Laptop Question

[pacfan]

Greetings my fellow Packer Rats,

I am shopping for a laptop. Having very limited computer knowledge I was hoping somebody here could give me the “scoop” on the laptop market. What to look for and what to avoid.

I'm looking for a laptop that is lightweight, good graphics and good connectability. Speed is important and memory size, from what I've read so far, isn't an issue. I need a machine that will survive some major usage over the next three years (going to Law School). Don't know much about clock speed or FSB or whatever the processor is/does.

What brands should I be looking at/avoiding? Macs are not an option and price is of some concern.

Thanks in advance.

[packinpatland]

Our family swears by Dell. So many good deals to be had.

What law school?

[Freak Out]

Budget?

[pacfan]

Budget?

Law School: Wisconsin

Budget: under 3G's. Somebody said get a 3-year warranty.

[GBRulz]

pacfan, you would be surprised how loaded of a laptop that you can get these days for under $1500.

I'm not going to preach as to what kind of better, blah blah blah but I have had a few laptops over the years. The one I have now is probably my fav. It's a Sony Vaio, 15" screen, it's lightweight, thin, good battery life. 2 gigs of RAM, 160gig hard drive. 256MB Video card, Bluetooth, DVD/CD burner and one of the most fantastic displays that I've ever seen. Purchase price $1599 4 months ago, which means it's probably $1299 somewhere else now!!

I highly suggest getting 2 gigs of RAM. Or ones that are expandable to that size. I believe Toshiba is expanable to 4gigs of RAM. Especially now with Vista being already installed. Vista alone takes up about 512MB of your processing speed. Other than that, all you can really do is look around and get a feel of what you like. I wouldn't worry about hard drive space too much as you can always buy an external for more space and more important, to back up your notebook.

Don't buy the extended warranties and don't buy a Dell !!!

[Joemailman]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it would be about lap dances. How disappointing. :(

[Partial]

The warranty is a good deal on laptops because of battery replacement. Batteries can die out pretty quick.

Look at the Dell Latitudes and search google for coupons. You can get some that are up to 600$ off (after spending like 1500 or something).

Dell's Latitude series are built much better than the inspirons so it'll last you longer and hopefully give you less grief if you take it on the go with you.

Coupons though, look hard for coupons!!


Current specs should be an Core 2 Duo, unless you game I wouldn't worry about graphics unless you game. Then, you might want to go with a XPS. As for storage, don't go bigger than 120 because any bigger and the data density is too great and they are sllloooowwww.

Spending 3000 on a laptop is a waste of money. It'll be obsolote in two years anyway. A better bet would be spending about 1000 now, and upgrading for another thousand two years down the road or so. Trust me, you'll get much better value all around this way.

Head to West Town mall if you get a chance to test out some machines. They have a dell kiosk there with tons of laptops. Some have glossy displays and some have matte. See what you like.

Don't buy their, though. Use your online coupon that you find and save yourself a wad of cash.

[Partial]

pacfan, you would be surprised how loaded of a laptop that you can get these days for under $1500.

I'm not going to preach as to what kind of better, blah blah blah but I have had a few laptops over the years. The one I have now is probably my fav. It's a Sony Vaio, 15" screen, it's lightweight, thin, good battery life. 2 gigs of RAM, 160gig hard drive. 256MB Video card, Bluetooth, DVD/CD burner and one of the most fantastic displays that I've ever seen. Purchase price $1599 4 months ago, which means it's probably $1299 somewhere else now!!

I highly suggest getting 2 gigs of RAM. Or ones that are expandable to that size. I believe Toshiba is expanable to 4gigs of RAM. Especially now with Vista being already installed. Vista alone takes up about 512MB of your processing speed. Other than that, all you can really do is look around and get a feel of what you like. I wouldn't worry about hard drive space too much as you can always buy an external for more space and more important, to back up your notebook.

Don't buy the extended warranties and don't buy a Dell !!!

Consumer reports recommends extended warranties on laptops if they aren't more than like 20% of the cost or greater (over 5 years) because laptop batteries have very sporadic life, especially the lithium-ion polymer ones they are switching to (away from standard lithium-ion).

[retailguy]

I've got a Thinkpad T42 and a T43. I love them, wouldn't trade them for any other laptop on the market.

My T42 cost me 1200 two years ago.

My wife is currently attending law school and swears by her Vaio. She opted for the small version with the 12.1 in screen and it weighs somewhere about 4.2 lbs. It's not anywhere close to as sturdy or durable as my IBM's, however, it is a nice machine.

My thinkpads are heavier, the t42 has a 15in screen, and the t43 has a 14.1 in screen. probably 5.5 lbs or so.

DON'T buy a warranty, you can buy a battery for about 100bucks if you look diligently online. In fact, I bought a replacement for the t42, new for about 45. off ebay. It's not an IBM battery, but who cares?

Warranties are about 80% profit... with 25 to 50% of the cost going as a sales commission. VERY RARELY does the consumer get their money's worth out of a warranty/service plan. When you think about it, that kind of makes sense, since if the company lost money, the price would go up.

[GBRulz]

Partial, Consumer Reports says otherwise. In fact, they even took out a full page ad in USA Today warning consumers about buying them and why they are a waste of money.

Post your source though, I'm curious as to why they would be saying two different things.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/resources/images/personal-finance/news/november-2006/why-you-dont-need-an-extended-warranty-11-06/overview/vmax_cr_v4_big.jpg

[Partial]

RG not that it is on topic, but Consumer Reports does in fact recommend extended warranties on laptops, treadmills and grills. Margins aren't nearly as high on those three items.

But, anyway, back on topic, the Thinkpads are very well built machines. Not as good as they were under IBM, but Lenovo has done an adequate job at keeping that line premium.

Dell Latitude is a business class of notebooks designed to compete with the Thinkpads. They do a very admirable job.

Sony's have very good construction as well.

Apple MacBook or MacBook Pro are very nice as well. The regular MacBook is more than adequate for just about any task and when paired with your student discount is quite affordable.

Don't buy retail. Buy online. You can avoid tax if they don't have a retail outlet in Wisconsin. Plus then you can use the aforementioned excellent Dell coupons.

[retailguy]

I've got the IBM version. The Lenovo versions are not as nice, but still better than most "so called" business laptops out on the market.

I had a Latitude, and will NEVER have another one. It gave me nothing but grief, and Dell support was USELESS. I gave it away for a couple hundred dollars and have never missed it.

I suppose if I had bought an "extended warranty" at 80% profit, then they'd have talked with me, but, if they had built a better machine, I'd have NOT needed a warranty, now would I?

:)

[Jimx29]

All the active coupons form Dell:
http://www.edealinfo.com/dell/

[MadtownPacker]

Stay the hell away from Dell!!

I agree that the extneded warranty is not a bad deal. Make sure to get the premium one that covers accidents and in about a year make sure to break it on purpose to cash in and likely get a newer model one.

Too bad you dont live around here, I know a guy that knows a guy that... well you know. 8-)

[Merlin]

I have used DELL laptops (Inspiron, Precision) for the past 8 years and never had any issues with their support. If you tell the support person that you are in IT and don't want the usual "reboot" instructions they give novice users, you get expedited to someone who speaks English that knows what they are doing. And believe me, the first level support is for someone who doesn't know where the start button is. The forums for DELL are also full of information for just about any question you have.

My wife has had good luck with the Latitudes at her job. Everyone in our company uses Latitudes accept myself and our Network Engineer because we need the beefy machine for testing & development. They all are happy with them.

I have sent 2 out of 5 in for warranty work and I got the machine(s) back in 3 business days with no charge to me. The last two have had the on site warranty with DELL coming out within 4 hours and replacing a bad RAM stick.

DELL is always running specials on their warranties. With my desktop at home I got a 4 year on site warranty for less then $200 on a $2000 machine. I believe their specials run 7-10 days and they come back around every so often.

Sony and Toshiba make nice laptops but the do not have on site warranty service like DELL.

IBM isn't worth the money they charge for the name.

HP is a decent machine but ever since they merged with Compaq, I wouldn't buy one. I have had nothing but crappy luck with anything named "Compaq" accept their servers.

Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY A COMPUTER FROM BEST BUY. In fact, don't buy any computer products from Best Buy at all. My kid worked there and the local store is supposed to be one of the best in the country and they don't have a friggin clue about computers, parts or how to fix them. Their job is to sell you stuff, period.

Whatever you buy, make sure you take it to someone you trust to clean up all of the bullshit software you don't need. Computer companies have been loading more and more on machines and frankly all it does is drag the system down.

[Merlin]

I would also add that you DO NOT want Microsoft Vista for the operating system. There are too many incompatibilities right now and the market is still about 85% Windows XP. Make sure you go with Windows XP Pro SP2. Being that you are a student, you can get Vista dirt cheap at a later date when the market comes around to meeting the demand. I am sure the UW has a software purchasing agreement with Microsoft. Students can get MS Office 2003 Professional for $15 I think or maybe it's $20. At any rate it's dirt cheap.

[billy_oliver880]

I have had an HP laptop for 4 years now and I love it. The only trouble I have had with it is the wireless network is giving me trouble now.

[Zool]

If you're looking to spend $3000 or under your options are endless.

I've been in IT for 10 years now, and I've seen most brands come through. I can say that like a car, every brand will have issues of some sort.

Sony have by far the nicest screens and have for a long time. The battery life is actually a little bit shorter because of this, but its a great trade off. If you have a mediocre screen, you will get a headache after looking at it for an hour or 2.

Dell makes a solid laptop that will cost marginally less than the Sony. The exploding battery problem is now fixed, so that shouldn't be a concern if you buy a new one from Dell.

Toshiba is starting to slip in the market.

IBM sold their laptop line, so I'm not sure how the support for the Lenovo laptops will be. I haven't had to call them yet. They are a very solid machine and can take a pounding, but I've always been under impressed with their screens.

Make sure to get a Core2 or a Core2duo processor. The Pentium M dual core's are about 1/2 the speed and twice the heat of the Core2's.

Get a 15" screen if its going to be used for writing papers and such and is going to be moved alot. If the laptop is going to be stationary for the most part, get a 17" screen.

Get 2G's of ram now. The cost difference is ~$150 if you do it yourself, and the speed gain is substantial. Also like GBR already said Vista is a system hog. Get XP Pro with SP2 like Merlin said. Vista is not ready yet, but they had to release it to comply with their contracts with resellers.

Try to get one that has dedicated video memory, not shared. System RAM is much slower than video RAM and sharing is a great way to save money, but eat into performance.

/book

[Charles Woodson]

Through everyone in my family, we have had about 8 different dell laptops and they have all been good.

[pacfan]

Thanks for the advice and comments. I knew you guys would come through.

[Partial]

If you're looking to spend $3000 or under your options are endless.

I've been in IT for 10 years now, and I've seen most brands come through. I can say that like a car, every brand will have issues of some sort.

Sony have by far the nicest screens and have for a long time. The battery life is actually a little bit shorter because of this, but its a great trade off. If you have a mediocre screen, you will get a headache after looking at it for an hour or 2.

Dell makes a solid laptop that will cost marginally less than the Sony. The exploding battery problem is now fixed, so that shouldn't be a concern if you buy a new one from Dell.

Toshiba is starting to slip in the market.

IBM sold their laptop line, so I'm not sure how the support for the Lenovo laptops will be. I haven't had to call them yet. They are a very solid machine and can take a pounding, but I've always been under impressed with their screens.

Make sure to get a Core2 or a Core2duo processor. The Pentium M dual core's are about 1/2 the speed and twice the heat of the Core2's.

Get a 15" screen if its going to be used for writing papers and such and is going to be moved alot. If the laptop is going to be stationary for the most part, get a 17" screen.

Get 2G's of ram now. The cost difference is ~$150 if you do it yourself, and the speed gain is substantial. Also like GBR already said Vista is a system hog. Get XP Pro with SP2 like Merlin said. Vista is not ready yet, but they had to release it to comply with their contracts with resellers.

Try to get one that has dedicated video memory, not shared. System RAM is much slower than video RAM and sharing is a great way to save money, but eat into performance.

/book

Zool you know I love you like a brother, but all the companies are using the same panels. Sony doesn't make panels. LG and Samsung, as well as other manufacturers do. That's why the stats on them are pretty much useless. Perhaps they use brighter backlights, but they are all the exact same panel for the most part nowadays. I recommend going with an LED backlit lcd is you can find one. The lighting distribution is better and it takes less power. They aren't very popular yet.

They didn't make a pentium m dual core to my knowledge. They have core duo, which is essentially built around the last gen pentium m. Then they have the core 2 duo, which is a completely new architecture. I recommend core 2 duo just as you did.

Screen size should be 100% on what you're going to do with it. If you are going to take it to class with you and take notes on it, honestly I don't think you can beat the 13.3" laptops. I say this because this is a brand new panel and is a very, very nice display at a great size. I would never, ever go back to a 15" notebook after using my sexy 13.3".

You should make sure you try out several sizes and see what you like. 13.3", 14.1, and 15.1 are all very popular sizes.

Definitely get the 2gb of ram.

Intels GMA950 is actually no slouch in the video department. It does use system ram, yes, but it is 100% fine for any 2-d work you would need to do. I use desktop effects all the time on my mac with the GMA950 and I have never had a problem and I have 1.25gb ram. Only if you want to play the latest games would I recommend a dedicated GPU (it adds heat, sucks battery life, etc). The GMA950 can play current games such as Half-Life 2 or Counter-Strike: Source.



If I were you, I would wait until June/July ish if you can. My reasoning for this?

Intel's Santa Rosa platform is due for release shortly. It will increase the bus speed from 667 to 800mhz, which will overall increase performance quite a bit. Also, this new platform is coming with a new graphics processor built-in called the GMA3000, which is actually directx 10, have pixel shader 3.0 built in, etc. It will be a very worthy contender.


In summary, by the end of June you'll be able to get a great system that is faster than is what is out today, great graphics, and a nice LED display for about 1400-1500.

PM me for more info if you need it.

[Zool]

If you're looking to spend $3000 or under your options are endless.

I've been in IT for 10 years now, and I've seen most brands come through. I can say that like a car, every brand will have issues of some sort.

Sony have by far the nicest screens and have for a long time. The battery life is actually a little bit shorter because of this, but its a great trade off. If you have a mediocre screen, you will get a headache after looking at it for an hour or 2.

Dell makes a solid laptop that will cost marginally less than the Sony. The exploding battery problem is now fixed, so that shouldn't be a concern if you buy a new one from Dell.

Toshiba is starting to slip in the market.

IBM sold their laptop line, so I'm not sure how the support for the Lenovo laptops will be. I haven't had to call them yet. They are a very solid machine and can take a pounding, but I've always been under impressed with their screens.

Make sure to get a Core2 or a Core2duo processor. The Pentium M dual core's are about 1/2 the speed and twice the heat of the Core2's.

Get a 15" screen if its going to be used for writing papers and such and is going to be moved alot. If the laptop is going to be stationary for the most part, get a 17" screen.

Get 2G's of ram now. The cost difference is ~$150 if you do it yourself, and the speed gain is substantial. Also like GBR already said Vista is a system hog. Get XP Pro with SP2 like Merlin said. Vista is not ready yet, but they had to release it to comply with their contracts with resellers.

Try to get one that has dedicated video memory, not shared. System RAM is much slower than video RAM and sharing is a great way to save money, but eat into performance.

/book

Zool you know I love you like a brother, but all the companies are using the same panels. Sony doesn't make panels. LG and Samsung, as well as other manufacturers do. That's why the stats on them are pretty much useless. Perhaps they use brighter backlights, but they are all the exact same panel for the most part nowadays. I recommend going with an LED backlit lcd is you can find one. The lighting distribution is better and it takes less power. They aren't very popular yet.

They didn't make a pentium m dual core to my knowledge. They have core duo, which is essentially built around the last gen pentium m. Then they have the core 2 duo, which is a completely new architecture. I recommend core 2 duo just as you did.

Screen size should be 100% on what you're going to do with it. If you are going to take it to class with you and take notes on it, honestly I don't think you can beat the 13.3" laptops. I say this because this is a brand new panel and is a very, very nice display at a great size. I would never, ever go back to a 15" notebook after using my sexy 13.3".

You should make sure you try out several sizes and see what you like. 13.3", 14.1, and 15.1 are all very popular sizes.

Definitely get the 2gb of ram.

Intels GMA950 is actually no slouch in the video department. It does use system ram, yes, but it is 100% fine for any 2-d work you would need to do. I use desktop effects all the time on my mac with the GMA950 and I have never had a problem and I have 1.25gb ram. Only if you want to play the latest games would I recommend a dedicated GPU (it adds heat, sucks battery life, etc). The GMA950 can play current games such as Half-Life 2 or Counter-Strike: Source.



If I were you, I would wait until June/July ish if you can. My reasoning for this?

Intel's Santa Rosa platform is due for release shortly. It will increase the bus speed from 667 to 800mhz, which will overall increase performance quite a bit. Also, this new platform is coming with a new graphics processor built-in called the GMA3000, which is actually directx 10, have pixel shader 3.0 built in, etc. It will be a very worthy contender.


In summary, by the end of June you'll be able to get a great system that is faster than is what is out today, great graphics, and a nice LED display for about 1400-1500.

PM me for more info if you need it.
Ahh good catch on the Core Duo. Brain fart in there.

LG and Samsung do make a ton of monitors, but I would like to be shown where Sony doesnt produce their own screens anymore. I know Dell is using Samsung now, but I hadnt heard Sony was buying 3rd party. Go to Best Buy and check out the Sony screens. They are comparable to the McBook N Fries screen IMO.

[Zool]

And yet you stand corrected again Partial.

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/pentium_dual-core/index.htm

[Partial]

And yet you stand corrected again Partial.

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/pentium_dual-core/index.htm

It appears that I do. Interesting. When did that come out? It's kind of weird because it has the same naming convention as the Core Duos. The T2600 was the 1.67 ghz core duo, this is the T2060, I wonder if its one of the low voltage models or something.

Have you seen that used commercially?


From CNET (http://news.com.com/Sony+hones+its+TV+efforts/2100-1041_3-5397240.html)


Unlike most other manufacturers, Sony makes a substantial number of the internal components for its TVs and manufactures the sets itself. Still, not everything is homegrown. Sony obtains its LCD glass from outside manufacturers, Naito said. A Samsung-Sony joint venture on LCD panels will start to crank out panels next year, but Sony will continue to also buy panels from third parties, Naito added.

[Zool]

Hmm...So Samsung makes the panel and Sony makes the guts. Good find. I totally missed this one.

[pacfan]

What is the Integrated Fingerprint reader?

Does this work, is there a chance it would lock me out of my laptop?

[Partial]

There is a chance it could if it malfunctions I suppose, but there is a way to circumvent any system. It's more of a gimmick than anything. If you select a very long, random password, its difficult to crack anyway.

[Merlin]

The whole manufacturing thing is quite interesting. There are only about 2-3 manufactures of laptops in the world. The only difference between them all are the specifications to which they are built. It's interesting also that LG has taken over the plasma panel market. Most plasma TV's used to have Panasonic panels in them but Panasonic couldn't keep up and LG took over. It appears Panasonic wants to re-engineer their plasma panels anyway, I think that had more to do with the switch.

[pacfan]

Anbody have any thoughts on refurbished Laptops, are they worth it?

[GBRulz]

I would think refurbished would be fine as long as it comes with a warranty and is certified by the manufacturer. As far as price differences between new and refurbished, I really don't know how much you'd end up saving to say if it's worth it or not.

Zool and Merlin know what they're talking about when it comes to computers, I'm sure they would have some good insight on this subject since they work with all kinds of them.

[Partial]

I would think refurbished would be fine as long as it comes with a warranty and is certified by the manufacturer. As far as price differences between new and refurbished, I really don't know how much you'd end up saving to say if it's worth it or not.

Zool and Merlin know what they're talking about when it comes to computers, I'm sure they would have some good insight on this subject since they work with all kinds of them.

now THATS a slam :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:


Apple has MacBook Pros for 40% off refurbished. They are an older model, but ultimately it is about a 10% performance difference. That is certainly worth saving 40%.

[GBRulz]

well, it's not meant to be, Partial. They actually have been very helpful to me several times about computer questions.

[Zool]

Partial feels slighted that you didnt include him in your reindeer games.

[Partial]

I do because that is deliberate spite. And that response is even more bitchy. I have helped that chick more times than I can count on my fingers via pm. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[Zool]

Easy big fella. Eeeeeasy does it.

[MadtownPacker]

I do because that is deliberate spite. And that response is even more bitchy. I have helped that chick more times than I can count on my fingers via pm.You nned to watch your mouth kid. Have you thought maybe since Zool and Merlin actually WORK in IT that is why their advice is worth something?

Oh my bad, lets see what the department store salesboy thinks!!!!

[Partial]

:roll:

[Merlin]

I've never bought a refurbished computer. I've upgraded the ones I built and purchased. I would think as long as it comes with a decent warranty that it should be okay. A local shop here sells refurbished Dells and they tell me that a lot of the times it's just a faulty motherboard and they replace it, other then that it's all good. Other times they say it was due to user error (e.g. spilling something on a laptop keyboard). Do some research online and read posts from people who have a lot of experience with refurbished machines.

I do know that refurbished servers are a craps shoot depending on who did the refurbishing but that may not apply to PC's.

[digitaldean]

As for the Wintel laptops, (and it may have already been stated) absolutely stay away from integrated graphics. They suck off your RAM for processing video.

I have co-workers that have Dells and love them, but most are boat anchors as for portability. Our sales staff that use PC laptops, go with HPs. They have been rock steady and reliable.

Here are some sites that can help regarding Dell coupons:
spoofee.com
gottadeal.com
gotapex.com

Another deal site I have found valuable is pricegrabber.com. Put in your zip code and you can find the cheapest price (including shipping) plus see the reliability of the stores. That's how I saved a bunch on my Xerox color laser printer.

A decent source for hardware and software online is newegg.com. We purchase quite a bit through them with very little hassles.

Don't forget about any security/anti-virus software. You can get a decent version of commercial anti-virus software for free through freeafterrebate.info. Usually CompUSA, Buy.com, or TigerDirect.com have links on this site for anti-virus, security or system maintenance software.

An alternative than the rebate track for security software is AFG Free (free for download at free.grisoft.com).

I also have an alternative computer option. I know you don't want Macs, though I am going to throw this out there.

I purchased a MacBook Pro with:
* 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* built in wireless card
* 1440 x 900 pixels - 15" screen
* 2GB memory
* 120GB hard drive
* 6x double-layer SuperDrive
* ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB SDRAM

For under $2200.

Buy a copy of WinXP/Vista and Parallels (or download BootCamp for free from Apple) and you can run Mac OS X and the Windows platform.

Either way, good luck in your computer search!

[BallHawk]

Computer geeks of PackerRats, I seek your help in search of a new laptop.

I've read this thread and can only translate so much.

Here's what I'm looking for......

Good screen for watching DVDs.

Comfortable keybord that can take a pounding.

I'm not a hardcore PC gamer, but I like to play a game every once in a while.

Good battery life.

I don't need an ultraportable, but I need something I can take to the coffee shop or the book store.

And finally, with a price tag of $700 or less. I would go to $800 if it was a really good deal.

Also, if now is not the time to buy a computer and it's worth waiting for, please tell. I don't need it ASAP, but I would like to have it, at the latest, but January.

All help is much appreciated.

[Freak Out]

Anbody have any thoughts on refurbished Laptops, are they worth it?

No. You can get a very well equipped new laptop with a great warranty for very few $$$ these days. Stay away from "refurbished" because something has gone so wrong they had to take it back.

[Freak Out]

Computer geeks of PackerRats, I seek your help in search of a new laptop.

I've read this thread and can only translate so much.

Here's what I'm looking for......

Good screen for watching DVDs.

Comfortable keybord that can take a pounding.

I'm not a hardcore PC gamer, but I like to play a game every once in a while.

Good battery life.

I don't need an ultraportable, but I need something I can take to the coffee shop or the book store.

And finally, with a price tag of $700 or less. I would go to $800 if it was a really good deal.

Also, if now is not the time to buy a computer and it's worth waiting for, please tell. I don't need it ASAP, but I would like to have it, at the latest, but January.

All help is much appreciated.

Your really not going to get anything worth gaming on at that price..what I mean is you are not going to get dedicated graphics and will be stuck with the intel chip which blows. ATI has released a chipset with built in graphics but it is not much better as far as new games are concerned. You can get the core 2 duo and enough ram but you will have to go at least $900-$1000 to get dedicated graphics and that is on sale.

[BallHawk]

If I can't play games, it's no big deal. I just need something reliable and efficient.

[Partial]

I would wait BH. The 45nm version of the Core 2 Duo (Peryn) is due out sometime this fall. This will offer increased efficiency, and up to 40% improvement in some media encoding, decoding, etc due to having a new and improved instruction set (SSE4).

What sort of games are you looking to play? As long as it is not the latest and greatest game, an integrated card works fine. Some computers have dedicated graphics processors which are are very powerful for 3d rendering. However, the GMA x3000 (intel current non-dedicated graphics option) is quite powerful and features pixel shader 3.0 and supports directx 10. For your average everyday computer user who likes to play counterstrike:source every now and again this is more than adequate. Trust me, I am a hardcore nerd and I think a GPU is pretty much useless unless you want the latest and greatest games. I normally play stuff that is 2 years old or older and that stuff runs fine on the integrated platforms.

I would definitely wait this one out. Prices will come down quickly once it is released and you can get a nice computer with wi-max, good graphics, 2gb ram, for prolly 800 if you're patient and look for the deals.


One apple updates the MacBooks with Peryn, I would check out the black friday sales or look at the refurbished ones they sell. I have never had a problem with refurbished products and Apple still offers the same warranties on them. I think the refurbished MacBooks run about 800.

[Scott Campbell]

The 45nm version of the Core 2 Duo (Peryn) is due out sometime this fall. This will offer increased efficiency, and up to 40% improvement in some media encoding, decoding, etc due to having a new and improved instruction set (SSE4).


I think the most important thing there is that the smaller core is likely to run cooler. And that's especially important on a laptop.

If you can wait until Black Friday, there are usually some killer deals to be had.

[Scott Campbell]

If I can't play games, it's no big deal. I just need something reliable and efficient.


I think I read something about being able to order Dell pc's without all the bloatware. That's bound to have a positive effect on reliability.

[BallHawk]

I play counterstrike and the occasional WWII shooter, but I'm not going to be playing any major MMORPGs or anything like that.

The only Macbooks I've seen in the $800 range are Powerbook G4s and from my understanding those are pretty outdated.

[BallHawk]

The computers that are in my price range are your typical 15.4 inch screen, 5-6 pound computer.

After research, the 3 brands that I've been looking at our Gateway, HP, and Toshiba. The Dells were stripped down to the extreme and everything else was out of my price range, except for Acer, but I think I'm going to stay away from that.

[Scott Campbell]

The computers that are in my price range are your typical 15.4 inch screen, 5-6 pound computer.

After research, the 3 brands that I've been looking at our Gateway, HP, and Toshiba. The Dells were stripped down to the extreme and everything else was out of my price range, except for Acer, but I think I'm going to stay away from that.

I think Acer purchased Gateway yesterday.

[Partial]

I play counterstrike and the occasional WWII shooter, but I'm not going to be playing any major MMORPGs or anything like that.

The only Macbooks I've seen in the $800 range are Powerbook G4s and from my understanding those are pretty outdated.

Steer clear of any G4. I am typing this right now from a 12" G4 1.5 ghz the last generation and the upgraded model with the 80gb and the superdrive. Too slow and not enough ram stock.

Check Craigslist. I sold my MacBook for 900 w/ an extra gig of ram and some additional software. If you buy one now, you can get it for 1000 with your education discount. You can sell the iPod for 200 that comes with it and you'd be at 800 + tax.

MMORPG's don't require a lot of power. Like COD2 or 3 would play fine on the GMA X3000. It was a HUGE step for integrated graphics. Much, much better than the GMA 950 that was part of the original centrino duo platform.


Look at some of the Dells once the Peryn core comes out. Look at the latitude line and try to find a coupon. You can probably get a well-equip machine down to about 800. If you go the ubuntu route you could do probably like 50 bucks less since lets face it everyone pirates windows anyway.

[Partial]

The computers that are in my price range are your typical 15.4 inch screen, 5-6 pound computer.

After research, the 3 brands that I've been looking at our Gateway, HP, and Toshiba. The Dells were stripped down to the extreme and everything else was out of my price range, except for Acer, but I think I'm going to stay away from that.

I think Acer purchased Gateway yesterday.

Yep.

[BallHawk]

The computers that are in my price range are your typical 15.4 inch screen, 5-6 pound computer.

After research, the 3 brands that I've been looking at our Gateway, HP, and Toshiba. The Dells were stripped down to the extreme and everything else was out of my price range, except for Acer, but I think I'm going to stay away from that.

I think Acer purchased Gateway yesterday.

You're right. Acer purchased Gateway on Monday for $710 million.

[Freak Out]

The computers that are in my price range are your typical 15.4 inch screen, 5-6 pound computer.

After research, the 3 brands that I've been looking at our Gateway, HP, and Toshiba. The Dells were stripped down to the extreme and everything else was out of my price range, except for Acer, but I think I'm going to stay away from that.

I think Acer purchased Gateway yesterday.

You're right. Acer purchased Gateway on Monday for $710 million.

A bargain if they can get the groove back.

[Freak Out]

The 45nm version of the Core 2 Duo (Peryn) is due out sometime this fall. This will offer increased efficiency, and up to 40% improvement in some media encoding, decoding, etc due to having a new and improved instruction set (SSE4).


I think the most important thing there is that the smaller core is likely to run cooler. And that's especially important on a laptop.

If you can wait until Black Friday, there are usually some killer deals to be had.

...and should use much less power as well.

Hawk...do you have a Costco in your area?

[superfan]

Anbody have any thoughts on refurbished Laptops, are they worth it?

No. You can get a very well equipped new laptop with a great warranty for very few $$$ these days. Stay away from "refurbished" because something has gone so wrong they had to take it back.

Not necessarily. Refurbs can be lemons, but they can also be overstocks and returns that were unused.

My company used to buy all Dells, and we bought a mix of new and refurbished. We didn't see any correlation with failure rates of new vs. refurbished. The refurbished systems are often several hundred dollars cheaper and come with the same warranty, so they can be good values. The refurbished systems are packaged similarly, if not identically, to the new systems, so it feels like you are getting a new system.

On the Dell website, click the Home link on the main page, and on the following page you will see a link for the Dell Outlet - that is where they sell their refurbished systems. Inventory changes every second, so check often, and if you see the system you want at the price you want, you should be prepared to buy it before someone else does.

While the MacBooks and MacBook Pros are solid systems, running Windows on them can be a bit daunting for the less computer savvy.

[superfan]

The computers that are in my price range are your typical 15.4 inch screen, 5-6 pound computer.

After research, the 3 brands that I've been looking at our Gateway, HP, and Toshiba. The Dells were stripped down to the extreme and everything else was out of my price range, except for Acer, but I think I'm going to stay away from that.

Given those options, and with everything else being equal, I'd go with the HP.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

The 45nm version of the Core 2 Duo (Peryn) is due out sometime this fall. This will offer increased efficiency, and up to 40% improvement in some media encoding, decoding, etc due to having a new and improved instruction set (SSE4).


I think the most important thing there is that the smaller core is likely to run cooler. And that's especially important on a laptop.

If you can wait until Black Friday, there are usually some killer deals to be had.

I actually worked for Dell for awhile. The best deals start right after school starts. Everyone has bought a computer and the manufacturers need something to lure you in.

The deals get progressive better as the weeks push into October. By the second week in October dell was giving: free shipping, upgraded monitor, more memory, free printer,etc..forget exactly what, but it was like 5 things.

Black friday really isn't the best day as everyone knows you'll be out shopping. Deals yes, but best, not in my experience.

You may have a different experience.

[Partial]

The 45nm version of the Core 2 Duo (Peryn) is due out sometime this fall. This will offer increased efficiency, and up to 40% improvement in some media encoding, decoding, etc due to having a new and improved instruction set (SSE4).


I think the most important thing there is that the smaller core is likely to run cooler. And that's especially important on a laptop.

If you can wait until Black Friday, there are usually some killer deals to be had.

I actually worked for Dell for awhile. The best deals start right after school starts. Everyone has bought a computer and the manufacturers need something to lure you in.

The deals get progressive better as the weeks push into October. By the second week in October dell was giving: free shipping, upgraded monitor, more memory, free printer,etc..forget exactly what, but it was like 5 things.

Black friday really isn't the best day as everyone knows you'll be out shopping. Deals yes, but best, not in my experience.

You may have a different experience.

You'll get the best prices on an adequate machine on Black Friday. Rarely do you get a nice 1000 dollar laptop for like 500, but you get a 500 dollar one for 200.

Personally, I don't buy crap so I don't think getting a laptop that day is the best idea. I would go with an Apple refurb on a MacBook or go with a Dell Latitude. Build quality is something that should not be understated and those two products above have better than most of the competitors imo.