Laptop Recommendations:

[Brock Samson]

I'm looking for a puter to take on the road. and would like to hear/read you guyz recommendations..

Thanks,..
oh,.. I have an $ 800.oo budget...

 

[deputycrawford]

Brock, I am also looking for one. I think I'm going for a 12 inch screen, a dual core processor, at least 1 gig of RAM, and a wireless LAN connection for the truck stop, and other public internet connections. Oh; a hard drive of around 80 GIG should do me just fine.
     The smaller screen should do better setting on a seat. Also, Windows makes and map system called something like "Streets and Trips". It is about $40 for the program. If you add a USB port GPS antenna, the program will add the "you are here" little car on the screen and actually track your position for you. I think its too cool. The mapping covers anything you can imagine. I can't find one with everything I want in a 12' screen version so I'm thinking of having one built. I just hope I can also get it in the $800 range.
     Good luck with the search and let me know if you find something first. I will follow your lead if you do.

[Old Moparz]

Brock, I'll let you have my daughter's first one for free, she's not using it anymore. 

[Brock Samson]

  i'm "Retired", not "Retarded"..  thanks anyhoo..   

[bakerhillpins]

With that being a loaded question and all..

Biggest thing to consider is what are you going to use it for? -Work, play, gaming, word processing, coding, photos, .. the list is endless but it helps define your must have components and the ones you can trade out for price.

Personally -
There are LOTS of good deals out there right now.
I am a code monkey and as such I will never buy a laptop with smaller than a 15.4" screen.
Most come with DVD/RW drives and HDs with at least 60GB. My office PC has more crap on it than I care to admit and I am only using 30GB. (Only a few FPS games)

I am in the market too but currently lack the funds. What am I looking at -
I absolutely hate Dell. They have gone to crap. My work laptop is a dell and I hate the user controls and the unit as a whole. It works but the touch pad is crap and the built in stuff sucks. Dial out is crap (have to use this at home cuz I live in the boonies. Don't even get a cell signal where I am, Barely get my fire pages) and the wireless leaves something to be desired. The battery life is good though.

Oddly enough. I like Gateway. They were crap when they held the market in the middle 90s but now that they have to work to stay alive I have seen a big improvment.
Gateway NX570X -   http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529664155.php
2GB Ram, dual core P. 80GB Hd. DVD.... for $700

IMHO - NEVER buy extended service plans. Not worth their price.
Oh, and lots of companies sell via store fronts, like Best Buy. What I am saying is you can get a better PC for less from the big boxes. Very true with Gateway (who sells via BestBuy). Best buy will discount the PCs just to move them out the door when they start to "age" a bit. Not old or junk but not the latest.

PC companies are just like any other business. Everyone has their favorites. Go with who treats you well and gives you the features you want at the price that moves you.

I will confuse you more if you like.

Bryan

[Crazy440]

Any comments on the Apple laptops?
Crazy

[bakerhillpins]

I can't make any comments on Apple computers as I haven't used one (extensively) for 10s of years now.

I personally don't like their interface. I used them back in college days and I guess I just never liked the way they "felt". Yea, Its a windowed GUI (Graphical User Interface) just like MSWindows... But I guess I have been assimilated by Bill. Maybe they are differen now but I don't have any plans to switch. Last time I even looked at them the prices were much higher. I venture a guess that this is because there is only one MFG in the mac market.

My wife worked in Higher Education for quite a few years and she likes macs. I bought her a PC though and she hasn't used a mac in years.

I'm sure they are fine. Some folks swear by them. They are not any worse or better than a PC, you simply inherit a different set of problems. 

Sorry I am not much help there.

[70charger_boy]

HP Pavilion.  They might have some in your budget.  Had mine for 3 years and it works great.

[Silver R/T]

I see good deals on laptops in local stores all the time. You should be able to pick up a nice one for $800 with 15.4" screen 120GB hard drive DVD-ROM, 1055 memory, etc.

[Mike DC]

 
I got a $1300 HP last year after doing a medium amount of research.  I didn't have very high demands for it in terms of computing/storage capabilities, just the basics. 
I mostly wanted a reliable brand of hardware with an overpowered processor for my needs. 

The hardware works great so far, but not Windows Vista.  I ended up wiping Vista off the computer entirely and just having a friend install a bootleg copy of XP onto it.  It runs a hell of a lot better this way.  (Partly because of the issues with Vista itself, and partly just avoiding all the crappy extra programs that come tacked onto any new storebought OS.)

Either way, You'd be wise to pay extra for a full-boogie warranty on the hardware itself. 
 

[Forza]

Brock check out http://www.ibuypower.com . Should be able to find a good deal there.

I avoid Dell and Gateway like the plague. Dell has an incredibly horrid tech support but the systems are somewhat decent and payment options are reasonably. They tend to put cheap off-chute brand hardware in they're systems. Gateway adds way too much extra crap with any system. They limit what you can customize and try throwing unneeded stuff in with it. I've done business with IbuyPower alot and have yet to be disappointed. Good prices and high customization.

[TeeWJay426]

Just bought my daughter a new HP for college...  it was $899 at Circuit City; has 2GB RAM with a 200GB hard drive, nice screen (14 inch, I think?); I would think you could get a new HP that meets your needs for 800 or less by shopping a little bit.

[71charger_fan]

I have a Gateway that I bought a year ago. It's been an excellent machine. Do what I did, find a salesperson that knows the products in the store, tell him or her what you want to do with the computer and they should recommend a good fit. My salesman at the BestBuy in Columbia, MD recommended a model that wasn't even in the store. He called around and found one at a store about ten miles away and offered to have it shipped to his store. I said no, thanked him, and went to the other store, model number in hand, and bought it. I bought the previous year's model at a closeout price. 15.4" screen is too large to use on an airplane in economy though. At least with my large middle-aged belly.

[bakerhillpins]

15.4" screen is too large to use on an airplane in economy though. At least with my large middle-aged belly.

It would probably be foolish to buy a labtop just so it can be used in economy airline seating. I don't know anyone who can use a labtop in economy class anymore. Even with my elbows jammed into the back of the seat my plams still end up where my fingers should be.

I watched a move but had it sitting like a 'V' in my lap in order to watch it.

The only place I have been able to use a laptop on a plane is when I sat in an exit row. More room. Never sat in first class but it seems like it would work there too.

[Brock Samson]

what's worse is on a plane you'd be there for hours tryin to watch your laptop's screen and still be on the runway... 

thanks for the recommendations,.. i need something i can take on the road and since i have a dell PC at home,.. i was thinking about video and music making abilities, like a portable mini studio so i can meld vids and music of my own making togeather...
and watch girl fights on you tube.. 

[Neal_J]

Skippy:

An $800 budget won't buy you much if you don't already have software.  That said, I've had good luck buying used stuff on Craig's List.  The key is to get something that's in good shape, that you can test, and that has all the accessories (CD drive, cables, etc.) AND software CDs.  As for any PC, the bigger HDD and RAM, the better (yes, size does matter, as you've doubtlessly been told before).

Example:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/sys/388374810.html

Peace,

Neal

[69-DodgeCharger]

i'm "Retired", not "Retarded"..  thanks anyhoo..   

lol nice

[Lowprofile]

I have had my Toshiba Satellite for 4 1/2 years now. It travels very well. No problems at all! That little laptop has over 400,000 miles on it! 

Just my      Good luck Bro!

[71charger_fan]

After my laptop suddenly turned into a piece of crap, I remembered this thread and thought I'd re-comment. The "Geek Squad" has had my laptop for weeks trying to figure out what's wrong with it. This is it's third trip to the Geek Squad and I'm not happy. The service guy at a Best Buy in Florida even laughed at the prospect of buying a Gateway, even though his store sells them by the hundreds. I won't buy another one.

[69bronzeT5]

Dave, I have an ACER Aspire 5100. Its a great laptop. Havent had any probs with it. I have all my guitar pics and all my music videos and all my guitar recording and tabbing programs and it still runs great!

[Dans 68]

Any comments on the Apple laptops?
Crazy

Yes, I have had one for the past few years (and in the interest of full disclosure I have had a Mac ever since they were first called that, and earlier, but that is for another thread). I would get one of the dual processor intel Macbooks (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=7B72365E&node=home/shop_mac/family/macbook). They run about $1,100 but can do everything better than the "IBM" side machines. They even run Windows better that the "other" Windows machines! Wireless networking, easy set-up, intuitive software (if you don't run windows, that is  )  I currently have three iMacs in the house and a Macbook (yes, Jobs has his hooks deep into me). I will buy no other machine. Go to an Apple Store, Brock, and check out what they can do for you (and find someone who works at Apple to get their 15% discount...I did   ) or get on Craigslist and find a barely used one and save a lot of money. You will not be sorry.   

Dan

[jlb1pi]

The hardware works great so far, but not Windows Vista.  I ended up wiping Vista off the computer entirely and just having a friend install a bootleg copy of XP onto it.  It runs a hell of a lot better this way.  (Partly because of the issues with Vista itself, and partly just avoiding all the crappy extra programs that come tacked onto any new storebought OS.)

I missed this thread back when it was fresh, but seeing that it got revived, I gotta agree with you Mike...with regards to Window Vista.

I had an HP Presario V2000 series (they were called Compaq back then) for 3 years, with XP for an O/S, and never had any problems with it. I then made the mistake of my life and
gave it to my bride, and bought myself this HP Pavilion dv6000, preloaded with Vista....what a mistake!

Now that I know it's not just me, I am going to wipe Vista off of here and install XP on it.  I don't have the cojones to use a bootleg, Mike,  but I AM[/b] going to wipe the O/S off of my old Presario, load IT[/b] up with a legit Windows 2000 Professional program I have, then load this one up with the XP disk that came with the Presario...that way Microsoft is happy (one program per computer) and I am happy.

They have both been great computers, I paid less than 800 dollars for each at Office Depot on sale (3 years apart, of course),
and I've had no problems whatsoever with them, so I can't badmouth HP at all.

But just in case my point was missed, Windows Vista has a lot, and I mean A LOT of issues that need resolved....

Microsoft should have waited awhile before releasing it, and maybe in a few years I'll buy the Vista O/S program disk, and it will work fine without literally 10 or 12
Updates and Patches per month being sent to me for it !!

~Jer~

[TheGhost]

NOT Compaq.

[2Gunz]

I highly recommend the Inspiron line of laptops.

Tell me more about what you NEED to do so I can find you a great match.

[2Gunz]

Inspiron is dell BTW.


And I also dont recommend Vista at all.

My brother is an IT professional and he was given a copy of Vista Ultimate from work for his personal use.

It has been sitting on the shelf unopened for a year.

That says alot.

[Chad L. Magee]

I have had my Toshiba Satellite for 4 1/2 years now. It travels very well. No problems at all! That little laptop has over 400,000 miles on it! 

Just my      Good luck Bro!

I bought a new Toshiba Satellite A215-S7428 on Black Friday last year for $499 after rebates ($699 sale price - $200 rebate check that I just got in the mail) at Office Depot.  Well worth the money in my opinion.  It has the 15.4" screen, 2GB RAM (AMD Athlon 64 duel core processor), 160GB hard drive, wireless card and the CD/DVD writer with Lableflash (only thing missing that I would have added was the fingerprint lock).  Unfortunately, Vista home premium was installed, so I may have to remove that and put on XP....... 

[Todd Wilson]

I really dont know what brands are good or bad anymore. I bought a Dell laptop about 3 years ago and have had no troubles with it. The things to look at with any laptop is what are you going ot use it for. You can get any laptop with a rather hot setup like ram,cpu,video and a high rpm harddrive.  Laptops can come with different RPM harddrives and that can make a big difference in both speed and battery life.

Problem is with speed comes with higher power consumption and lower battery life.  If you are a traveling salesman and you need to log into the mother ship to check email or place orders for customers then you obviously want a unit that has long battery life while say a college kid needs laptop for skool but also wants to play the latest high tech online shoot em up game at night then you may want one of the hotter machines.

A wireless ethernet card is a must anymore with a laptop and if you got the cash to spend for monthly charges you can get the broadband connection and basically have internet anywhere your cell phone works driving down the road. Otherwise you just hope to find open wireless systems when you stop with your wireless ethernet card in the machine and use the internet then. There are tons of open networks all over my town. People are idiots when they get a walmart wireless router.  There are also some business's that offer a free network so you will come in and spend money there and sit down and play on your laptop.

Knowing what I know about you Strat I am guessing you'd want something to take with you when you travel about. I'd get a hot unit and you can plug it in every night as you camp in the Dodge. With DVD drives you can also watch movies and with a tv card/HD antenna you would also be able to pull in TV stations as well. A unit to do multiple thngs while you travel and still be able to surf at the coffee shop when you are home.


Todd

[Troy]

For those of you using Vista - it was designed to get regular/consistent updates vs the old style of one giant Service Pack every few years. This was actually implemented in XP Service Pack 2 - which probably should have been a new OS release since it changed so much. When Windows XP Service Pack 3 finally comes out later this year it won't really affect much if you've applied all the regular updates. This will be the final Service Pack for XP. MS was a couple of years late releasing Vista already so I don't think they'd have held it up too much longer. Businesses want to purchase "mature" software so the OS had to be in use so all the weirdness and application incompatibilities could be worked out before any large company would adopt it. Since Vista was released they have more than doubled the amount of certified hardware and fixed many of the software compatibility issues (mainly in the 150 or so applications that were deal-breakers for businesses).

I just got Vista this week and haven't had any problems... yet. I didn't really have a choice since my machine has more RAM than XP can recognize (I'll post the specs a bit later). I don't do much gaming at all so that wasn't an issue. However, if you are a gamer then DirectX 10 is only available in Vista so you can't get the most out of that new video card under XP. Once more games are written using the new features you'll have to upgrade to play them. If I were building a "normal" laptop or desktop then I'd have stuck with XP Professional since I've always had good luck and I don't need to be on the bleeding edge of technology (stability is usually more important). Also, Vista is a resource HOG so it may not be the best for a laptop any way (although the power saving features are great you need more/better hardware to run it).

I have an IBM laptop for work but I've also used Dell in the past. If you buy a business model you shouldn't really have any problems. I lost all confidence in HP/Compaq and Gateway years ago so it would take a lot for me to try them again. Of course, Acer used to be the utter garbage but now they seem respected so I'd definitely have to do some research if I were in the market now.

Troy

[Duey]

Like JLPiP! said, I'd stay away from HP Pavillion...search the web on DV6000 and wireless.... my wife's wireless has fried twice and she's not alone.

Did you consider a used/refurb, Brock?  I grabbed myself an off-lease IBM Thinkpad/Lenovo T41 for half your budget...2GB Ram and a 120Gb drive is hard to beat....it's running the bulletproof XP SP2, but you could load Vista if you wanted.

http://www.laptopcloseout.com/usa

Cheers,
Duey

[71charger_fan]

My problems started when my laptop fried the wireless and got worse from there. The service guy told me to buy an HP next time.

[bakerhillpins]

Yea, I am in the same park as Troy with regard to vista. I don't see what all the noize is about? I got vista on my new Toshiba and once I wiped the disk and re-imaged it to remove all the bloatware that ships on new PCs these days it has operated fine. Yes, some of the basic user interface things are quirky and take some getting used to but I don't loose data, and I don't have crashes all day long, and I don't have any major issues. Now, Toshiba, that's different. 

Here is a great writeup on re-imaging vista on a PC to get rid of bloatware. Worked great for me and my business partners.   
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=120228

Your Mileage May Vary.