Laptop Recommendations?

[Tovor]

Hey Senators, I lost my job at the university. I've been job hunting and my resume was spotted on careerbuilder.com by a health insurance company. I've had 2 interviews with them and the job is mine if I take it, and I think that I am going to. I am going to need a laptop computer to take with me when I go to see clients. I've never liked using laptops but I have no choice so I need to find a good one and cheap too. There are plenty of laptops selling on Ebay (which I know thanks to Rollafett's suggestion), some from Ebay stores in unused condition. So once I know which one I want, or have a few choices, I'll try to find it on Ebay.

Do you use, or have any experience with laptops? If so, what do you recommend? What brand and model? Thanks.

Ugh. I forgot about this: http://www.galacticsenate.com/showthread.php?t=7691

[Jedi Master Harrison]

Do the company not provide the laptop?

What sort of software will you need to run on the laptop?

[Tovor]

Do the company not provide the laptop?

What sort of software will you need to run on the laptop?
No,
and I don't know yet. I'll have to ask when I go in to do the hiring paperwork today.

[Jedi Master Harrison]

Man, that is mean, surely if you need something for the purposes of your job the company should supply it! Is that common in the US?

But anyway, the software we use at work isn't that hi-tech, so we buy pretty basic laptops. I can find out what they are if you like, but I am sure there will be someone here who can help you who is more knowledgable about such things.

[Salacious Crumb]

Hi Tovor, sorry to hear about you losing your job and I am glad you have been offered a new one so quick.

I can recommend 'Acer' brand laptops. I think they are 3rd, behind the likes of Dell and Hewlett Packard - in terms of items sold. I believe they are most effective in terms of 'bang for your buck'. Although I am from the U.K. and we have to pay V.A.T tax on all items sold, so this may be of no consequence to you.

The only slight downside with them, is that the fascia around the keyboard does feel a little plasticy. I don't know if this is to make it light or to cut costs.

Are you going to be running many programs at once mate? If so, I would go for an Intel Dual Core Processor. I would not go for an AMD, as they are not so fast. Also Processors are the hardest things to replace on a laptop - so I have been told - things like memory and hard drive space can be easily slotted in and replaced. So if money is a concern you can upgrade these later.

If you could specify all the programs you will be running with it that will be helpful, so you are not sold a machine with too low or high a spec for your requirements.

If you are not going to be playing any games on it, then you don't have to worry so much about the graphics card that comes with the laptop. Although as a rule of thumb it is better to get a dedicated graphics card in the laptop than an 'integrated' one, as this draws power off of the Processor, so your programs will run slower.

Also, do you have to have Windows Vista as an Operating system? This is very power hungry. I would say you would need a minimum of 2 Gigs of RAM to get Vista to run properly; and do not let the salesman try and get you to get Windows Vista Basic - Home Premium would be a good version that usually gets shipped with most laptops here in the UK. Many old software and hardware items are not Vista capable yet as well. So it may be worth finding out if your old Printer for example has a driver for Vista (my one didn't) and I had to buy a new printer!

If you don't need Vista just yet, Windows XP Pro will be just fine and you can opt for a minimum of 1 Gig RAM to run your programs with a minimum of fuss.

Lastly, even though it is a laptop and obviously portability is key, do you need to always run off of the battery? I ask because normally the battery in a laptop runs down quicker than the manufacturer says it will - mine said it did 2 hours, when in actual fact it stated to fade in about an hour! If you need to run off of the battery try and get a 9 cell lithium-ion battery, as these are the most reliable. Most usually ship with a 4 and 6 cell one though, and drain very quickly. If on the other hand you will mostly plug directly into the mains power socket, then you will not need to worry about the battery power so much, and the default battery will probably be sufficient!

I hope this isn't too confusing, but please post more details of what you will mostly be using the laptop for and I can probably help you better - although I must point out I am by no means an IT professional, just an enthusiast :) and other people on the boards may be able to give better advice. It's just by 5 cents worth :wink:

[Cydon]

:yes:

I recommend the Dell XPS. Oh wait, thats a gaming laptop...

[Miasmo]

Lastly, even though it is a laptop and obviously portability is key, do you need to always run off of the battery? I ask because normally the battery in a laptop runs down quicker than the manufacturer says it will - mine said it did 2 hours, when in actual fact it stated to fade in about an hour! If you need to run off of the battery try and get a 9 cell lithium-ion battery, as these are the most reliable. Most usually ship with a 4 and 6 cell one though, and drain very quickly. If on the other hand you will mostly plug directly into the mains power socket, then you will not need to worry about the battery power so much, and the default battery will probably be sufficient!INDEED! The battery life on my laptop is the biggest set back. I need to replace it. It's a 6-cell Lithium Ion, and at first it lasted about 1 1/2 hours, now it's down to 45 minutes. I suggest larger than 6 if you can. Otherwise, you might want to shell out an extra 100 bucks or so for a backup battery to switch out.

[Kapit]

My two cents:

Stay away from Dell. They've got a bad vibe goin on. Also, stay away from Toshiba cause you pay for what you get. I've never played with an Acer before, but it always seemed to me to be a little on the cheap side

My family and I have never had problems with HP computers, and we've been buying them for years. The only time something went wrong was when I burned out my motherboard on my old laptop, so don't leave it on 24/7 :lol:

As has been stated already, battery life is a big deal breaker. You're gonna want a battery that can last you a long time. As to Vista, it's not really worth it at the moment, so do your best to stick with XP. Everyone will be happier in the end.


Hope this helps :)

[kopernikuz]

Agreed on Dell. I have several Dells (PCs and Laptops)... more out of opportunity (they approved my credit at the time) than desire. While the computers work fine and have given me no severe trouble, outside the normal realm of PC quirkiness, getting help from Dell has proved to be nothing but trouble.

I've no problem with outsourcing to other countries... but I do expect to be able to understand and be understood by the people who handle your customer service and support. I'm not trying to be rude, but dang... 5 out 7 people I talk to there cannot understand me and I can't understand them. I spend 30 minutes explaining my probs to someone only to find out it's a different department at another toll-free number with another person who doesn't speak my language. I literally spent four and a half hours one night resolving an issue with an order, on hold and transferring through eight different people and three different phone numbers.

Not cool.

If you're buying it used, you're probably not going to have to call Dell for support anyway... so on that hand, the computers themselves aren't bad.

Our most recent laptop purchased for my wife was an HP and it's doing fine so far.

Myself, I use both PC and Mac... but prefer Mac for my day to day and I've never had any issues versus several with my PCs. However, unless you're into graphic design, video, or creative avenues on the computer... there's no need to pony up for a Mac... invest in a good Virus scanner and make sure you're friends with someone who's IT friendly and you'll be fine :) For the kind of stuff you'll need it for (assuming because it's health insurance related) will be PC based anyway... but I still had to mention Mac, :P

[Miasmo]

While I haven't scoped out a whole lot of laptops, I will say that I've been pretty happy with my HP Pavilion ze2000 series for a couple years now. I haven't had any major problem with it hardware wise. I did recently have a nasty infection, but that was due to my own neglect.

Like I said, the battery is gonna have to be replaced, but other than that, I find it sufficient for browsing, mild graphic editing, general common software, music and even a bit of gaming.

I can play Jedi Academy on it if I turn all the settings down. :)

[Master Cephus]

Honestly Tover, asking what type of laptop to buy here is like asking everyone who their favorite college football team is...everyone thinks they have the right answer.

There are really 3 categories to look at: 1) High end 2) Business/moderate 3) low end/cheaper

If you plan on using Windows for this laptop and want Vista, you will have to kick #3 out the door. Personally, I use mine for actual business work, so category 2 works best for me.

Since I work at a University that has a contract with Dell, that's what I normally look at. I have had no trouble with support from them...but I know some have. You will find that exact same answer with any PC maker. Everyone is bound to be taken at some point.

Personally, I am really digging the Dell D620 (I think the new model is a D630). I just speced out one that is super fast for less than $1500 that included a 3 year support contract.

Of course someone is going to come in here and slam me because I like Dell, but oh well. It's brand loyalty.

[Kapit]

Honestly Tover, asking what type of laptop to buy here is like asking everyone who their favorite college football team is...everyone thinks they have the right answer.

There are really 3 categories to look at: 1) High end 2) Business/moderate 3) low end/cheaper

If you plan on using Windows for this laptop and want Vista, you will have to kick #3 out the door. Personally, I use mine for actual business work, so category 2 works best for me.

Since I work at a University that has a contract with Dell, that's what I normally look at. I have had no trouble with support from them...but I know some have. You will find that exact same answer with any PC maker. Everyone is bound to be taken at some point.

Personally, I am really digging the Dell D620 (I think the new model is a D630). I just speced out one that is super fast for less than $1500 that included a 3 year support contract.

Of course someone is going to come in here and slam me because I like Dell, but oh well. It's brand loyalty.



You like Dell?! YOU SUCK!


:lol: totally kidding!

[JediKeri]

I have an Acer Aspire, and it works great for my needs. It is NOT a gamming laptop, and you can get em at Wal-Mart for around
$450-650 rage. Depending on the memory and so forth. They've got XP on em, and some are upgradeable to Vista. I will warn you, they don't put any "extra's" on there. So you may have to purchase the 2007 Office like I did, just to get Word, Powerpoint, and Excell. And Tovor, since your gonna probably be roaming around with it, make sure you can pic up WiFi. Just make sure you got permissions set tight so hackers can't get into your comp. Oh, and if your bluetooth enabled, you still need the USB "radio".

Other than that, I really like my laptop. Espically the scrollbutton on the touchpad. :D

[Kapit]

Hey Tov, if you do buy a laptop with no frills, I can help you get the stuff that you might need...for cheap...or free...ya know :D

[leiaorgana]

I have an Acer Aspire and in less than 1 year I had loads of problems including motherboard so I would not recommend it, Dell I don't like how it works so I would go with HP or I don't know if you can get Fujitsu Siemens Amilo, I just bought myself a new one yesterday FS and it really works great.

ps: And I would avoid pc's with an AMD processor.

[Kapit]

don't avoid AMD, they're, IMO, better than intel. Sure, intel has the market share, but AMD has (usually) a quicker processor than intel does.

Let's put it this way:

Say Intel and AMD have their respective staircases. Intel's staircase has 300 steps, whereas AMD has 100. So, less steps to go up or down = faster processing

that, of course, only applies to comparable processors. obviously a dual core processor is faster than a single core processor

[leiaorgana]

^true! sorry I forgot I have a dual core :( don't slap me!

anyway.. have you decided yet Tov?

[RollaFett]

Ok, Tov just IM'd me and said he wanted me to provide input in this thread as well. Ok, here's my input, you putz. Why don't you provide a few details about what you need it for, and how much you can spend so you're not getting barraged with suggestions for $1500 laptops?
Ok, my input has concluded.


Oh, and I like Dell.

[Tovor]

Hey, you IM'd me shmuck, I was sleeping, remember?
I want to spend, honestly, no more than 300, and I really don't want to spend that much. There were a few you showed me on Ebay selling in the 2-250 range. And my friend Rachel said she got a new laptop for 200 via her nephew the computer nerd and she'll try to link me to her source ASAP.
I want to be able to take it on location with me, to client's homes, so having a battery that keeps its charge is important. I'm going to need to carry product and business information stored, so it will need a lot of memory. I won't be playing games with it, or anything else like that. And that's all I can think of as yet. I don't quite know what programs I will need with it, yet.

What kind of Dell, dude?

[RollaFett]

I only mention Dell because it's the laptop my current job issued to me, and it seems to do a fine job. That said, I don't worry about the battery too much because I'm always at a desk and plugged in. However, it does last about 2.5 - 3 hours on a full charge.
It's a Latitude D505...putz.

[JediKeri]

The Battery that came with my Acer lasts roughly 2 hours. If you get the right equipment, you will be able to charge your computer in your vehicle. And it's not that expensive to do so. My dad's work also uses Acer and the current laptop he's had going on 3 years. I think Leia just got a bad comp. :D

Check out www.walmart.com (http://www.walmart.com) if your source doesn't work out for you. Or any store. (I'm such a putz...I don't work for them anymore and I still say to go there.) :giveup:

[leiaorgana]

^ could be that your right.. maybe it was just bad luck.. who knows? :giveup:

[Tovor]

Thanks for the advice, info, and feedback, everyone. I'm still going to need it eventually, but for now, I backed off of the insurance job and I'll be looking for a differant job before I go down that route. So I won't be selling insurance for quite some time, as it stands now.

[Tovor]

I'm back on the market for the laptop that I thought I wasn't going to need after all. Ugh. I have to get one ASAP now, and my finances are not where I wish they were right now. :banghead:

[Sargoth]

If money is the key issue, buy secondhand. Look on places like ebay, craigslist, etc. Or, you might even have a local business that deals in older hardware.

[JediKeri]

Hehe, have you seen the new MacBook Air??

[Tovor]

Hehe, have you seen the new MacBook Air??
Is that the one that is super thin? I saw an advert for it the other day. Most impressive.

[Tovor]

If money is the key issue, buy secondhand. Look on places like ebay, craigslist, etc. Or, you might even have a local business that deals in older hardware.
Indeed, eBay is where I will be looking as soon as the funds become available (possibly by next week.). There is an eBay seller who deals in computers, who was recommended by a co-worker. All of his units come with a 6 month warrantee, too, so that is reassuring as far as trusting his products.

[RollaFett]

Oh? Please give me the info on this seller as well, would you?