Members Lee Flier Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 I will probably be getting a laptop soon and wondered what some of yooze guys would recommend. I've seen some good deals on Toshibas recently but have heard rumors that Toshiba laptops really suck, anybody know if there is any truth to this and why? Are there any particular brands that I should avoid or prefer and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PBBPaul Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 I used to work for Toshiba CSD and their laptops were excellent. Particularly the Tecras and Porteges. A lot depends on whether you get the consumer grade or the corporate. The low-end Satellites were well, cheap. You won't typically find corporate grade laptops in retail stores. I work for a corporate VAR now and deal with IBMs, HPs, Toshibas, Sonys, Panasonics, Acers, etc... I've been pretty impressed lately with the HPs. They seem to be real workhorses with very few failures of any kind. Lee, if you have any specific questions about particular models or want comparison charts, PM or email me. I have a ton of info at my fingertips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted July 29, 2005 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Good to know, Paul. I'll definitely be in touch. Reliability is probably my main concern, since if a laptop breaks you usually can't just go out and buy a new part and put it in yourself. Next would be ergonomics; some laptops seem to be better designed than others in terms of their layout, keyboard/monitor quality, ease of swapping stuff in and out, battery life etc. If you have comparison charts on that stuff that would rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PBBPaul Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Any other specs that are necessary? HD size? RAM? Processor? Screen size? Approximate budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DC Ross Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Microsoft issues Toshiba laptops to their employees, so I'm sure that says something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Like Microsoft is too cheap to buy good laptops for their staff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KB Gunn Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Lee, You should consider an iBook G4. Absolutely silent. My son's Toshiba Sattellite is loud and runs very hot. He needs to keep it angled off the table and it is hot on his lap. The iBook runs cool and works flawlessly. I use it to run DP 4.6 and I can record right next to it. No noise! I have 512 Ram and that seems to be fine. For larger projects, it would be good to have a gig of ram, but it has worked well for me. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KB Gunn Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phaeton Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Although if you use an iBook, take note of the duping problem that Safari seems to have with forms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted July 29, 2005 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Can't do Mac. The computer will be used mostly for business, and all my clients run Windows and/or Linux. Paul, as far as specs, it doesn't have to be a screamer. I'd be perfectly content with a 40-60 gig HD and 512Mb RAM. It will need both regular Ethernet and wireless, though I guess most of them have that now. I don't care if it's Intel or AMD, though I want to steer clear of the Celeron/Sempron stuff. I'd like to keep it under $1500... as much under as possible. I've seen quite a few models that seem to have all the features I want in the $1200 range, just a question of whether they're reliable and ergonomically decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dylan Walters Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Lee, I support over 300 laptops at my office and I can tell you hands down that the best bang for the buck are the HP/Compaq Business Notebooks. They start around around $1000 and the nc6220 model that is our new standard is around $1400. However, you might consider checking out their new nx6125 model. It's based around a mobile AMD64 solution, and is pretty loaded with a 3 year warranty, XP Pro, Biometrics login (cool!) for only $1000! Whatever you do, avoid the current crop of Thinkpads, especially the R series. They are absolute {censored}e! I've had to send over half of the models that we purchased last year back for warranty repair for a myriad of issues. Check out the pages below for more info: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF02d/321957-64295-89315.htmlhttp://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/321957-64295-89315-321838-f33-471753.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted July 29, 2005 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Cool, thanks Dylan! You sure steered me right on the desktop components so... Yeah I forgot to mention that I avoid the Thinkpads like the plague. And the HP's do look good, and good prices. I'm just suspicious of HP because their cheap desktops suck so bad, or at least that's been my experience of them. There are frequently really good deals on these though; I'll keep my eyes peeled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dylan Walters Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Hey Lee, Don't let the HP consumer stuff fool ya. My company made the switch this year to HP business desktops and notebooks and they've all been great. The desktops are bit overpriced, but the notebooks are very competitive. The consumer HP and Compaq stuff is nowhere near as nice or well built as their business line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kerb Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Originally posted by Lee Flier Can't do Mac. The computer will be used mostly for business, and all my clients run Windows and/or Linux. what specific software do you need that doesn't come on Macs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted July 29, 2005 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Originally posted by kerb what specific software do you need that doesn't come on Macs? Uhh... a whole lot. I'm a programmer and have to support all sorts of wacky development environments, including multiple versions of Windows, etc. to develop and test my applications for clients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alfonso Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 I've just purchased an ASUS A6Va, I started tweaking it, installed the Creamware Noah Remote control software as I need it for a gig next sunday. What I see for now is excellent. An important thing that should not be overlooked if you plan to do some audio work is to avoid like hell graphics shared memory. The one I got has a great 128mb ATI pci-express card, runs DDR2 up to 2 gig, Centrino cpu 1.7G, 4usb2, firewire, Lan etc....all the best, 15.4 wide screen embedded camera... I've not yet done audio work on it, it's 2 days it's here, I must buy a midi interface, but it seem to work like a charm, and very well built. All the specs and parts seem perfect for audio. http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=5&l2=25&l3=134&model=533&modelmenu=1 In Italy I payed 1290 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Andrewrg Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Checkout Dell.You`re buying online so immediately you`re getting better spec for your buck.They will call you to discuss your particular requirements and wont try to sell you something you wont need.I got a good deal and a"free"printer with my Inspiron 6000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dylan Walters Posted July 29, 2005 Members Share Posted July 29, 2005 Dell is good too. I just like the keyboard and pointing device configuration of the HP the best so far. They have the trackpad plus the keyboard pointer and buttons, which I prefer. Most of the Dell's that I see only have the trackpad, but the systems are reliable and have good support so I wouldn't not recommend them. Plus, most of the HP notebooks have a 3 year warranty and XP Pro as standard, where with Dell you usually have to add them as options, which increases the price signifigantly. I wouldn't buy ANY laptop without a 3 year warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members geekgurl Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 I recently bought a Dell notebook and am happy with it ... since you know a lot about computers, Lee, you can disable/delete the consumer crap that comes on them. I did what I could (and feel safe doing) and the thing boots nice and quick now. I use it mainly for music (Ableton Live). I know something about computers but I'm no expert, so the fact that it hasn't pissed me off yet must say something ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EnemyofSilence Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 Been using Sony's since 98. I'm on my second one - had it for 3 years now. I just upgraded the CPU and HD to give it a bit more life. Love it - fast, dependable, and quiet. Oh, and a killer screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BLAblablah Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 Love my Sony Vaio...I'm on my second one. I did buy a Toshiba after the first Sony, but took it back even though I had to eat a restocking fee & got another Sony. My 2 YenBarry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Sayers Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 Lee - I have an HP Presario R3000 - I use it everyday for 10+ hours designing - it handles the 3D graphics very well which is really pushing any video driver. It has never broken down except last year a lightning storm blew out the modem on a friday night. I contacted the HP phone support, spoke to someone in India and had a new modem up and running (at no cost) by Monday 12pm. Not bad IMO as I live in the country - not a city. I have 1.5gig RAM and the video shares 128meg of it - I'll look for a model with a separate video card when I to replace it. cheersjohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Storm Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 Dood. Get a Dell. We've had an Inspiron for several years now, and everyone in the family has tried to destroy it, but it still works fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PBBPaul Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 Lee, I'll shoot some comparisons over to you on Monday morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted July 30, 2005 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 Originally posted by Johnny Storm Dood. Get a Dell. We've had an Inspiron for several years now, and everyone in the family has tried to destroy it, but it still works fine. One of my clients outfitted their entire staff with Dell laptops, so I've gotten to use those quite a lot when I work onsite there. They have some cool features, the docking stations are nice, screen is nice, etc. but I dunno, there's something... clumsy about them to me. The keyboard doesn't seem laid out too well, and they seem to be slow to respond sometimes, in spite of having a fast processor and lots of RAM etc. I don't know what it is, but something about them doesn't seem quite right. Maybe their QC has gone downhill since you got yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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