Originally posted by mk:
Originally posted by msgoodygal:
The name brand on a system really doesn't matter all that much, because in a manufactured system, you have no choice in many of the components.
I'd have NO PROBLEM trusting an off-brand computer that has quality parts that you get to choose, for example, the brand and speed of the processor and front side bus, the amount of ram, the size of the hard drive, the type of video card, and slots. An onboard network card is secondary, as it's pretty cheap to buy a network card that slides into a PCI slot.
Most all laptops have the standard, internal components, so the name brand is not even a question. I've owned Dells (desktops) in the past, because they put JUNK on the inside, and their customer service sucks. They put them in cheap little cases with little or no room for airflow, and lousy fans and power supply units.
I build my own now, and would NEVER buy a manufactured desktop again.
So, have no fear of buying an off-brand laptop. It's the components that make it, and off brands are selling the same Intel Centrino and AMD chipsets that the name brands do. You can always upgrade the ram or hard drive at a later date for little money, so go for processor speed first.
In other words, I'd rather have a laptop with 512megs of ram that has a processor running at 3.0 and above, rather than a laptop that has a gig of ram, and runs at 1.8ghz for processor speed.
You can't update the processor, but throwing in another stick of ram into a laptop is a cheap and easy upgrade.
I have two laptops. A VPR matrix, which was a Best Buy manufactured laptop. It is about 4 years old, maybe 5. It runs perfectly. The operating system crashed, but that is just typical Microcrap product problems, and is easily reinstalled. The components all work perfectly after all this time, and I've yet to do a single upgrade on it.
I have a Fujitsu that is now my main laptop. It has better specs than most desktop computers, and runs like a charm. With the exception again of Microcrap XP's little hiccups.
So, save your money and religious devotion to Dell/Compaq/Gateways, and buy the best laptop that your money can afford, regardless of name brand. |
It's so sexy when girls talk turbogeek. And that ain't even my team! :) |
LOL... Yeah, I'm a geek. But I'm a cool geek. What teams?
Anyway, to the person that says that the Toshibas are pretty much the better way to go out of all the major manufacturers, I agree, but I've also seen us get a bad batch at my job that had to be returned too. Someone in quality assurance was out sick that day I guess.
And as far as 'Dell' being 'nice' enough to replace an over-heating laptop, my first thought is that a quality product wouldn't be overheating in the first place, not at least when it's new, and they aren't really doing anything special for you, because they are just bowing down and recognizing that they sent you a piece of crap in the first place.
Oh, and buy a laptop cooler people. A small investment that will keep those little batteries purring along. And I mean one that has fans and permits ventilation from underneath the laptop. |
