Am I making a huge mistake

[pstylesss]

Originally posted by: Dark Cupcake

Originally posted by: accguy9009
I spoke with one of the IT guys at work today(again) about getting a notebook other than a Dell. He tells me I would be foolish to buy any brand other than a Dell. He was very persuasive mainly because he told me Vista Business was developed primarily for Dell hardware and my Vista experince would be far superior because the Dell hardware was optimized for Vista. This is my first laptop purchase in about 5 years and I do not want to screw it up. He said a Vostro 1000 was the best bang for the buck. I have no clue what to get. I am not a gamer, office apps, music, web, digital camera and some DVD watching mostly. Is the Vostro reliable or is it cheaply built?

Lol. No thats not even remotely true. What I find funny is all these IT guys don't even have a basic idea about hardware.

Wanna know how to optimise a system for Vista? Get at least 2 gig of ram!

Asus laptops are good also. I have a F3JP model for a year now. Not a single problem with it, build quality is good, but it does have a cheap plastic feel to it around the keyboard.

I think your IT people have half the information. Dell partnered with Microsoft for beta testing, but Vista was not developed around Dell hardware.

If you go with Dell I would go with a Latitude, not an Inspiron, the Inspiron build quality is piss poor. I find the latitude to be quite solid.

I hate HP tech support. I have always had a good experience with Dell. You just have to be firm with them.

 

[Parasitic]

Or you can go the alternative path and get an Apple
Truth be told if Dell isn't half bad...if you went with the small business division instead of the home/office section. Vostros are much better than Inspirons, from what I've heard and seen.
Although I wouldn't disregard HP or Lenovos either. HP/Compaq used to be crummy when they used proprietary components (I had one of those Compaq laptops - it was impossible to find drivers beyond Windows 98 when I upgraded to 2000!), but after HP bought Compaq and revamped they were much better. I've personally owned 3 Compaq laptops and my brother has a HP now, and aside from the very first Compaq in the house the "modern" ones are all solid machines.

Edit: and yes, I have a Macbook now

 

[alimoalem]

like others have said, tell us what you're looking for in a laptop and how much you want to pay. i have an hp dv2000t. i'm happy with it for the most part but it is evident that they've cut corners. my only experience with dell is with their latitude d620 (last year's roommate had one) and the xps m1210 (close friend has one). i thought both were of real good quality but neither is their econo-laptop. i'd probably rate hp a little higher in build quality over the inspirons (from my experience with a dell kiosk) but i wouldn't say it's way above by any means.

check out apple, asus, dell latitude, dell vostro (i've only heard good things about them...never seen one in person), hp, and lenovo. don't think lenovo is god of the laptop world, though. my dad's been getting them for free for like the past 10 years from his work and yea, they are better in build quality than hp but they still do have their issues. also, i'd still take a dell latitude or mac book pro over a thinkpad if i had a choice.

it all goes down to what you need. good looks and reiability are important to me. a warranty is a plus. i don't do anything too tasking but i don't want to wait forever for things to load. figure out what you need, find laptops online you think fit the bill and ask if it's a good buy orn not.

btw, your IT guy should be fired.