i need a laptop

[chinajoe]

ive never bought one, and was hoping some of you might be able to help me out a little. i am looking at throwin' down about 1200-1400. i saw one of the newer sony vaios. fast, lots of memory, and portable. if the vaio is not a good choice, then please tell me which laptop would be good. thanks

[direwolf-pgh]

check out the Toshiba laptops - big bang for the buck & reliable.

hell its your money - for $1400 you should get something really nice.

if you're looking at macs - you're limited to a few model/config in that range.

i buy a laptop for the screen /weight / keyboard feel.
personally im not a fan of sony computers.
2¢

[stantheman1976]

I have a Toshiba Satellite I bought in March of this year. I'm stuck with Vista Home Premium because Toshiba doesn't even offer XP drivers for that model. I'd say avoid Vista for now if you can. It's not that horrible but for some reason my screen goes black for a split second periodically. It happens all the time. Has anyone else ever experienced this with a Toshiba.

[Karst]

I have a Vaio from 2001 and it is still doing the business, although it needs replacing next year. I'd probably go for the AR as it can play Blueray discs.

[Five]

I bought a somewhat ancient P2 Compaq Armada for $40 around a week ago... my first laptop! :lol:

but seriously I've heard great things about Toshiba and that's probably what I'll go with when I buy a 'real' laptop (next year?).

I agree with wolf, be fussy about the screen, keyboard, size&weight, and type of 'mouse' (little joystick or pad, which do you prefer?).

[chinajoe]

ive been checking out toshibas for the better part of the past few days. so many options...hp seems to have a few decent models. the vaio w/ the blu ray is a nice option. but what i want is to have the 3d imax on my pc. beowulf kicked total ass!

i prefer a mouse, but will deal with a pad. plus, it needs an out for speakers.

[bru87tr]

if your not looking to spend alot, I have a P-4 2ghz Compaq Evo N610C for sale.

[chinajoe]

i havent heard many good things about vista. i still use xp here and at work. does anyone know if the sony hi-md works w/ vista? also, ill be looking to get a digital recorder w/in a year or so.


^^^ thanks for the offer, but im looking for a new laptop.

[lgerard]

I've always had HP laptops and have been very happy with them. They are very sturdy and that's something which is pretty important to consider.

You are the only person that I have ever heard that prefers a mouse to a pad, but a usb mouse is a trivial expense.

I'll be using XP to the bitter end.

[Karst]

Sturdy? The you want a Toughbook. http://www.toughbook.eu/ENG/notebook_cf-30.aspx

[ccrider895]

Mom needs a laptop. Help me help her not get screwed by purchasing some POS.

Must be windows OS. Need lots of memory and a good graphics card, as well as a DVD burner and firewire card. Looking to spend $ 1,000-1,500.

This is what I'm come up with so far:

I like this one:

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/gateway-fx-p-7805u/4505-3121_7-33496191.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody


She likes these:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=F2A3EC7C45634AE8AB0F26CCAC867854

ThinkPad W500 ^

and

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:expandcategory?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=19C791A03AF24034A0011B825513BCED&tab=2#tab-container-5

I don't know much about Lenovo except that IBM used to make the thinkpads.

Suggestions for other brands worth looking at appreciated.

Also, is Vista really that bad? I suggested a wait for Windows 7, but she's not having it. :rolleyes:

Thanks in advance for any help. :cool:

[daddyray]

I will refrain from asking how she is willing to earn a free used one....oops

[ccrider895]

I am sorry to disappoint, but at this time we are not in the market for any used computers, thank you. :)

[Jerm]

I don't own one, but would stay away from Lenovo. We have one at work and it's not very reliable. (freezes alot and did so out of the box) I'm sure it's fixable, but it shouldn't have any problems off the bat like that.
I know people flame em, but I've never had any problems with my Dell. (desktop) I've messed with a lot of Dell laptops since that's what our company uses and they seem pretty solid.
All computers are prone to have an issue of some sort though. Sonys are nice, but usually kinda pricey.
I'll mess around during lunch and try to come up with some info that's actually useful :)

[ccrider895]

:thumbsup

Thanks, Jerm. I don't know very much about Lenovos, and I am always wary of brands that don't make the top 10 lists. Mom was just looking at what's on sale.

I have a great Dell desktop, but I am not as familiar with their laptops. I will check more into those today.

[direwolf-pgh]

toshiba, dell, hp

dell and hp have the best warranty programs. toshiba you ship out.
4GB RAM minimum (8 GB would be best) & vista = fine.

2¢

[Jerm]

A decent Sony on www.buy.com...
http://www.buy.com/prod/sony-vaio-fw-series-laptop-intel-core-2-duo-t6400-2-0ghz-4gb-320gb-hdd/q/loc/101/210566841.html

The Studio XPS model from Dell fits yer price range (base model) and looks to be a ver well rounded machine for what your saying she needs...
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-studio-xps-16?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
Obviously...throwin a little more $ at it would get you into the 'Bundle' which is actually a pretty good savings over buying those upgrades separately later.

I never seem to have the money for what it is I actually want to get, but end up exceeding my budget a little every time just to try to stay ahead of the curve.

[ccrider895]

Thanks. :thumbsup

I need to talk her out of that Lenovo thing before she gets something that I'm sure she will not be happy with. :disbelief

I'm gonna send her that Dell link and also check out some of the HP's and Toshiba models.


:wave:

[ZJLI]

I am sorry to disappoint, but at this time we are not in the market for any used computers, thank you. :)

I saw the thread title, and.........well........:lol:

[mooncusser]

I'd stick with HP and Dell from what I hear. don't think Toshiba is as good as they used to be.

[ccrider895]

Yes. After reviewing the Toshiba models they did not have the features I was looking for. Dell and HP seemed to be the best things going on right now.

[Karst]

Go for the Sony - much better screen.