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opinions on new laptops...

Pepperidge

Pepperidge

Member Advocate
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Slidell, La
Before anyone says it...do not say get an I mac or whatever the hell you call the apples...

Right now I'm looking at Dell Toshiba Sony and ASUS

all with widesrceen HD + screens... some only have 15.6"... some are 16"&17"...all are led backlit...

specs are Intel core i5 quad core
500gb Hdd some are 5400 some 7200
4gb ram... some 1033mhz...some 1333mhz
1gb video card
all have windows 7...some W7professional

thats the main list of necessities...all for $999

there are differences in them all...some give you the wider screen but cut down the mhz of ram or the rpm of the hdd to 5400

the smaller screen 15.6" has the most for $ but sacrifices on the screen size...

any ideas or suggestions?


Thanks,

Pepp
 
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:grin: Have you looked at them Macks? :ban:


Sorry,, I couldnt help myself :D:nono:
 
Don't get a mac, I've got one...it can die in a ****ing fire. One of these days I'll post up pics of it's exploding battery pack.

I really like Dells for their support. If you can, get the 7,200 RPM hard drive, the battery life will suffer a little bit, but the performance increase is worth it.

I don't know anything about the new generation of processors. I've been out of the loop there on studying them. I like W7 Pro, I've got it on a Dell Inspiron. Out of the box it pisses me off, but I've got it tweaked/beaten back into an OS that I can use. Basically it was all appearance related things that I had to find and tweak, same things I do on XP and then some. They (MS) disable all of the menu bars now, drives me freaking crazy, I like my File - Edit - View - Tools.

If I won the lottery I would have a Dell Precision M6500 Mobile Workstation. :drool5: Oh goodness that is a helluva machine.
 
Dell seems to be the going norm if you don't use a Mac. We have a couple of Dells here at work and seem to be a work horse not like my Mac but adequite. If you were going to go something other than a Mac I would go Dell. I mean I wouldn't I have a Mac. Well there is my .02. I hope that helps Mac..... I mean Pep...


I am hungry I think I will go to Macdonalds....




:thumbsup: ):h):h):h
 
I jsut bought a Dell XPS Studio 1645, It is loaded with all the goodies and even has a backlit keyboard. I decided to get the i7 processor and 6 GB ram. 500 GB 7200 rpm HD w/ fall free sensor. It will rock. I will let the company have this stupid HP computer back. It is pretty much junk.
 
I love my toshiba..buy from best buy and get the black tie warranty...it has accidental damage coverage...salesman was a friend of mine and he told me in 2 years and 360 days to accidentally back over it case and all with my truck....and then bring it in for a newer equivalent model....
 
I've been in Information Technology for some 16 years now. In my experience, in the long run, the longer you keep a PC or laptop, the biggest number 1 complaint you hear is: "My computer is slow" or "I want to make my PC faster".

Your decision is a tough one.

The increase in screen size is minimal. Well, excpet going from 15" to 17" would be noticeable enough.

The front side bus speed in memory and the faster RPM hard drive - again, might be noticeable but will not be of major significance. You might would be able to tell more difference in the hard drive RPM's going from 5400 to 7200 than anything else.

If you had two laptops side by side and all being equal except for the front side bus (mhz speed of the memory) from 1033 mhz to 1333 mhz is going to be minimally noticeable.

My short answer in your scenario is go with speed over screen size any day.

One angle some might take would be go for the bigger screen size because that is permanent. It isn't like you can go and buy a larger screen for your laptop. You can always upgrade memory and hard drives to make it faster later on if needed. But usually most people don't because of the expense of it. Unless you can do the work yourself in hardware upgrades - it usually isn't worth investing the money because you can usually buy a new one for what upgrade parts and labor would cost.

The thing with laptops, other than a faster hard drive and more memory - not much else upgrade-wise you can do to make it faster. You are very limited.

If it were me, I would pick the things that make it faster to give me longevity. With all the updates and service packs that get applied to it from Microsoft - later on you will appreciate it.
 
I am a little opposite. I'd go bigger screen with better resolution over performance.

If you are going to use it to surf, read email and watch videos, you wont be taxing the processor of any of the machines available today.

I've had good success with Dell. I strongly recommend getting the 3 year warranty on a laptop. (Not on PCs though.)

The laptop I use at home was bought in early 2004 and still meets my needs....except for HD video editing. I have to use a different machine to do that.
 
Drew is exactly right - it all depends on how you intend on using the laptop. Like Drew said also, a 3 year warranty is well worth it. But you typically only get either a 90 day or a 1 year warranty on most home units unless you get an extended warranty.

Most of the 3 year warranty stuff (unless bought as an extended warranty) are going to be more in line of the business product lines though not all business product lines have 3 year warranties. Just depends on the make/model of the unit.

I'm the frugal spender. I tend to analyze things to death. So I always calculate out the cost for the long run. I ask myself, I can go with configuration 1 for $1,000 and expect it to last 3 years but I could sacrifice some things and go with configuration 2 for $1,000 and expect it to last 5 years. In a span of 5 or 6 years it might would mean the difference of spending $1,000 or $2,000. $2,000 being you might have to buy a 2nd replacement laptop because it is too old and slow for your purposes. Or maybe $1,000 that has a faster configuration that can get you to 5 or 6 years. It just all depend on what you intend to do with it and how you intend to use it.

As far as brands are concerned - for home use - I always lean toward DELL.

For business use - I only use HP Business Desktops and Servers. One reason is they are so darn easy to work on and I used to have HP Business Desktop, Laptop and Server certifications when I worked for an independent computer repair shop. Now that I don't work for a computer repair company you can't really keep those types of certifications up to date.

From an IT standpoint of laptops in an organization - I HATE laptops. But this stems mainly from keeping the laptops safe, secure and protected especially when HIPAA is concerned - just a dang nightmare in the healthcare field. I try to steer our organization from them as much as possible - but we do have a few - very few.

I'm not so opposed to them for personal/home use. In some business operations I know they are the perfect choice.

As far as brands go.

Toshiba used to be - if not still - the leading cutting edge in laptops and laptop technology. They used to be the best of breed, front runner, pioneer in a lot of ways with respect to laptops. They used to set the industry standard.

I have not followed the laptop industry as closely due to my adversion to them.

You won't go wrong brand-wise with Toshiba or DELL. For me, I would probably brand-wise pick the DELL. I have broke down and worked on a handful of DELL laptops to repair them. They aren't too bad. So I am more familiar with working on those more so than the Toshiba's. Maybe if I could get my hands on a Toshiba to see how easy or hard it is to work on them hardware-wise - I might would change my mind and say - Toshiba all the way. It is just too easy to go with what you are comfortable with working on.

One reason I do like DELL - is because I know I can order parts directly from them and replace them myself. Toshiba may not be so reluctant to do so. They may require you to send it in for repair even if you can do the repairs your self. In other words, if you have a part needing replaced - they will not ship you the replacement part. So you are locked into their labor costs for repairs whether you want it or not. With DELL, I know for a fact they will send you any part down to the system board if you want it. If you are comfortable with replacing it - they will send it. That is one reason I would go with DELL for the laptop. You can get the parts to fix and repair - then you can find a friend or some local repair shop to do the work for you if need be. Not so much with Toshiba.

Also, another option I have noticed, Cingurlar Wireless (now AT&T Wireless) you can get the netbooks for like $99.00 if you sign up with a wireless Internet plan. I am sure T-Mobile, Verizon and others offer this as well. But they are so small and lightweight.

Just to add to the confusion.. I'll quit now - I don't know if I am really helping any at all or not.
 
Thanks for all the help guys...

mpljc,

While I'd like to have a small net book...my tired old eyes think differently...and I dont feel like side scrolling if I choose a larger appearing resolution... I like my IBM thinkpad A30...and as out dated as it is compared to todays standards it is still pretty good...scrolling is bit jumpy and processing speed is marginal to slow...but it still serves me well except that both USB ports are now broken so I ordered a docking station cheap just to get a USB port again...but portability goes out the window with that...so the thinkpad will become the childrens PC...

I believe I think like you as far as ordering as much performance as possible to extend out the PC/Laptops age...My dell home PC is 9 years old and still does what I ask of it mostly...the thinkpad I picked up used and have no clue of it's age, but had it not broken I would still be using it...It is mainly for surfing...

The new laptop may be considered a replacement for my desktop as I want to be able to do my home videos of the kids on something a bit faster and with HD capability...I figure I will end up right around $1000-$1150 for a top of the midrange Laptop...(I'm not a PC gamer)
Dell has the best price with a studio17 with i7 processor, 500gb(7200rpm)hdd, 4gb 1333mhz ram, a 1gb video card and W7 pro., 17" HD +LED backlit screen, and multi DVD/+-RW

Feel free to ask any questions that will help you help me...

Thanks,

Pepp
 
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Pepp,

What kind of movie editing will you be doing on the laptop? What movie editing software will you use? Or is it more just burning movies to DVD's that you have recorded with your HD camcorder with no editing involved? Are you actually splicing and cutting scenes and stitching, adding captions, shapes, etc?

Unless you need or just simply want portability - I would not rule out a nice desktop with a nice screen to go with it. You might can get a desktop PC with more speed and power for the same price as the laptop. Not trying to change your mind - I just like looking at all angles and aspects - measure twice and cut once or you'll come up short.

Some people will hook their desktop PC to their TV so it doubles as a computer monitor and TV and use a wireless mouse and keyboard. Personally, I don't know if I would like that or not. But they have one heck of a nice HD LCD or LED TV hooked to their PC. With the wireless mouse and keyboard - I hate investing in batteries all the time. Then you will have someone who wants to watch TV while another person wants to surf the Internet.
At work, I have started standardizing on the 22" widescreen LCD monitors - man - they are NICE.

Configuration-wise - the laptop you spec'd out sounds real nice. Of course, money is the limiting factor - you can always go bigger, better and faster with anything until it breaks your piggy bank.
 
I've had my Sony Vaio for a while now, and haven't had 1 problem or anything go wrong with it.

I know if I still had my Mac's, in the Time Frame I've had my Vaio, the Mac's would have "went in" for Repair atleast 2-3 by now.
 
mpljc said:
Pepp,

What kind of movie editing will you be doing on the laptop? What movie editing software will you use? Or is it more just burning movies to DVD's that you have recorded with your HD camcorder with no editing involved? Are you actually splicing and cutting scenes and stitching, adding captions, shapes, etc?

Unless you need or just simply want portability - I would not rule out a nice desktop with a nice screen to go with it. You might can get a desktop PC with more speed and power for the same price as the laptop. Not trying to change your mind - I just like looking at all angles and aspects - measure twice and cut once or you'll come up short.

Some people will hook their desktop PC to their TV so it doubles as a computer monitor and TV and use a wireless mouse and keyboard. Personally, I don't know if I would like that or not. But they have one heck of a nice HD LCD or LED TV hooked to their PC. With the wireless mouse and keyboard - I hate investing in batteries all the time. Then you will have someone who wants to watch TV while another person wants to surf the Internet.
At work, I have started standardizing on the 22" widescreen LCD monitors - man - they are NICE.

Configuration-wise - the laptop you spec'd out sounds real nice. Of course, money is the limiting factor - you can always go bigger, better and faster with anything until it breaks your piggy bank.
Click to expand...

Well I haven't bought my HD camcorder yet...but it's in the near future...
most of the time I don't edit and stich the movies made, I usually just burn them...but I do sometimes, so it's a 50/50 chance I will start doing more editing with a more capable unit...

I do like the portability of the laptop...vacations etc...I also run EFI Live and am running the mooonshine right now(ecm is locked)...but have a spare ecm and would like to play with it and learn some more about the self tuning aspect of EFI...

My current HD TV is 1080i max with no HDMI inputs...I'm not sure if it has a VGA port?? but I would like to put some of whats on the PC onto the TV for viewing occasionally...It sucks that the TV I have is not worthy of BluRay but within a year or so I plan on getting a better TV...I have a 65" WS rear projection Mitsubishi right now and I don't want to switch to a smaller screen size for the upgrade and a 65" LCD/LED is no where near cheap enough to even consider right now...I like the Tv and it is the perfect size for the kids to play the wii on, so when I do upgrade it won't be because of breakage(I hope) and the old mitsu will go to the kids play room...

I'm happy with the configuration I listed and I can always upgrade the ram as the laptop has 4gb memory in 1 slot with a 2nd slot available...I could always throw in another 2 or 4gb of memory when that type of memory gets cheaper or if necessity calls for it...

Thanks again,

Pepp
 
Hey Pepp,

The biggest bang for the buck upgrade to "increase speed" is to replace the processor. Thus, get the fastest processor with the most cache/L2 memory you can afford.

The next biggest bang for the buck upgrade to "increase speed" is to increase core memory. Thus, get the most RAM you can afford BUT if you do not max out the laptop's capacity, consider your upgrade path. For example, if the laptop has 4 memory slots with a max capacity of 8GB, and you only configured it for 4GB, ask that 2 x 2GB SODIMMs be installed instead of 4 x 1GB chips... you don't want to "throw away" any memory to upgrade the machine's capacity later.

The next biggest bang for the buck upgrade to "increase speed" is to configure it to have a video adapter with the fastest processor and as much high speed video RAM you can afford.

Hard drive speed may be noticeable only if you are running out of disk space. Avoid partitioning if at all possible. Install two if there is capacity for the second on -- keep the OS on one, and install the applications/dataon the other. Configure the laptop for a hard drive the largest buffer available (the speed of the buffer memory chips can be 100 to 1000 times faster than the hard drive's speed, or more correctly, "transfer rate"), and the highest transfer rate. Although higher disk RPM can translate to higher transfer rates, just look at the transfer rate specifications and ignore the RPM ratings.

The most expensive part of the laptop is the flat panel, ~1/2 the cost of the laptop. The only way to "upgrade" is to connect the laptop to an external monitor. So, if you do not use the laptop for what it is designed for, i.e., mobility, then the investment in the flat panel is wasted -- just get a desktop which will have more and better high-end configuration options.

Before the laptop gets "too old," order a spare or more batteries -- they become exorbitantly priced.

Don't waste your money on a diskette drive.

The biggest killers of laptops are: liquids, blunt force trauma, and heat.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Franko
 
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Pepperidge said:
a comparatively sized/optioned IBM Lenovo/ think pad counterpart would run me close to 3 grand:eek:


so I had to pass... :eek:
Click to expand...


tell me what you need i got a hookup with lenovo !

I am on my second 7454 model (that is a specific X200) and will most stick with that until they do not make it anymore.
oh and i only changed to another one because I switched to windows 7 which as much as i tweak things made no sense putting all that work into vista.
 
VW_Lupo_TD said:
tell me what you need i got a hookup with lenovo !

I am on my second 7454 model (that is a specific X200) and will most stick with that until they do not make it anymore.
oh and i only changed to another one because I switched to windows 7 which as much as i tweak things made no sense putting all that work into vista.
Click to expand...

17" true HD led backlit
500gb 7200rpm
intel core i7
4gb 1333 mhz ram
1gb video card
hdmi out
possibly a 1394 fire wire input(i haven't done HD video from a HD camcorder yet so I'm not sure if I will need it...)
needs a good wifi built in
and possibly bluetooth
 
VW_Lupo_TD said:
tell me what you need i got a hookup with lenovo !

I am on my second 7454 model (that is a specific X200) and will most stick with that until they do not make it anymore.
oh and i only changed to another one because I switched to windows 7 which as much as i tweak things made no sense putting all that work into vista.
Click to expand...

I gotta say I am by no means even close to an expert but I SWORE by IBM for years. I still have my 90mhz Win 95 machine and it works flawlessly...however the quality seemed IMHO to decline from there. I stuck with them through 3 dead before there times 600e's and then finally a "something 20" (It's not here right now) and the screen is going bad. we use Dells at work and the D630 I have at work has fallen off my front seat more times than I care to remember and been dropped too. It works flawlessy and fast as hell. The built in wireless works great and it has firewire. I just bought a used D630 for myself a few weeks ago to replace the IBM that is on it's way out and I will never buy another IBM/Lenovo. I expected alot more quality from the price it commands. I can defintely say STAY AWAY from HP or Compaq(same company). Pure junk . Not familiar with the Toshiba but I can confidently recommned the Dell for sure. They make great stuff for a really good price. Like has been said before, cust support is everything these days. Same thing with routers. I had a Dlink and swore by them till the 3 month old one I had started acting up and the only person I could get on the phone was a hodgie non english speakin MF. I tossed the router and bought a cisco. Customer Support goes long way in deciding what to buy. I loved my Nextel but Verizon support is 100x better.
 
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