Advice on Laptops

[Sppedmode]

I'm looking to get a laptop this month (spend around $1000-1200) and was curious what you guys use on the road. What do you like or dislike about certain models. I'm looking at a Dell or Gateway, but am open to other options. All I really need is something to get online with at the hotel and watch DVD's during the commute. Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[Gulfstream 200]

just bought a dell 2650 recently.
was pretty cheap and has a 15 inch screen / dvd.
perfect for movies and email and any office junk you may run.

Cant beat DELL price (mine was 1000$) but you DO get what you pay for, it is no doubt built CHEAP and feels CHEAP. But it works good so far. I have owned a few diffrent brands of laptops and have to say if you have the extra few dollars go with IBM. You WILL pay more but they are tops. They run quiet, realiably, and cool...but I wanted cheap so went with Dell. and like I said, It seems fine.

 

[TDTURBO]

Two products I won't buy.............EVER!

1) Dell.......due their stupid ass commercial showcasing the retarded slobbering idiot.

2) Mitsubishi...........By far, this company has the most irritating commercial on T.V. I wouldn't hesitate putting a bullet in that B*tch in the car that convulses while listening to that hideous song. My blood pressure is going up just thinking about it!

 

[bigD]

If you're just planning on doing internet and DVD stuff, I'd suggest an iBook. Now before you anti-Mac people jump all over me, I've been using one running OS X for about a year now, and the thing is pretty awesome. The 12" screen version is the perfect size, it's built like a tank, and I've been able to watch two DVD movies back to back on the battery (about 4 hours). On my high end Dell that's less than a month old, I can't get through one movie on the battery - let alone two. If I don't use the DVD drive on the iBook, I can get 5 hours reliably, and 6 hours if I spin down the hard drive.

The Dell is faster, and certainly more compatable, but when it comes to battery life, the iBook can't be beat. I've gotten pretty comfortable with OS X as well, and although it has its quirks, pretty much all of the old problems I had with the Mac (crashing, no pre-emptive multitasking, no protected memory, etc...) are all gone. The screen is incredible too, and since the wireless networking is built in, you don't get the little goofy antenna thingy sticking out the side.

I've always had some aversion to Macs, but Apple really got it right with this notebook.

 

[PilotMonkey]

I bought a Dell 4100 last year. It is a great laptop and the support from Dell is top notch. I paid about $1400 with many upgrades from the base model. My next computer will definitely be a Dell.

Two products I won't buy.............EVER!

1) Dell.......due their stupid ass commercial showcasing the retarded slobbering idiot

It is obvious that the marketing personnel at Dell are targeting the younger crowd. My bet is that you are over 40!

 

[bigD]

As a guy that worked for Dell for some time, I can attest that they really are customer-centric. There are always a few idiot tech's out there, but for the most part the company prides itself on how it takes care of its customers, and the service awards that Dell always tends to rake in bear that out.

Heh! If my Dell buddies ever find out I just tried to pimp an iBook to someone - they'd KILL me!

 

[navigator72]

Compaq

I purchased a Compaq system on Ebay last winter and I am very pleased with it.
Looking back I would buy a Dell. I saw a great system advertised in the local paper for about $1100.00 with all the bells and whistles.

Dude, you're getting a Dell!

 

[banned username 2]

Dude....

Get a Dell

 

[KlingonLRDRVR]

Typing on a Dell Inspiron 8200. About $2100 on sale two months ago. I love it.

KlingonLRDRVR

 

[lear24]

I vote for Apple as well, I own the larger screen iBook, and it is a great machine. Everyone I have spoken to who has the higher end powerbook (titanium case) is kind of disappointed for the extra money they spent and wish they had gotten an iBook instead. It's plenty fast (don't listen to the "it's only 700mHz vs. 1.whatever gHz" arguement until you consider the different architechture and bus speeds of different chips and mainboards and what really matters). The battery life is great, OS X is great, and it's built to take a beating if it comes to that.

Unless you're really into windows, I'd consider the iBook, go to a CompUSA or apple store in a mall and play with both the 12.1" and 14.1" screen models. For me it was the big one, but the 12.1" fits nicely in more places.

If you must have a windows machine, Toshiba makes a good laptop, the Portege models are pretty small and light, and have decent battery life. I would rather look at a dead apple than use a dell.


www.apple.com/switch

 

[ILLINI]

I'm also using a Dell Inspiron 8200. I absolutely love it and their customer service has been great! I haven't had any problems with it at all and the construction is very good. Battery life could be a little better, but oh well. If all you need it for is to play DVDs and surf the net you could get away with a less expensive one. If battery life is important to you, I would recommend getting a Pentium III instead of the P4. The P4 processors still have power consumption issues to be worked out, and aren't very power efficient. The P3 is much more power efficient, and is still powerful enough to suit your needs.

I would definetely recommed getting a Dell.

 

[DJS]

Dell

Note: I've been in the computer industry since I sold my first program at age 15. I may be a low-hour pilot at this point, but I have a zillion hours in front of a computer, have worked at large companies and small, and have built and sold my own software company.

I feel fairly confident when I say:

Right now, today, you can't go wrong with a Dell.

At various times in history, other companies have held this title. And tomorrow, things may change. But right now, Dell is it. Don't bother with Compaq, IBM, Gateway, etc. If you're looking to purchase a PC, buy a Dell.

Some folks have recommended an Apple product. They're just fine, if you know exactly what you want and why you want it. There are perfectly valid reasons for purchasing Apple...but you darned well better know what those reasons are.

For 95% of the world who wants internet access, email, word processing, a couple games, perhaps a spreadsheet or even a minor database or two, you want a PC.

You don't want Linux unless you're at least 1/2 way to computer guru (think instrument and commercial rated, working on your CFI...but with computers).

You don't want Mac if you don't have a good reason for wanting Mac. That is, there are specific reasons for wanting a Mac. If you don't know what those reasons are, then you want a PC.

While there's nothing wrong with Compaq, IBM, etc. in PC land today, right now you can't go wrong with Dell.

...Dave

 

[46Driver]

Somewhat related - I am looking to purchase a new home computer. I was thinking of plugging it into my TV via the S-VHS input on the video card into the same port on the TV. Any computer gurus out there know if this will work and I can surf the net and play some video games [ PONG! ] on the big screen? Finally, is there any real difference between SDRAM, DDRAM, and RDRAM? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[banned username 2]

Somewhat related - I am looking to purchase a new home computer. I was thinking of plugging it into my TV via the S-VHS input on the video card into the same port on the TV. Any computer gurus out there know if this will work and I can surf the net and play some video games [ PONG! ] on the big screen? Finally, is there any real difference between SDRAM, DDRAM, and RDRAM? Thanks in advance for the help.

Remember a TV has a far LOWER resolution than a computer monitor... it will work but the picture is not very desirable...

 

[a-v-8er]

I've always been a little apprehensive about getting a pre-assembled computer or package (like Dell and others), since I've always in the past built my own systems or selected parts and had someone put them together. This year however, I bought a new Dell 8200 (which is a little more on the steep side moneywise compared to other Dells, but you could get a cheaper 4550 or 2650, which I'm sure would be just as nice as long as you don't demand too much out of graphics or multimedia apps). I can't say how impressed I've been with this machine since I got it, especially considering the price... So, it's no joke (although the ad is a little lame): GET A DELL, DUDE!!! Right now, that's much more worth your money than anything else on the market in my opinion! If you for some reason don't like Dell, I'd also take a look at Gateway systems which also seem to give you a lot of power per dollar...

 

[learflyer]

I agree with Turbo, I'd like to take a 36" louisville slugger to the back of her head! I don't know, maybe i'm just jealous that my saturday nights don't consist of driving down an EMPTY STREET and dancing around in my car.

 

[ShawnC]

Somewhat related - I am looking to purchase a new home computer. I was thinking of plugging it into my TV via the S-VHS input on the video card into the same port on the TV. Any computer gurus out there know if this will work and I can surf the net and play some video games [ PONG! ] on the big screen? Finally, is there any real difference between SDRAM, DDRAM, and RDRAM? Thanks in advance for the help.

Speed, and processor compatbillity.

SDRAM: Normal RAM used on almost every newer computer.

DDRAM: Highspeed RAM used on AMD processor computers.

RDRAM: Highspeed RAM used on Intel computer.

If you are a normal person that doesn't play hardcore games you will do alright with SDRAM.

 

[jetdriven]

SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DDR SDRAM (DDR) Double Data Rate Dynamic Random Acess memory
RDRAM Rambus Dynamic access memory

all RAM functions on AC, and we all know AC is alternating current, a waveform if looked at on an ocilloscope.

SDRAM only does work (data moves in or out of it) on 1/2 of the clock cycle, I cannot remember if it is the up or down stroke, but just the same.

DDR does work on the up and down sides of the waveform. therefore, with a given MB of RAM, DDR is TWICE as fast.

RAMBUS is only used on some P4 boards and I havent used it. Should be as good as DDR but i think its more expensive.

Avoid SDRAM, get a good DDR system. DDR 333 (mhz) preferably. DDR400 is 3% faster and 50% more cost. RAMBUS (RDRAM) is used in the newest dell desktops.

 

[lear24]

DJS-
You said
" For 95% of the world who wants internet access, email, word processing, a couple games, perhaps a spreadsheet or even a minor database or two, you want a PC."

I don't know what you know about macs, but you can do all of that on a Macintosh. If anything, accessing the internet is easier on a mac than it is on a PC.

Macs are easy to use, hardly ever crash, and the hardware gets along great. If there are only "specific reasons" to get a mac, I think those are a few. They just work.

 

[ShawnC]

...hardly ever crash... They just work.

Macs hardly crashing, you must not turn it on. Every Mac that I have used crashed when you asked it to anything remotely stressful, and these are G4s running OS X.

On the other hand all my PC hasn't had an OS crash in the last year, and I rarely ever have software crashes. All those commericals make me laugh, only idiots have the problems like those guys do on the Mac commericals.

Mac's just don't work, anyone that honestly believe that Macs are better than PC are kidding themselves. Even in the graphics design fields, PC is gaining ground in a field that has normally been Mac only. Servers, Macs, don't make me laugh IT departments are already running Win 2K or Unix (or derivative), why would they want to switch to Macs?

Mac's are a dieing breed, they have a small market share right now, but it's only getting smaller with time. Anyone that buys a Mac in the next few years will be in for a rude awakning when they will have to concede defeat.