new laptop suggestions please | FerrariChat

new laptop suggestions please

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by zjpj, Nov 19, 2003.

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  1. zjpj

    zjpj F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    6,124
    USA
    I need a new laptop sometime over the next 6 months. Any suggestions? I want it preferably as light as possible (don't mind if it's 12 inch), fast, and good battery life. Please please please don't waste your time posting about Macs, because I want a PC. Thanks.
     
  2. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
    10,676
    Worldwide
    Full Name:
    Steven
    Computer user since 1973

    First job: Heathkit Electronics

    Number of laptops owned over the years: 8 (9, perhaps 10, i forget them all... Tandy, Osbourse, AST, Compaq, Toshiba...)

    Past three laptop: Made by Dell

    Current Laptop: Dell

    Advice: get a Dell

    Enjoy the Drive,

    Steven R. Rochlin
     
  3. stokpro

    stokpro F1 Rookie
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jun 25, 2003
    4,383
    Himalayas
    I am shopping for a new laptop as well and looking at the new IBM Thinkpads "T" Series. Lightweight and packs a lot of punch! I've heard to stay away from Dells.
     
  4. Doody

    Doody F1 Veteran

    Nov 16, 2001
    6,099
    MA USA
    Full Name:
    Mr. Doody
    fwiw, i'm a sony slut. have two sony laptops running today on my desk, and two more on on the shelf behind my desk.

    i replace my laptops every 18 to 24 months. so no real commentary on 5 year usefulness or stuff like that.

    not quite ten years ago i lugged a big, heavy toshiba laptop around for a summer in SF. did real damage to one of the discs in my neck. still plagues me now and then - very annoying. so i jut buy the lightest stuff available. hard disks are getting way cheap, but vertebrae discs are a ***** to replace ;).

    the new sharp actius units are really attractive - ultra-tiny - with docking station - neat! i almost bought one on impulse a couple months ago. eeeeeevil.......

    doody.
     
  5. Schatten

    Schatten F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Apr 3, 2001
    11,237
    Austin, TX
    Full Name:
    Randy
    I've had many many laptops. typical lifespan is about 9-15 months for a notebook - at least for me. batteries - get a spare when you order one no matter what you get.

    the new dells I've played with quite a bit, and the old ones from when they first came out. I prefer them for the price/value, but what I do not care for is the extensive heat they generate nor the noisey fans that can be annoying at times.

    sony vaio - works fine for what it is - word processing/email/browsing the web.

    ibm - probably the best of the best - rock solid stuff. but you also pay a bit for it.

    so, what is it you need the notebook to do? what are your requirements or price you'd like to spend?
     
  6. italcarguy

    italcarguy Formula Junior

    Nov 3, 2003
    505
    Porter Ranch, CA
    Full Name:
    Anthony Rimicci
    i am also looking for a new lap top and hope to have one by the begining of the year. i have had a couple compaq's (including current) and boy are they pieces of ****. everyone is telling me to either get a dell or a mac ibook. i like both, but at the moment the ibook has my attention. we'll see when it comes time to go make the purchase. anyone have comments about the mac i book?
     
  7. Artherd

    Artherd F1 Veteran

    Jun 19, 2002
    6,588
    Bay Area, CA
    Full Name:
    Ben Cannon
    PC wise, get an ibm or one of the better VAIOs. Anything else isn't worth your time IMO.

    Lots of good options in just those two brands.


    italcarguy- the iBook is awesome. I have it's larger cousin, a Titanium Powerbook G4, and absolutely adore it. It's small, full-featured, powerful, and works. Peroid.

    Chicks also dig it.

    The ibook is a very very rugged machine, and I like it much better than apple's 12" powerbook variant.
     
  8. Ronald Steinhoff

    Sep 17, 2002
    222
    Toronto
    Full Name:
    Ronald Steinhoff
    My $0.02 > Get a Dell.

    Do yourself a favour and stay away from Compaq/HP (same company now - kind of funny how the two worst companies merged ).

    I've had nothing but bad experiences with those two. The wife got an HP laptop and it suffers from spontaneous shut-down for no apparent reason. The funny thing is about 5,000 people have posted this about this particular model on HP's OWN TECHNICAL SUPPORT WEBSITE. The company refuses to do anything and feigns cluelessness when approached about it. They say if you ship it to them and pay $1,000 they'll fix it. This problem started only 8 months after she got it.

    What a great way to treat your customers. I'll never buy an HP product again and I'm sure a whole lot of people feel the same.
     
  9. zjpj

    zjpj F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    6,124
    USA
    Yeah, basically my top two are Dell and IBM. I think with Sony you are paying for aesthetics. So, I'll try to decide between the 12 inch laptops from Dell and IBM. Dell is more customizeable, that's what attracts me. And is cheaper. But, I hear the IBM really is rock solid and reliable and great. So, we'll see.
     
  10. cabrio_fan

    cabrio_fan Formula Junior

    Mar 23, 2002
    262
    Atlanta, GA
    Full Name:
    Michael Davidson
    I've had two Toshiba laptops over the years and both were good to me. For my next notebook purchase, I'm considering going Tablet PC. I've tried the "pen stylus" numerous times and I enjoy navigating much more with a pen versus a touchpad and/or a mouse.

    I'm looking at the new Toshiba M200 convertible Tablet. Convertible means it has both a clamshell design with a full keyboard but the display flips back over the keyboard for tablet use.

    Here's a link to Toshiba's website on their M200.
    http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/pc/pc_tabletPcDetail.jsp?comm=CS

    It has an SXGA+ display on a 12.1" TFT. I'm very impressed by its handwriting to text conversion engine! My penmanship is not the greatest to begin with and if I write sloppy, it still recognizes it. And I just write naturally -- not "jot" style like on PDAs.

    My $0.02.

    cabrio-
     
  11. icars

    icars Formula Junior

    Mar 28, 2002
    855
    Plano Texas
    Full Name:
    Rodney Haas
    Go with a Dell Dude ;)

    Over the years I have owned Toshiba, Compaq, IBM, Sony & DELL. The best so far has been the Dell. The worst was the Compag piece of junk.

    Good luck, look for sales
     
  12. enjoythemusic

    enjoythemusic F1 World Champ

    Apr 20, 2002
    10,676
    Worldwide
    Full Name:
    Steven
    zjpj,

    IBM or Dell will serve you well.

    Just prefer Dell as they are easy (for me) to work on and they are FAST at delivering parts if necessary. While it is RARE anything needs to be done, am a hard-code user (8+ hours a day) and this laptop takes a beating BIG TIME as it travels all over the world. FYI: Generally chew through a keyboard a year(!).

    While i (generally) feel extended warranties are rubbish, usually get the 3yr from Dell as it "pays off" for a user like me. Towards the "end life" i have them replace the keyboard, perhaps the LCD screen, and MAYBE the DVD/CDR/Whatever drive depending on what is needed. Then dad inherits my laptop.

    It's More Fun To Compute -- Kraftwerk

    Steven R. Rochlin
     
  13. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,252
    Whatever you choose, do some legwork and find out when that particular madel was introduced. Never buy a laptop from a store within the first 3 months of its introduction, and if you can find out when the follow on laptop comes out, stay away from the last month of productions also.
     
  14. Mike328

    Mike328 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Oct 19, 2002
    2,655
    Boulder, CO
    Full Name:
    Mike
    I run an IBM Thinkpad T40 (work) and am very pleased. With that notebook--and the "centrino" technology, which allows processors to do as much with less--batteries have been made lighter, etc. The T40 has by far the best battery life vs. capability vs. weight ratios I've ever seen in a laptop.
     
  15. Ronald Steinhoff

    Sep 17, 2002
    222
    Toronto
    Full Name:
    Ronald Steinhoff
    And NEVER buy a computer with an AMD chip :D
     
  16. Evolved

    Evolved F1 Veteran

    Nov 5, 2003
    8,700
    Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.



    Get an IBM. It costs more and is worth every penny. I've gotten a bunch of Dell laptops over the past 2 years. About half have had problems. They just aren't as good as they were a few years ago.

    Dell tech support is a NIGHTMARE.



    Never get an AMD portable chip. AMD Athlons I have found are quite good.

    LAtely I have had great luck with Sony laptops I am replacing the Dells with.
     
  17. ralessi

    ralessi Formula 3

    May 26, 2002
    1,093
    Houston, TX
    Full Name:
    Rikk
    why do you say this?

    I know only compaq/hp uses it ( I think anyway ) for laptops, but they are very good and dependable, and in some cases faster, and in all cases cheaper than Intel's for desktops
     
  18. Ronald Steinhoff

    Sep 17, 2002
    222
    Toronto
    Full Name:
    Ronald Steinhoff
    I only say it because the quoted person derives his income from AMD. I was trying to be funny :)

    In reality, I'm indifferent towards AMD.
     
  19. tjacoby

    tjacoby F1 Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
    2,857
    Vancouver Canada
    Full Name:
    tj
    After a half-dozen laptops consumed in the past 9 years I'm a Toshiba guy now. All four Toshiba's are still running strong with the oldest one a P90 that still ticks. The Dell I tried (8000) was too bleeding edge with frequent BIOS updates needed to help it out. An employee had a Compaq AMD low-end laptop that was pure junk, so agree with the AMD comments.

    A few colleagues have gone the Sony route, but 3 of 4 have been in the factory with screen problems. They seem well suited for consumer/home use, but not sure if they're up to to commercial use.

    IBM used to be too proprietary but sounds like they've got their act together now. Lots of businesses here use them and all speak well.

    good luck!
     
  20. JaguarXJ6

    JaguarXJ6 F1 Veteran

    Feb 12, 2003
    5,459
    Black Hawk, CO
    Full Name:
    Sunny
    Powerbook w/h Virtual PC if you absolutely must have windows apps. Unless you want a portable gaming laptop, it will excel at everything you need without windows BS. And I'm a windows only guy who can play on a powerbook at home. Incredible.

    If I bought a PC laptop, I'd buy an Alienware in chameleon or one of the other sexy shades.

    Sunny
     
  21. ralessi

    ralessi Formula 3

    May 26, 2002
    1,093
    Houston, TX
    Full Name:
    Rikk
    alienware=big waste of money, try a sager if you want that quality without the cool paint job (same company, or something like that, I don't know the exact details of the chain, but they are very similar)
     
  22. Mike328

    Mike328 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Oct 19, 2002
    2,655
    Boulder, CO
    Full Name:
    Mike
    Let me chime in again that in a different time when I worked for Billy G in Redmond, I had a Toshiba that was a very impressive unit.

    You know, some laptops just get the package right. This Toshiba was one of them.

    That said, my father still runs a Toshiba Pentium 200 or so dinosaur with the original instance of Windows 98 installed. Not too shabby! It's still going strong and he uses it for travel.

    There are too many factors, but I think that if you insisted upon an expert consensus, you might come up with IBM Thinkpads and Toshibas.

    IBM Thinkpads are very seldom the best value, but they are the best laptops. Their analogous to the Valentine 1 radar detector--pay the most money to get the best, but the V1 is not the best "Value" per se. Doesn't stop me from using one, though--sometimes only the best will do. (Hmm... Thinkpad, V1, Ferrari, Movado... Is there a pattern here?) :)
     
  23. F1racer

    F1racer F1 Rookie

    Oct 5, 2003
    4,749
    Laval
    Full Name:
    Jean
  24. Noelrp

    Noelrp Formula Junior

    Aug 30, 2001
    630
    SSF
    Full Name:
    Noel
    I want one of those Acer Ferrari laptop. I have seen and worked on too many IBM's/Dells and I am sick of them.

    I need an exotic laptop! Can somebody find me a deal for one here in the US?

    Thanks,
     

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