Looking to get a new laptop.

Looked at Dell, HP, Gateway. for what I was thinking I want they are all around $2000.00

Looked at Apple and they are $3000.00 or a little over. More than I would like to spend, but.

Don't know much about the Macs, are thay better than a windows computer, what is the difference?

What do you reccomend?

I have seen in the past that Dell get high marks here.

thanks

 

A few months ago I bought a new Dell Latitude D620 just a couple upgrades gave me a final price of around $1200. I wish I had gotten a desktop instead because I could really use that money now. I do love it though.

 

Personal preference on the Apple VS Microsoft war.

I saw a commercial the other night that Dell was running a pretty good deal on a laptop. Sorry, I dont remember the details, but it was something like $599.

Their website does not reflect this though.

 

My brother just got the 20 inch showstopper. Its got high definition inputs on it. It looks rediculous when you fold it up. I have the inspiron 9300 with 17 inch screen. It is a reliable laptop, but I don't like that the screen gets dimmer when you unplug it. The 17 inch glossy apple the one I would get if I could do it over again. With whatever you get, make sure to get a good warranty. I can't stress that enough.

 

3 grand or a little over? What laptop are you looking at? A 17" MacBook Pro with 2 gig of ram can be had for 2644.00

To answer this question it depends on what you plan to use it for. Just off the top, the new MacBook and MacBook Pro will run not only the Mac OS but it can also run Windows . . . NATIVELY, (not in emulation). However, aside from that please inform what you plan to do with it. A simple MacBook may be just the thing for you.

So, whatcha gonna do with it?

 

On my dell laptop my screen used to get dim when I unplugged it too but you can set the contrast of the screen for when it's plugged in and when it's not. If the setting for when it's unplugged is low just turn I had mine set low when it was plugged it but I realized I could set if for either plugged or unplugged. Now I have them the same so when I unplug the cord it stays the same.

Also when it comes time for me to get a new computer I think this time I'm going with a Mac. They seem to be alot more stable than the windows pc's. All of my friends that have mac's as there computers, never have any problems.


James

 

I have a Dell Inspiron 6400 and I love it... This is my 4 dell and all them have been great to me and their customer service is great. I would go Dell if I were you. My computer runs quick plus is amazing. You might pay a little more but it pays off in the long run..

 

I'm a software developer for Health Canada.

I currently use an HP Pavilion ZD8000 and it rocks.

I have had Dell's they are ok but nothing special.

I have had Toshiba's (Crap)


And I have had a $5000 Alien-ware. AVOID alien-ware at all Cost.
The HP outperformed the Alien-ware big time. I play games Like Doom and Far cry. Both the HP and Alien are fully loaded (max graphics and 1gig ram).


Now for the Horror of Alien. We purchased 8 $5000 laptops and 4 $3000 smaller travel laptops. So far one of the big ones did not have to be sent back for service. Currently there are 3 operational. Mine wont power up and is out of warranty. of the small ones 2 are not powering up. I have them here.
I'm going to Florida in March so I may drop into their company to see how much it cost to get them going.All laptops are about 1 year old. they wont even troubleshoot over the phone unless I pay them.


I would recommend the HP. Mine cost about $3000 and it's a media center laptop.

As for Mac, My dad got a desktop one to play with and I found it totally odd. It was like I had to start over and forget everything I knew about PCs. (conflicts)


Good luck with what ever you get.


And the plus on dell is the warranty (Get the extended well worth it) I spilled juice on my laptop and they came to my work and replaced the keyboard.


Norm

 

I see good laptops in the sales papers every week for close to $1000. Assuming you aren't using it for any kind of video editing or other work related use. For home use, any in that price range should get the job done.

 

Hey Jamzwayne, I think Brewdude's signature is better then yours now!!! Sorry off topic but just saw his new signature.....

 

I agree that Toshiba is crap.

 

Well to be honest all of the ones I have been looking at are no doubt overkill for all I do with them.

It would be used for just basic excel,word stuff, some music, internet, simple games.

I only have dial up and live in the sticks so the video stuff is not happening, until there is some sort of broadband connection available, which just may happen in the next year as our rural electric company had a company do survey on it. From what I understand it was quite postive, and it will come through the electric lines.

The dell I was looking at is the e1705 17" superbright, 2.0ghz processor, 2.0gb ram,160gb hard drive, 8xdvd burner and went for the upgrade in the sound, but not the video. $1991.00

I like the larger screen, the rest of the stuff I went with kind of middle of the road.

Right now I have an HP zt1130 with a celeron processor, maybe 15" screen, only has 20gb Hard drive which is over 2/3 full, and I did upgrade the ram to 512. It runs slow, but I thing that is due to the Norton Internet Security (going back to just anti virus soon). It is about 5 years old, with no problems.

So pretty much there is the info.

What am I doing wrong in my search.

thanks

 

I personally feel that almost any new computer will be a great improvement over what you are currently using. You should probably just shoot for a little cheaper computer and put the extra money away for your next computer or treat yourself to something nice. There should be some pretty good computer deals with Christmas coming up.

 

You're not doing anything wrong.

I'm not a big fan of 17" or larger laptops. While impressive, they were designed mostly as desktop replacements for people who want to maximize space and don't need a machine that requires expansion.

And while they are impressive and look cool, dragging those things around becomes a pain. They are rather cumbersome.

If you're thinking Mac (for the sake of Mac) just be aware of that the OS is different than Windoze, so that means . . . new software. If you are just doing Microsoft Office that's great, it works well on that stuff. Video and artsy-fartsy stuff is what makes the Mac shine. THe Mac OS is rock solid and you will have no problem with viruses and the like. Mine (both desktop G5 and Powerbook) have never crashed. Plus, everything works well with a Mac. Plug in an accessory and it just works. You have none of the headaches you have with windows.

Undoubtedly there will be windows advocates who will say I'm full of chit, but I speak from experience. I use both Mac and windows and hands down the Mac is more stable and is a better user experience. And for those who would argue that the Mac OS is less of an OS, then why has Windows made Vista essentially a mimic of Mac OSX? (And been unable to to do so successfully I might add being about 3 years behind schedule).

That said, the Mac is pretty much a closed system. Program wise it is certainly cross compatible. Most essential programs are available in both Mac and Windows and work done on one can easily be read and updated on the other. However, there are a lot more programs available for windows, lots of specialized stuff as well as general purpose apps.

And if you are a gamer, then Windows is the OS for you. Games available for Mac OS are limited (and that's a generous assessment).

Now, all that said, the Mac machines (and essentially I'm referring to the 15" MacBookPro because that sounds like what you'd need becasue if you do use it occassionally for games, the MacBook Pro has a dedicated video card. The lower model MacBook does not, using ram to drive video) now use Intel Core 2 Duo chips. What's nice about the Mac is that you can run both Mac OS, or Windows OS. Depending which OS you want to run you just start the computer in that OS. Getting a MacBook Pro would give you the best of both worlds. You could still use all your windows apps as well as have an opportunity to explore the Mac OS. (You would have to purchase Windows OS separately)

Personally, I prefer Mac. It's Unix, it's very powerful, stable, problem free, and incredibly elegant. I do lots of graphics work so the Mac is a natural choice. Yeah, the machines are a bit more expensive but a machine like the MacBook Pro is well built. (I've dropped mine twice, landing on a hard floor, and aside from scratching up the case, it still works fine.) They just work.

If you go MacBook Pro, you can get it in the glossy screen as a no cost option. Personally, I say stay with the non-glare screen, but that's just a personal preference.

 

Go to a site called GotApex.com and get the best prices for the Dells, you are still buying from dell, but He gives coupon discounts. I have bought 4 through this site and two were laptops. My last was a dell 1505 widescreen, I love it. But definetly buy thru this site, ps it changes daily and weekly with the offers. Nice site you might enjoy for hot deals, he does all the footwork for you. This site is a plus for all of you. I have never beat their prices through dell anywhere. He explains how to manuver through the dell site and gives you the codes to enter at checkout. Merry Christmas everyone. by the way the duo core 1505 with the dvd writer/reader and bluetooth capibilty, and better screen etc. cost me $649 delivered. Best price anywhere else was around $750.