Which laptop do you recommend ?

[Serville]

I intend to buy another laptop. Which one do you recommend ?
I'm thinking of getting Toshiba, or Dell. IBM is not in my list because it's too expensive for the same config.
And I'm thinking of getting Intel instead of AMD for laptop, because of my bad experience with Sony Vaio FX215 that I bought 4 months ago.
The battery dies in 40 minutes !!! It's confirmed by many users that the Duron mobile processor consumes so much power because the PowerNow function does not work as advertised. I hate to say this because I'm AMD fan, but I think I have to admit that Intel is much more superior in mobile computing than AMD. So, I will get Intel this time for laptop.

Any suggestion ?

 

[oldfoof]

Huumm , Intresting , I would go with the Sony Viao's They r stinken good! (Know about 4 or 5 ppl with em , They are all working great for em)

 

[Quixfire]

I would recommend Sager Notebooks I have had one for two and a half years with no trouble. Haven't even had to reload the OS (Win98SE) yet. I have a Dell also and a IBM before that, but I still prefer my Sager over them everytime.

 

[jschuk]

What Toshiba are you considering?

 

[sygyzy]

Get the Toshiba 3005-S304. I bought one for $1600 with a company discount and I was happy (more on this later). You can get it for about $1200 or less with the Office Depot deal posted in Hot Deals. I am still kicking myself as we speak.

My story: Got my notebook and booted up. BSOD twice. Third time it says that Windows was not installed completely. So it left the factory with half a windows install. Used recover disc to restore. Still can never enter windows. Restored again and then upgraded to XP Prof. BSOD galore. Get into windows maybe 1/10 tried. Installed XP Pro from scratch and same thing. Spent $40 sending it back for an exchange. Hope the new unit works.

All that and I am still praising them? Toshiba support is excellent, they are very calm even when I was at wit's end and they said that if CDW will not help me they will have a customer relations person talk to me about replacing the notebook. When the notebook did work, it was SUPER fast and super reliable. It's a bit noisy because of the HD but speeds and stablity were awesome and the display is great! Tell me if you want more info!

 

[Serville]

sygyzy.

What processor is that? Could you give me the spec for the following:
- processor
- harddisk
- ram (& expansion)
- screen type & size
- dvdrom speed

Does it officially support WinXP ?
I have bad experience with Vaio FX215. It doesn't have full-support for XP....only Win2K.

Need more info. I just couldn't afford buying the wrong laptop again this time. Thanks.

 

[StandardCell]

I know that one of the ladies who worked in IT at one of my previous jobs said that Dell was becoming a major PITA. Things not working right, returns, you name it. IBM was held in VERY high regard, but yes they are quite expensive. I imagine you get what you pay for, and price no object I'd probably get an IBM. But Toshiba is a decent brand, some of my group at my last job had them, and they seem decent.

 

[bkdraft]

we currently have 15 of the Toshiba 1800-S253 laptops here at the college, they have given no problems what so ever. I personally have a Sony Vaio FX-370 and it is great also. I would recommend either one of these. I here Dell uses Acer laptops, not positive on that though.
Anyway, my 2cents worth.
We had a Toshiba laptop get flooded by a leaking roof, we dried it out and the computer still worked fine, however it water stained the screen. I sent it back to Toshiba and they gave us a discount on a new screen, even though it was not covered under warranty. They were very nice and helpful, and really fast turnaround. Thumbs up for Toshiba service.

 

[sygyzy]

Here I am to save the day!!!

Serville - As you requested

Intel 1 Ghz Moble Pentium 3
20 GB Hard Drive
256MB Ram, Up to 512 PC133
14.1 Inch Screen, native is 1024x768 so I think that is XGA?
DVD/CDRW Combo. I think 6x dvd and 4x CDRW

Yes it comes with Windows XP so it definitely officially supports it.

Get the officedepot 3005-S304, you won't regret it. Like I said, I am paying $1600 for it and it's too late for me to pay $1200 for it, and I am still praising it at that high price. Get one. I just had bad luck with mine which is understandable.

 

[Serville]

Thanks. I've seen the full spec. Looks very nice indeed. And it's good for the money too.
Now I'm still comparing the Dell Inspiron 4100 which also has very nice configuration, but I think more expensive.
If Toshiba is cheaper, then I think I will go with Toshiba.

Thanks Sygyzy for the tip. It's really a good tip !

 

[gsiener]

Get a G4 Powerbook. I know I know. They're awesome laptops though.

 

[sygyzy]

Do not get the Dell! The Toshiba is cheaper, has MUCH better service and is more reliable. I have never seen anyone talk bad about toshiba service. Did I mention it's 24 hours a day? I called past midnight on consecutive days and my wait was like 30 seconds - 1 min max. They are very friendly and they know what they are talking about. I am a huge fan of Dell but I am glad I didn't get their notebooks. They are overpriced. You have to wait for special deals just to get the same config for less. Try configuring a 4100 exactly like the Toshiba and I bet you it'll cost more than ~1280. If you want more info, feel free to instant message me or PM me.

 

[Serville]

I think you're right. Dell is really overpriced. I have decided to take Toshiba instead of Dell.
I've compared the price and spec, and the Dell is about $500-600 more expensive compared to Toshiba for similar config. That is really a huge price gap. With $500 difference, I can buy Geforce3 Ti 500 + Crucial 256MB for my desktop.

Goodbye DELL. Hello Toshiba.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Toshiba is a great brand, with good reliability, service and easy-to-find parts if you ever need them.

If you're planning to use the laptop for 3D gaming, I'd suggest one of the models with the Geforce2Go chipset for graphics, since Trident, S3, and older ATI won't let you run most 3D games at playable speeds.

Specs: www.toshiba.com