Buying a new laptop

[X-Act]

Hello guys. I'd like a bit of help from you hardware experts. :)


Basically I'm going to buy a new laptop, and I'm clueless as to which brand is the best. Here's what I want:

• A laptop that doesn't give me trouble for as long as possible.
• Ideally a 15.4 inch screen. Larger would be too large, and smaller would be too small.
• Intel Core2Duo processor or an AMD Turion X2 Ultra... please help be choose between the two.
• Windows 7. No Vista shit, please.
• DVD burning capabilities
• At least 2GB memory
• Not fussy about hard disk space, but let's say a minimum of 160GB
• Not fussy about battery consumption
• Not too fussy about portability, but I don't want something weighing a ton if I use my laptop elsewhere in a pinch.
• Not too fussy about price... but I don't need more than I mention above.

I'm ruling out anything from Apple unless you guys convince me otherwise. I'm also not too keen on Dell, for personal reasons, but again, if you convince me otherwise, I can change that. :)

I've seen quite a few brands having a few laptops corresponding to the above, mostly Acer, HP, Toshiba, and Dell (ugh). My problem is: which of these, or other, brands should I trust the most, especially in terms of reliability? Also please shed a light on the Core2Duo vs. X2 Ultra dilemma.

Thanks.

 

[Accent]

Forget Acer and HP, imo. Good laptop brands are Toshiba, Asus (not sure about these two), Dell and Sony. Sony would be the most reliable but also the most expansive, obviously...

If you can get a new i5 or i7 processor from Intel, it would be better than the two you've mentionned.

 

[akuchi]

I just bought a Compaq which meets your specs. £320 quid. Just an updated one of the model my ex bought a couple of years ago, hes had no issues with it ever.

 

[monkfish]

Most new laptops would meet your requirements. Here's my experience of a Toshiba laptop:
The fan/airflow around the processor is positioned such that it will suck up dust from whatever it's sitting on, and will eventually get clogged. I found that after a year of fairly regular use, it would overheat 5 minutes after boot-up; the solution is to either take it apart and take the dust out of the fan or regularly blast it with compressed air.

Other than the overheating issue, it's been a decent laptop. One thing I would say is look out for decent keyboard accessories (depending on what you'll use your laptop for). I really miss having media controls on my keyboard!

 

[mingot]

Some ramblings --

Go ahead and get 3GB/4GB of memory. It should not cost much extra and is one of those things that is always helpful. If you find a smoking deal on a laptop with 2GB see what the company wants to charge you for the upgrade and make sure to comparison shop. They often charge way too much for memory.

One thing that you probably want to research before purchasing a new laptop is that the CPU and BIOS support VM extensions. These extensions allow you to use the "XP Mode" feature of Windows 7, which is basically just bundled copy of Windows XP that runs in a virtual machine. Some of the more recent Sony machines have the correct CPU, but no option in the BIOS to turn this on, so beware. When you are looking the spec sheets on the Intel site will note whether the processor supports these extensions, but you'll have to do some detective work to know if the BIOS supports it.

I'll update if I think of anything else.

 

[Bass]

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned Thinkpads. They are easily some of the most reliable laptops around. However, they can be a little bit pricey (since they are business class machines) unless you buy them directly from Lenovo's website. Still, if you can find one that is within your budget, I highly recommend it. Even if it is still a little more than the other brands, I personally think it is worth it.

 

[CaptKirby]

Lenovo thinkpad's are supposed to be cool, and you can stock them with pretty much whatever you want under $1000. 10% or 15% off coupons commonly float around the internet too (although other companies you can more routinely get more like 30% off, but their prices are more initially jacked up anyway). I was looking at a ThinkPad with a huge processor (talking like 2.8 ghz duo core iirc) and a SSD and a "passable" graphics card (but not too great) and of course 4 gb ram at something like $1000.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/ this does not paint a perfectly clear, useful picture, but should help you with analyzing processors
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html ditto

 

[Force Majeure]

Found it.

The problem is that it's a total battery vampire. But hey, I have one, so it can't be all bad.

 

[byrd424]

Most laptops are gonna have what you need, if not more. I own a Sony, but the cost of it was a bit more than what I think I am getting out of it IMO. Friends of mine love their Dells, just be sure to get rid of the software that comes preloaded (Dell media player, etc). Also, if a computer still comes with Vista, you can probably get some kind of free upgrade, or if you are a university student, it costs $30 to get a copy of Windows 7. Overall, if you are expecting the bare minimum of what you asked, you should be finding things between $400 and $600 depending on brand.

 

[Force Majeure]

Friends of mine love their Dells, just be sure to get rid of the software that comes preloaded (Dell media player, etc)

Ick. I hated nearly everything that came pre-loaded except for the Dock, which I still use. This is true of essentially every laptop maker, though. I think Dell and HP have the worst, though. At least it's pretty easy to uninstall.

 

[cim]

Lenovo/IBM, Asus, or Dell are the brands I would recommend. I've had a lot of trouble with every HP computer I've ever owned (about 4), Compaq was alright back when it wasn't HP.

 

[whistle]

if you do decide to go with a Dell (I'd imagine the situation is the same with other manufacturers but I don't have experience with them) I would definitely get a business line computer over their consumer line. the build quality is much higher (their consumer line laptops feel flimsy ffs) and you get access to a much better warranty right off the bat, not to mention aesthetics. the reliability / service does come at a pretty high price if you buy at retail price, though.

for NOT buying at retail price I think most major manufacturers have an outlet where you can buy refurbished / not opened computers other people have bought (which means you usually can't customize, although there is a search function). I know Dell, Lenovo, and HP all have these but I haven't checked others'. my current laptop was a refurbished from the Dell Outlet and it came basically new minus a green sticker on the bottom saying "refurbished", and from the research I did online it seems like the vast vast majority of people get "refurbished" laptops good as new too. this cuts a few hundred dollars off the cost so if you don't mind the idea of owning a "used" computer imo it's definitely the way to go. since I got a business line, even though it's from the outlet I still got their standard 3 year warranty and everything else that you'd "expect" from a higher-line laptop, just without the steep price.

regarding upgrades -- memory is the easiest to upgrade and the hard drive is right behind on the list. as mingot said memory is quite cheap and there's not really a reason NOT to get 4 GB especially as it's one of the most noticeable upgrades in everyday computing. I just checked on newegg.com and a stick of 2 GB memory is running for ~$40 USD; beware that a laptop (usually? if not always) can only hold two sticks so if you're planning on upgrading yourself, try to get a model that comes with only one slot filled. the memory slots are right on the bottom of the computer and really easy to get to (no digging around, nothing else exposed). the only reason I'd say the hard drive is harder (mine unscrews and slides out on a platter sort of) is that my old hard drive came bolted into the external cover so I had to call Dell and get them to send a new one. the point is that both of these things are not something you should too much about when you are shopping for a laptop; focus more on the things you can't change.

 

[MrIndigo]

If you're planning on playing games on your laptop, make sure you get the best available graphics card you can. Laptop graphics cards cannot be upgraded once installed, so if you're planning on keeping this thing for a while, you want to be as close to the state-of-the-art that you can afford.

 

[BlakBlastoise]

Found it.

The problem is that it's a total battery vampire. But hey, I have one, so it can't be all bad.

I have one of these also. I haven't had any other laptops, but I have nothing bad to say about it. I'd recommend it, but like i said, i don't have much experience with laptops.
Just a minor nit-pick: It tends to get a little warm. Nothing too extreme, but when you first get it, it's definitely noticeable. after about 3 days i got used to it.

 

[The Quiff]

Don't go with Acer. I've had pretty much nothing but bad experiences with them. After breaking an Acer laptop I had bought 3 months prior, I was told that the warranty effectively was useless because it was a model they no longer were manufacturing (keep in mind it was brand new). They were asking for upwards of £200 to fix it when the laptop itself cost £270!

Not to mention, also, that 2 out of the 3 Acers I've used have awful battery life (about an hour).

 

[Mizuno]

I reallly, really like Asus. I own an Asus U3S, and I simply adore it. Asus has really sweet warranty (2 years, 1 for accidental damage), and has a nice range of models that appeal to almost anyone. You can try GenTech, ExcaliberPC or newegg. I lke to go to NotebookReview to see what others think about a particular model.

Lenovo is also good, both their IdeaPad and ThinkPad lines. ThinkPad is more bussiness oriented, IdeaPad is more consumer oriented.

Also, if you plan to upgrade memory I recommend you buy the modules youself; you save quiet a few bucks by doing so, and it's extremely easy to install.

Good luck!

 

[X-Act]

Thanks for all the feedback so far.

Judging from what I've read so far, I can forget about Acer and HP. My own laptop is an old HP and it heats up pretty radically, though it's probably because it's old.

My trouble with Dell is that my wife has one (a Dell Latitude), and had to service it around 4 times in 3 years, twice of which was a motherboard issue! It was under warranty, so she didn't have to pay anything, but I don't like a laptop that has motherboard issues in its first 2 years of operation. :( I know that this was probably a one-off, but it does kinda affect your future laptop brand choice...

I checked a few Toshiba laptops and they do look promising. I haven't looked at Asus and IBM laptops so far. I should be able to today, though. I think I'll end up buying a laptop from one of these three brands.

Any input on what's the difference between Intel Core2Duo processors and AMD X2 Ultra processors? I heard AMD processors tend to heat up, is this true?

 

[chaos]

I would like to also recommend a Lenovo Thinkpad. I did a lot of research when I bought my laptop (X200) and the conclusion I came to was that Lenovo was hands down the best for almost any type of laptop.

 

[Huy]

I'm also backing a Lenovo Thinkpad. It has everything you want and remains very cool in almost all situations. And you can get a good one for around a thousand if you can find some coupons.

My first Thinkpad serviced me for a good 10 years before I decided to get a new one, so it's a pretty okay longterm investment.

 

[Blue Kirby]

I wouldn't be so quick to scratch HP off the list. Personally, mine has run much smoother than any other laptop I have owned, the first being a Compaq and the second being a Toshiba.

The Core2Duo line is the "better" processor, although the Turion X2s seem to scale better when playing games using more middle of the range graphics cards. The thing is though, if you're using a 64-bit operating system (which you likely will be), the real world performance difference when using standard applications is pretty much non-existant. It is really going to depend on the overall specs of the model you go for, so don't discount either of the two at this point.

 

[DIABLO69]

What about this:

Asus X58C

CPU:Intel D220
Screen:15.4" WXGA
Memory:2GB

I have had one for about a year and it has not given me any trouble (exept for slow internet, but I think that's my third world internet which is doing it) and it has Vista, but I'm sure you can get it with 7.I got it as a present, but if I remember, it was reasonably priced. Also, you will have to buy some kind of Norton antivirus for it when the free demo ends.

Lastly, there is one more thing-it is made of carbon fibre! How cool is that? If anything else, you can show off to your friends.

I don't know much about computers-but I thought you would like some long-term reviews on one of the laptops.

 

[mingot]

Judging from what I've read so far, I can forget about Acer and HP. My own laptop is an old HP and it heats up pretty radically, though it's probably because it's old.

I am going to have to disagree with the striking of HP from your list. I'm currently using one and it's turned out pretty nice and the price was right. The only that has really pissed me off so far has been having to spend 60 dollars for a hard drive mounting "kit" to seat a 2nd drive. 60 Bucks for a 2x3 inch sheet of plastic connected to two metal rails that weigh sub once ounce + 4 rubber feet + 4 screws. Paying 60 bucks for something that cost about 60 cents to produce really annoyed the hell out me.

Oh, I did price out lenovo's because literally _every_ person I know who has owned one has loved it, but for what I needed they just ended up being far out of my price range. If you can find one with the right price, I'd say go for it.

 

[cim]

I would like to also recommend a Lenovo Thinkpad. I did a lot of research when I bought my laptop (X200) and the conclusion I came to was that Lenovo was hands down the best for almost any type of laptop.

I'm currently using one and have had no hardware related problems with a school issue W500. Battery's only 2 hours though, which bugs me.

 

[Bass]

I'm currently using one and have had no hardware related problems with a school issue W500. Battery's only 2 hours though, which bugs me.

To be fair, the W500 is a workstation model, so power efficiency shouldn't be expected.

My current model is a T400, and it can average around 7 hours on battery as is. That's another huge pro to owning a Thinkpad, I might add.

 

[Erazor]

I have a Dell Inspiron, and apart from self-inflicted damage(i spilled coffee on it) it has given me absolutely no problems whatsoever. It's a good deal IMO. However, make sure you order a Business model, since you'll need antivirus, I'm sure.