dell in the past. I was shocked at the treatment I received after being one day past their holy month.
Prices are so much lower these days it's tempting to pay the extra $$ and just pluck something off a shelf at a shop.
Just had to voice my displeasure with Dell. Though I think customer service everywhere is taking a nose-dive. Maybe I'm just getting old & grumpy & expect too much.
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01/04/2006 03:28:26 PM · #10 |
| I hate laptops, but have used IBM, Dell, Toshiba, Sony, HP, Compaq, and Apple. If I had to buy another it would be Lenovo (IBM), Dell Latitude (not the consumer grade Inspiron), or Apple. I absolutely love the Apple iBook we use for traveling, but the performance is poor and needs the change to Intel CPUs. Other than that it is a superb design and OS X is a joy to use even though I spend most of my time with Windows. The Lenovo is ugly and built like a brick but is the best quality you can get in a Windows PC. The Dell is the affordable alternative. Buying the Latitude gives a better built quality and better, domestic support. |
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01/04/2006 03:36:59 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by CalliopeKel:
its for my son who is graduating from the Marines this month. |
Well, a Marine needs a kickass now and take names later kind of notebook.
How about this ?
Message edited by author 2006-01-04 15:40:14.
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01/04/2006 03:40:35 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Well, a Marine needs a kickass notebook.
How about this ? |
That's the one I thought of too, although I'd far prefer an iBook, which also has a reputation (and some history) for being pretty rugged.
Message edited by author 2006-01-04 15:40:58. |
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01/04/2006 03:43:20 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by Di:
both my husband and i have toshiba laptops... they're good sturdy laptops that bang aroudn my car and goes everywhere with me .. and are used daily
dunno why your friends had problesm with em ... but it maybe how they treated them
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
Originally posted by theSaj:
Toshiba's have a good reputation for durability. |
All my friends who went to college with Toshibas have had huge issues with them. I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole, myself. I prefer Dell - have had an Inspiron system for 2 years without so much as a single glitch. |
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It's not so much that they got physically broken as they just always have internal issues. I've had to help reinstall windows on them a couple of times, they always seem to be down from internal faults or virus/spyware, even with Antivirus software running...the list goes on. *shrug* I had always heard they were really good too, and for what the cost, the darn well ought to be. But now, I'm really, really glad that I don't have one.
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01/04/2006 03:45:25 PM · #14 |
I'd avoid Compuke and HP like the plague. We have them at work and my own laptop is on its second display, third HD, third motherboard, and second keyboard. This is over a roughly 3 year period. When they first rolled out these laptops, they would all spontneously reboot several times per day (One rebooted by itself 26 times in 8 hours) We're getting Dell next and I'm not worried, since they will have tech support onsite.
I also bought 3 high end Toshiba Laptops as part of a data acquisition system and wound up replacing all three because they were so unreliable. Some days they'd work fine, other days it was BSOD all day long.
Message edited by author 2006-01-04 15:48:07.
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01/04/2006 03:46:32 PM · #15 |
the spyware/antivirus is the fault of the user not the computer...
I would buy another toshiba in a heartbeat
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
Originally posted by Di:
both my husband and i have toshiba laptops... they're good sturdy laptops that bang aroudn my car and goes everywhere with me .. and are used daily
dunno why your friends had problesm with em ... but it maybe how they treated them
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
Originally posted by theSaj:
Toshiba's have a good reputation for durability. |
All my friends who went to college with Toshibas have had huge issues with them. I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole, myself. I prefer Dell - have had an Inspiron system for 2 years without so much as a single glitch. |
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It's not so much that they got physically broken as they just always have internal issues. I've had to help reinstall windows on them a couple of times, they always seem to be down from internal faults or virus/spyware, even with Antivirus software running...the list goes on. *shrug* I had always heard they were really good too, and for what the cost, the darn well ought to be. But now, I'm really, really glad that I don't have one. |
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01/04/2006 03:47:27 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
I'd avoid Compuke and HP like the plague. We have them at work and my own laptop is on its second display, third HD, third motherboard, and second keyboard. This is over a roughly 3 year period. When they first rolled out these laptops, they would all spontneously reboot several times per day (One rebooted by itself 26 times in 8 hours) We're getting Dell next and I'm not worried, since they will have tech support onsite. |
Oh man, I forgot all about Compuke...haha. I will never, ever, in a million years buy anything from them again. I had one of their systems about 8 years back, and it ate itself, piece by bloody piece. Drives, cards, finally the motherboard. Lost everything. And although HP makes great printers, I'm suspect of their computers.
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01/04/2006 03:50:36 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
I'd avoid Compuke and HP like the plague. We have them at work and my own laptop is on its second display, third HD, third motherboard, and second keyboard. This is over a roughly 3 year period. When they first rolled out these laptops, they would all spontneously reboot several times per day (One rebooted by itself 26 times in 8 hours) We're getting Dell next and I'm not worried, since they will have tech support onsite. |
Oh man, I forgot all about Compuke...haha. I will never, ever, in a million years buy anything from them again. I had one of their systems about 8 years back, and it ate itself, piece by bloody piece. Drives, cards, finally the motherboard. Lost everything. And although HP makes great printers, I'm suspect of their computers. |
Well, since HP bought Compuke, I don't even know if Compukes are still on the market. Personally, I would not go anywhere near either one. IMO HP shoulda stuck with test equipment.
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01/04/2006 03:52:12 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:
I've had to help reinstall windows on them a couple of times, they always seem to be down from [...] virus/spyware, even with Antivirus software running |
That sounds like the issue is entirely software/user based. I can't see how there's anything special about the hardware that facilitated this. |
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01/04/2006 03:58:28 PM · #19 |
| FWIW, Apple is set to announce Intel-based iBooks next Tuesday. You would have the rugged iBook build, OS X and the ability to run Windows natively. They may even be cheaper than current iBooks. |
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01/04/2006 04:00:31 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by scalvert:
FWIW, Apple is set to announce Intel-based iBooks next Tuesday. You would have the rugged iBook build, OS X and the ability to run Windows natively. They may even be cheaper than current iBooks. |
Windows running on an Apple machine, isn't that one of the signs of the impending apocalypse????
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01/04/2006 04:02:15 PM · #21 |
i would suggest IBM (Lenovo now) i'm using it for over 5 years and changed 5 of them, all were fantastic ... used once compaq but ... yak. HP laptops are also awesome but IBM beats them all in durability, power consuption, battery life, support, poratbility and so on
the T series is the best you can find, a mixture of all above mentioned features, and the new Z series is something completely new and above all others, see here ... //www.lenovo.com/us/en/ and here //www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10000001&catalogId=-840&langId=-1&categoryId=2035724
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01/04/2006 04:03:30 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Windows running on an Apple machine, isn't that one of the signs of the impending apocalypse???? |
Windows running on ANY machine is a harbinger of impending doom. ;-) |
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01/04/2006 04:04:37 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by m:
That sounds like the issue is entirely software/user based. I can't see how there's anything special about the hardware that facilitated this. |
All things being equal, I'd agree with you. It is strange. But when almost all of the people I know at college who have Toshibas are having similar issues, I've got to wonder.
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01/04/2006 04:06:13 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by scalvert:
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Windows running on an Apple machine, isn't that one of the signs of the impending apocalypse???? |
Windows running on ANY machine is a harbinger of impending doom. ;-) |
Yeah, the BSOD is a foregone conclusion...
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01/04/2006 04:49:44 PM · #25 |
| First off I say skip apple, mac OS is just as unstable as noy other OS out there just does not give a pretty (ha) BSOD when it dies. Next I would say if it MUST be a laptop then Sony, Toshiba Or thinkpad. I really recommend not having a laptop unless it is absolutly nessacary to have somthing portable and battery operated. They are by far more frail, difficult to fix when hardware goes bad/wrong, not as upgradeable, easly stolen (and frequently)not to mention more expensive. |
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