I am starting school this Fall for construction management, (associate science degree) and will need a laptop as I have the option to take about half of my classes online.


I want something that I can do work on but also play a few games like GTA and maybe CSS and be able to store some pictures, I also want nothing smaller then a 17" display.

Here are a few that I have found



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834114440

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834114474

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147660

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147663

Thanks for the help

-Josh

 

I have been a computer tech for 15 years and use to work for a factory service center that did warranty support for most big name brands of PC's including Toshiba and HP. In my opnion, Toshiba has one of the worst warranty supports in the biz. I would never purchase anything from them.
I have always liked HP's warranty support and would not hesitate to purchase anything with their name on it.

 

Yea, I got an hp desktop now and it has been good, my brother also has a gateway desktop and his graphics card will over heat like a ****.

I will take a look at dell and hp with out the AMD.

Also what about vista?

most of the systems have it and I heard that it is crap!

 

In my opinion the AMD is a very good processor. I would choose one over an Intel any day.

Edit: Vista sucks!

 

Mac FTW!

 

Question: Do you actually plan on using the laptop AS a laptop or what? IE, travel with it, be in construction areas with it, etc...? If the answer is yes, seriously consider a 14" or 15" screen max. Consider things like weight, battery life, etc... You can get a nice high-res screen and no lose much if any real estate. Just sayin'

 

I have a similar model to the HP you posted and I love it. I play Half-Life on it frequently with no problems, however i custom ordered mine from HP with alot of upgrades. The computer is deffinately an electricty hog. I have an extended life battery, and i still only get around 2 hours out of the battery.

Vista is horrible. My computer crashed the first week i had it. Avoid it if you can.

 

Absolutely, to class when necessary, and mostly when I go to give estimates, looking up prices, contact numbers, bid sheets, etc. When at home I will have a direct connection to the internet, but in the field I might need a mobile broadband card...not sure as it cost about 60.00 a month I think....

 

Look at the travel weight of the notebooks then. 17" books do not come light. While a 7-10lbs travel weight may not seem like much, after shleping it around for 8 hours you'll second guess your choice. Many 5-6lbs travel weight laptops have crap loads of power when needed to play games and can offer tremendous battery life when configured correctly. Or better yet, keep the games to the desktop and get a nice 13" laptop like a Lenovo X60. Can be inexpensive, powerful to get work done, you will NOT notice carrying it around for 8 straight hours and will last the ENTIRE day without needed a single power outlet. Think like a professional and get the right tool for the job you need it for.

As for the data card, expect to pay $60/mo for unlimited data. If you are near a major market check AT&T's HSDPA coverage. If no, then look at Verizon or sprint. AT&T will give you the best performance thanks to their HSDPA upgrades but has limited coverage outside of the major markets. Their 3G speeds aren't bad, near what the others can do.

 

If you really want a 17", look at the Dell XPS M1730. It's gaming quality, and you can still get it with XP. It's going to cost you $2149 plus options.

 

I agree with the smaller size. The larger ones get it the way more than you think

IMO

 

Thinkpads rock. I was a big Toshiba fan, but they had a lot of troubles with their last generation and switched to a T61 and it is by far the best laptop I have had (5 in last ten years) and would highly recommend it.


PS Vista works great. Most folks that have had problems with it either didn't have the hardware to run it or their peripherals didn't have drivers.

 

Avoid the Toshiba Satellite like the plague!! We bought one, brought it home and within a week it's screen went black. The computer was running you just couldn't see anything. Took it back to Best Buy and exchanged it for another one...same damn thing happened! So I started looking around online and found that this is a recurring issue with the Satellite running Vista. We took it back again, this time to get a refund and while we were there in the customer service line another couple walks in with a Toshiba Satellite to return it for...you guessed it, same problem!!

We went over to Costco and got an HP Pavilion dv9000. Only had it for about 4 months but so far it's been a pretty good machine.

Oh, and, Vista sucks!!!!!!!

 

Ive had my 12" PowerBook G4 since I was a Freshman in college, im now in my senior year and this laptop runs just like the day i got it I mean it hasn't even slowed down one bit, Nothing against window based laptops, but ive had 2 and both w/in 2 years got very slow and locked up every f'ng day. Ive had this mac for 4 years and will always buy mac now.

 

I use my old laptop in the construction industry. Bought one with a 14 " screen. I velcroed it in to an three ring binder after taking out the rings. I put it on the book shelf when I go home at the end of the day.

Note. put a soft liner on the inside of the binder, I did not and it has chafed the paint of the laptop. You can also leave it on the floor of the truck and it looks like an electrical supply sales binder on the floor.


small and easy to travel with.
Two of my three computers have vista, VISTA SUCKS.