Looking for a Laptop

[Taltos]

Well, I'm a huge Dell fan and been buying Dell's for 10+ years. They have been fantastic.

HOWEVER, just ordered a Dell XPS laptop, 17" screen, sweet machine for my parents. It arrived DEAD!!!!

Guess I'm about to find out what support and service are like right now. I'll let you know.

[suzjor]

My mother has had a Dell laptop for years and loves it. My father-in-law recently purchased one of their laptops and also loves it. He did have to deal with parts because he did something to the cord and they replaced it asap - it was there in a couple of days. But like you said, Laura, I'm not sure how it would be since you are going to England.

[Foxtrck]

Get an Acer, they are the kings of budget laptops. Even though they are budget they take the bigger companies a run for their money. I bought a refurb one of ebay though pretty cheap, but it runs brilliantly and I demand alot for what I do from it. The only problem I have had with it is spilling beer on the keyboard and loosing the W and " keys!!!!! Gonna have to buy a new keyboard.

Personally I would NOT get a Dell. My friend has one and it runs sooooo slow, he's had a lot of problems with it and everyone I know who has a Dell has always told me about problems they have with them. Dell is Hell.

[littleFella]

Originally Posted by chicgeek

lF: I'd be buying in Canada, but most likely moving to England for school. I'm not sure how that's work with Dell...

Oh, England!
In that case I recommend this one:



Full specs here.

[Vern]

Hey Taltos,

do keep us updated on that XPS of yours , will ya?

I'm planning to get me a[Dell laptop too.

[Foxtrck]

Originally Posted by littleFella

Oh, England!
In that case I recommend this one:



Full specs here.

what the hell is that thing lol? Better not be making fun of england

[Taltos]

Hey Vern,

Typical support, call, get India (I'm in the US), very pleasant but not terribly useful support... eventually asked me to call another phone number.....drum roll please...yes, the same number I called to get the first genius!!

They are going to replace it but I had to call another number to get to the person that can process that for me.

Haven't done that yet but I'll let you know how that adventure goes.

[chicgeek]

Kontron claims the NotePAC can survive a 3-foot drop onto concrete.

A little overkill. And ugly.

[StupidScript]

Want a laptop that simply will not break? Go Hummer. For half the price of a Panasonic ToughBook, you won't need to worry about customer service or disrespectful customs agents.

[chicgeek]

LOL! I think I'll pass.

I know which laptop I want, but I also have the large suspicion that my parents still got me clothes instead. (They went golfing in Florida and did a lot of christmas shopping there.) Not to sound like an ingrate, but I really don't need more clothes.

Looks like I'll be waiting a few more months until I can afford it myself. I can do that. Who needs to eat when you have a Toshiba satellite?

[Vern]

Hi Taltos,

thanks for sharing.

While the support seems friendly I agree that it
could get a little frustrating sometimes to be
doing a wild goose hunt.

My sis had a dell Inspiron and it works well
(she's in NY by the way) and I'm not sure
if this incident about an XPS arriving broken is
unique or that it has become quite common.

This leaves the question of whether Dell laptops
are now still in good quality.

Fortunately for me, the manufacturing plant is
located just up north from Singapore right there
in Penang , Malaysia.

[chicgeek]

More things I've been informed of:

- Core 2 Duo (1.83ghz+)
- 2 GB RAM
- ati radeon x1300+ / nvidia 7300+ graphics
- decent speakers
- 15.4"+ monitor
- 100GB+ harddrive (7200rpm)
- 1280x800+ resolution
- pcmcia slot

BAD:
- shared memory
- intel graphics
- ati xpress

Agree? Disagree?

[StupidScript]

Not cheap - Core 2 Duo (1.83ghz+)
Not standard - 2 GB RAM
Sure (128MB RAM min.) - ati radeon x1300+ / nvidia 7300+ graphics
Need - decent speakers - for decent audio
At least - 15.4"+ monitor - not going to find much bigger for cheap
Probably extra (80GB std-ish) - 100GB+ harddrive (7200rpm)
Um - 1280x800+ resolution - wide/short, try 1280x1024
Standard (2x, usually) - pcmcia slot

You'll want USB, wifi, infrared and possibly bluetooth and svideo output, too.

BAD:
Yeah, hard on graphics/movies - shared memory
Enh, onboard with shared memory - intel graphics
Whatever, personal choice - ati xpress

Also bad: Easy to break. Check Consumer Reports, etc for durability reviews.
Also check CR etc. for usability (screen brightness, keyboard size, etc.)

[draligus]

my friend,
laptop = sony vaio
believe me

[ISbetterthanIT]

I would go Toshiba. Unless you need the tech support, I would not get Dell or Gateway. You are paying a premium for their support when you purchase their products.

[chicgeek]

Thanks guys. I did end up going for my Toshiba a100 ta9.

It's hot.

[Taltos]

Congrats!!! Hey, let us know how you like it a few weeks from now too. Please? I need one as well and that was one of the ones the recently started looking good (mainly because of the price point for features).

Enjoy!!

[chicgeek]

Sure, my one complaint so far is that I'd like to get rid of all the little preinstalled programs that I deem unuseful and run int he background. But with some patience and skill, and a couple of hours, you can eliminate them.

The battery life isn't great, but I knew that going into it. I might purchase another battery in the future, but not now. It's NOT a bulky battery, which surprised me, and I really like that.

I'll let you know. Do bug me with any specific questions.

[chicgeek]

Moved the last two posts here, where it fits more appropriately.

[Sydneyagent]

i strongly suggest Toshiba because it is tough and not easily got problem