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What to get in a laptop

R

reverend boltron

Senior member
I am currently looking for a laptop which will become my primary computer. I will be doing web programming and design on it. I don't know how much I will be using it for graphics though, so if that will be an issue, I can look into it deeper.

The programming I will be doing on it will mainly PHP, MySQL, and C++.

I am willing to spend about $1200 max, but I would rather spend much less than that.

I have a feeling that I will be traveling between the US and India, along with some trips which will probably be to China, Israel, and the Philippines. Although that won't be an issue now, it will probably become one within the next couple of years. So I don't particularly know if weight will be an issue with that.

I would appreciate a wider screen, but it isn't too bad if I can't get one. I think the absolute minimum would be 13", but that is only if it has to be, or if the trade off is good enough.

I'm not sure if I want to get a Mac or not. I know that I can legally run Windows, OS X, and *nix on that; but I really don't expect to be doing much programming in either *nix and OS X. The base price for a Mac is greater than the base price for non-Macs, though I know that Macs come a bit more powerful in their base systems. I just am not sure if I need to get a machine that powerful for what I am going to use it for.

Any ideas?
 
I'm developing code (PHP4/5, HTML, JS, AJAX, MySQL db, yada, yada) on this Toshiba Satellite A215 S4807 - and web graphics/CSS (PSP, TopStyle, et cetera ) - no biggy! I'm sure this will do anything I throw at it - really!

It has Vista Home Premium OS with 2 GB RAM, and I haven't run across a proggie that isn't compatible (except WinAMP supposedly - which I haven't tried yet). I'm even running MS Office 2000 on this thing (8 year-old Office Suite).

When I'm using it on my desktop, I simply plug in a regular keyboard, mouse, monitor, (network) printer, and ethernet cable. Works great for a primary machine, as well as a portable. I actually forget I'm using it...

Might give it a look-see. I got it for 700 bones @ CC (actually on sale right now with freebies).

To be fair, I'm sure there are any number of lappys that will do the job for you - take your pick...

Having said that, this lappy is actually marketed as a multimedia machine, so it might be more up your alley (too)! 🙂
 
Thanks so much man. That is a really encouraging reply. I'm seriously looking into it. I was heavily considering taking a bite into the apple, but I don't think I'll need to.

Any other suggestions? Any recommendations for upgrades? How about laptop backpacks, are they good?
 
Originally posted by: reverend boltron How about laptop backpacks, are they good?
Click to expand...

Generally they are good, but for air travel they can be a pain because you always have to take the laptop out of the pack and put it in a tray. Then getting it in and out of a backpack is not as easy as a vertical brief case with a shoulder strap.

At the same time you are removing a jacket, puche, pocket litter, shoes, etc. It gets very tense. 🙂
 
Hey, I have been doing some research on that Toshiba and I have heard some reviews about the area by the touchpad getting really hot, plus a bad battery life, as well as terrible graphics. How has your experience been with it VinDSL?

 
Originally posted by: reverend boltron
Hey, I have been doing some research on that Toshiba and I have heard some reviews about the area by the touchpad getting really hot, plus a bad battery life, as well as terrible graphics. How has your experience been with it VinDSL?
Click to expand...
1) The shipping material actually came with a warning label about the heat. Truthfully, this supposed heat hasn't bothered me! Does it get WARM? Sure, but don't they all?!?!?!

2) Can't really complain about the battery life. Seems normal to me, although I know they make an extended capacity battery. Then again, I'm running the Vista battery saver utility from MS CodePlex so maybe that makes a difference. It's supposed to give you another hour or so...

3) And, the graphics look great! That's the first thing everyone comments on, "Man, that's a gorgeous display!" blah, blah, blah. The only thing I don't like is it's one of those 'privacy displays' where ppl can't look over your shoulder and see what you're doing, so you pretty much have to have it aligned exactly with your line of vision, or you can't see what you're doing either. Maybe that's what ppl are complaining about.

Really, I have no problems taking things back to the store, if I don't like them! When I was looking for a radar detector for my CiViC, I took back like 8 of them before I settled on a high-end Bel unit. Dittos when I first got into digital cameras.

Everybody likes different things. There's no guarantees in life, but I wouldn't steer you wrong... not on purpose! 😉
 
OMG, Rev, your aren't gonna believe this...

I was talking to a co-worker today - one of those, "Gee, that Toshiba screen looks great!" ppl.

He said he went out and bought one - they were still on sale, et cetera...

He asked, "Hey, do you still like your Toshiba?"

I said, "Yeah, why?"

"I bought one. Does your touch pad get hot?"

I said, "Not really..."

"Well, mine did, and I got diabetic neuropathy, and it was burning my fingers!"

"Oh", I said, "Well, I guess that could cause a problem if you have a medical condition..."

"Yeah", he said, "And I couldn't get the wireless working either, so I called Toshiba and got some broad on the phone that told me to erase this and that - and I totally ^%$& up my laptop - it turned out to be the switch on the modem wasn't turned on!"

I told him, "Yeah, it's got a little invisible slider switch that needs to be moved."

He said, "Yeah, yeah, I did that and got it working again, but then I played a couple of DVDs and it looked fuzzy. Do you have that problem?"

"Nope, mine looks great - you saw it."

He said, "So I got it running, but I was so pissed off That I decided to take it back and CC tried to charge me 15%. I told them I got neuropathy and nobody said it was gonna burn my fingers..."

I said, "Well, this guy over on AnandTech told me that he had read some reviews where ppl were having these problems - plus the battery life..."

He cut me off, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! The battery life sucks! What do you get off a charge?"

I said, "Like 2 hours..."

He was shaking his head, "No way! That was the final straw for me - I got like an hour!"

I said, "Maybe I got a good one or something, I don't know..."

Anyway, Rev, I *guess* Toshiba laptops are a crap shoot!

I dunno whether to believe this co-worker or not. Maybe he read the same reviews as you and never bought one - and was just making conversation - maybe not! He knew about the hidden wireless modem switch, so I'm inclined to believe him...

At this point, I cannot recommend Toshiba laptops until I check into this further...

Sorry! Just being honest... I told you I wouldn't screw you on purpose (or anybody else) 😀
 
The important thing to remember is that no matter if 99.999999% of people get great support and quality out of a manufacturer but you might get totally hosed. The advantage to reviews and personal recommendations is that you start to get a feel for the general percentage of people that have good experiences.

And do try to keep in mind that those that are annoyed with something usually shout the loudest. So, although the defective power bricks on the MacBook Pros only affected say, 10 people (out of the 100s of thousands that have purchased them) they all shouted to the heavens, the interwebs picked it up as a sure sign of Apple losing its edge, that the end was nigh, Satan will come to earth and destroy us all. In reality, like I said, it only affected a few people and Apple has since then replaced the power bricks.

The same can be said about Toshiba. I have 2 friends with Toshiba laptops, and although they have both suffered some problems (who hasnt?) the one has had massive issues. Keys coming off, buttons not responding, the power connector (male and female) getting damaged so you have to fiddle with it. The other guy has had nothing like that, the only problem he suffers is that on occasion his |\ key sticks a bit. So, even though my buddy and Vin's coworker have had issues, don't take that as a blanket sign that Toshiba is crap. But he was right in cautioning you, last thing you need is for your laptop to fail if it is your primary machine.

That is something that I have been really happy about with my MacBook purchase. I have never suffered a situation where I would have had to send my laptop in for service thereby losing it for days.
 
Hey guys,

Thanks for your updates. Honestly. I will take that into consideration.

I think, as far as I can remember, I have gotten lower quality products because they were cheaper and I couldn't afford to get the higher quality ones, or at least, I didn't want to save up and get them. And for as far as I can remember, I have had to deal with issues that come along with using lower quality parts. Maybe this is a good reason to suck it up, save up a little more, and get a Mac Book Pro?

Or maybe I should just look at different laptops too. Does anybody have any other suggestions?
 
Honestly, there is very little build quality difference between the MacBooks and MacBook Pros, at least from what I have noticed. Usually, if a company makes a distinction between consumer and business machines (eg Dell Inspirons and Latitudes) they also make a distinction between build qualities and components used.

Since you mentioned that 13" is the smallest size you would consider, that does leave you with the MacBook as an option. I studied Software Engineering, and fond that although I wished at times the screen was larger, the portability was still great, and the screen wasn't so small that it was impossible to code on, in fact it was quite pleasant since the keyboard is wonderful IMO.

Regardless of what machine you pick, you should try to get out and sample it before you buy, that way you have an idea of how the keyboard/trackpad are (here's a hint, Toshiba's trackpads kind of suck, and by kind of, I mean completely) the screen, stuff like that.
 
Originally posted by: TheStu
(here's a hint, Toshiba's trackpads kind of suck, and by kind of, I mean completely)
Click to expand...
As I've said in other posts...

Yes, the Toshiba 'trackpad' IS kind of sucky - but I'm a poor judge of such things. I HATE trackpads!!!

I also hate text messaging on cell phones...

And, on my desktop, I hate (and refuse) to use anything but a standard "Enhanced AT" keyboard.

Sooooo... being the GEICO caveman I am, set in my ways, trackpads are completely alien to me, you know? 🙂

Having said that, I find trackpads on Compaq/HP lappys, for instance, much more comfortable to use. The trackpad on a Toshiba sits in a shallow recess, which I'm sure they have a reason for doing, but...

Anyway, I get around all of this by packing a cordless Logitech notebook mouse with me, and use that instead of the trackpad.

Moreover, I'm thinking about also packing an AT keyboard with me, e.g. using my lappy as a dumb terminal/monitor. LoL!

This is NOT a condemnation of Toshiba! If I had an Apple, I'd do the same thing!

Lappy keyboards & trackpads are okay, if you don't have any other choice, but I prefer using a regular ol' full-size keyboard and mouse... 😀
 
Originally posted by: VinDSL
Originally posted by: TheStu
(here's a hint, Toshiba's trackpads kind of suck, and by kind of, I mean completely)
Click to expand...
As I've said in other posts...

Yes, the Toshiba 'trackpad' IS kind of sucky - but I'm a poor judge of such things. I HATE trackpads!!!

I also hate text messaging on cell phones...

And, on my desktop, I hate (and refuse) to use anything but a standard 101-key "Enhanced AT" keyboard.

Sooooo... trackpads are completely alien to me, you know?

Having said that, being the GEICO Caveman I am, I find trackpads on Compaq/HP lappys, for instance, much more comfortable to use. The trackpad on a Toshiba sits in a shallow recess, which I'm sure they have a reason for doing, but...

Anyway, I get around all of this by packing a cordless Logitech notebook mouse with me, and use that instead of the trackpad.

Moreover, I'm thinking about also packing an AT keyboard with me, e.g. using my lappy as a dumb terminal/monitor. LoL!

This is NOT a condemnation of Toshiba! If I had an Apple, I'd do the same thing!

Lappy keyboards & trackpads are okay, if you don't have any other choice, but I prefer using a regular ol' full-size keyboard and mouse... 😀
Click to expand...

Except the whole thing with the trackpad...

I can see why some people don't like trackpads, I hated themself until I got my MacBook. The trackpad is huge, more or less flush with the palmrests, and supports 2 finger scrolling. I know that some people really do like the scroll zone on some laptops, but they havent used 2 finger scrolling! You are on a screen, and are clicking on things, now you need to get to the bottom of the page, place a second finger on the pad, and move them down and it scrolls (also scrolls left-right, and circularly), easy peasy.
 
Originally posted by: TheStu
easy peasy.
Click to expand...
Um...

You mean, simple pimple, right? 😀

The thing I hate mostly about trackpads is the timing...

For instance, let's say you are scrolling down the start menu, looking for a program, and you lift your finger off n' on the trackpad for a split second - somehow the ^%$& shortcut you happened to be hovering over ends up on your desktop - or you accidently start up a proggie that you didn't want to start, yada, yada, yada.

After a while, you get used to all this - lift your finger, but don't put it back down too fast, lest the trackpad thinks you're tapping it, et cetera - however, I find all this BS to be highly irritating.

It's a control issue, I guess - like I have to adapt to the will of the trackpad, instead of the other way around - I feel like a chicken pecking around for a kernel of corn...

Sure, you can change the timing, speed, turn features off, turn features on, but why should I have to go through all of this when I can just use a mouse? Plus, every trackpad is different - and, sometimes even different drivers for the same trackpad act differently.

I dunno... it's just something I don't *feel* like adjusting to (no pun intended)... 😉
 
Dell, HP and Lenovo are probably the top Laptop manufactures (Apple aside). You can get a great laptop for coding for well less than $1200, more like two-thirds of that price.

I don't get what graphics your referring too though. Do you mean programs like CAD or Photoshop? Photoshop can run on integrated graphics just fine, but 3d programs you should look into workstation-grade cards (I know Dell and Lenovo offer these in their buisness line, not too sure about HP). But of course, this will run up your bill in the process.

Chiefly, I'd go for the best Dual-Core CPU I could afford, 2GB of RAM, the highest resolution screen you can afford, and then a GPU, money permitting.
 
I went with an HP DV6000T earlier this year and it is a great laptop. I wasn't thrilled with Vista, so I rolled back to XP Pro. I have absolutely no complaints with my machine. With a dual core CPU and 2GB of memory it has plenty of power for programming and compiling. And the display is beautiful, my screen came with no dead pixels and the colors are vibrant.

The one complaint I do have with the computer is that when I play back DVDs the volume seems low. It's plenty loud when I'm playing games, listening to music, or watching video on the web. But DVDs are not so loud. And it's the same way on my wife's DV2000T. 🙁
 
Heh, I had sent an email to my boss about that Toshiba laptop earlier in the week and he sent me an email just now saying that he ordered it. He said that it was a company laptop, but that I could use it for my own personal use. I will need to give it back to him when the time comes for us to part ways (if that happens).

So let's just hope that I get a good one! 🙂

Thanks for your help guys :thumbsup:
 
Well, don't fret, Rev!

I'm perfectly happy with mine...

I spent almost a whole day clearing the trial-ware out of it, and it just got faster and faster...

Assuming you don't have diabetic neuropathy and diabetic eyeballs, it should be fine!

And, don't forget about the hidden wireless switch in the front, that they turn off by default from the factory... 😉
 
Originally posted by: Megatomic
The one complaint I do have with the computer is that when I play back DVDs the volume seems low. It's plenty loud when I'm playing games, listening to music, or watching video on the web. But DVDs are not so loud. And it's the same way on my wife's DV2000T. 🙁
Click to expand...
Me too!

Must be a DVD thing... 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Rockinacoustic
I don't get what graphics your referring too though. Do you mean programs like CAD or Photoshop? Photoshop can run on integrated graphics just fine, but 3d programs you should look into workstation-grade cards...
Click to expand...
I don't whom you're asking, but...

Personally, I broke my teeth on Adobe Photoshop, back when it was, like, 1300 bones. However, I grew to hate it over time...

Tubes are what burst my bubble. With Photoshop, you used to have to go through about 20 steps. It was torture!

Everybody kept telling me to try Paint Shop Pro, but I was an effete snob at the time (kinda like Apple users) and prided myself on being able to navigate Photoshop successfully, et cetera.

Anyway, I finally tried PSP - hated it originally - but kept giving it a shot, every once in a while.

When Jasc (the original authors) came out with the Paint Shop Pro 7 Anniversary Edition Bonus Pack, so called, I fell in love with PSP - and we've been happily married ever since! 😀

Anyway, IMHO, PSP is perfect for web graphics! If I was doing commercial work, I suppose I would have to go back to the industry standard, but...
 
Originally posted by: VinDSL
...
Anyway, IMHO, PSP is perfect for web graphics! If I was doing commercial work, I suppose I would have to go back to the industry standard, but...
Click to expand...

A bit off of the topic, what are your feelings toward GIMP? I have used it, and I think that it's pretty decent, except for some parts of it, like freaking out and shutting down when you want to create a new document. I haven't used it in a while because of errors like that, so I don't quite know where it is now.
 
Word. I hear you on that. I'm actually using Paint.NET now. It's pretty good for what I need to do. I think I'll test out TheGIMP again once I get everything in order.

OK, well, thanks for all your help.

TheRev
 
I'm on the Toshy right now...

One thing I might mention - and this applies to my Dell 1907FP desktop monitor as well as my lappy...

LCD panels, these days, are super bright - too bright! It's a marketing thing, I think. Everyone wants to claim they have the brightest, highest contrast, display on the market, which makes for good sales, but a sh!tty picture!

So, I end up turning the brightness WAY down on them - down to 13% on my Dell and '3' on my Toshiba...

My Dell monitor saves this setting, however, the Toshy defaults to '8' (100%) every time you turn it on. If there's a way of saving this setting, I haven't found it yet.

This, of course, is a matter of personal preference, however, I prefer a pastel look to my monitors (kinda like a CRT display) rather than glaring at the surface of the sun with squinted eyes.

Anyway, you might give this a try too... turning down the brightness. It'll look better, IMHO, plus you'll get longer battery life... 😉

EDIT

Speaking of battery life, I've been surfing the web for exactly an hour (on battery power/wireless) and the power meter says I have "68% remaining".

Sounds pretty normal to me! How about you? 😀
 
Here's another little trick... While I'm thinking about it.

Whenever you walk away from your lappy (especially on battery power), like to get a cup of copy, take a dump, talk to the wife, or whatever (you can see my priorities)...

Tap the power button once, and your lappy will go into hibernation mode - turn off the monitor & HD - throttle back the CPU - lock down your machine from prying eyes, et cetera.

When you return, tap the power button again, and login. Boom! You're right back to whatever you were doing!

Although I haven't measured it, this lappy will sit here for a LONG time in hibernation mode and use hardly any battery power - so it's a good habit to get into... 😉
 
One hour - 68% remaining...

One hour and a half - 51% remaining...

EDIT

Two hours and a quarter - 28% remaining...

EDIT

Two hours and forty-five minutes - and I just hit the Vista 10% remaining warning!

Guess I'd better throw it on the charger! 😀
 
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