Topic: Considering buying a laptop and need input (Read 1741 times)

jualdeaux · « **on:** July 12, 2006, 05:40:55 pm »

Okay. I am thinking about buying a new laptop. It will be for general home/home office use and will occasionally be taken elsewhere. I am looking for good quality, good support and a good functionality at a reasonable price, around $1200-1600 tops. I would prefer a place that has its support people in the US for those odd occasions where it might not be working properly.

So, who is making good laptop systems these days?

Dracho · « **Reply #1 on:** July 13, 2006, 11:06:23 am »

I just bought this one, and am quite pleased with it. I spent around $1900, but I bought a docking station and a 2-year accidental damage warranty. The laptop itself was around $1200. It would configure for $1800 from HP, but I caught it on 4th of July sale at CompUSA. You might try pricewatch.com

Mine was a tad more than the base model: Dual core Centrino chip at 1.63 GHZ, 1 GB of RAM, 160G HDD, 17" Screen, DVD writer with Lightscribe labeling, and an Nvidia graphics card with 128 MB video ram. I also loaded XP Pro.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?series_name=dv8000t_series&catLevel=3&category=notebooks/hp_pavilion/dv8000_series&storeName=computer_store

http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=321

Commander Maxillius · « **Reply #2 on:** July 13, 2006, 12:25:03 pm »

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/0.RSLID?mco=A4791B5D&nclm=MacBook

As you can see, dual core 2.0 GHz processor AND they dual boot into Windows. So you're getting 2 machines for the price of 1.

plus they look cool.

jualdeaux · « **Reply #3 on:** July 13, 2006, 05:44:05 pm »

Those do look nice bu the one withthe larger screens are way out of my price range. I as kinda looking at 15" and up screens as it is going to be a desktop replacement fo the most part. I've been looking at the dual core centrino ones. they look like they are decently powerful without being overly expensive.

Commander Maxillius · « **Reply #4 on:** July 13, 2006, 07:01:17 pm »

Yeah, the only thing I miss about my other machine is the 15 inch screen.

But, all three MacBooks come with an external monitor port, and the video cards will either mirror the main screen, or you can extend the desktop onto the 2nd monitor, so you can have as large a screen at home that you wish. Something I wish my iBook did. <sniff>

Darth Sidious · « **Reply #5 on:** July 14, 2006, 08:00:01 am »

If i'd have waited another month before I got my Gateway 17in Dual 1.83 centrino... I'd have wound up with a Macbook pro and boot camp.

FPF-DieHard · « **Reply #6 on:** July 14, 2006, 06:49:35 pm »

Sager. Can't say enough good about them. My only issue with their current crop is no 15.4 Displays with a Dualcore CPU

I have this model with a 2 GHz Pentium M, 1 GB RAM, UWXGA Display. Bought it a year ago and it even games pretty good

http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/notebooks/product2.cfm?ProductType=3880&SubType=C

jualdeaux · « **Reply #7 on:** July 29, 2006, 01:40:28 pm »

Okay. I got the new laptop. I ended up going with Dracho's suggestion. What tipped me was the number pad on the laptop itself. I frequently use it and it makes it very convenient. And I don't have to get an external one. Plus, the other options were pretty good for the price. What I got:

- Genuine Windows XP Professional
- Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2250 (1.73 GHz)
- 17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1680x1050)
- 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600
- FREE Upgrade to 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB)!!
- 80 GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
- LightScribe Super Multi 8X DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works/Money
- Genuine Windows XP Professional Backup CD

So far I really, realy like the new system. the screen is just great. (I didn't realize how dingy looking my old CRT monitor was until I hooked this thing up LOL) The system is fairly fast and seems to be getting just a touch faster than when I first got it. (Break in period?) anyway, apps are loading up much, much faster than i am used to, which is a very good thing. Plus, with the dual cores i can do multiple things at the same time and not have to worry about things getting really slow due to multiple apps sharing the same processor. I have yet to mess around with the lightscribe stuff but it looks really interesting.

So, thanks for all your input. I appreciate it.

jualdeaux · « **Reply #8 on:** July 29, 2006, 08:22:26 pm »

Okay. Just burned the first label using lightscribe. All I got to say is this is pretty cool. it is much better than trying to make a paper label to stick to the disc.

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