Laptop Computer Questions

[biggieou]

How many of you have laptops and what type? I am looking at possibly getting on this summer, but dont have a ton of change to drop on one.

 

[Bertram65]

IBM and Dell are the two best, IBM in my opinion is a better built laptop that holds up better over time, the service is about the same. Look at the R series from IBM with a 15" screen they are pretty decent, whichever you get make sure you get a 3 year next bussiness day on site warrantee, I would just get it for the hardware and skip the software support, it is usually pretty useless. Plan on spending around $1300 - $1500 depending on memory, disk and processor.

 

[jwilliams3]

I 2nd that.

IBM if you can afford it... they make a tougher unit.

Dell is nice if you are just going to use it at home or something but you will probably get more bang for your buck using a dell.

 

[gitchesum]

I'm quite happy with my Toshiba Satellite. Been dropped a few times andstill works great. It goes with me almost everywhere.



I'vegot an IBM Thinkpad I use for work. Nice unit, but the ones they give us are a bit on the small side.

 

[gonehuntingagain]

I have a dell Inspiron 8000 that I'm still using - bought in 2001. I toted it around for 3 years while I was in college, and it never let me down, now it stays in the docking station because I have no need to carry it around. At work, we use the Compaq/HP business line of laptops and we rarely have hardware issues.



That being said, my buddy got a low end dell and had nothing but problems with it... . I guess the moral of the story is to get one that isn't the bottom of the barrel price wise.



Also, get the highest end components you can afford because they cannot be upgraded at a later time. Disk and memory can always be upgraded, but things like video card and screen type/resolution cannot be changed later.

 

[RGardner]

I thought that IBM didn't make computers anymore, that they sold out to a chinese company?

 

[SHobbs]

Picked up a Dell Inspiron 8200 last year, no complaints at all.

 

[formula]

Apple PowerBook

I've got a 15" Apple PowerBook G4 1. 5GHz. At work we've got all kinds of laptops such as Apple, IBM, Toshiba, Sony, Acer, etc. etc. The Apple PowerBooks hold up better than all the others.



Sean

 

[klenger]

I've had one Dell laptop for 6 years and another for about 1-1/2 years. Both are doing well. I've had to add memory and change the hard drive and battery on the old one, but it still works fine and runs XP OK. We also use Dell laptops at work. I wouldn't shop for anything else. YMMV.

 

[biggieou]

Dang I was afriad you guys would say the equivalent of "you get what you pay for". I'm going into my last quarter of college, so the monetary funds are on the down and down. Guess I need to start looking for summer job #2 now!!

 

[TowPro]

IBM don't make laptops anymore, they sold out to some chinese company called lasaro or something like that. I have had dells for years as a consultant, bought my wife a Wide screen Dell. Then my new company gave me an IBM T43. Worse Graphics I have ever had on a laptop. Unless its set to its highest resolution everything looks fuzzy, but when its set as its highest everything on the screen is to small to read (and I don't have bad eyes). Plus its slow booting and running with all the crap they install on it so they can call it an IBM.

 

[RandyHamilton]

I thought that IBM didn't make computers anymore, that they sold out to a chinese company?

You are correct sir,, But the Chinese company that bought em out also bought the rights to use the IBM name on their PC's. IBM sold because they were making no money on the laptop and desktop market. So far though it is the same quality hardware you would have gotten last year before the sale. .



I own a Dell Inspiron 8100 that has been fantastic. . I use an IBMt-40 at work and have no complaints there either. .

 

[Sageair]

I have a Micron Transport x1000 that takes a tremendous beating at work. I mostly use it as a terminal to communicate with telecommunications equipment. I recently had a a problem which required me to call tech support. I opened a fresh pack of smokes, went pee and filled my travel cup as i braced myself for a loooong conversation with someone in India. Surprise I spoke with a tech in Nampa Idaho USA, for five minutes and hung up happy. That's reason enough for me to stay with Micron.

 

[AfterBurner]

Dell Latitude D610, government purchase. cost me 1800 and is a decent computer, as long as you don't demand too much processing (ie super gaming, film editing). has the pentium m, but am sure it needs a RAM upgrade. i've worked with apple laptops and highly recommend those!

 

[phloop]

I bought a Dell XPS lap top to replace the hunk of junk compaq desk top. Had nothing but troubles with the compaq which is now owned by hp. #@$%! My new Dell is a great computer. The only issues I have had with it is operator error. :-laf And if you have decent credit Dell had (not sure if it is still offered) a 18 month free interest deal going which is what helped convince me to buy this new 'puter.

 

[DSiemens]

The best choice depends a bit on the usage of the machine.



For example. for rugged enviroments Panasonic Toughbooks are the best choice. All Snap on dealers use Panasonic toughbooks because they live in that enviroment.



For a user that wants to play games the notebooks from alienware now dell are a good choice.



For the person on a budget their are brands like Acer and others that usually have a entry machines for $600. 00 or less.



Recommendations.

1)Wait as long as you can. Computer prices don't really go down but you always get more next month.

2) Buy for your needs. Don't by extra capacity as it will be cheaper next week. For example you are better to buy a 700. 00 notebook in year1 and in year 3 buy another 700. 00 notebook than to buy a 1200. 00 unit in year 1 and by a 1200 notebook in year 3. 5.

3) Never buy extra warranty. The machine is worthless in 3 years. Save the warranty money for a new machine. The reason they want to sell extended warranty is because it's high profit.

 

[Dl5treez]

Apple..... currently have an iBook but probably will get the new MacBook or MacBook Pro by the end of the year.



Factoring in the durability, ease of use, performance, the fact that in the nearly five years I've knowed it, it has never crashed---not even once--and how well (at least in my experience) Apple stands behinds their products, it's a no brainer.



They may cost a little more, but to me it's very much worth it, and works well for my style of computing. Your results may vary... ...





Dan-

 

[Bertram65]

The best choice depends a bit on the usage of the machine.



For example. for rugged enviroments Panasonic Toughbooks are the best choice. All Snap on dealers use Panasonic toughbooks because they live in that enviroment.



For a user that wants to play games the notebooks from alienware now dell are a good choice.



For the person on a budget their are brands like Acer and others that usually have a entry machines for $600. 00 or less.



Recommendations.

1)Wait as long as you can. Computer prices don't really go down but you always get more next month.

2) Buy for your needs. Don't by extra capacity as it will be cheaper next week. For example you are better to buy a 700. 00 notebook in year1 and in year 3 buy another 700. 00 notebook than to buy a 1200. 00 unit in year 1 and by a 1200 notebook in year 3. 5.

3) Never buy extra warranty. The machine is worthless in 3 years. Save the warranty money for a new machine. The reason they want to sell extended warranty is because it's high profit.

The base warrantee on most laptops is 1 year return to depot, the cost to upgrade to on-site 3 year is usually around $200. You are right the machine is worthless after 3 years but if you have any problem after year 1 and you are without a warrantee it will cost more than $200 to get it fixed, the return to depot is a headache if you use the machine as it can take up to two weeks to get back and often they reload the hard drive.

 

[SMolteberg]

I had a Dell Inspiron 8000 too, was very happy with it. It was a bit on the heavy side and it stayed mostly at home. It didn't like filesharing and it ate two HD's in four years. It died for me last year, I thought it burned the motherboard so I built myself a nice desktop instead. A friend of mine wanted it and he got another HD just to check it. It fired right up again, and are working flawlesly today.



My advice are to go as expensive as you can from one of the Big Brands (my choice will be Dell again) try to stay away from the cheaper series. Less performance for more money could be a good choice for a quality laptop. If you don't need to haul it around much then go for a Desktop! A lot more bang for the bucks, easier to upgrade and holds up much better.

 

[Byershome]

Got a brand new Dell Latitude D610 at work last week, once i gutted all the hard work the IT guys put into it (did none of the Windows updates just useless network settings that we don't use out in the field) and disabled all the junk loading on the front end it runs quickly and efficiently... . my old Gateway 9300 was a good computer but at 433 mhz it was sllloooooooooooooowww buy todays standards.