totalburnout

Whats the best place to buy a notebook computer?

I'm transfering schools and moving away into my own house and I'll need a notebook computer to finish up college with.

I was just going to order from Dell, but was wondering where I should order from - I even looked into the Dell refurb systems and I might go that route.

Spending limit is capped at $1000. The system doesn't have to be sick, but a fast processor, 512mb ram+ and 40gb+ harddrive would be nice. I want a big display, ~17inches perferabley.

Calesta

ABD

Anywhere/anything but Dell.

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pissedoffsol

werd, stay the hell away from dell. they are garbage.

a good place to get ideas from might be Notebook Forums - Laptop Reviews, Notebook Benchmarks and Peer-to-Peer laptop support

Me, I love my HP. 17" widescreen
Buy HP Pavilion dv8000z series notebook PCs direct from the HP Home & Home Office Store

make sure you get XP pro too. xp home can't join a domain...


i just priced one out.

price $1,183.99
* instant savings -$150.00

mail-in rebate -$50.00

price $983.99


xp pro, turion chip upgrade ML-34 (I have the next one up, the ML-37)
1 gb ram
128 video
80gb hdd
dual layer dvdrw burner drive

smarty009

especially since Dell's recent battery explosions...lol

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YouKnowWhoIBee

you guys knock dell.... mine is fine. i dont see why 24 hour a day tech support is bad? I also dont see why the battery issue is such a big deal. When GM recalled millions of tires, that didnt stop anyone from buying GM did it? Companies have their issues and Dell is the largest manufactuer of electronics, of course your gonna have some problems.

reckedracing

actually yes, yes it did, thats why GM is on the verge of bankrupcy... but i'm guessing it has more to do with a shitty car that THEY make than a tire someone else makes...

i have a dell i got from my cousin for free
it was completely fucked when i got it but somehow i brought it back to life by trying to boot from cd and slamming the hard drive in while it was booting then reformatting...

i would honestly listen to the guys above as they know their computer shit...
if you MUST get a dell make sure you get a warranty that will last till you get out of school, and always backup just in case it crashes

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reikoshea

i have yet to have a problem with my dell...but thats really beside the point. On the whole, dell puts out a substandard product unless it has an XPS label on it.

Acer makes a good quality product, and really the only other company id want making my computer is apple.

ive had an hp, compaq, emachine, dell and gateway...of all of them, the dell was the best (the only laptop). My homemade computers blow them all away, but thats not an option for a laptop.

If i purchased a new laptop, itd be an apple, i will say that much.

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pissedoffsol

98% of the computers i "fix for freinds" are dells.

you can waste your money if you want. I wont stop you.

smarty009

i have an hp laptop right now...and im not satisfied with it...my girlfriend has a dell laptop...and its crap...i think the next one i get...if i get another laptop...will be an apple...

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TurboMirage

acer aspire 5674 FTW!

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TommyTheCat

My old dell just died and I got one of the "special edition" HP notebooks from bestbuy. Works pretty good. Dual core and everything for around 1000. See if they've got any still around you.

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Seany-izzle

i love my dell.

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totalburnout

My homestation is a dell and has been fine but really hasn't had the performance it should for the components in it. I've seen lesser computers work faster, even though I upgraded to a faster harddrive, more ram, and a state of the art processor at the time.

My sister has a compaq and I don't think I'll ever own one myself. My dad had issues with the compaqs at his old office and now the family is pretty much against compaq.

HP...we bought a desktop for my grandparents and it was a piece of shit with the HP custom windows operating system. Trying to protect you from yourself and its a barebones windows and such. Yeah that kind've makes me stray away from HP but I'd purchase a HP before a compaq.

Whats this acer you speak of? Pricey or no?

So I guess it would be acer, dell, hp.

I'm not really interested in an apple because I don't know the operating system yet and I don't want to have to specifically buy expensive software bundles like say Microsoft Office just so I can have a separate version for my apple, but moreso the issue of not knowing my way around the OS and being a complete n00b on it, when I've always been well versed on windows based pc's.

reikoshea

hp = compaq. they are the same company now.

acer is good stuff. just a smaller brand name. ive had one of their laptops (900MHz P3) and a friend of mine bought one at the same time (1ghz P3) and they ran fine for 4 years...my display backlight went out and her hard drive crashed a few weeks after (she didnt play nice with it). Backlights go out, and she caused the hard drive problem

overall they get a thumbs up from me.

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pissedoffsol

hp = acura/lexus
compaq = honda/toyota

hp are the higher-up brand.

I've had my laptop on since the day i got it, and have rebooted it only when windows update required me too other than a couple times when i did something stupid and locked it up.
I've had a ton of machines in my day, and this one is by far the best one i've owned.

totalburnout

Is the processor dual core or single core.

Whats your opinion of hp vs acer?

I want the most bang for my buck.

Dustin_m

I want an Acer Farrari notebook

i just checked out the Acers on newegg right now. they got some nice ones. thats def. gonna be my next system. as for right now, i have to work with what i got, a Dell. i just hope it doesn't explode on me in the night, because i sleep with my music on.

its only like 6 months old, but i haven't had any issues with it whatsoever, and really no complaints about it at all, except the fact that i was a dumbass and didnt get the TV tuner card and 128 video, but thats my fault. I guess i wont be able to run Vista in glass mode

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Dustin_m

don't we all...

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TrailerParkPimpsDad

gimme a break. GM is on the verge of bankruptcy because of the millions of dollars they're spending on insurance plans, retirement funds, and massive paychecks for unqualified people doing grunt work.

Gm supports it's retirees and their families, along with their current employees and families. Slumped sales due to increased competition certainly don't help.

Granted they have recalls and problems, so I'm not saying they don't... but recalls don't cost them nearly as much as these health and retirement benefit packages.



Anywho... as for a notebook, they knock Dells because of battery problems. Yet mine seems to be doing just fine these 9 months I've had it thus far. I use it for hours every day. No problems.

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totalburnout

The battery isn't the issue because I know with Dell's backing they'll replace any batteries free of charge - really no biggy.

My deal is, if I can get a better computer with better components for less because it doesn't have the name "Dell" stamped on it - then I want to know which computer and where.

I guess thats kind've what I'm aiming for here. I figured I could get "better bang for my buck" through a non premium name brand computer manufacturer or atleast not Dell.

Choices right now.
HP
Dell
Acer

I think I just found a new requirement of a TV tuner card, because it would save some space in my room not to have a TV and just watch cable through the computer.

reikoshea

the only problem ive had with my dell is my hard drive broke down because i was litterally throwing my laptop around. it made a loud noise when it wasnt level, then it got really loud....and bad cluster, meaning SUPER slow seek if it worked at all. I cant blame dell for me being stupid.

My dell has helped me fix all of my friend's compters, so even though i hate on dell (desktops), my laptop rocks.

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pissedoffsol

you can get usb tuner cards that are cheaper than buying one integrated and getting shafted with a crappy video card in the system.
tv tuner cards usb - Froogle


i've never had an acer, so i can't say anything about them. they USED to be crap... seems like they swapped spaces with dell.

the amd turion is a single core 64-bit processor.
AMD Turionâ„¢ 64 Family





i still stand by my orig post as being the best bang for the buck.

the altech lansing speakers built into the front of is actually sound damn good too. so thats a big plus... no need for externals.

reikoshea

i forgot you had a turion...yeah, thats a cool chip.

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totalburnout

Lets compare that single core AMD chipset to the Intel® Core™ Duo Proc T2250.

I know AMDs are underclocked, but wouldn't it be a lesser chip simply because its a single core?

I can get a refurb'd/opened new system with 17in display, 80gb hd, 1gb ram, 128mb built in video, with the dual core 1.6ghz cpu for like ~$950 from dell.

totalburnout

I couldn't really find anything on NewEgg under Acer or HP.

Acer had one 17in system with a pentium chipset that was nice for $969, HP didn't have anything I was interested in with a 17in monitor. Most are 15.4in monitors.

I want the 17inch monitor so its easy viewing and I could watch movies and such and use the notebook as a desktop if i want to get a dock or something like that.