What Brands to Consider?

[orbster556]

I am planning on purchasing a new notebook and while I have an idea of the components I want to include I am really clueless as to the quality of certain manufacturers. Given that I want a C2D and don't want to have the flashiness of the XPS I have not really been considering Dell...

However, I have been looking at Toshiba, HP and Sony. So I have a couple of questions

1) Are there other, better, brands to consider?
2) Out of the three brands I have mentioned which is the best in terms of quality and reliability?
3) Should I consider MacBook if I'm not going to do a lot of gaming?

I am leaning towards the Toshiba or HP but even between just those two I am unsure of which to go with...

Thanks for any help or advice you might be able to provide.

 

[TheStu]

What is your budget?
What do you plan on doing with the computer?
If you were to get the MacBook, would you be willing to use OS X?
What sort of screen size do you think you would like?
How important is portability to you?
What about other dimensions, do you want it really thin or anything like that?
Battery life?

These and other things are important.

However, based on your current information... I would recommend HP out of those three in terms of price and quality. I would put Apple above them (my MacBook has been a tank) but the entry price for Apple is higher and that turns people off.

I would not recommend Toshiba, though I am sure that VinDSL will be in here at some point singing their praises. And don't get wrong, they aren't the worst things ever, but compared to HP I don't think they are in the same category.

The only reason I would not recommend Sony is their price. I know that a lot of people give Apple or Lenovo flak for their prices at times, but I have almost never seen an affordable Vaio. Plus, they are just about the worst machines in the world to service, but you might not care about that. If you are not going to be doing a lot of gaming, then yes, you should consider something with integrated graphics (like the MacBook). However, the MacBook has not been refreshed in quite some time, so it still has GMA950 graphics, whereas others will have the X3100 intel integrated, which is to my understanding, about 3-4 times better. The advantage to integrated graphics is that you will get much better battery life as compared to a dedicated card.

 

[Jeffwo]

I have been happy with my Dell Inspirion. HERE is one nicely configured:

$924.00


PROCESSOR Intel® Core? 2 Duo T5250 (1.5GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
SYSTEM COLOR Jet Black
DISPLAY Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
VIDEO CARD Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
HARD DRIVE 80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
OPTICAL DRIVE CD writer / DVD player (Combo Drive)
WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini-Card
INTEGRATED WEBCAM No Webcam Option
BATTERY OPTIONS 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0

 

[Rottie]

I am very happy with my Compaq. HP is making a good quailty, design, and good price for Compaq notebook. I think you won't go wrong with HP.

I know VinDSL is going to say more about his notebook......here comes VinDSL......

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: Jeffwo
I have been happy with my Dell Inspirion. HERE is one nicely configured:

$924.00


PROCESSOR Intel® Core? 2 Duo T5250 (1.5GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
SYSTEM COLOR Jet Black
DISPLAY Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
VIDEO CARD Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
HARD DRIVE 80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
OPTICAL DRIVE CD writer / DVD player (Combo Drive)
WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini-Card
INTEGRATED WEBCAM No Webcam Option
BATTERY OPTIONS 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0

i don't see how that's nicely configured. it looks like the only thing upgraded is the ram...which i would've gotten from newegg or something anyway.

OP, i have an HP dv2000t. the first 10 months it was awesome...it's with HP now, though. not quite sure what's wrong with it. it's had a system board (motherboard), cpu fan, screen, and i think something else replaced. still problem not solved. i probably have a unique problem but i can try and keep you updated with what happens. expected return date is Oct. 2 btw.

still, of the 3 listed brands, HP would be the one i'd go with. there are better brands for higher prices. what's your budget?

 

[TheStu]

Yea, Ali is right, that really isn't all that great once you look past the price.... for 1099 you can get a MacBook with teh same res, 33% faster processor with 2x the cache, a IMO better OS (OS X is, in my opinion more comparable to Vista Ultimate than Home Premium) and better wireless. You would have to up the MacBook RAM to match though, but that isn't terribly expensive ($80 or so)

And other manufacturers are about the same really, cept for maybe Sony

 

[orbster556]

The price isn't too big of a concern but, at the same time, I'm not looking to be profligate in purchasing a notebook...

I read another thread here asking about macbooks which you wrote some comments and I would, in all probability, install an Windows OS instead of OS X...

I'm not concerned with the girth or portability of the notebook since it primarily be a stationary system. I would think that this fact would impact my need for superior battery life but am unsure...

I'm going to be using the notebook for pretty mundane every-day tasks and don't think I will this machine to do any photo or video editing...I only lightly game and most of the titles I play are a couple of years old already...

Thanks again

 

[TheStu]

Well, if you have no interest in OS X, then look into HP, they look really great and are generally well reviewed. Plus it might be a little bit cheaper than the macbook anyway.

 

[FireFox]

I like HP too, they look really nice. But you shouldn't rule out Dell too quickly, they usually have some very good coupons