Laptop Recommendations

Alex Moon · Post by **Alex Moon** » 2003-05-11 09:47pm

I'm gonna buy a laptop computer for school and I was wondering what company people here recommended. I'll mostly use it for schoolwork so the super high-end ones aren't necessary.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-05-11 11:50pm

I would recommend an IBM Thinkpad. They are reliable, durable, and you can get decent driver/software support from the website.

EmperorMing · Post by **EmperorMing** » 2003-05-12 12:01am

If you want to save some bux check out the used laptops online. You might be able to score a decent deal.

And for a brand, I would say the IBM thinkpads. I sit on a helpdesk and most of the businesses use them.

BrYaN19kc · Post by **BrYaN19kc** » 2003-05-12 12:06am

TrailerParkJawa wrote:I would recommend an IBM Thinkpad. They are reliable, durable, and you can get decent driver/software support from the website.

TrailerParkJawa and I have indirectly had this discussion before and I agree with him. Dell Inspiron's (specifically the 8200's) are having way too many problems right now. Also, Dell's' customer service is getting worse by the day. Unfortunately, that didn't stop our purchasing department from buying more of them. We had three brand new Dell laptops come into the computer center with over heating problems again this week.

I agree with TrailerParkJawa - go for the IBM!

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-05-12 12:22am

BrYaN19kc wrote: TrailerParkJawa and I have indirectly had this discussion before and I agree with him. Dell Inspiron's (specifically the 8200's) are having way too many problems right now. Also, Dell's' customer service is getting worse by the day. Unfortunately, that didn't stop our purchasing department from buying more of them. We had three brand new Dell laptops come into the computer center with over heating problems again this week.

I agree with TrailerParkJawa - go for the IBM!

Ive worked with Dell's too. They are easy to fix ( replacing motherboards and what not ) but they are far too flimsy for my taste. They also seem to have bad keyboards. Ive replaced countless keyboards on the CPx line.

I saw some good used Thinkpad 600's for $350 last week. Kinda low on the specs, P2-350/128MB/4GB , but thats not bad if you can get away with Win98 and Office 2000.

But you should be able to get a good new Thinkpad for under 1000.

Post by **Beowulf** » 2003-05-12 12:37am

Avoid Sonys like the plague.

Coaan · Post by **Coaan** » 2003-05-12 02:09am

If you want a reliable laptop...Toshiba's are pretty damn good for holding their own...the 1.8ghz are amazing pieces of kit...they'll set you back a fair bit...but in a laptop, you need to have teh powah or you don't get any lasting power in it...

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2003-05-12 02:23am

I've actually heard about some problems with Toshibas in the reliability department...

But you can't go wrong with an IBM if you're looking for something that will just keep on going. I've got a refurbished 755CD (an old 486 DX4) that's still running strong...

Hyperion · Post by **Hyperion** » 2003-05-12 02:32am

Go with an IBM or a Toshiba. IBMs are a bit expensive for my taste, but are very solid machines. Toshibas seem to be very solid machines in my observations. I had a Toshiba up until just a couple months ago, an ancient Satellite Pro 430CDT, it had roughly 30,000 hours of operation on it when it kicked, it still runs, but not very well. That thing survived being dropped from a second story walkway onto concrete, thrown against a concrete wall outside of its bag, while running no less, and many other things, mainly being dropped, having drives yanked while it was running, and so on. Nice reliable system, the only part I replaced on it was a cover for the floppy connector port, though it did have some scratches, cracks, and dents from being dropped and thrown those times.

Also, the Toshiba laptop hard drives are VERY resilient and reliable, you can put them thru the mill and they'll keep on running like new.

Toshibas are also fairly inexpensive compaired to IBMs. I will be buying another Toshiba laptop once I have the money, I can't stand this Gateway POS that a friend gave me after the Toshiba kicked it on me, I now have a spares system from a local store just to keep it running.

Datana · Post by **Datana** » 2003-05-12 03:36pm

I'll agree with everyone else and say Toshiba or IBM. I had bought a Dell Inspiron as my first laptop some years ago (P2-266/128MB/6GB HD, for an indication of how old this is), and had nothing but problems with it. The screen backlight died after just one year, the keyboard followed soon after, and the unit overheated easily (use it for 15 minutes, and you can't keep the thing on your lap anymore). The laptop's case was flimsy and I always had to be careful when handling it. I gave it relatively light usage while it was working, and made sure to regularly take care of it, so neglect or overuse weren't the issue.

I've also used a ThinkPad -- none of the problems I had with the Inspiron were apparent with this. One of my friends uses a Toshiba, and it's been rock-solid for the past few years, from what I hear.

aphexmonster · Post by **aphexmonster** » 2003-05-12 03:44pm

The 14 inch screen iBook is your god.... i want one

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-05-12 03:45pm

IBM Thinkpad. If you can afford the T40, get it - people are saying it's one of IBM's best-built laptops in years.

EDIT: Apple makes excellent laptops, of course, but I think Alex is looking for x86.

You should get something with the new Pentium-M processor, which is an excellent mobile solution. Pentium 4M is a battery hog; hell, even Pentium III-M was.

Saurencaerthai · Post by **Saurencaerthai** » 2003-05-12 06:18pm

In my opinion, the strongest in PC notebooks is Toshiba, however, all out, I personally think that Apple makes a superior notebook right now. I suppose it mainly depends on what you want to do. Personally, if I were going into programming, I would get the Toshiba, hands down. However, I'm going into Music Production and technology, so a Mac works MUCH better for audio purposes as such.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-05-12 06:50pm

Saurencaerthai wrote:In my opinion, the strongest in PC notebooks is Toshiba, however, all out, I personally think that Apple makes a superior notebook right now. I suppose it mainly depends on what you want to do. Personally, if I were going into programming, I would get the Toshiba, hands down. However, I'm going into Music Production and technology, so a Mac works MUCH better for audio purposes as such.

IMNSHO, Toshiba isn't as strong as IBM. They're still good laptops, though, and probably less expensive than a Thinkpad.

Striderteen · Post by **Striderteen** » 2003-05-12 08:47pm

I've always been a fan of the PC desktop and Apple laptop combination. The vertical integration of Apples lends itself to creating some really awesome portable hardware; expandability isn't an issue with laptops and having everything in a very slick, very well-integrated package is a huge advantage.

Also, the iBook and PowerBook G4 have *much* longer battery life.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-05-12 09:01pm

Striderteen wrote:I've always been a fan of the PC desktop and Apple laptop combination. The vertical integration of Apples lends itself to creating some really awesome portable hardware; expandability isn't an issue with laptops and having everything in a very slick, very well-integrated package is a huge advantage.

Also, the iBook and PowerBook G4 have *much* longer battery life.

Not anymore. On ArsTechnica, some guy purchased a T40P and compared it to his 15" TiBook - the Thinkpad had better battery life(!) I don't know if it's because it has a bigger battery or what, but with the introduction of the Centrino line, Intel has thrown down the gauntlet.

That said, Apple laptops are indeed slick. My only real beef is that Apple traditionally puts a relatively low resolution on their laptops

Soontir C'boath · Post by **Soontir C'boath** » 2003-05-12 09:11pm

BrYaN19kc wrote:TrailerParkJawa and I have indirectly had this discussion before and I agree with him. Dell Inspiron's (specifically the 8200's) are having way too many problems right now.

*Checks lid of Labtop*
Hmmm, I'm using one right now and I use it probably 9 hours a day and it's been a year since my bro bought it.
No problems for me so far....

Cyaround,
Jason

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-05-12 09:14pm

Any laptop can last a year, that's meaningless. Such an expense should last a lot longer than that.

BrYaN19kc · Post by **BrYaN19kc** » 2003-05-12 09:29pm

Soontir C'boath wrote:
BrYaN19kc wrote:TrailerParkJawa and I have indirectly had this discussion before and I agree with him. Dell Inspiron's (specifically the 8200's) are having way too many problems right now.
*Checks lid of Labtop*
Hmmm, I'm using one right now and I use it probably 9 hours a day and it's been a year since my bro bought it.
No problems for me so far....

Cyaround,
Jason

Good luck! The average trade out time for a laptop is three years, at least according to how our university, among many others, have their equipment depreciation and cycles set up. So your not even half way through its life yet. Plus, I didn't say all of our Dell laptops were crappy, only the majority of the Inspiron 8200's and 3800's. All of our 3800's will have been retired after the next round of purchasing this spring. Some good, some bad... but on average, that particular model is more troublesome than others.

GrandMasterTerwynn · Post by **GrandMasterTerwynn** » 2003-05-13 01:21am

Alex Moon wrote:I'm gonna buy a laptop computer for school and I was wondering what company people here recommended. I'll mostly use it for schoolwork so the super high-end ones aren't necessary.

I'll make a flying leap onto the bandwagon and say go with the IBM Thinkpad. They are very reliable machines. And upgrading/servicing/repairing one is very straightforward.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-05-13 10:33am

WARNING

I'm getting some reports on other boards that early Centrino-based laptops may have an issue with AC line noise. Some people who purchased the T40 have achieved some success in getting rid of that noise by using the older T23 AC/DC adapter.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

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