Need laptop buying advice

[OzzieGT]

So it looks like my wife's laptop is going in for the 4th warranty claim, so thanks to our extended warranty I am pretty sure we are going to be getting a replacement, probably in the form of store credit. We bought the laptop from futureshop here in Canada (kind of like BB) so we are pretty much limited to retail brand machines.

What would you recommend for a good all around laptop? My top two considerations are value and quality / reliability, since I am not sure we will get the extended warranty again (she now lives with me in the US). The brands available are:

Compaq
eMachines
HP
Gateway
LG
Sony
Toshiba

This is a mid range laptop...some laptops that I am looking at include:

Compaq R4035 - Athlon 64 3500 (kind of pricey though....probably want something a little cheaper)
Toshiba Satellite M40X-RS1 Intel Celeron M 370 1.5GHz
LG LS50 Intel Centrino 725 1.6GHz (also kind of pricey but if it's an outstanding value...)
eMachines M5410 AMD Sempron 2.0GHz

As you can see the price range is pretty broad (from $1299 - 1599 CAD) but they don't offer much in each price range. I'm guessing the AMD is going to be a better value than Intel? Which generally has better battery life? Are there any brands to avoid?

Thanks a bunch.

 

[OzzieGT]

Sorry, links were busted...fixed now

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Judging by the fact that you were looking at an Athlon 3500+, I'd say look for an HP Pavilion zd8000 series. They come in processors up to the Intel 650. If you want something with a little more battery life, go with the HP Pavilion zd4000 series with a good Pentium M processor.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: OzzieGT
As you can see the price range is pretty broad (from $1299 - 1599 CAD) but they don't offer much in each price range. I'm guessing the AMD is going to be a better value than Intel? Which generally has better battery life? Are there any brands to avoid?

Thanks a bunch.

Sorry didn't see your second part yet. An Intel Pentium M sometimes scores better than a Pentium 4 3.2Ghz. As for AMD vs. Intel. It's the same thing its always been, and I want to try to lay this out very simple. People make to much out of this. (Their fanboy nature kicking in 😉)

First of all this refers to an Intel Pentium 4 verses an AMD Athlon 64 or Mobile 64

1. IF you do alot of MULTITASKING (having more than one program running at the same time.) an Intel is what you should be looking for.

2. IF you do ANY application one at a time, then an AMD will be better.


Now regarding an Intel Pentium M verses a Turion 64

1. Hands down, the Pentium M beats the Turion 64 on all levels.


Regarding Pentium 4 verses Pentium M

1. The Pentium 4 will perform better in some instances, but the Pentium M actually does better in most cases.

IN THE LAPTOP ARENA, THERE IS REALLY NO POINT IN AN AMD. AN INTEL PENTIUM M IS THE BEST SOLUTION FOR LAPTOP COMPUTING

Just ask if you have more questions. 🙂

 

[Ossie]

Well dude avoid toshiba. They suck when it comes to ordering parts for you waranty(Trust me i work at a computer store). The compaq is decent just depends of what the price is but it should be decent. Check and see if they have the zv6005us or the zv6015us those for the price are great buys.



Ossie

 

[OzzieGT]

Thanks for the info. Futureshop said they are going to contact the warranty department, and the warranty department will recommend the laptop that has the closes specs compared to what they are replacing. Since the laptop is about 2.5 years old, I am guessing we will be getting one of the low-end laptops as a replacement. This isn't a bad thing I guess since even their cheapest laptops seem to have all the good stuff like integrated wi-fi and a dvd burner (which our current laptop does not have).

We will also have the option of upgrading to a better model by paying the difference. Since the current laptop is an Athlon system, I might consider getting the closest priced centrino...we'll see. We'll know by Wed. what they are going to give us...

Thanks for the advice, it was mucho helpful. 🙂