Laptop Recommendations

[ma-skis.com]

I believe as things go with anyone who knows something about computers, my family has asked me to pick out a new laptop for them, one for my sister and one for my dad. Since I've been on a mac for the last 3 years, I find myself in the precarious position of knowing nothing about pc laptops and what brands I should steer clear of or move towards... I do remember being partial to the toshiba satellite series, but just wanted to float this out to the cp community for some opinions.

no gaming, some heavy database type work, should have a digital video out so they can use there fancy new laptops with there fancy new tvs.

Thoughts?

[wooohooo]

I'm no computer technie but from my experience - Dell makes some decent laptops if you're on a budget... their XPS aren't too bad either. Their laptops used to be hideous but now they look really good. LG and Samsung laptops look awesome but I haven't tried them out yet but heard good things about them.

I have a Lenovo T61, it's a little bulky and heavy but it works pretty well so far. A couple girls think it is from the ice ages from its aesthetics but if you don't care about that, it's built pretty solid.

The brand I can't stand is Toshiba. They played around with their keyboard and now I have a hard time typing with them.

[photon]

Macbook and Macbook Pro.. no reason not to, if they absolutely MUST have Windows for some strange reason then put windows on them I guess, but hardware wise there's little else out there that compares.

[InSutterWeTrust]

Not sure what kind of budget you are looking at, but we just picked this laptop up the other day. Seems pretty good, it has HDMI output so we can hook it up to the tv and it has a blu ray player built in which is handy.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...id=EN&dm=DEBUG

[ma-skis.com]

Originally Posted by photon

Macbook and Macbook Pro.. no reason not to, if they absolutely MUST have Windows for some strange reason then put windows on them I guess, but hardware wise there's little else out there that compares.

I think since my sister is getting work to pitch for some of it she'll go this route, but dad is seriously considering that vaio with the blu-ray, thanks all.

any thoughts on HP laptops in general btw?

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by ma-skis.com

I think since my sister is getting work to pitch for some of it she'll go this route, but dad is seriously considering that vaio with the blu-ray, thanks all.

any thoughts on HP laptops in general btw?

I bought my girlfriend an HP for christmas. Its amazing, I'm a big build it yourself desktop guy and we've found its great. Only complaint is the weird left hand shift key is shrunk down. Overall I definitely recommend keeping HP in mind when purchasing.

[wooohooo]

If anything if you go with HP, make sure you don't get the low end stuff. A bunch of my friends (me included) purchased these low end $700-800 hp computers. 3 years later, none of us still have it.

Mine overheated, 2 of my friends screens have these weird different colored lines on them and would cost over $200 to replace, and the last friends fan is about to overheat as it has melted a plastic table and the fan is in over drive. The higher end HP's that some people I know have seem to be okay.

I'm not a fan of Compaqs/HP and Toshiba. Toshiba mainly because of their odd keyboard.

[wooohooo]

Macs are great computers but not for the price. But if it is compensated, I would probably get one of those.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

If anything if you go with HP, make sure you don't get the low end stuff. A bunch of my friends (me included) purchased these low end $700-800 hp computers. 3 years later, none of us still have it.

Mine overheated, 2 of my friends screens have these weird different colored lines on them and would cost over $200 to replace, and the last friends fan is about to overheat as it has melted a plastic table and the fan is in over drive. The higher end HP's that some people I know have seem to be okay.

I'm not a fan of Compaqs/HP and Toshiba. Toshiba mainly because of their odd keyboard.

I had an HP, lasted a year before HD failure. I went through so many PC's before I got my Mac, never will I switch again.

[Rathji]

For entry level laptops Dell is generally your most economical choice. On occasion certain models will be overpriced compared to what others offer, but usually you get the most bang for your buck with Dell on laptops < $600. Higher end models you have a few choices in my experience.

The mid range Toshiba Satellite laptops I have worked on have been top notch. You can feel the quality compared to the entry level Dells. My little brother had his Satelite for 5 years before it started to have problems with the power. He sent it to me so I could fix it ( power plug on mobo needs to be replaced) , and even at 5 years old I was impressed at the quality of the machine.

Just last week a lady at work brought her Toshiba laptop in for me to upgrade to Windows 7, and I was very impressed as well. As I recall, it was this 18 inch model for $750. There is a comparable 16 inch model as well if size is a concern. The 18 inch model was pretty light though, I was quite surprised.

Macs are clearly another option as well. Especially if work is footing some of the bill. It will cost alot more than the Toshiba though, and from the sounds of it you are not in need of a top of the line machine. Macs do make a good value, but only if you need what they offer. Most users, especially if it is for typical 3W use by a casual user(Web, Word, and Wacking) do not demand the power that a Mac offers so the price paid.

Stay away from Vaio's IMHO. I have family that bought a Vaio desktop and laptop machines and both were far overpriced for their specs and neither could be considered anything more than entry level machines.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

There's a thread on RedFlagDeals about really good discounts on Lenovos. My dad tasked me with getting him a good inexpensive laptop to give to my mother for Christmas and that's what I got.

[JustAnotherGuy]

Just go to Bestbuy and get any laptop that fits your price range. That is what I do and I have no complaints. If you have a Bestbuy card you can spread the payments over three months at no extra charge.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

If anything if you go with HP, make sure you don't get the low end stuff. A bunch of my friends (me included) purchased these low end $700-800 hp computers. 3 years later, none of us still have it.

Mine overheated, 2 of my friends screens have these weird different colored lines on them and would cost over $200 to replace, and the last friends fan is about to overheat as it has melted a plastic table and the fan is in over drive. The higher end HP's that some people I know have seem to be okay.

I'm not a fan of Compaqs/HP and Toshiba. Toshiba mainly because of their odd keyboard.

Then I'm glad I spent more than I originally intended. I didnt want the low end one after looking at the specs so I splurged and got a mid range one with decent hardware.

[JerzeeGirl]

I've had my Toshiba Satellite (http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/tosh...-33138223.html) for over a year and love it - it's actually replaced the desktop that I'd bought just over a year before that. It's a little heavy at 6lbs to carry around but it's a great laptop and does well at multi-tasking thatnks to the dual-cores and 4GB memory. I download torrents, stream media etc and have no probs at all. I bought it last year for $699 - this year's models are even cheaper I bet.

[badnarik]

Lenovo thinkpad t400s is a great machine.

[tripin_billie]

Asus Ul30vt

Switchable graphics, 12 hour battery life, all in a 13 inch package and at $799 (USD) at Amazon.