question for the masses

[madbaker]

For various reasons (including domestic tranquility) we're looking at getting a laptop PC. Nothing fancy - the rough equivalent of what you'd send your kid off to college with.

Any suggestions? Companies / brands to avoid?
Thanks.

Comments

[mastersantiago.livejournal.com]

Okay, I just bought my new Dell Laptop, and although I did have problems with the customer service end of things during the order process (detailed in earlier LJ posts), the machine itself is excellent.

My specific laptop is about as high end as you can get and it is meant to be a desktop replacement system, so that may be more then you want to do.

But for what it's worth, the refurbished Dell laptop that I bought just before we all went to Austin is still working just fine, though about ready to be retired now that I have the new system.

So I definitely recommend Dell systems. If you are looking a little lower end, then look at the Inspiron systems.

[helblonde.livejournal.com]

I have an Acer TravelMate 4200, which I'm happy with. It runs everything I need it to run, and has no problem doing the photo editing and desktop publishing that I do.

[shutt3rg33k.livejournal.com]

I'm chiming in for the Acers. I have a TM 800 series that has lasted almost 5 years with minimal issues (the mousepad died early on and in its 4th year the screen accrued a lovely purple tint) but it is powerful enough to play WoW on...

[kahnegabs.livejournal.com]

I truly love my MacBook Pro.

It does everything I want it to do. It's fast. Wireless connections are really easy, easy on the eyes and fun to use. I've had it for about a year now, and never had any problems with the old Mac laptop either, in the 5 years I used it. Now my granddaughter is using the old one. My only reason to replace it was that i wanted more disk space because of all the pictures, movies and artwork I put on it.

I buy my computers at the Apple Store, and find their service people knowledgeable, quick and very helpful.

re: question for the masses

[nitnorth.livejournal.com]

We got hyla_regilla a mac laptop, and she's been very happy with it: doesn't require much technical savvy to use (which is important for her) and happily interacts with the house Mac for nightly backups.

I'm told about Dell that if you get one of their machines, take care to choose a model that has been on the market more than 6 months, then check the returns rate. They apparently do really well on some models, and really not well on others, so it's wise to let someone else be the early adopter.

-- Nitnorth

[goldenstag.livejournal.com]

Toshiba is pretty good. Look at making sure you get enough RAM, though. Some models don't come with much ... (2048 MB ram is good ... larger the hard drive the better, too, but that starts adding up)

[maestrateresa.livejournal.com]

I'm very fond of my Toshiba :)

[fionnbharro.livejournal.com]

I've had my eye on the HP Pavilion dv6500t for a while now. All's I need is the cash and it's mine.

Have you been to http://www.notebookreview.com/ Yet?

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I've been pleased with the Dell Latitude. Right now I have a D620, though I've used other models and been pleased with them.

[shadowwalkyr.livejournal.com]

Except for their printers, HP (http://www.hp.com) is something to avoid. Printers are their core comptency, and they're not that good at much else. You might get something decent, but potluck is not what you want to take with a large purchase.

I do, however, recommend their printers.

[blkeagl.livejournal.com]

I've a 6 year old Dell that still runs great (if slow).

I also have had a plethora of Dell machines over the last 15(?) years via my various jobs and they have always been the most reliable (with occasional issues naturally) of the various machines I've used except perhaps for my current IBM/Lenovo laptop.

[deathbytamarind.livejournal.com]

I've only owned one laptop but my Dell is about the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I bought the B150 model that started at $499 and added stuff on to it to make it exactly what I needed.

Dell is great because you can go inexpensive or expensive and still get a decent to great laptop. I haven't had to use their customer service yet because I haven't had any problems since buying my laptop in early 2006.

So yes. Dell.