advise buying new laptop

[econtrerasguzman]

i need a laptop for college and ive been looking at the dell, hp, and toshiba mostly. here are the specs im looking for

128 video card ( dell and hp are nvidia toshiba is ati 2400)
t7300 2.0 Ghz
big hdd ( toshiba is the only one with two 160 at 5400, dell and hp 160 5400
15.4 screen bright
fingerprint reader and webcam/mic

toshibas i looked at the A205

dells i looked at the inspiron 1520

and hp at the dv6500t Special Edition series PC

thank you so much. btw i only have about 1500 to spend.

[Soopafresh]

I think the Toshiba might not be compatible with most wireless access points out there, as it uses 802.11n . Still, nice specs.

[redwash1]

all name brands have pre-installed S/W that hog up memory, if you buy one of these down load de-crapifier. Also HP offers computers that have no pre-installed S/W, you have to request sales person that you want that, if they are not jerks. At circuit city sales person may push you to AMD. you decide not the sales person.
One more thing, search for the models and check for complaints in web. I know HP had issues with HD failures and they do not supply CD for reinstalling OS. You either buy or make your own.
Apple makes a good computer too.

[Bjs]

You cant go wrong with dell .

Toshiba on the other hand ... I'd throw it off a cliff ... if I was given one .

I just dont like the fact they stuff the vista basic into these new laptops / pcs ... I refuse to touch that crap .

Dell should give you the opportunity to have xp pro rather than vista™ home basic edition (it sucks) .

I highly recommend , what ever you choose , make sure you get either the os disc , or at the very least , a system restore disc incase of problems later .

And , make sure you get the damn TV out cable that works with the unit ... they dont normally come with it , which is a major problem .

Dell also offers extended warrantee .

[econtrerasguzman]

my friend has a toshiba and this webcam doesnt seem t obe working very welll, i think i would go with toshiba because they offer the dual hdd 320=160x2 but also the ATI and i believe the internet card has changed since they cuz they offer wireless N also. should i go with ATI 256 or 128 dedicated, also the 6 cell or the 12 cell? thanx

[Joe The Dude]

Have you taken a look at the offerings over on the alienware website?
I'm asking because they usually have a really good selection.

[econtrerasguzman]

thanx for that suggesting ill take a look at them but ive always had the impression that alienware makes computers for hardcore gamers. but will look at them thanx.

[econtrerasguzman]

i think ima wait til the processor speed and the ram sleep match up to get the new computer then ill go with toshiba( vista home premium) a friend told me it was better if they matched up in mhz. (800) so thanx a lot you guys for giving me your opinion about other laptops. i appreciate it.

[econtrerasguzman]

I think the Toshiba might not be compatible with most wireless access points out there, as it uses 802.11n . Still, nice specs.

what did you mean by this? what other type of connection would i need to connect to most wireless access points?

[lordsmurf]

I'd go with an HP using Intel Core 2 Duo and nVidia card.

[bevills1]

I'd select 1 with 802.11g wireless due to wider compatibility and would choose WinXP due to some incompatibility issues and limited driver support.

[rallynavvie]

I use a Vaio SZ. While the mine doesn't have the 15" monitor (it's a compact model for portability) it does have everything else.

The biometric scanner has been working well for about a year, just has occasional fits in certain occasions (rarely doesn't work due to possible EM interference?). It has two different sets of fingerprints stored and can switch users automatically by which fingerprint is scanned.

The webcam has been used for Skype and other client video chat with absolutely no issues. A friend also used it to record video podcasts which turned out pretty good.

The video card is the feature that sold me. I have the option of switching between the onboard Intel 950 video or the dedicated nVidia 7400. The dedicated allows me to game with the laptop pretty well and the onboard extends battery life when I'm just using it for internet or work. It does require a reboot to switch between them though. I get about 2 hours of battery on the dedicated card and over 4 hours with onboard video.

HDDs are here nor there. Seems like OEMs charge according to HDD size as well as CPU speed but you can go get yourself a sizeable HDD for not too much at NewEgg or elsewhere.

NewEgg has a lot in your price range but unfortunately they lack the biometrics. Seems like that's the draw to the SZ series which is more $$.

[LITEONDVD]

You cant go wrong with dell .

Toshiba on the other hand ... I'd throw it off a cliff ... if I was given one .

I just dont like the fact they stuff the vista basic into these new laptops / pcs ... I refuse to touch that crap .

Dell should give you the opportunity to have xp pro rather than vista™ home basic edition (it sucks) .

I highly recommend , what ever you choose , make sure you get either the os disc , or at the very least , a system restore disc incase of problems later .

And , make sure you get the damn TV out cable that works with the unit ... they dont normally come with it , which is a major problem .

Dell also offers extended warrantee .

I agree, i dont really enjoy vista. Dells are most reliable!

[TBoneit]

Based on what we see at work Thinkpads and Sonys have fewer hardware problems. They are not the cheapest but you get what you pay for.

[rallynavvie]

Based on what we see at work Thinkpads and Sonys have fewer hardware problems. They are not the cheapest but you get what you pay for.

Yeah, when it was time for me to get my new laptop just over a year ago these were the two brands I was going to go with. I didn't even bother look at Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc. Our company hands out Dell's for free to employees but after having to troubleshoot Joe Averageuser's Dell laptop and having to call in Dell for service on them so many times I wasn't going that route. I had a ThinkPad back in the days of the Pentium M and that was still going strong for me. The Lonovos are built tough still but they were just too heavy for what I needed so I went with the Vaio.

That's right: I passed on a free Core 2 Duo Dell laptop to spend $2500 on my own laptop.

[MOVIEGEEK]

EDIT

[Garibaldi]

I'd select 1 with 802.11g wireless due to wider compatibility and would choose WinXP due to some incompatibility issues and limited driver support.

I would imagine that the 802.11n card will still be backwards compatible with 802.11g networks though, so why wouldn't you want to get this new format so the laptop would be good for years to come?

[Super Warrior]

Dell's current cheapest laptop models cost about $580 new and are damn good!

Just make sure you get WinXP and NOT Vista.

[Super Warrior]

I'd select 1 with 802.11g wireless due to wider compatibility and would choose WinXP due to some incompatibility issues and limited driver support.

I would imagine that the 802.11n card will still be backwards compatible with 802.11g networks though, so why wouldn't you want to get this new format so the laptop would be good for years to come?

It is easy as hell to change out the MiniPCI wireless card with a better one in the future, and the pci cards are not expensive, so i wouldn't worry about that stuff too much.

For most laptops like mine and others, the wireless tech is not something integrated onto the system, but can be removed/upgraded much like ram can. The main thing is to make sure it HAS wireless to begin with, with the antenna installed into the system.

[buttzilla]

I think the Toshiba might not be compatible with most wireless access points out there, as it uses 802.11n . Still, nice specs.

Its compatable with b/g and n.

[ranchhand]

My company just got in a load of HP NX9600, with 1gig RAM and 3.2 GHz Intels, widescreen. Those are really seriously nice machines, run our clients' videos and network beautifully. I personally don't like laptops, but if I were to get one that would be it. Videos & movies really look excellent and play smoothly, and the stereo sound isn't shabby either, good for a laptop. I have rented dozens of those out and not had one complaint from any of my client companies.

[TBoneit]

It should run everything decently since it sounds like a Desktop replacement laptop which most likely means:

Short battery life
Runs hotter than a laptop using a mobile processor and most likely is noisier too.
will need service sooner, fans wearing out, clogging etc.

Drawbacks to any laptop include no room for more drives internally. External = slower
Screen size is fixed
Keyboard depends if you like that type used in laptops.
Need for a docking station so perhiperals can remain plugged in if you need it to be portable too. We don't want to wear out the USB ports always plugging and unplugging mouse, printer etc.

[Super Warrior]

Drawbacks to any laptop include no room for more drives internally.

You only need 1 drive.

Screen size is fixed

Thats not true, i could upgrade my laptop screen. I have a 14", if i wanted i could buy a 15" screen on e-bay and install it myself.

Keyboard depends if you like that type used in laptops.
Need for a docking station so perhiperals can remain plugged in if you need it to be portable too. We don't want to wear out the USB ports always plugging and unplugging mouse, printer etc.

Keyboard is 'ok'.

Just buy a little USB extension with 4-5 extra ports on it. Then you only need to plug in 1 USB port to get the rest of your devices to work. As for wearing out a USB port by plugging/unplugging stuff into it. Unlikely, and even then they can be replaced if so.

Of course i'm speaking of Dell laptops when i say this. As dell's are modular and made to be able to swap out components easily for fixing/upgrading.

[TBoneit]

OTOH if you had bought that model with its largest screen?

I prefer to do file work between drives for speed. Example, Author a DVD with source on 1 drive and destination a different physical drive. Same with encoding different drives.

CPU when encoding will work the fans hard. Causing noise and wear and tear.

I have seen computers with worn out USB ports from plugging and unplugging all the time. I have a laptop home that I bought used with two bad USB ports. The inside parts of the plug had come out. Easiest to just fill with hot melt and use the others. Seem to remember it had 6 USB originally.

And yes you can get PCMCIA USB2 cards. They don't provide enough power for external laptop drives.

We also see most brands excluding Sony and Thinkpad where the power connector has broken the solder connection to the motherboard on laptops.

As you can tell I'm not a huge fan of laptops. Break a screen it isn't cheap like a LCD monitor wher you just run to wherever and buy a replacement.

We've had customers that broke the screen in less than a week. Physical damage, no warranty no return from the maker or seller. They would fix it for him of course, at $60 less cost than he paid for the whole thing. Or the lady that spilled coffee into the keyboard and damaged the motherboard. Or one that had been used at the beach (Sand all through it) and fluid damage, IBM said no free repair, 8 month old T60.
Desktop keyboard and liquid, a few dollars for a cheapo replacment.

I'm not a huge fan of laptops. Too many drawbacks unless you need portable.

[KCAir]

I just bought the Sony Vaio VGN-SZ340 for college. I paid about $1,200. It is lightweight and does everything I need. In case you need it I included all my infromation on it in my personal file.

http://personafile.com/SONY-VAIO-Notebook-SZ-Series-VGN-SZ340-P027242000121.htm?user=k...r&i=0278698874

[rallynavvie]

SZ340 is a nice lapper