Help me buy a new laptop!

[ReformedWretch]

My work gives me $3,000 to buy a laptop! I am very excited about this. I am rather knowledgable about computers (I understand the tech speak) but I am looking for someone more in the know than I am to lead me to the absolute best Laptop out there for this price. I believe I should be able to get one awesome laptop!

 

[fredtgreco]

Adam,

I would get a near top of the line Toshiba. I believe that they are much better made than the typical Dells, Compaqs, etc. Another good option is a Sony Vaio. I would make sure you had something that could be upgradable - if you are going to spend that much, you don't want to have it go obsolete in 2-3 years. Another possibility is to see if they would let you get a $1500 laptop now, and another $1500 one in 2 years. You'd get better value.

 

[turmeric]

Everybody I know seems to want Apple - maybe it's a cult!

 

[ReformedWretch]

Is 1500 enough for a GOOD one Fred? And Meg, I hear good things about Apple, but from my experience with the desk tops, they drive me batty.

 

[gwine]

I like my HP Pavilion DV4000. It costs about $1500 but adding the printer, extra battery and service contract and tax bought it up to $1900.

XP Pro
1 GB shared ( I am not into games so the on-board video works fine )
80 GB 5400 RPM
1.73 GHz Centrino
802.11 and Bluetooth
DVD R/W

I should have spent the extra $100 and got Word / Excel, but Works is fine for my limited needs. I can always use the big guns at work if I really need to.

I just made the mistake of looking at the newest models out. More memory! Faster! More expensive!

You will never catch up.

 

[fredtgreco]

Adam,

The sites to check are:

www.slickdeals.net

www.fatwallet.com

If you find a deal you can get plenty of laptop for the money. I bought a new Toshiba Satelitte M45-S351 at OFfice Depot for $800 after rebate.

It has 1.73 Centrino processor, 100GB hard drive, 512RAM (I had another 512 that I added), a DVD-RW drive, and a 15" widescreen bright screen.

I think it retailed at the time for $1500.

If you shop around (Dell, Gateway, online, etc) you can find a good deal. For me, the key is getting good things you can't change: the screen, the processor and to some extent the hard drive (laptop hard drives can be harder to find). Don't worry too much about RAM - you can always buy another 512 for $100 or so. You could also likely buy a DVD drive - but most laptops already comed with DVD burners. That is nice, because you can find good deals on DVDs ($0.50 ea or so) and then use them for backups.

Also, do yourself a HUGE favor and get an external hard drive for backing up. If you want simple, $100 will get you a 120GB or more external "one push" HD. If you have some tech ability, you cna buy an external HD (way cheaper) and install it in an external bay. I made a 120GB Western Digital drive for about $25 after shipping on both items - got two great deals, incluing a 120GB internal for $5.

 

[fredtgreco]

One other thing:

If you are mainly going to use it at work, you may want to get a good monitor (20" flat or so) and run dual monitors.

 

[Augusta]

Hubby has two Toshibas from work that have been used daily forever. I have had an HP Compaq for almost two years that I like. I second Fred's recommendation. That is what Microsoft hands out to their employees for work and they go and go.

 

[fredtgreco]

If you like HPs, they have a really good deal on a huge laptop. It has a 17" screen - almost like a desktop between screen and weight (9 lbs).

But for me, size is not a problem, just a get a rolling bag!

http://tinyurl.com/7psoq

 

[ReformedWretch]

Originally posted by fredtgreco
If you like HPs, they have a really good deal on a huge laptop. It has a 17" screen - almost like a desktop between screen and weight (9 lbs).

But for me, size is not a problem, just a get a rolling bag!

http://tinyurl.com/7psoq

I chose a few upgrades and it looks like I will be getting this one Fred! Thanks a lot.

 

[ReformedWretch]

Final Specs

Operating System Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2

Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 520 w/HT Technology, 2.8GHz

Display 17.0" WXGA+ BrightView 1440x900!! (free upgrade!)

Memory 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM, 533MHz (2x512MB)

Hard Drive 60 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive

Primary CD/DVD Drive DVD+/-RW/R CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer

Graphics Card 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) X600

Networking 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM!!

Primary Battery 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

I would have liked a bigger hard drive, but I upgraded the memory and graphics card instead.

[Edited on 10-20-2005 by houseparent]

 

[ReformedWretch]

I got a second one for my wife. Only this one I didn't upgrade the video card. Instead I upgraded the memory and hard drive!

HP Pavilion zd8000 customizable Notebook PC
PF456AV

"“ Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2

"“ Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 520 w/HT Technology, 2.8GHz

"“ FREE Upgrade to 17.0" WXGA+ BrightView 1440x900!!

"“ 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM, 533MHz (2x512MB)

"“ 120 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive

"“ FREE Upgrade DVD+/-RW/R CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer

"“ 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) X600

"“ FREE Upgrade to 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM!!

"“ 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

 

[ReformedWretch]

My laptop is still ver good! It has 1gig of memory and a 2.8 Ghz processer. The only thing it needs is a new graphics card as I have an ATI 64 RAM card that just doesn't cut it anymore with todays games. A 60 gig hard drive is small for todays standards but it's not full so hey!

Instead of getting a top of the line lap top I am gonna get this desktop;


Processor Brand Intel® Pentium® D (Had a Pent 4)

Processor Speed 3.0GHz (Had a 2.1)

System Bus 800MHz (Not sure what current is)

Cache Memory 2 x 1MB (See above)

System Memory (RAM) 2GB (Current is 512)

System Memory (RAM) Expandable To 4GB (current is 2)

Type of Memory (RAM) PC4200 DDR2

Hard Drive Type Serial ATA (7200 rpm)

Hard Drive Size 320GB (Currrent is 100)

Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT OC PCIe (current ATI ALl in wonder 900 AGP)

Video Memory 256MB (current 128)

Personal Video Recorder (PVR) Yes

TV Tuner Yes (current none)

MPEG Yes

Audio Creative Audigy Platinum Pro

Speakers 2 Bose Stand alone speakers

Modem 56 Kbps* ITU V.92 *Capable of receiving 56 Kbps downloads. However, current regulations limit download speed to 53 Kbps.

Network Card Built-in 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet networking interface (RJ-45 connector)

Wireless Networking 2 Ghz

DVD-ROM Drive Yes

Maximum DVD-ROM Drive Speed 16x

Recordable DVD Drive Yes, Sony double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW

Recordable DVD Drive Speeds 4x DVD+R DL; 16x8x16 DVD+RW; 16x6x16 DVD-RW; 40x24x40 CD-RW

LightScribe Compatibility YES

Digital Media Reader or Slots Yes, digital 9 media card reader

Total Expansion Bays 5 (3.5"), 2 (5.25")


Available Expansion Bays 3 (3.5")

Total Expansion Slots 3 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16

Available Expansion Slots 1 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1

USB 2.0 Ports 7 (3 front, 4 rear)

IEEE 1394 Ports 3 (2 front, 1 rear)

S-Video Outputs 2

Additional Audio/Video Connectors 1 S/PDIF optical audio port; 7 audio ports (2 front, 5 rear)

Serial Ports 1

Parallel Ports 1

Game Ports None

Keyboard Description Multimedia

Other Control Devices (mouse, etc.) USB optical 2-button wheel mouse; Media Center remote

Operating System Windows XP Media Center 2005

Software Included Microsoft Works 8.0, Money 2005, Picture It! 10, Windows Media Player 10; Adobe Acrobat Reader 7; CyberLink PowerDVD; Nero 6 Suite; RealNetworks RealPlayer; QuickTime; Gateway BigFix and more

 

[CalsFarmer]

I just bought a new laptop, since I travel and do a lot of work sitting on the couch I bought a Sony TX610, 2.76 lbs all the stuff for 1999.00. Its awesome!!!!! I was at first nearly afraid to touch it since its sooooo small and light. I love it!

Aren't new computers fun? I do not even have a desktop anymore. Of course I do not game either...

Your new desktop should be named King Kong

 

[ReformedWretch]

King Kong...lol