What's a good reliable laptop for $1500? (got it)

[Leo V]

(Update, bought one.. scroll below)

I will be helping my father buy a laptop for presentations tomorrow morning in Best Buy, CompUSA or other stores. (He needs it immediately, so Dell is not an option.) The budget is within ~$1500.

I am pretty much clueless when it comes to notebooks, and I need your advice. Father's biggest concern is reliability, meaning that the laptop doesn't break down after a year (his colleagues complained that Sony's small notebooks did that). In other words, he wants a laptop that he can keep for 3 years with low chances of failure.

Any advice on which brands and other details to look for?
Thanks!
Leo

 

[OldSpooky]

I'm starting to favor IBMs, but as far as I know, you can't get them at retail. HP, Compaq, Toshiba, and Sony come to mind when I think about retail notebooks.

 

[Leo V]

Thanks Spooky. Should I avoid the ultra-compact notebooks?

 

[Paperlantern]

for presentations, think fujitsu, big bright screens... but again, with dell, you cant get them immidiately... next best thing for screen quality i think would be the sonys, but they are a bear to fix if they arent under warranty, parts cost a fortune, another up side of the fujitsu line... toshibas are better, parts are cheaper, screens are ok, hp have nice screens, but again with the cost... is he gonna use a projector for the presentations, or the laptop screen? could be an issue... and if cost is an issue, definitly stay away from the super compact ones =)

reliability would be dell, i have one thats almost 7 years old and its screen is still bright, hdd still works, OS is still in tact (original install) and all accessories work... since retail is what you need, i would lean towards a 900 series compaq or hp... your not gonna touch dell or fujitsu, but its the next best thing

 

[MrBond]

Be VERY careful in bestbuy/retail stores buying a laptop. The minute they find out you're a laptop newbie, they'll be trying to sell you the most expensive laptop in your budget.

If you're using a projector and this laptop is for presentations only, you shouldn't need a great screen/light weight. I'd check out Toshiba's first. Check out the Hot Deals forum, I think there's a deal at BB on the Toshibas.

Ideally I'd say IBM, but you need it right away. Thinkpads are rock solid, but cost a small mint.

 

[Leo V]

A projector is normally available, so screen size is not important.

From those brands you guys recommend, Compaq notebooks at BB are looking attractive, such as this one.

 

[Entity]

IBM R32. I got mine (P4 1.6, 512mb ram, 40gb drive, WiFi) for $1299 at Ebay through IBM's official auctions.

Rob

 

[MWink]

You couldn't pay me to use a Compaq. I worked on one for someone and it was HORRIBLE! The drivers I got off Compaq's web site either didn't work or in one case totally destroyed Windows (it refused to boot at all). I'd recommend you stay away from them. When I finally did get that one working I told her never to bring it back to me again.

 

[Leo V]

Thanks for all the advice. We ended up buying an HP for $1450 after rebates at Circus City. It is a new model P4M/2.67GHz with 512MB RAM and a sharp 15" 1400x1050 TFT screen (also 60GB and integrated 801.11b). The downsides are the 64MB shared SiS graphics, 1-2 hour battery life, and ~7lb weight. The thing that annoys me is the slow LCD screen update speed. It's similar to other notebook for the price, but Sony's more expensive notebooks (and some dreaded Compaqs) have faster screens. My father seems to like it while I'm happily back on my Trinitron CRT

 

[LuckyTaxi]

wow ... shared video memory ... i thought they stopped that

 

[Spicedaddy]

It is a new model P4M/2.67GHz

P4-M stops at 2.5GHz and is on a 100MHz FSB, not 133. It's a desktop P4, which explains the 1-2 hours battery life...

 

[alexruiz]

Originally posted by: MWink
You couldn't pay me to use a Compaq. I worked on one for someone and it was HORRIBLE! The drivers I got off Compaq's web site either didn't work or in one case totally destroyed Windows (it refused to boot at all). I'd recommend you stay away from them. When I finally did get that one working I told her never to bring it back to me again.

AMD or Intel??? I have a Presario 2100z (AMD) and can't express enough how pleased I am with the machine. It is not perfect (no machine is) but is very well appointed.... for $900 nicely equipped it is even better!