BEST NOTEBOOK- QUICKIE QUESTION...

[phhnyc]

Hi everyone, I know this is a pretty general question, but I'm in the market for a notebook and I'm kinda overwhelmed by all the options. Basically I'd like to know which notebook is best overall in terms of performance/stability/mobility. For the time being let's say I wanna spend less than $3K (it's gonna be a graduation gift). I was pretty much decided on the Sony VAIO R505DSP (PIII, 1.13 mHz, 256 ram etc) but I've heard some mixed reviews about the VAIO that made me think twice...but in terms of size/slimness it's ideal...any suggestions? thanks all

edit=
and i forgot to mention, a pretty good graphics card is kinda important...i don't know how good the on board ones are right now, but I've seen 32 mb ddr...

 

[SteelCityFan]

Generally, the more power you want, the more weight you get... It also depends on whether you want to mess around with removable floppy drives etc.

Mine is pretty heavy, but it is powerful and all the drives I need can be plugged in at the same time.

 

[SteelCityFan]

On the Video Question...

The Dell I have has a 32MB GeForce2Go card which actually is removable and upgradeable.

 

[Quixfire]

Sager makes excellent laptops, I have had mine for over two & a half years without any problems. I would check out their website before spending the extra money for a brand name.

Sager Notebooks

 

[bignick]

Gateway has some great deals on their new P4 laptops. For $2500 you can easily get dvd/cdrw combo, 512meg ram, 1.4ghz P4, and a 15" display.

I have their "old" top of the line 9550cl laptop. It's sweet, PIII 1.13, 32meg Nvidia video, internal wireless, 512meg ram, etc.

Oh, and don't buy a case from Gateway or dell if you get one from them. Go to ebags.com or best buy and get a case/bag.

 

[phhnyc]

thanks guys...the new gateway's definately look nice, but wouldn't you all agree that the VAIO is the nicest of all? i checked out the sagers and i don't think they have any below 7lbs...i was hoping to stay in the 5-6lb range...the only problem i have with gateway is no AMD inside...as for dell, i think the prices are deceptively lower...cuz once its customized its just as expensive as an equivalent sony...

 

[bacillus]

have you considered a refurbished dell?
you can sometimes pick up an excellent bargain!

 

[CZroe]

NOTHING beats the Toshiba Satellite 5105-S607

P4
GeForce4Go
C-Pad Touchpad
15"
40GB
3 USB + FireWire
Speakers that remain exposed when closed
Subwoofer
Media controls + power-off CD-player
and NONE of Dell's crappy quirks!

 

[dcdomain]

One of my brothers recently got the r505... mad problems. I wouldn't recommend it. I've been using an old Toshiba Portege 3020ct, I've heard their graphic chipsets suck, but it hasn't given me any problems. No disappearing drives, bad screens.. nothing. The newest one is the Portege 2000 and it's mad small. .7 inches thick, 12" screen I believe.

 

[CZroe]

I've had mad problems with Compaq and Dell...
I'm sending in my Compaq 1800T for the 20th time (No lie! They've had to totally replace it twice already!)
When I got my Dell 8100, the video was dead on arrival (The screen was "shimmering" and nothing was readable because of it) and the IBM Travelstar died before I could even send it back (That was the case a few times with the Compaq too). But the quirks were horrible! If you could get the display to stop doing that (It sometimes would temporarily) and play a 3D game or something, then feel like closing the lid, it'll crash everything! Try playing an MP3 and closing it... It'll start playing again in oh say 30 seconds of screaching horror. Dunno what it thinks it's doing because it was only set to turn off the display when closed... Anyway, when typing the touchpad disables and so I couldn't show my friend how I could beat Xaero in Quake3 on hard difficulty with it (And there is no way, not even BIOS setting to stop that behaviour)! The PC Card slots are the worst... In the small amount of time I had it, I can remember at least three times when I tried to pick up the laptop and ended up only holding the PC card covers (And the laptop taking a small tumble) and I even lost one before I got the package to send back (Found it just in time though, in a parking lot).

What is my problem w/ laptops?!

 

[phhnyc]

thanks for all the input everyone...i've never bought a compaq before, and i have a lurking suspicion that their customer support isn't as good as dell's and gateways, but i was wondering if any of you have seen the new presario 2800...this thing is custimozable w. up to 64 mb ddr video mem. here's the link

 

[andrey]

Have you considered IBM Thinkpads? They're the lightest out of all the notebooks you've mentioned. My PIII-1.13GHz with 14.1" SXGA screen weights only 5 lbs. That's including 56k modem, 10/100 Ethernet, 50GB hard drive, 512 MB of RAM and built-in 802.11b wireless network. However if you'll want top of the line Thinkpad you will go over $3K, but midrange should be well within $2K-3K.