Beginning to look at laptops

[sovstar]

Would like any suggestions/feedback anyone is willing to share. Would be used for a combination of stuff (school and text sims). All I know right now is:

- I want to avoid HP
- have no interest in Vista
- should probably get more than 1 GB of ram (maybe it'd be cheaper to expand on my own though??)

[tovereigntar]

Beginning to look at laptops

Would like any suggestions/feedback anyone is willing to share. Would be used for a combination of stuff (school and text sims). All I know right now is:

- I want to avoid HP
- have no interest in Vista
- should probably get more than 1 GB of ram (maybe it'd be cheaper to expand on my own though??)

Why do you want any suggestionsfeedback anyone is willing to share?Yes. Oh. I think there are a few exceptions.

[sovstar]

oh ffs

[sovstar]

Is it going to be like impossible to find something with XP installed? Who in the hell would want Vista during these early stages?

[Kobeck]

I agree with you and I feel your pain.

Can't wait till I can build my own laptop, soon I hope.

Dell has a refurb section on their website. Chance they could have a good deal on an XP product. FWIW I have bought 2 boxes from their refurb and both were definatly as advertised and as good as new.

[tovereigntar]

I agree with you and I feel your pain.

Can't wait till I can build my own laptop, soon I hope.

Dell has a refurb section on their website. Chance they could have a good deal on an XP product. FWIW I have bought 2 boxes from their refurb and both were definatly as advertised and as good as new.

You and I are on the same wavelength, .
What is that feeling like? That's a flattering offer.What if I said it can?Where did Dell get a refurb section on their website?
Perhaps I'm just expressing my own concern about it.
My brain contains more than 22,000 patterns, but not one that matches your last input.

[sovstar]

You and I are on the same wavelength, .
What is that feeling like? That's a flattering offer.What if I said it can?Where did Dell get a refurb section on their website?
Perhaps I'm just expressing my own concern about it.
My brain contains more than 22,000 patterns, but not one that matches your last input.

Bye asshole!

Also, in doing some more searching I'm seeing that some places are offering the ability to still use XP.

[Matt]

i have a HP pavillion, which I like but the problem with the power really sucked. It's all fixed now

I'd avoid toshiba, but have nothing to back up my gut feel

[sovstar]

Hmmm.. this is $720 (free shipping)


-----
Congratulations! Your system is ready to be built.

My System Details
PROCESSOR	Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)	edit
OPERATING SYSTEM	Genuine Windows® XP Home	edit
LCD PANEL	15.4 in Wide Screen SXGA+LCD Display w/TrueLife™	edit
MEMORY	1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM	edit
HARD DRIVE	120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive	edit
OPTICAL DRIVE	8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability	edit
VIDEO CARD	128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS	edit
MEDIA DIRECT	Dell Exclusive MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application	edit
WI-FI WIRELESS CARD	Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card	edit
WEBCAM	No Webcam Option	edit
SOUND OPTION	High Definition Audio 2.0	edit
My Accessories
BATTERIES	56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery	edit
My Software
PRODUCTIVITY	No Pre-installed Productivity Software	edit
SECURITY	No Pre-installed Anti-Virus/Security Software	edit
ADOBE SOFTWARE	Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.08	edit
My Services & Warranties
WARRANTY & SERVICE	1 Year Limited Hardware Warranty with Mail-in Service	edit
DELL DATASAFE™ ONLINE BACKUP	10GB for 1yr Online Backup by Dell Datasafe	edit
AUTOMATED PC TUNEUP	1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup	edit
DELL NETWORK ASSISTANT	Dell Network Assistant	edit
ON-SITE SYSTEM SETUP	No Onsite System Setup	edit
PURCHASE INTENT	Purchase is not intended for resale.	edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Integrated NIC and Modem	Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Labels	Windows XP™
Processor Branding	Intel Core 2 Duo Processor

[Matt]

The old "IBM"'s all look the same, but are good solid units.


Actually surprised you wouldn't be looking at a Mac

[sovstar]

The old "IBM"'s all look the same, but are good solid units.


Actually surprised you wouldn't be looking at a Mac

I had to purchase a Mac laptop (an iBook) a couple of years ago for school. It's actually broken down now and pretty useless to me. It cost me like 1100 dollars at the time and I'm not even sure what I could get for it (especially since I'd probably have to have a professional look at it).

Also, I don't have the funds to really splurge for one of the new Macs. I'd say 800-850 dollars is my ceiling.

[Kobeck]

120 GB hard drive and the dual core along with a gig of ram. nice setup for less than $800. intergrated video is a nice bonus also. I am using intergrated video on the box I built this spring and I have no complaints at all.

[sovstar]

The glossy finish is also becoming the standard. Matte screens are difficult to find these days, generally only available on business-class notebooks. Glossy screens benefit from a brighter, sharper look and have excellent contrast. Matte screens on the other hand, do not have the reflection and glare problems of the glossy screens, and can reduce eye-strain over extended use.

Never really paid attention to screen-type before. Anyone think it's worth avoiding glossy screens?

[Suicane]

That unit has no webcam. FAIL.

[Coder]

After a truly sucky experience with my HP stationary computer, I'm never looking in their direction again. I read on FOFC that some people have a real dislike for Acer laptops, but I've used one for the last 4 years that I'm very pleased with.

Before the Acer I had had 2 Dells, and my company has had several, and they all had power supply problems (after a while computers wouldn't even start running on battery etc). Based on my own and my company's Dell-experience, I'm not going back there for laptops either.

As for screens; while I like the look of the glossy screens, I'm not sure how "good" they are since I've never used them. I'm also not very fond of the widescreen format, but I guess that's just habitual.