Laptop Recommendations?

What are your needs? Intensive gaming? Simple internet/word processing? Sony's tend to be overpriced in my opinion but they're steady. HP to me has been hit or miss, mostly miss. I know people have had issues with Dell and Toshiba, but I've owned two Dells (both XPS) and had no problem so I'd go with XPS if you're going Dell. Toshiba's been a real pain in the rear for the people I know. Horrendous customer service, inferior parts, and a lot of issues. Or you can go Apple.

My daughter just got a compaq. she really likes it.

Try best buy.

"Regan21286 wrote:

What are your needs? Intensive gaming? Simple internet/word processing? Sony's tend to be overpriced in my opinion but they're steady. HP to me has been hit or miss, mostly miss. I know people have had issues with Dell and Toshiba, but I've owned two Dells (both XPS) and had no problem so I'd go with XPS if you're going Dell. Toshiba's been a real pain in the rear for the people I know. Horrendous customer service, inferior parts, and a lot of issues. Or you can go Apple.

Internet/word processing, nothing more.

How much are you willing to spend?

"alen1 wrote:

Internet/word processing, nothing more.

Ah. Most laptops from the brands I mentioned should do fine. You can find bargains on newegg.com or the manufacturer's websites. Or if you prefer brick and mortar stores, I would highly recommend a Best Buy or Electronic Fry's store (if you got em).

Edit: And I guess l2g already touched on it, but what's your price range? Or are you going for cheapest possible?

"like2god wrote:

How much are you willing to spend?

Around $700 tops.

The cheaper, the better.

"alen1 wrote:

The cheaper, the better.

My nephew just bought a Gateway laptop and he loves it.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8771297&type=product&id=1203815723402

"alen1 wrote:

The cheaper, the better.

Well, there's probably more than I can ever mention, but go with anything that uses Intel Core Duo, at least 2GB of RAM, that'll fit your needs well enough.

"like2god wrote:

My nephew just bought a Gateway laptop and he loves it.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8771297&type=product&id=1203815723402

I was JUST looking at that one.

"alen1 wrote:

I was JUST looking at that one.

I'm a little wary of that Turion. Core Duo and especially Core 2 Duo run circles around that processor. It'd be like asking Keith Traylor (Turion) to compete in a race with Ted Ginn. Traylor will finish the job but Ginn does it faster and better.

"Regan21286 wrote:

What are your needs? Intensive gaming? Simple internet/word processing? Sony's tend to be overpriced in my opinion but they're steady. HP to me has been hit or miss, mostly miss. I know people have had issues with Dell and Toshiba, but I've owned two Dells (both XPS) and had no problem so I'd go with XPS if you're going Dell. Toshiba's been a real pain in the rear for the people I know. Horrendous customer service, inferior parts, and a lot of issues. Or you can go Apple.

must be a recent development. i have had a toshiba laptop for several years and my wife purchased one last year and both are running fine. Dell is solid as is HP. if money isn't an issue and you really want higher performing machine, ASUS makes a good machine.

"calphin wrote:

My daughter just got a compaq. she really likes it.

Try best buy.

be careful with BBY. depending on the store, they will tell you things you need that you really don't. Compaq is a good lower level machine, made by HP, as well.

my suggestion is to visit as many web sites as you can at first. see what's available in the price range you are looking at. get your facts and then go see them in the store(if they are available in store). most sites have the ability to bring up multiple items for comparison. you can even open multiple browsers and shop different sites as well. try Circuit City, Best Buy, Staples and even Wal-Mart. :up:

"Regan21286 wrote:

I'm a little wary of that Turion. Core Duo and especially Core 2 Duo run circles around that processor. It'd be like asking Keith Traylor (Turion) to compete in a race with Ted Ginn. Traylor will finish the job but Ginn does it faster and better.

sorry man, i'll take the 8 lane highway with the 90mph limit than the two lane autoban any day. Turion is one of the better Mobile Processors on the market.

"DOLPHAN1 wrote:

must be a recent development. i have had a toshiba laptop for several years and my wife purchased one last year and both are running fine. Dell is solid as is HP. if money isn't an issue and you really want higher performing machine, ASUS makes a good machine.

Or a long standing issue. I worked at our student store and half the repairs we ever had to make were Toshibas. Even my roommate's Qosmio throw blue screens of death. It's like Windows 98 decided to make a comeback. And digging through them, we found a lot of times where hard drive speeds were 4200RPM whereas most these days are 5400RPM, and RAM speeds were painfully underclocked. So even if they work, they work slower in comparison to other brands. Of course, 5/10 means 5 worked, but I don't like those odds one bit. Asus is a good laptop brand though not everyone's heard of it.

"Regan21286 wrote:

Well, there's probably more than I can ever mention, but go with anything that uses Intel Core Duo, at least 2GB of RAM, that'll fit your needs well enough.

Intel Core Duo? Everyone I find is Dual-Core processor. That sounds the same, is it?

"DOLPHAN1 wrote:

sorry man, i'll take the 8 lane highway with the 90mph limit than the two lane autoban any day. Turion is one of the better Mobile Processors on the market.

I think you got that mixed up. Turion's ok for internet/word processing though Intel does it better.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/mobile-cpu-charts/pcmark-2005-cpu,475.html?p=1522%2C1520%2C2010%2C2012%2C2011

The mid-range Intel Core 2 Duo beats out the top Turion processor. That doesn't even include the vastly better Core 2 Duo based on Penryn.

"alen1 wrote:

Intel Core Duo? Everyone I find is Dual-Core processor. That sounds the same, is it?

Not quite, there are a lot of different brands and different models of processors. But I guess for simple tasks they're pretty much the same.

Warning: Goes into major geekness. Currently the fastest is a Penryn Core 2 Duo, which is a major improvement over the earlier Core Duo Merom. Even the Merom tops the best Turion processor.

Just as an FYI Alen... I've had two Dell laptops... one is now 4 years old, which i gave/sold to my brother, its still working without a problem. This one is a year old, I havent had any problems other than dealing with Vista issues. My folks bought a Dell Desktop system about a year ago, its been no problems at all. I personally like Dell, only because I havent really had a problem, and they have some good deals, and let you customize the system right from the comfort of your existing computer which I always find nice. Thats my two cents on this though... I know people who have had a Sony, and its been fine, same with a Toshiba... but everything ive ever bought was Dell, just because it was easy at first... everything the company I work for is Dell too... if that means anything... and no I DONT work for dell. :lol: like i said, its just my 2 cents on my experiences with them. If anything, at least use the Dell(or any other company) website to build your own system first, then compare pricing from Dell, or HP or whoever, with the big box stores like best buy & circuit city.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm looking at like four different sites right now (this, Walmart, Radioshack and Bestbuy). I keep coming by a company called Acer. All they're laptops are in the 500-600 range.

"alen1 wrote:

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm looking at like four different sites right now (this, Walmart, Radioshack and Bestbuy). I keep coming by a company called Acer. All they're laptops are in the 500-600 range.

They're a rising Taiwan based company. They're pretty solid though most people I know who use it are based in Asia and bought theirs in that region. They do have a Ferrari studded one if you're willing to open the checkbook. :wink2:

"Regan21286 wrote:

They're a rising Taiwan based company. They're pretty solid though most people I know who use it are based in Asia and bought theirs in that region. They do have a Ferrari studded one if you're willing to open the checkbook. :wink2:

Hmmm....Acer.... *scratches them off the list*

Alright, I've went through the three pages and have compiled a list of where I should be looking and what I should be looking for.

Where To Look:

Staples
Best Buy
Circuit City
Walmart

What To Look For:

Penryn Core 2 Duo
Dell
Compaq
Gateway
Intel Core Duo
2 GB Ram
Inspiron

Anything else to add?

I wish there was way I could bring you all with me lol, it would make this MUCH easier.

"alen1 wrote:

I wish there was way I could bring you all with me lol, it would make this MUCH easier.

Post up model numbers here before you buy, we can critique them. :up: