Anybody Here Buy A Laptop Recently?

[Caladan 19]

In my experience HP has been better than Dell, at least in terms of laptops. But doesn't Costco have some sort of nice deal where you can return pretty much anything in pretty much any condition? And cheaper? That might be a good way to go.

[mawilson 2,133]

so compaqs are not good ?? .. just curious..

They are all the same, Marilyn. All made in China, same factory.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

In my experience HP has been better than Dell, at least in terms of laptops. But doesn't Costco have some sort of nice deal where you can return pretty much anything in pretty much any condition? And cheaper? That might be a good way to go.

Yes, they have a 90 day return policy and a 2 year warranty on all their televisions and computers. Costco's HP dv6700t is nearly identical in terms of features to the one in Circuit City, except it's RAM is 2GB instead of 3GB, but $150 less. I think I'll go with the one from Costco. Thanks for the help.

HP dv6700t 15.4"

T5550 1.83GHz 2GB DDR2

160GB HDD

Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG

Integrated Microphone

$699.99

Item # 298471

Shipping & Handling included

Edited May 5, 2008 by Jabberwocky

[peejay 327]

I just bought a Dell XPS M1530 back in January to replace my 8 year old Dell Inspiron. It has all the features I was looking for in a laptop. I opted for the higher resolution screen. Other than that, I didn't get any other options. It comes well equiped to do what I need to do.

My only 2 complaints:

1) I had to get Windows Vista. Windows XP was not offered as an option. Vista isn't terrible, but I prefer XP.

2) The DVD player/burner sucks. It is supposed to be a dual layer DVD burner, but so far I haven't been able to successfully burn a dual layer DVD with it. It reads them OK, but won't burn them successfully. It does burn the single layer DVD's OK. The DVD player/burner is the weakest link in an otherwise great machine.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I just bought a Dell XPS M1530 back in January to replace my 8 year old Dell Inspiron. It has all the features I was looking for in a laptop. I opted for the higher resolution screen. Other than that, I didn't get any other options. It comes well equiped to do what I need to do.

My only 2 complaints:

1) I had to get Windows Vista. Windows XP was not offered as an option. Vista isn't terrible, but I prefer XP.

2) The DVD player/burner sucks. It is supposed to be a dual layer DVD burner, but so far I haven't been able to successfully burn a dual layer DVD with it. It reads them OK, but won't burn them successfully. It does burn the single layer DVD's OK. The DVD player/burner is the weakest link in an otherwise great machine.

I always had problems with my DVD/CD player on my Dell Inspiron. Back when I bought it, I needed a decent graphics card and memory for the type of work I do, but the standard laptops of today can easily handle graphic applications such as 3DS Max and Maya and for a fraction of the cost. I just don't see the point in buying a top-of-the-line notebook for a couple of grand that will be outdated within a couple of years.

[aidan80 9]

I totally agree with mawilson!.. Unfortunately they really are all made in Asia by no name companies that most people never hear of.. that brand them for the big name companies you do hear about. Chipsets/Motherboard designs all essentially the same within the same segment with some customized/modified BIOS'.

I did however manage to find a decent deal (although this was last year) on NewEgg! I got a fairly basic laptop for my wife as a birthday present. It has the following:

Dual Core T2080 (1.75Ghz) Intel Processor

1GB DDR 533 RAM (Added an additional 1GB for $35)

Dual Layer DVD Burner

80GB Hard Disk (Can be upgraded for little $$)

VIA Chrome9 IGP 64MB

VIA Audio

802.11b/g ($hite, installed external USB adapter)

Vista Home "Basic" (Replaced with XP in part due to GPU/VPU)

All in all it came to a whopping big $499 + shipping. Not a bad deal at the time.. at the minute I've seen this going on NewEgg it was $649 last time I checked, they sometimes up and down the prices.. keep an eye on it!! I have to admit it does look quite tasty for the price!

I suppose at the end of the day with any product it depends on your budget and what you want to do on it! I normally go mid to low range on the price then add the extras myself if needed.

Good Luck!!

Edited May 6, 2008 by aidan80

[damulag 26]

How about this one, I have been looking at the other Asus laptops with the same card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16834220331

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Well I ended up getting a Toshiba Satellite A305 - 17.1" Wide screen from Circuit City.

I told the salesman I wanted an Intel processor (runs cooler - more efficient...longer battery life), lots of RAM and decent graphics card.

I ended up spending a bit more than I wanted to, but for the kind of programs I run (3DS Max, Maya, After Effects, Premiere), I needed more than the business type laptops that Costco offers.

Link

Intel Core 2 Duo T5550

3GB of DDR2 memory

320GB hard drive

Built-in 802.11abgn wireless

Video card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470

It's a beautiful machine...built in wireless. One of the coolest features - there's a keypad! Hope this one will last me as long as my old Dell Inspiron.

[aidan80 9]

How about this one, I have been looking at the other Asus laptops with the same card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16834220331

That does look good but do you really want to spend another $400 for a bigger CPU and graphics card? It does depend on your needs, if you need to edit/encode video or if you want to play games then I suppose it would work. If you plan on just surfing the web and pulling up the odd word document then it's over kill. There is never any sense in buying a sports car if you don't plan on driving it fast

[one...two...tree 2,762]

How about this one, I have been looking at the other Asus laptops with the same card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16834220331

That does look good but do you really want to spend another $400 for a bigger CPU and graphics card? It does depend on your needs, if you need to edit/encode video or if you want to play games then I suppose it would work. If you plan on just surfing the web and pulling up the odd word document then it's over kill. There is never any sense in buying a sports car if you don't plan on driving it fast

I'm a 3D animator.

[aidan80 9]

Well I ended up getting a Toshiba Satellite A305 - 17.1" Wide screen from Circuit City.

I told the salesman I wanted an Intel processor (runs cooler - more efficient...longer battery life), lots of RAM and decent graphics card.

I ended up spending a bit more than I wanted to, but for the kind of programs I run (3DS Max, Maya, After Effects, Premiere), I needed more than the business type laptops that Costco offers.

Link

Intel Core 2 Duo T5550

3GB of DDR2 memory

320GB hard drive

Built-in 802.11abgn wireless

Video card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470

It's a beautiful machine...built in wireless. One of the coolest features - there's a keypad! Hope this one will last me as long as my old Dell Inspiron.

That is nice, very nice it is as you said a beautiful machine. I'm sure your on board wireless will be a lot better than mine. Congratulations

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Well I ended up getting a Toshiba Satellite A305 - 17.1" Wide screen from Circuit City.

I told the salesman I wanted an Intel processor (runs cooler - more efficient...longer battery life), lots of RAM and decent graphics card.

I ended up spending a bit more than I wanted to, but for the kind of programs I run (3DS Max, Maya, After Effects, Premiere), I needed more than the business type laptops that Costco offers.

Link

Intel Core 2 Duo T5550

3GB of DDR2 memory

320GB hard drive

Built-in 802.11abgn wireless

Video card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470

It's a beautiful machine...built in wireless. One of the coolest features - there's a keypad! Hope this one will last me as long as my old Dell Inspiron.

That is nice, very nice it is as you said a beautiful machine. I'm sure your on board wireless will be a lot better than mine. Congratulations

Thanks. I just bought a Linksys router - my first time with actually going wireless at home.

[Heracles 417]

Thanks. I just bought a Linksys router - my first time with actually going wireless at home.

Highly recommend enabling wap2 encryption. As well as MAC address based access only.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Thanks. I just bought a Linksys router - my first time with actually going wireless at home.

Highly recommend enabling wap2 encryption. As well as MAC address based access only.

Why?

[Heracles 417]

Thanks. I just bought a Linksys router - my first time with actually going wireless at home.

Highly recommend enabling wap2 encryption. As well as MAC address based access only.

Why?

So none accesses your network. WAP2 AES is the best encryption and ensures your data is secure from eavesdropping. MAC address filtering ensures only approved devices can try to log onto the router.