Need Help Picking a New Laptop

[TheDoc9]

Right now I'm really torn on the TOSHIBA Satellite P305-S8915 , or a customized HP or Dell with a smaller screen but faster processor and a fast HD.

The Tosh caught my eye because of the SSD and screen/keyboard size and the price seems great.

One of my concerns is that the SSD might be cheap and I?ve read about stuttering issues with cheap SSD?s. I also noticed the underpowered processor they used for this model. It seems like if they would?ve used one of the slightly faster chips with 1066fsb/3mb cache it would?ve been a perfect all around work computer.

I haven?t used a laptop in years and so anyone with real world laptop experience please let me know what you think. I?m also interested in alternatives, it won?t be used for much gaming. I just need a fast all-round work machine for fast surfing, enough speed so that programs in general open fast, and word and financial processing.

 

[xSauronx]

look into thinkpads. i wanna sell my t60 because i didnt carry it much, but ii *love* the thing, and its plenty fast and a couple of years old. really you dont have to spend a grand to get a fast machine for basic tasks, but to get a quality machine you might, and thinkpads are very well-built

 

[syzygy]

why not the HP Pavilion G60T ? Can be had on Ebay for around 500 (with MS cash back) . . .

 

[TheDoc9]

Originally posted by: syzygy
why not the HP Pavilion G60T ? Can be had on Ebay for around 500 (with MS cash back) . . .

looks good, if it only had a 7200 rpm hd...

 

[boomhower]

Skip the Toshiba. I promise you the SSD in it is a low stuttering POS. Plus the CPU leaves a bit to be desired.

Dell has $250 off of $1099 Studio's. Take the 17" add a P8600, beautiful RGB display, 4GB's of memory, 7200RPM 250GB HD, Intel 5100 wireless, bluetoooth, backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader, (aka fully kitted) $1069. You can play with that number a bit by doing the memory yourself, skipping bluetooth, fingerprint reader, backlit keyboard, intel wireless, etc. I would highly recommend keeping the high end screen though.

 

[Mermaidman]

This 13" Asus packs a wallop for $1100:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834220512

Or get the same thing with a T9550 CPU with 6MB L2 cache:
http://www.jr.com/asus/pe/ASU_F6VEB1/

Live cashback offers 6%, i think, for that site.

Comes with 2 yr warranty and 1 yr accidental damage coverage too. The video card may be overkill for your needs though if you're not gaming.

 

[syzygy]

Originally posted by: TheDoc9

Originally posted by: syzygy
why not the HP Pavilion G60T ? Can be had on Ebay for around 500 (with MS cash back) . . .

looks good, if it only had a 7200 rpm hd...

you can't be serious !!

newegg sells 7200 rpm notebook drives for 40.00 shipped.

the total wouldn't even pass 540.00

 

[TheDoc9]

Awesome, thanks for the replies. The Asus is a bit more than I need right now. The Dell would be nice but now I'm torn between that and saving some serious money and just popping out that hard drive on the hp. Its probably the simplest solution, definitely the cheapest, and it's so damned obvious. + With my old copy of xp it should be painless.

 

[hans030390]

Not sure if you need anything for gaming...but, if you do, check out the Gateway FX laptop series (17", usually start with a P in the model name)...probably something used (preferably a newer model), which can be had for under $1000.

I understand you're likely not looking for a gaming laptop, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case.

 

[ther00kie16]

Could wait for a $400 off $1399 coupon for HP to get the hdx (base config w/ 9600m & blu-ray, upgrade to 1080p res) for $1000.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

check out a loaded T400
or a smaller (12.1in) X200

both by lenovo, both are superior quality than dell, hp and Tosh

 

[TheDoc9]

lenovo would be nice but is out of my price range. I do like the idea of the hp but unless I see a coupon in a day or so I'm going for one of the msi barebones systems in the sale/trade forum.

 

[ther00kie16]

Actually, Lenovo has had the best deals lately. Deals for $500 and $600 14" and 15.4" both with core 2 and dedicated graphics (9300m and 9400m I think). You are not going to get dedicated graphics at those prices anywhere else.