Buying a new Laptop. Which would you buy?

[jolinar of malkshor]

I have to go to Quebec for 3 months for work starting in Feb and I decided I need to have a computer while I am out there. I don't want to spend over $1000 on a laptop.

Between these two units which one would you buy?

http://www.thesourcecc.com/estore/Pr...roduct=2515858

or

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...10081864&catid=

The biggest difference I can see between the two is the video card, hard drive size and monitor size. Everthing else is pretty much the same.

Does anyone know which video card is better?

Thanks for the help.

[fanforever1986]

www.apple.com


sorry, i can't resist.

[TheDragon]

Comparing the specs, I'd go with Option B.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

I have to go to Quebec for 3 months for work starting in Feb and I decided I need to have a computer while I am out there. I don't want to spend over $1000 on a laptop.

Between these two units which one would you buy?

http://www.thesourcecc.com/estore/Pr...roduct=2515858

or

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...10081864&catid=

The biggest difference I can see between the two is the video card, hard drive size and monitor size. Everthing else is pretty much the same.

Does anyone know which video card is better?

Thanks for the help.

These are English computers and won't work in Quebec.


J/K
Does the HP have built in wi-fi? I would lean more towards the Acer and bump up the ram. If you play games, the HP would be better.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Barnes

These are English computers and won't work in Quebec.


J/K
Does the HP have built in wi-fi? I would lean more towards the Acer and bump up the ram. If you play games, the HP would be better.

Is that because of the video card? Do you know what the difference is?

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Is that because of the video card? Do you know what the difference is?

Whoops, my bad. They are both integrated chipsets. I thought the HP had a video card.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Barnes

Whoops, my bad. They are both integrated chipsets. I thought the HP had a video card.

So which integrated video is better?

[Top Shelf]

I usually don't recommend Dell hardware after working with it for 5 years, but there is a pretty dam good deal on a Dell Inspiron 640m laptop.

Here's the link

Pretty decent price for a dual core laptop, 512 ram, 80 gb hard drive, decent screen, check it out.

cheers,

TS

[jolinar of malkshor]

Thanks TS

[FlamesKickAss]

i like this one, a guy I work with just got this and he says its pretty good

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...gon=&langid=EN

[housejunk]

Originally Posted by Top Shelf

I usually don't recommend Dell hardware after working with it for 5 years, but there is a pretty dam good deal on a Dell Inspiron 640m laptop.

Here's the link

Pretty decent price for a dual core laptop, 512 ram, 80 gb hard drive, decent screen, check it out.

cheers,

TS

Agreed. I'm not a huge Dell guy either, but I got the 640m as a secondary laptop since it was so cheap. I paid 900 for mine last month, and its a little more refined. 1 GB of ram, 120 Gb hard drive. I've had a few different laptops, and I'd say this one hasn't dissapointed me at all.

[JackJack]

I would also hafta agree. My Dell XPS m1210 is wonderful, just got it a few weeks ago. Although it is a bit more than 1000, I wouldnt be surprised to see the 640m be a very strong laptop as well.

One thing I would do option wise for that, would be to upgrade to that 9cell battery. Totally worth the money.

However, if you do plan to order from Dell, give yourself at least 1.5 weeks to get it.

[mykalberta]

IMHO I would stay far far far far away from Acer.

If I were you I would try to pick up a budget Dell. Just remember that with the 1K budge any notebook you buy will likely be useless in 2 years (bettery will likely lose enough charge you will constantly need to plug it in).

MYK

[vanisleflamesfan]

In my opinion (which might not be worth much in this matter) I would spend a touch more and go with a Toshiba. I have had mine for a few years now and have had no problems (the battery is still solid). I don't think I would ever go with any other brand (but again, just my opinion - take it or leave it).

[ken0042]

I would echo what has been said here; go with a Toshiba if you can, or Dell if budget is your driving factor.

One further consideration- I just upgraded my laptop and found a new problem; the screen is too big. How is that possible? Well, I have now found that when I want to use it on an airplane, to get it open far enough to get the right contrast to watch a movie, I have to have it imbedded into the seat in front of me. And if the guy in front of me decides to recline the seat, something could go snap.

Not sure if that's a factor or not.

[@theCBE]

From the ones you have shown I would go with the Acer. My brother, my g/f and myself have all bought acer laptops this summer from memory express and they are great.. haven't had a single problem with any of them.. I would check there if you are going to buy an acer as they most likely have one in your price range and it will likely be about $50 cheaper than the same thing at futureshop

Just taking a quick look at the Dell site and they have a decent one for under $1000.
http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/prod...HS1&l=en&s=dhs

The core duo processor and extra video card memory will make it easier to run vista in the future.. i dunno how easy it is to upgrade the ram on a dell

[Burninator]

Whichever computer you go with my advice would to not go lower than 1GB of ram. Anything less you'll have little hope playing games or doing other high graphics work.

[MarchHare]

If I was buying a new laptop today, I wouldn't even consider anything other than a MacBook Pro. It's got great specs, and when you install Boot Camp on it and you can run both OS X and Windows XP, giving you the best of both worlds.

[bluejays]

After much ranting about Futureshop, my sister needed a laptop and wanted one pretty fast (within the day), so I helped her look for one and found one for an alright price (I did say I would not buy from Futureshop in the near future, but I didn't say others close to me wouldn't . Anyway, here's the one that she got. I thought it was a good deal, and I've always liked Toshiba when it came to laptops. The 640m that others posted was another really really good bang for buck deal too, and that was one of my considerations, but it would take a week to get it which was not viable at the time. In addition to the pricetag for the 640m, you can find some nice coupons on redflagdeals to go with it. It was up there a week and a half back...check out that site too.

[Vulcan]

Here's a thread about Acer bugging their laptops.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=56150