laptops

[bucketmouth64]

I am looking to buy a laptop with 15" screen with W7. I have narrowed my choices to sony vaio, hp pavillion, acer aspire, toshiba satellite, dell. Friend told me to stay away from Acers because he didn't like how they are set up. Any recommendations?

[PierBridge]

In a nutshell all Lap-tops today are junk and will break or have problems sooner than later. It's just the way the world has gone. Build [PoorWordUsage] have it break and they'll buy another.

That being said I still prefer Sony Laptops a bit over priced but I have had good personal luck with the Sony Lap-tops and still have one cooking after 10 years of abuse. Of course that was back in the day when they built things to last.

I know others may disagree but I would avoid HP like the plague and Toshiba would be my 2nd choice behind Sony.

[muddpuppy]

I recently bought a HP and so far so good I am pleased. This is my first HP. I am normally a DELL guy but due to price and needs I went with the HP. When you find what you need in a laptop and look at the internal components you will find they are almost all the same with a different fit finish and feel.

[CJH]

HP. Had one for 5 years and that has been banged to $hit with no problems. Still running just fine.

Sony's are fine. Dell's are fine. Don't like Acer. Not a big Toshiba fan either.

[DTro]

As I’ve said in the past, I’m a big "whatever is on sale" guy. They all have issues if you look hard enough. Find the options you want most and buy the cheapest one you can find. In a year everything will be depreciated and obsolete anyways. Plus it feels much better when a $300 laptop falls on the floor than if you paid $800.

[spearchucker]

IMO they are all cheap unless you get the business class ones that are more rugged, but then you are paying big $$$. I have an Acer that I paid $349 for 3 years ago and it is still running great. I maxed the RAM and upgraded to a Core2Duo from the bay, Windows 7 and it is every bit as good as anything else. I have about $500 into it.

[Bigbartguy]

yeah I've found that I'm usually buying a new computer every 3-5 yrs anyway due to speed/etec. So I always buy cheap since I know I'm going to replace in a few years. I'd probably stay away from Acers- I've had 2 that bricked.

[Jim43]

1st laptop was a Compaq, it was junk, 2nd was a HP. Even worse.

my last 2 were Dells and they are both by far the best Laptops

I have owned. No issues at all with either of them. Even after

letting my 13 year mess around with it.

[upnorth]

I have worked in IT for 12 years and helped support laptop for about 9 of that. They all break, all of them, not one brand have we used that didn't fail. That being said, buy the one that you have faith has the best support. So far in my experience that has been Dell and HP. Take it for what it is worth.

[Comit 2]

Just make sure it has a HDMI port!! That way you can watch Hulu, net flicks and such on you HD TV.

I'm using a VIO I got for nothing. The last owner took it to Best Buy and they told him the motherboard was bad and sold him a new one. I wiped it, reloaded the software and it has given me no problems.

[gunmunky]

Get a "MACBOOK".

[Chef]

Had Dell before this new Hp 6730b. Dell lied about almost everything and they never gave us any customer satifaction. OUr OS crashed to BSOD for 5 years on a regular basis and then the Motherboard finally took a dump.

I"v ehad this Hp for 4 months, just UG to Win7 and it's really smooth.

[Shack]

Do you mean an i7 Intel Dual core?

Toshiba satellite's have been good to me. I agree with Dtro and Pier. If you are looking to just use it for surfing the net, holding some music files and pictures, by a cheap $300 unit with an older processor and around a 200gb harddrive. If you are looking for fast processor speed (like an i7), you are going to be up in that $600-$800 range. You will be in the 320-500gb hard drive range area also. This is great for video processing and rendering. If you do video, spend some extra money. I went cheap a couple laptops ago and regretted it. That was a 100 years ago in the computer world.

[MuleShack]

I've only had 3 Dells in the last 13 years and none of them had/have any problems other than software wise that i probably causes.

I still have my 8200 PC and my 1 year old Studio 15 that has been great.

What ever you do get, I seriously would recommend the LED monitor. Not sure if that is standard now or still an upgrade option, but it makes web sites and normal viewing a lot better.

[Ufatz]

Bought my first laptop in 1995, a Toshiba. Have two others I bought in the last year or so. They all work fine and get the job done. The 1995 model is still around the house someplace and it still works as well as the day I bought it.

Incidentally, in 1995 it was priced at $2800. And hard to get!!

Most of the professional computer guys I have employed or known through the past 20+years have had mostly good things to say about Toshiba,

Me too.

[spearchucker]

Do you mean an i7 Intel Dual core?

Toshiba satellite's have been good to me. I agree with Dtro and Pier. If you are looking to just use it for surfing the net, holding some music files and pictures, by a cheap $300 unit with an older processor and around a 200gb harddrive. If you are looking for fast processor speed (like an i7), you are going to be up in that $600-$800 range. You will be in the 320-500gb hard drive range area also. This is great for video processing and rendering. If you do video, spend some extra money. I went cheap a couple laptops ago and regretted it. That was a 100 years ago in the computer world.

I think you will be in the $1200-1500 range for an i7.

[Shack]

Yes spearchucker. I was thinking of the i5.

Actually Best Buy has a Toshiba Satellite for $899.00:

Toshiba - Satellite Laptop with Intel® Core™ i7 Processor - Quantum Black

Intel® Core™ i7-720QM processor; 4GB DDR3 memory; 6-cell lithium-ion battery; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 16" widescreen; 500GB hard drive; built-in webcam; Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

[bucketmouth64]

Limited to what is on target HSOforum because I can get a 20% discount this month. Noticed that they change what they carry each week. No Dells this week. Not all have the hdmi output. What can you tell me about i3 processors? Most are dual core.

[spearchucker]

Limited to what is on target HSOforum because I can get a 20% discount this month. Noticed that they change what they carry each week. No Dells this week. Not all have the hdmi output. What can you tell me about i3 processors? Most are dual core.

If they don't have HDMI output, you can use the VGA output if your TV has one. The only disadvantage is that you have to run a separate audio cable for sound. I just leave a VGA and audio cable plugged into the back of my Samsung and connect the laptop when I want to watch something.

[bucketmouth64]

Found out that Target has an employee purchase plan with Dell so now I am down to Dell and HP. Both are dual core with W7 everything else is relatively the same in features. Dell is about $40 more than the HP.

[Shack]

Sorry bucketmouth. I see you mean Windows 7 when saying W7. Ya, I think pretty much everything from low buck to high end has Windows 7 loaded on it. I would think you would have an easier time finding XP when searching the retail ad's and shelves.

Good luck with your purchase. Maybe it would help the Dell and HP guys if you copied and pasted the specs for each PC. It pretty much comes down to that IMO.

[bucketmouth64]

This is Dell Inspiron 15 for $559.00

Intel® Pentium® Dual Core™ T4400 (2.2GHz/800MHz FSB/1MB cache)

Operating SystemGenuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit

LCD PanelGlossy, widescreen 15.6 inch display (1366x768)

Combo or DVD+RW Drive8X CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)

Memory4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz

Hard Drive320GB2 SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

Video CardIntel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD

System ColorJet Black

Wireless Networking CardsDell Wireless 1397 802.11g

Battery4-cell battery Battery6-cell battery

Hardware Support Services1 Year Basic Service Plan

Integrated Web CamIntegrated 1.3 MP Webcam

This is the HP for about $511.00

•Computer Features: Integrated Microphone, Numeric Keypad

•Processor Type: Intel Pentium Dual-Core T4400

•Processor Speed: Up to 2.2 Ghz

•Hard Drive Capacity: 320GB Hard Drive Capacity

•Hard Drive Speed: 5400 RPM

•Hard Drive Interface: SATA

•System RAM: 3 GB

•Memory RAM Type: DDR2

•RAM Maximum Expandable To: 4096 MB

•Graphics Memory (Dedicated): 1309 MB

•Cache Memory Installed Capacity: 1MB L2 Cache

•Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

•Optical Drive Type: DVD±RW/CD-RW Drive

•Electronic Display Features: Widescreen, High-Definition, BrightView

•Maximum Resolution: 1366 x 768

•Input Type: Microphone

•Output Type: Headphone Jack

•Internal Modem Features: 56 Kbps

•HDMI Inputs: 1

•IEEE 1394 (Firewire) Ports: 0

•USB 2.0 Ports: 3

•VGA Inputs: 1

•Built-In Card Reader Type: 5-in-1 Card Reader

•Built-In Graphics Card Type: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M

•Built-In Webcam Features: Built-In Webcam

•Wired Standard: 10/100 Ethernet LAN, 10/100 Base-T

•Wireless Connectivity: Wireless RF

•Wireless Standard: 802.11b/g/n

•Audio Features: Built-In Speakers, Altec Lansing Speakers

•Includes: Power Cord Adapter

These are my choices. What are your recommendations?

[MuleShack]

Based on the obvious comparison, the dell has 4Gig memory and the HP has 3gig, so that is the price difference.

The HP has an "n" capable wireless card, the dell does not. that only is usefull if you have a "n" router.

I'm just bias, but I would go with the dell.

I was just on Dell's outlet site checking prices.

This one is $519 also...with 500 Gig HD and a 9 cell battery with Microsoft works 9.0. This unit is certified refurbished.

My point is that you can search the dell outlet and find a laptop with the specs you want for roughly the same price. If you watch for the "Previously ordered New" category these never left their building. Thats how I got my Studio 15 and saved a bunch. Just some more info is all.

Inspiron 15 - 1545

(System Identifier: FXALVFZX)

* Inspiron 15 (1545) Laptop: Intel Pentium Dual Core T4400 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache)

* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

System Price : $519.00

Operating System

Genuine Windows 7 Home PremiumMemory

4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)Hard Disk Drive

500 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)Video

Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HDSystem Color

Certified Refurbished

Certified RefurbishedHardware Upgrade

9 Cell Primary Battery

65W AC AdapterSoftware Upgrade

Windows Live

Microsoft Works 9.0

McAfee Security Center, 30 Day

64BIT Operating System DVDWeb Camera

Integrated 1.3M Pixel WebcamNetwork Interface Card

Dell 1397 802.11B/G Wireless Mini CardLaptop Screen

15.6 inch Bright Wide Screen WLED LCD Display (1366x768)Base

Inspiron 15 (1545) Laptop: Intel Pentium Dual Core T4400 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache)Media Bay

8X DVD +/- RW Drive

[bucketmouth64]

what gets refurbished and will there be a higher chance of having further problems?

[Jim43]

Dell gives you a brand new guarantee when its refurbished. Just like a new one. Have bought 3 refurbished Dells and have not had problems with any of them.