Yup. Your mileage will vary...if your local Best Buy has intelligent employees, that's awesome. To sort of rephrase what I had originally said...don't go into Best Buy (or any store, for that matter), without having any clue what you're looking for. Generally speaking, you aren't going to be happy with what you end up with in the long run. Have a basic knowledge of what kind of specs (processor speed, hard drive space, RAM) you're looking for and what they mean. Do you need additional software or peripherals? If you have a budget, make sure to include extra expenses like that in addition of the cost of the machine. Don't let anyone try and push you into a sale - if you're not ready, don't sweat it. A computer is a big purchase, and a lot of money. Impulse purchasing is probably the worst thing you can do to yourself.
Laptops...
- Thread starter Lady Gaga
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Yup. Your mileage will vary...if your local Best Buy has intelligent employees, that's awesome. To sort of rephrase what I had originally said...don't go into Best Buy (or any store, for that matter), without having any clue what you're looking for. Generally speaking, you aren't going to be happy with what you end up with in the long run. Have a basic knowledge of what kind of specs (processor speed, hard drive space, RAM) you're looking for and what they mean. Do you need additional software or peripherals? If you have a budget, make sure to include extra expenses like that in addition of the cost of the machine. Don't let anyone try and push you into a sale - if you're not ready, don't sweat it. A computer is a big purchase, and a lot of money. Impulse purchasing is probably the worst thing you can do to yourself.
beauty. proletariat
Banned
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Dell. Studio 1737. I love laptops. They are moddable (contrary to popular? belief) especially the easy stuff XD. They are also very portable and stuff :D
Though I haven't opened up this laptop yet.
Though I haven't opened up this laptop yet.
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Hmm, Alienware make the best laptops, although they're part of Dell. I currently have a Toshiba, hasn't given me any problems in the 3 years I've had it. One company I do not recommend is Packard Bell. My dad used to buy them and well, they're pretty unreliable and rubbish
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I have an expired Dell Inspiron 1525 who's battery and ability to get power just gave. It was running Ubuntu 9.10 and Windows Seven.
I also have a hand-me-down PowerPc macbook, but I just use it for Internet around-the-house-ing. (I wouldn't be caught dead in public with it).
I really do need to break down and just get myself an Intel macbook, because OS X is the only thing I can bring myself to use anymore since my Dell died.
So maybe for Christmas? :D
I also have a hand-me-down PowerPc macbook, but I just use it for Internet around-the-house-ing. (I wouldn't be caught dead in public with it).
I really do need to break down and just get myself an Intel macbook, because OS X is the only thing I can bring myself to use anymore since my Dell died.
So maybe for Christmas? :D
Just do a hackintosh instead. Apple hardware is underpowered and overpriced, IMO.
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Not to sound like a preppy Apple cultist, but I do prefer the official thing over hackintoshes. :P
Also, I stopped doing illegal stuff like that after my cousin got busted for jailbreaking iTouches and iPhones for people at his school.
Well, of course you'll get caught if you do it for other people (especially for profit). Law enforcement isn't that stupid. Also, as far as I know, it's legal in Europe because Apple's EULA is unenforceable for some reason or another (I think). If you're here in the US, it's a bit more complicated; IANAL, so I don't know the law, but AFAIK if you just don't go offering to do it for profit or using it for business purposes or anything, you should be fine. I don't know anybody that's gotten busted for just having a hackintosh for personal use. Again, IANAL and all that.
BakingBluePotatoe
The Red Death Alchemist
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One thing I strongly suggest is...
STAY AWAY FROM eMACHINES!
They may seem fine for a while, then BAM! soemthing breaks. it wasn't just mine either.
STAY AWAY FROM eMACHINES!
They may seem fine for a while, then BAM! soemthing breaks. it wasn't just mine either.
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COMPAQ!?
Okay, first off: Compaq machines that were made before the HP takeover suck. I had an old desktop that would bluescreen every few days. Eventually, I got rid of it and got a Mac. :)
In a neutral viewpoint, I'd recommend an Apple machine (I recommend a MBP) or an HP machine (I've heard good things about them). Windows 7 is quite good too, but I still prefer SL.
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Toshiba laptops have great parts and great value, haven't had any problems with this since I got it. Nothing has ever broken down.
My sister has a HP laptop and it has about 2GB of RAM, the ram has an incredibly low speed. I believe it was about £500, and its pretty slow. It also overheats a lot, usually from simple task, such as surfing the web. If you're looking for a laptop, a Toshiba is the best. Don't get Packard Bell in any circumstances, had about a 4 of em, I remember that they all were pieces of crap
My sister has a HP laptop and it has about 2GB of RAM, the ram has an incredibly low speed. I believe it was about £500, and its pretty slow. It also overheats a lot, usually from simple task, such as surfing the web. If you're looking for a laptop, a Toshiba is the best. Don't get Packard Bell in any circumstances, had about a 4 of em, I remember that they all were pieces of crap
I can tell you from experience that HP machines are a horrible pile. Don't recommend products you haven't tried.
I will again recommend Asus. I am beyond pleased with my current laptop and with Asus' support. I didn't even ask for an RMA on my power cord when it went bad (I thought because I didn't register my warranty that it was invalid), but they recommended one to me anyway. I guarantee if it had been Dell or HP, I'd have been paying money if I hadn't demanded a warranty replacement (again, I know this from experience; especially with Dell).
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>TheAppleFreak
>neutral viewpoint
>neutral
>recommending Apple products
I had a compaq laptop before they were bought out, it was fine just fine, and it cost $498, tell me an Apple laptop that's under $1000, and don't say "the $999 one" because you know damn well it will come out to more than 1000 bucks. And why? Is it their "superior" OS? Their hardware? No, it's Job's being money hungry. Apple doesn't make their hardware, it's the same hardware as the laptop at Staples has, except with exploding chargers, sterile looks, and the only way of customizing is making your top bar transparent, and changing the wallpaper and screensaver. You say you're neutral, but you're as biased as they come.
Most netbooks are available for about that price, or you might be able to find an old laptop for about that much.
Apple would be such a better corporation if the other Steve hadn't left.
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I haven't had problems with Dell [except for this one machine my dad gave me, the screen didn't seem to be connected properly, and you had to fiddle with it to get the colors right]. My current machine is a Dell Inspiron 1520 [that I got for $400 IIRC], which seems to be a pretty sweet machine, only problem is the Intel integrated video on it, but...
I've had 1 Apple laptop [an iBook from `01, the model that supposedly had so many problems, works like a charm with 10.4, despite only having 192MB of RAM in it]. It was a nice machine, very light, and had a clear, crisp screen, but it was slow, except in OS9 [which is unusable thanks to the fact that there is almost no freeware for it].
I have beef with Acer. Their machines feel like crap [in terms of build quality] and are slow IMHO.
Despite never having problems with HP, I have heard many bad things about them.
I like Sony Vaios, but build quality [they break easily!] has been an issue for me.
IBM has made a nice machine in the past, I dunno about their laptops now.
Lenovo makes a very sturdy machine. I don't like them for some inexplicable reason though.
I've had 1 Apple laptop [an iBook from `01, the model that supposedly had so many problems, works like a charm with 10.4, despite only having 192MB of RAM in it]. It was a nice machine, very light, and had a clear, crisp screen, but it was slow, except in OS9 [which is unusable thanks to the fact that there is almost no freeware for it].
I have beef with Acer. Their machines feel like crap [in terms of build quality] and are slow IMHO.
Despite never having problems with HP, I have heard many bad things about them.
I like Sony Vaios, but build quality [they break easily!] has been an issue for me.
IBM has made a nice machine in the past, I dunno about their laptops now.
Lenovo makes a very sturdy machine. I don't like them for some inexplicable reason though.
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Dell sucks, Sony is OK but installs too much useless bloatware, Acer is shoddy, HP is a crapshoot, IBM and Lenovo are the same thing (both are good, though), and Asus (which you left out) is awesome.
Solo_Kid
Ridin' Solo !!
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Toshiba have REALLY bad battery issues which leads to major overheating problems. Stay away from them.
Gary the Magic Fairy
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I'm not a huge fan of Sony's Vaio laptops. My friend's gets ridiculously hot in fairly short time. They aren't exactly worth the price, either. His was somewhere near $1000, and it's pretty much the same as my $300 Acer Netbook, but with a smaller hard drive and tons more crap pre-loaded onto it. His battery sucks pretty bad too.
My Acer isn't terrible. One of the little decorative pieces by the screen popped off, but other than that I've had no problems. I have heard bad things, though, so I wouldn't recommend it as a first choice. I only got it because it was really cheap.
I'm going to have to agree with twocows and say go with Asus. I've heard nothing bad about their products, and from what I've seen, they're fairly cheap, as well.
My Acer isn't terrible. One of the little decorative pieces by the screen popped off, but other than that I've had no problems. I have heard bad things, though, so I wouldn't recommend it as a first choice. I only got it because it was really cheap.
I'm going to have to agree with twocows and say go with Asus. I've heard nothing bad about their products, and from what I've seen, they're fairly cheap, as well.
linkinpark187
Computer Tech
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It really depends on what you're using it for. Is the only thing you're going to be doing is browsing the web? Then a Netbook would be perfect. Or...do you plan on doing gaming? Then...the Netbook begins to lose it's luster. As for my suggestion, I would have to say Asus, Acer, or IBM/Lenovo. I work at a computer store (Sale & Service) as a tech, and rarely have I ever seen any of them come in with any major issues. The big things are usually a failing HDD or keyboard. :D