Laptop??

[cybrsamurai]

Hey I'm looking to buy a laptop for around $1000. I have been surfing around the net for a couple of days looking for reviews and what not, but I figured I would ask if anyone has any opinions on what's good and what isnt. Any help is appreciated.


Thanks amigos

Jordan

[bigben2k]

Toshiba's are top of the line.

The first thing would be to determine if you need a laptop or a notebook: the laptops will include a CD and floppy, and will be a smidge thicker. The notebook will have one or the other (with an external unit to complete the package), will be slimer, but will cost more.

Given your budget, I'd opt for a laptop.

Panasonic makes a series with a magnesium alloy frame, in case you expect to be rough-handling it.

Some noteworthy others: HP/Compaq, Sony, IBM.

[cybrsamurai]

well i could give a rats arse about the floppy so either one would be fine. Im going to be using it mainly for light coding and small project compiling. Of course I will also be using it for surfing and some note taking. If you have any specific model suggestions I would love to hear them...


Whoa i just noticed im a pro/geek now

[cybrsamurai]

Its starting to look like im going to have to save up some more cash before I buy a laptop. Ohh well...

[TerraMex]

Having a few friends with Compaq ones, i'd have to say : "never in hell ".

One of the downsides of laptops is... you cant upgrade it properly. So you've got two options: One, buy a super duper laptop, best you can find , and it will last you a few years (average 4); or you buy a really cheap one, and in 2 years or so, sell it, and buy another cheap one.

Anyway, if you're buying, you have to look at what you're expecting to do with it. If it's to do some work in Office, send some emails or browse the internet (and little more), then go for a cheepo one. It doesnt pay to buy that "top of the line" to do that.

The things that are really worth the extra money , are : the screen, a good keyboard (it matters, trust me), modem/LAN or WiFi (wireless).

Then there are the things that might be worth the extra money, depending if you have also a desktop pc , such as a DVD/CDRW combo and maybe usb2.0 and firewire ports.

For the average user, getting a ultra fast cpu, more than 256mb ram, and a stupidily expensive 3d card, and a very large hard drive, simply doesnt pay. Again, depends on what you want it to do, and good you want it .

Lets talk CPU's. A celeron is out of the picture (a p3 is better at almost half the speed) and we're with p4 and amd. But a fast CPU means more power, and less battery life, and more heat. Which isnt good because most of the laptop's hardware is more failure prone that a normal desktop system (and be carefull with those warranties) . So it doesnt really help. And i've read a few good things about the next line in AMD mobile and Centrinos , but i'm not sure for "when".

[pHaestus]

I am not so sure I agree with the "toshiba is top of the line" comment. My IBM Thinkpad T30 is an absolute joy to use (and this is an opinion after about 6 months of daily hardcore work on it), and the T30 has also been ranked as "best business notebook" by many magazines and sites. The drawback is, of course, price. My T30 was waaay out of your price range. There is no Toshiba that combines all the goodness of my T30 in a 5lb package I have no floppy drive at all now (6 desktops and a notebook), but my notebook does have a cdrw so I can easily give people cd-rs.

For $1000, and considering you mainly want to code and surf and do general tasks, I would actually consider getting an iBook. If you put OSX on it then you have a BSD core for programming. They are I think $999 or less if you are a student. You should also check ebay for the factory direct sales of older model notebooks from Dell and IBM. It is possible to get a slightly older model new or refurbished notebook from the company with factory warranty in some cases.

For sheer cool factor, check out the Fujitsu P2000 as well. I think they are closer to $1500 but highly cool.

[airspirit]

Only get a laptop if you desperately need something portable and that will be its primary use. I can't stress that enough, since I've dealt with many people who think they would make nice destops. Those people are stupid.

Laptops are slower, unupgradable (generally), and much more expensive. With this in mind, most users unless constantly on the move will do best with a cheap laptop that can do the basics, and a desktop back home that can handle larger tasks.

When you look, don't go overboard on extra RAM, a slightly faster processor, and other frills and gimmicks that raise the price. Who the hell needs a CDRW when they can burn them at home on a desktop? Does it justify the extra $150? Those are the kinds of questions that will help keep them in your price range.

HP/Compaq sell them well under $1000 if you don't go nuts on options, and I'm sure many of the other retailers do as well. Also, check your local Staples/Office Depot/etc to see if they have any closeout deals. Sometimes you can get them at hundreds below retail just because you're getting a 1600+ instead of a 1700+ like the new models.

That's my .02

[pHaestus]

I am going to have to completely disagree with you on this one airspirit. I rarely use any of my desktops any more; they are relegated to: gaming rig (and I have no time for gaming), file/print server, and test systems. The P4-M notebooks are "fast enough", and I now can carry my office with me anywhere I go. With the new Centino notebooks, 5 hour battery life seems to be the norm. I am not a big "desktop replacement" kinda guy; I like my notebook light and small enough to use on airplanes. I can work or chat or surf from my couch or recliner using the integrated wireless on my T30: this is the main reason that I use it so much. The combination of wireless + lightweight + long battery life means that I can work from pretty much anywhere I want, and I can get work done in the evenings while still interacting with the family in the living room.

[cybrsamurai]

The only reason I want to get a laptop is so I can do some work away from home. I have a couple of gaming rigs and powerstations and all the cd/dvd burners I need at home so I really have no use for them on a laptop. Although a DVDrom would be nice for traveling etc... Thanks for all the suggestions I think I have at least decided that Im going to go with a cheapo ($1000) system.

[airspirit]

P, you're one of the exceptions, I guess. Most people with laptops never remove them from their desks, making the whole portability purpose unnecessary. I've never been one to want to do much on my couch or in bed (though I know people that like to lie in bed while surfing the web ... I try not to imagine why!). When I do stuff, I like being at my desk with its multitude of places to put beer bottles and junk food, and all of my media is readily accessible (somewhat).

That said, I'll probably be picking up a tablet PC sometime in the future for the wife because it'll be extremely handy during her student teaching and in the classroom. What I will NOT do is buy a $2800 model with all the frills and gimmicks because it is very easy for her to do her gaming, CD burning, and heavy lifting at her desk, while the tablet will be perfect for notetaking, minor text input (via a USB keyboard), and reference (I will probably have 3 different online encyclopedias and 2 different atlases loaded on it, along with other school pertinent reference materials).

At my work they purchased a stack of laptops thinking they'd be worth it in the long haul. Now we have a stack of underpowered machines with no upgrade capabilities that have small screens and are an ergonomic nightmare. With the amount invested in them, we could have purchased twice as many desktops, and the upgrade cycle would be alot cheaper than it currently is (a $6-800 cost per desk rather than $2-300). We would also have better computer distribution preventing the logjams that we currently have where people stand in line to use them. Mind you, these machines have never left the desks where they were initially set up ... they were never meant to be portable, but the management fell into the trap of thinking that smaller is better.

Some people get good use out of them, but most people don't. Many people on my network bought laptops thinking they would be good for school, and now are kicking themselves in the ass because they never take them anywhere, and they're stuck with an expensive and slow computer.

[jtroutma]

I wont go into details about all the reivews that I have read about or all the details involved with getting a laptop/desknote/notebook. Everyone else seems to be doing a fine job on that aspect.

I will however point you in a direction that no one has even mentioned yet......EBAY! I have seen and recommended to several of my customers that they check out ebay for laptops and have found very nice deals there on some high class laptops. I have even seen some sellers who accidentally purchased a laptop that didnt have a feature that they really wanted, company would not take the machine back (for one reason or another), and sell it on ebay brand new. (YES, I have customers to confirm this and they have been really happy)

Just an idea..........

[pHaestus]

Hey I said ebay

My needs are probably a bit different from most; I regularly am out of town for a week or two on business, and I absolutely have to have a notebook that can get my work done onsite while I am away. I use a lot of fairly specialized software, and have about 5 years of research data that I regularly access when working at labs in the US. I am not willing to lug a big heavy bag through airports, and I am perfectly willing to spend the money for a light and powerful solution. I don't know if you ever rent cars, but having a cd burner on notebook is SOO handy when you luck out and get a car with a cd player. As a "satellite" computer tho just for occasional trips I agree it isnt necessary. Many notebooks come with them standard now tho so no big deal. I was never a notebook person until I got this T30, but I am amazed at how nice it is. I am buying notebooks for all grad students instead of desktops as well; I just don't see the point in elaborate data backup and synching when a good notebook can handle all the workload needs.

FWIW, I dont know many younger scientists who bought desktops when they started out as professors. Everyone travels too much, works from home too often, and is too scatter-brained to manage a desktop at home, a desktop at work, and a low end notebook for travel. Why bother when a $2000 notebook can do it all?

[airspirit]

True that, true that. The advantage for dual system people now is wireless connectivity. When my wife needs to access the tablet from her desk, I'll just set up a script to attach to it wirelessly, and she'll be able to access her drive as if it was local. It'll keep things simple for her.

[jaydee]

I got a Toshiba LapTop. 1.1gig Celery, 20gig hard drive, lan, modem, DVD, floppy, 14.1 screen, 256megs SDRAM, 16megs vidcard with monitor and TV out, ect... it is good comp. I have taken it all over the country and use it at work now and then being they are to cheap to buy AutoCad200X. It runs ACAD2000, SolidWorks2003, CorelDraw9, some older games, and DVDs smoothly. I paid $950 new for it 8 months ago. You should get a pretty good one for that now I would think.

Just make sure ytou actually going to use it on the road though. It is not worthy to replace a desktop. I did have at one time though it hooked up to a 17" monitor, regular keyboard, regular speakers (pluged into the earphone jack), and a USB mouse to replace my desktop while I modded it. Smallest, quietest, desktop I ever had.

[pHaestus]

Quiet is another point. At work, I plug my T30 into a 19" Sony FD trinitron and run dual display (work on the 19" and outlook/irc on the 14" notebook LCD). I have my mouse, printer, and palm pilot all plugged into a usb hub, so when I come to work I just connect monitor,hub, and ethernet, and I am ready to go. Totally silent and speedy system that I can just put in my briefcase and take home with me at the end of the day. The display does 1400x1050, and I use virtual desktops to get enough screen real estate when not using the 19". I could use some more RAM; thinking about upgrading to 1GB of loving soon.

[bigben2k]

Keep your usage in mind too!

If you've got a "central" working point, you might want the external port adapter, or in a deluxe version, a dockstation. The first is sometimes included, and the latter is always expensive.

You might want to pick up an extra power adapter, so that you can leave one plugged in, instead of reaching down and unplugging it, everytime you go on the road.

If you need a printer (most people don't), HP makes a model 340 inkjet which is ideal. You can also connect to *some* HP laser printers, via the infrared link, if you're equipped that way.

If you plan to get on-line, you might want to pack a network cable, and/or a phone cord. A printer cable can come in handy too, but some printers have the new Centronics slim connector.

As for keyboard and mouse... you can get a trackball that substitutes as a mouse, and latches on to your laptop, if you can't stand what your laptop has. Some laptops require an adapter, to connect an external keyboard and mouse at the same time.

[cybrsamurai]

thanks for all the advice!



What do you guys think of this deal? Id probably get 256MB of ram with this.


This is a Dell Inspiron 1100
Both have a 100 dollar rebate

$807 with free shipping.
Celeron 2.0GHz, 14.1" XGA LCD, 24x CDRW or 8x DVD, 128MB DDR
20GB Drive, Works, 10/100 + 56k, XP Home, 1-yr Warranty


Or for around $950

P4 2.4GHz, 14.1" XGA LCD, 8x DVD, 256MB DDR
20GB Drive, 10/100 + 56k, XP Home, 1-yr Warranty

[pHaestus]

That seems like a nice deal! I wouldn't upgrade the ram via Dell; you can probably get a stick of memory from Crucial much cheaper. That's how they getcha Is it SDR or DDR? I have a cdrw/dvd combo drive, and I practically never use it. I have a larger hdd tho so I just carry 5-6 divx movies with me when I travel. On battery, you can actually watch the battery life go away when the optical drive is spinning

What video card does it use? Does it have dual display capability?

Also be aware that if you are connecting to a network with a domain that XP Home won't do.

[cybrsamurai]

As soon as I get any laptop I plan on formatting the drive and puting pro on it and getting rid of all the crap software they put on it. The ram is DDR 266 but I cant find anything about the video chipset used. I would assume its an integrated shared memory setup. I doubt it has dual display capability.


Im having a hard time deciding if going with a Dell or just some pre built laptop off the shelf would be better. (Toshiba, HP, Compaq, etc..)

[bigben2k]

Originally posted by cybrsamurai
What do you guys think of this deal? Id probably get 256MB of ram with this.

This is a Dell Inspiron 1100
Both have a 100 dollar rebate

$807 with free shipping.
Celeron 2.0GHz, 14.1" XGA LCD, 24x CDRW or 8x DVD, 128MB DDR
20GB Drive, Works, 10/100 + 56k, XP Home, 1-yr Warranty

Or for around $950

P4 2.4GHz, 14.1" XGA LCD, 8x DVD, 256MB DDR
20GB Drive, 10/100 + 56k, XP Home, 1-yr Warranty

Depending on your compiler, you might want to go with the P4, otherwise the Celeron would work just fine.

[Yo-DUH_87]

Originally posted by bigben2k
...You can also connect to *some* HP laser printers, via the infrared link, if you're equipped that way...

And some inkjet models as well. My PhotoSmart 1215 has a infared receiver on it, although I have yet to test it