I am not a computer expert by any means, but am about to purchase a notebook as my current computer is old (3+ years) and annoying slow. I've decided to go with a portable "desktop replacement", if you will. Consumerreports ranks them like so: WINDOWS LAPTOPS 1 Toshiba Satellite 5205-S503 Excellent overall, with the best sound we’ve heard in a laptop. 7.7 lb. Full-featured modular design. 512 MB RAM. 40-GB hard drive. Remote control. High-speed USB-2 ports. Weight-saver can replace a drive. Slot for "SD" memory card. Can play music CD with unit turned off. Back connectors protected when not in use. Specific button must be pressed to exit standby mode. Bottom becomes uncomfortably hot when using AC power. 2 Gateway 600 Excellent overall, and full featured. 8 lb. Large modular design. 64 MB video RAM. Can play music CD with unit turned off. Battery has charge indicator on cell. Optical digital-audio output. Owner’s manual better than most. Arms may cover speakers while typing. You must restore OS, drivers, and applications separately. Now sold with 512 MBof RAM, but the tested model had 256 MB. 3 Sony Vaio PCG-GRX600 Excellent overall, with big, sharp screen. 8.2 lb. Large modular design. Wider viewing angle than most. Weight-saver can replace a drive. Slot for Sony Memory Stick cards. Back connectors protected when not in use. No microphone or provision for internal wireless-network adapter. Keys noisier than most while typing. Does not include full application software suite. 4 Compaq Presario 1520US Very good overall, and among the lightest models. 7.3 lb. All-in-one design with economical desktop processor. 512 MB RAM. 40-GB hard drive. S-video connector. Back connectors protected when not in use. High-speed USB-2 ports. Desktop Pentium shortens battery life. Owner’s manual not as good as most. Fan noisier than most. Bottom becomes uncomfortably hot when using AC power. Limited availability in stores. 5 HP Pavilion ze4000 Very good overall, and among the lightest models. 7.3 lb. Compact, all-in-one design. S-video connector. Charge indicator on battery. WordPerfect Office. Owner’s manual better than most. Specific button must be pressed to exit standby. No microphone. Can’t restore applications individually. Mouse button hard to locate by feel. 6 IBM ThinkPad A31 Very good overall, with businesslike profile. 7.5 lb. Modular design. Exceptionally wide viewing angle. Stick-type pointing device. S-video connector. Weight-saver can replace a drive. Comes with Lotus SmartSuite. Lacks antivirus protection. No FireWire port. Specific button must be pressed to exit standby. No CDs for system and application restore (can restore from hard drive only). 7 Dell Inspiron 8200 Very good overall. 8 lb. Has both pad- and stick-type pointing devices. Front-mounted modular bay in addition to combo drive. S-video connector. Charge indicator on battery. Removable PC-card slot fillers that can get lost. Must restore OS, drivers, and applications separately. Bottom becomes uncomfortably hot when using AC power. 8 Gateway 400 Very good overall, and among the lightest models. 7.2 lb. All-in-one design. Desktop Pentium requires larger battery (supplied). Owner’s manual better than most. Fan noisier than most. Arms may cover speakers while typing. Must restore OS, drivers, and applications separately. No microphone. MACINTOSH LAPTOP 9 Apple iBook 800 Combo Excellent overall, and the lightest model we tested. 5.9 lb. Compact, sleek all-in-one with no diskette drive. Uses 800-MHz Power PC G3 processor. Charge indicator on battery. Comes with AppleWorks. Owner’s manual better than most. No PC-card slots, keyboard control panel, hard-drive activity light, antivirus protection, separate standby button, or docking-station plug. That in mind, the following looks liek a good deal, especially since it is a necessity that I have Professional software, ala Excel, Word, Powerpoint, and also a necessity that I have the wireless "modem". http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=104619 Anyone who knows any more, or if I can get a better deal on a similar computer somewhere, please let me know. Thanks.
I have a Toshiba S103 and think its awesome. Its below the standards I wanted to be (1.5G Celeron, 256Mem, 20 gig HD) but I cant stay away from it.
First suggestion : Don't rely on consumer reports for much of anything, especially PC-related ratings.
Except for car reliability ratings. If I had listened to them, I wouldn't have bought my wife that piece of crap VW. Dell machines are the cheapest especially if you buy it through the small business group and get a coupon from ebates.com. I think they have a 15% off coupon there right now through Dell Small business. I'm partial to IBM laptops because I like their keyboards but Dell has the best the support.
