She's a schoolteacher and needs a laptop and I know nothing about them. She's buying from best buy since they have a 12 month no interest/financing deal going on. She mentioned a couple different ones like HP and Compaq. Would it really matter or are they all the same. For what she'll be doing the specs are pretty much meaningless, since she'll just be using it to enter in her gradebook, etc...
My sister is buying a laptop, any suggestions?
- Thread starter stepsinsc
- Start date
BestBuy blows.
Buy from Dell, good quality parts, fast, reliable, warranty, REAL tech support.
And they don't rip you off.
Also, I would strongly recommend a Zip drive as a backup solution for all those A+ she gives to her students.
Buy from Dell, good quality parts, fast, reliable, warranty, REAL tech support.
And they don't rip you off.
Also, I would strongly recommend a Zip drive as a backup solution for all those A+ she gives to her students.
i second the dell opinion, but would hesistate to say they don't rip you off (you can find laptops cheaper elsewhere) and have REAL tech support (their support has been very iffy in recent months).
actually i just reread your post, and you said she's not going to be doing much on it. then probably don't buy from dell, because it's hard to find sub $1000 notebooks from them.
actually i just reread your post, and you said she's not going to be doing much on it. then probably don't buy from dell, because it's hard to find sub $1000 notebooks from them.
Toshiba.
Plain and simple they cannot be configured as cheaply (I mean a stripped down laptop not $ wise) as a Dell but there prices are great and they have EXCELLENT techincal support.
The Toshiba Satellite 5005-S504 P3 1.1 512 MB ram DVD/CDRW 30Gig HDD 15" TFT GF2 GO firewire ethernet etc for $1799 from BB. Last I checked in December they had a $100 rebate @ BB as well. While not being as bulky as the Dell 8100 (those things are massive ie not a laptop more like a desktop replacement) they offer the portability of an 4100 or a 2100 while giving you the large screen size. I belive the 8100 models weight is ~7.0 pounds without the 2nd cdrom etc.
Plain and simple they cannot be configured as cheaply (I mean a stripped down laptop not $ wise) as a Dell but there prices are great and they have EXCELLENT techincal support.
The Toshiba Satellite 5005-S504 P3 1.1 512 MB ram DVD/CDRW 30Gig HDD 15" TFT GF2 GO firewire ethernet etc for $1799 from BB. Last I checked in December they had a $100 rebate @ BB as well. While not being as bulky as the Dell 8100 (those things are massive ie not a laptop more like a desktop replacement) they offer the portability of an 4100 or a 2100 while giving you the large screen size. I belive the 8100 models weight is ~7.0 pounds without the 2nd cdrom etc.
Dell Inspiron...Without a doubt. She could go Celeron to keep the $$$ down. I know last week they were bundling CD-RW's as a free upgrade promotion. Then she wouldn't need the zip for backup!
If I had a second choice the Sony VAIO's are decent, but not exactly what you consider a steal.
If I had a second choice the Sony VAIO's are decent, but not exactly what you consider a steal.
Based on what I've seen, here's my thoughts on laptops:
Exceptional quality: IBM, Apple, Sony
Good Quality: Dell, Toshiba, Fujitsu
Would Never Buy: HP, Compaq, Gateway
...this is based on what I see at work (I manage a staff of student-employees who help students with their personal computers in their dorm rooms). HP and Compaq lose out because of terrible quality of the units--I've seen three-year-old Compaqs with pieces falling off of them--and lousy tech support. I'm particularly sorry to see how far Compaq has fallen; I used to own a Compaq Aero subnote (486 25Mhz) and it lasted for years, terrific case quality, exceptional service and support. HP... well, I'd buy a printer from them anytime, but that's about it!
Hands down for construction, IBM and Apple make the nicest units, but they're either pricy or (in the case of Apple's iBook) well-priced but only an option if you're versed in/willing to change to Mac OS. Sony laptops are wonderful, but _don't_ lose the recovery CD!
Dell laptops are pretty decent, but I've seen some slipshod quality (batteries getting 15 minutes charge after three months and Dell telling the student this is "normal"!) and increasingly-poor tech support. Toshiba and Fujitsu aren't bad, similar in my mind to Dells.
Exceptional quality: IBM, Apple, Sony
Good Quality: Dell, Toshiba, Fujitsu
Would Never Buy: HP, Compaq, Gateway
...this is based on what I see at work (I manage a staff of student-employees who help students with their personal computers in their dorm rooms). HP and Compaq lose out because of terrible quality of the units--I've seen three-year-old Compaqs with pieces falling off of them--and lousy tech support. I'm particularly sorry to see how far Compaq has fallen; I used to own a Compaq Aero subnote (486 25Mhz) and it lasted for years, terrific case quality, exceptional service and support. HP... well, I'd buy a printer from them anytime, but that's about it!
Hands down for construction, IBM and Apple make the nicest units, but they're either pricy or (in the case of Apple's iBook) well-priced but only an option if you're versed in/willing to change to Mac OS. Sony laptops are wonderful, but _don't_ lose the recovery CD!
Dell laptops are pretty decent, but I've seen some slipshod quality (batteries getting 15 minutes charge after three months and Dell telling the student this is "normal"!) and increasingly-poor tech support. Toshiba and Fujitsu aren't bad, similar in my mind to Dells.
i would buy an HP , an IBM, or toshiba.
my 2nd tier is fujitsu, dell, gateway, compaq
i would never buy a sony unless it was super cheap.
sony has horrendous customer service. dell is getting worse. toshiba doesnt support their older laptops as well as HP with driver updates i've found.
if you are not a gamer, then laptops in general are equivalent. i just dont like dells because when you get a dell, it doesnt feel like you bought a laptop from a top tier manufacturer, it looks like you got some clone. just feels and looks cheesy. fast though, but the others are just as fast (outside of gaming, since only dell has radeon 7500). the other thing with HP is you can take it back to the store, you can never do that with dell or gateway (assuming you didnt order it).
my 2nd tier is fujitsu, dell, gateway, compaq
i would never buy a sony unless it was super cheap.
sony has horrendous customer service. dell is getting worse. toshiba doesnt support their older laptops as well as HP with driver updates i've found.
if you are not a gamer, then laptops in general are equivalent. i just dont like dells because when you get a dell, it doesnt feel like you bought a laptop from a top tier manufacturer, it looks like you got some clone. just feels and looks cheesy. fast though, but the others are just as fast (outside of gaming, since only dell has radeon 7500). the other thing with HP is you can take it back to the store, you can never do that with dell or gateway (assuming you didnt order it).
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