[ADVENTURE-RAIDER]

I am shopping for a laptop this Christmas. Any ideas as for which one should I grab? I need it more for internet browsing and schoolwork. Ofcourse I'll be playing some games, too.

[Dragonrose]

Does it need to be portable, or just more compact than a desk top?
Old games or new games?
What level of school will you be using it in?
How will you be connecting to the internet?
Is there even the slimmest chance you might want to do something other than school, internet and games (watching movies or listening to music or making CDs or graphics creation or...)
What sort of peripherals (sp?) would you be wanting?
Touch pad, nubbin(can't remember what it's called- a little dot in the middle of the key board you use to control the cursor) or mouse?
If it breaks, would you be able to fix it or would you send it away?
How much tech support do you need?
How much memory do you want?
How long before you'd get a new computer?
What price range?

[RappScallion]

if you know about pc's and don't need customer support (coz theirs is shit) go to www.tiny.com if you in the UK that is. those are the best uk deals provided you don't buy their customer support packs which is a rip-off

[EasilyConfused]

My view is biased by what I own, as are most people's. I went through this last year and ended up buying a Dell. A friend did the same thing and got a bit of advice from me but more from the tech guy at her fiance's work, and he said the same thing. Practically everyone you see out and about in Cambridge has one. I have found the customer care unbeatable. They have a wide variety of prices on different models and you can order a cusotmized laptop or get a refurbished machine that someone returned (probably simply because THEY didn't like it.) The downside is that most of the more powerful and cheaper laptops are larger and heavier, but this is going to be true across the board. Other brands to consider are Compaq, Sony (Vaio (sp?)), and HP (I believe that HP now makes Compaq and HP, not sure). I'm not sure I would consider anything else, unless you can get some great deal on an IBM powerbook. Dell has regular discounts for people through a bunch of companies, organizations, schools, etc., so be sure to check and see whether any of these apply to you. With Dell, all you have to do is click on the academic discount section if you're a student and you're eligible for 10% off. The other companies may offer similar discounts.

[TigerShard]

Discount Laptops

I got my laptop from there, a customized Chembook 2056-S. The system is awesome. I paid $1600 for a computer that would cost me $2000 else where, and this includes 3 years of tech support, where at other places it would cost extra.

[DomStLeger]

I bought a Dell Inspiron for about £700 (about $1300 at the current exchange rate) a few months ago from Dell's UK site. It was all pretty straight forward, with alot of choice and options making it possible to get exactly what you want. The only regret I have is that I didn't pay about £60 more and get the model with an Ati graphics card instead of the ntegrated Intel one that I bought.

My family had already bought a PC from them a year or two back for my grandparents house, which was an easy and fast process. We've had no problems in either of the times we dealt with them, and we'll probably go to them again for my brother before he starts Uni next september.

So personally I recommend Dell, though I'm sure there are other makers just as good. Best advice would be to shop around, find something you want and then check the companies got a good record. Oh and don't spend too much on the warrenty, the companies seem to want to charge hundreds or pounds. Definately get some protection just be careful it's worth what you're going to pay for it.

[Wormsie]

HPs heat up and melt. Don't buy a HP laptop.

[Swordmaster]

I was a PC user for as long as I can remember until a few months back I purchased an iBook G4 from Apple and got converted into a Macintosh-believer. I didn't really need a new computer but my old desktop PC was so cluttered that I wanted to clean up a bit and thought a laptop would be nice: I could always just put it into the drawer when I didn't need it, plus I could take it to the university - which I find myself doing a lot more than I anticipated - to do school work and use the wlan there. I bought the iBook to be my secondary computer but as of now I'm booting the PC up only once a week and doing a majority of stuff on the laptop.

iBook is fantastic! After unwrapping the computer and inserting the installation DVD, I was on the desktop within five minutes, hailed by Røyksopp's Eple. It's stylish () and Mac OS X is super-stable. No problems whatsoever getting online - I also bought the Airport Express wlan base station and am now online wirelessly and also playing music wireless to my stereo using iTunes (something that makes people jealous). Mac OS X natively supports networking with my old PC with Windows 2000. And power users will appreciate the Unix core (FreeBSD).

The only con that I can think of of having a Macintosh system is that there are fewer games around, but as I'm not that active a gamer anymore it's not a problem for me. Plus, with ScummVM, I can still replay almost any classic LucasArts adventure (finished The Curse of Monkey Island last week, now getting busy with The Dig).

At least at our university, Mac laptops (iBooks and Powerbooks) are all the more common. I can think of only one professor with a Windows laptop, all the others are using Powerbooks.

[Wormsie]

*reads*

I want a laptop!

[DustCropper]

Originally Posted by DomStLeger

I bought a Dell Inspiron for about £700 (about $1300 at the current exchange rate) a few months ago from Dell's UK site. It was all pretty straight forward, with alot of choice and options making it possible to get exactly what you want. The only regret I have is that I didn't pay about £60 more and get the model with an Ati graphics card instead of the ntegrated Intel one that I bought.

My family had already bought a PC from them a year or two back for my grandparents house, which was an easy and fast process. We've had no problems in either of the times we dealt with them, and we'll probably go to them again for my brother before he starts Uni next september.

So personally I recommend Dell, though I'm sure there are other makers just as good. Best advice would be to shop around, find something you want and then check the companies got a good record. Oh and don't spend too much on the warrenty, the companies seem to want to charge hundreds or pounds. Definately get some protection just be careful it's worth what you're going to pay for it.

What Inspiron model do you own?

I own a Dell Inspiron 5150. And it's awful. It has this cooling fan below its base which sucks in a lot of dust. And this dust causes the laptop to overheat and crash... a lot. This seems to be a pretty common problem; in fact, there's an entire website that addresses this problem.

I'm sure that the newer Inspiron models are fine. Just stay clear of the 5100 series!

[EasilyConfused]

Originally Posted by DustCropper

What Inspiron model do you own?

I own a Dell Inspiron 5150. And it's awful. It has this cooling fan below its base which sucks in a lot of dust. And this dust causes the laptop to overheat and crash... a lot. This seems to be a pretty common problem; in fact, there's an entire website that addresses this problem.

I'm sure that the newer Inspiron models are fine. Just stay clear of the 5100 series!

Hunh. Mine's a 5100 and it's never had this problem. Although I think the battery melted down after I played MI for 10 hours straight or something. Luckily there are other models--that's a good tip.

I've heard the same thing as wormsie from my dad about HPs--he had an awful time with them which is why we didn't get one.

You don't have to rely on anecdotes though--check out www.cnet.com or pcmagazine on line for their reviews and ratings.

[Wormsie]

Originally Posted by EasilyConfused

I've heard the same thing as wormsie from my dad about HPs--he had an awful time with them which is why we didn't get one.

I don't have a laptop, my uncle and dad do. They are the ones having problems...

[bigjko]

Never owned one, but iBooks are relatively cheap nowadays. Even the newest ones.

[odnorf]

Originally Posted by deadworm222

I don't have a laptop, my uncle and dad do. They are the ones having problems...

What is the model deadworm222? I am asking because I have an HP laptop (from the pavilion zx5000 series) and it doesn't have any of those problems. I have even left it working for more than 24 hours in a row with heavy jobs and the temp was ok.

[TigerShard]

Originally Posted by odnorf

What is the model deadworm222? I am asking because I have an HP laptop (from the pavilion zx5000 series) and it doesn't have any of those problems. I have even left it working for more than 24 hours in a row with heavy jobs and the temp was ok.

My family has been buying Compaq/HP for years, and we have never had a problem with their laptops.

[DomStLeger]

I'm using the 1150; it was the 5150 I was considering buying for it's graphics card. Looks like I had a lucky escape then unless when they replaced the 5100 with the later models they redesigned the case fully? I'm doubt it unfortunately . Thats for the info Dustcropper.

Anyway, I've not had a single problem with the 1150, it's a really nice laptop and for the price I'd recommend it. But seeing this 5150 problem; well I must admit it makes me wonder about Dell in the future, especially as they're not even acknowledging the problem. If it is a genuine problem then I'm not too impressed. I guess it shows just how important it is to research this sort of purchase thoroughly.

[eriq]

Forget about Dell or Alienware. The absolute hands down best PC laptop you can get is a Fujitsu Lifebook.

[Wormsie]

Originally Posted by odnorf

What is the model deadworm222?

Can't remember.

[scout]

I you are buying a laptop you owe it to yourself to at least check out Sager notebooks. I bought one 4 years ago and it's still cranking along. I got great cs and mucho bang for the buck at the time. They are usually state of the art in everything but the price.

[Wormsie]

Advice from Yufster http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=15511.0

Advice from an Honest Computer Salesgirl

- Toshiba is everyone's favourite.

- Don't be fooled by the screens on Sony Laptops. Everybody thinks it's because they're higher resolution that the colours seem so much more vibrant; look closer. There's a reflective tape on the screen. In fairness to Sony, it does the job well. The screens look awesome. On the other hand, you're paying upwards of $400 extra for a piece of reflective tape. You can buy reflective/protective covers for your screen that do the very same job for about $20.

- When the marked price on a product is lower than the actual price, they're obliged to sell it at the marked price. It happens surprisingly often. So, just in case it happens to you, know that they're obliged to sell it to you at the marked price.

- If you're buying software, printers, cables, etc., ask for a discount. They might give it to you.

- When they tell you it's the last one of a particular model they have in stock, they're not lying. It sounds like a corny sales line, but it's true. They're not lying. Also, the last one is stock is actually the display model. Ask for a discount if there's any imperfections on the display model, if you're buying it.

- If you're buying a Laptop on Credit, be aware of how much extra you'll be paying. Think about the Interest Free Option instead.

- Don't buy Computer Insurance, no matter how much they tell you you'll need it, unless you really really think you're going to break your laptop at some point. Or unless somebody else is paying for it. To give you an idea of how the price of insurance goes, you'd be paying $500 for three year cover on a laptop between $1100 and $1300. When they're trying to sell you the insurance they'll either call it an 'extended warranty' or 'cover plan'. The profit margin for computer companies on extended warranty is massive, so they'll try anything to get you to take it, including offering you discounts on your other purchases. Don't fall for it. Would they deliberately lose money in order to lose more money by offering you this fantastic insurance offer? No. Then again, don't take it out on the salesperson; he's just doing his damn job.

- Don't buy Fujitsu-Siemens.



2. How reliable are Toshiba laptops concerning battery life and durability?

Very, very good. I've never had any complaints about Toshiba. They're very well built and generally, they're the first model people ask to see when they're buying a laptop. The least amount of returns we get are Toshiba's.

3. What other brands should I look at? Have I overlooked any good values?

Sony are reliable and well built but expensive. Compaq seems to have a bad name, but I find them pretty good.

If you check in computer stores regularly, there are generally special offers on Laptops every week. They're not reduced because they're damaged or crap or low spec; today we sold Toshiba laptops for $1299, previously somewhere around the $1600 mark, just because we were getting in a different Toshiba model. They had 512 ram, 2.8Ghz (I think), integrated Wifi and Bluetooth and I think it was a GEforce graphics card. Oh, and a 60GB harddrive. Lots of people seem to think that because the price is reduced, the laptop isn't as good as the $2500 models. Well, they are.


5. Should I get a laptop Centrino mobile technology? What IS Centrino mobile technology?

Uh... as far as I know, it basically means you have wireless internet capabilities, but I'm not sure how. Some salesgirl I am, huh?