Help needed from Windows folks (laptops)

1. The only thing I will say with respect to this is I have had 2 Dell laptops and they have performed well.

2. Based on my experience, I have upgraded the hard drive and memory in my old Dell. It was a snap. I also had a swappable floppy, cd burner, DVD player. My current Dell does not have a swappable cd/dvd drive, but again, if I wanted to upgrade the hard drive or memory it would be easy. Do your research and ask your salesperson if the particular model can be expanded.

3. I use EZ Armor for virus protection and it seems to work well. You can get a free year by going to:

http://store.ca.com/dr/v2/ec_main.e...lient=ComputerAssociates&sid=55939&CID=190471

In addition, there are other free anti-virus packages that I suspect others may post about. You can always google.

 

IBM Thinkpads are about as rock solid as it gets, but they tend to cost more than other brands. If money is not an object then that is what I would go with. We use Dell's at work and the newer models are actually pretty good. If you are on a budget then a Dell would be a great choice.

As far as expandibility, that's not something I've ever been too concerned with when looking at laptops. Buy a system that has what you want to start with. You can always do things like beef up the memory and/or hard drive down the line.

I use AntiVir for virus protection. It's free and works great.
http://www.free-av.com/

 

IBM Thinkpad is the only way to go. I am a killer of laptops. But the IBM thinkpad never fails me. It's like it has some kind of survival mode no matter what the situation.

 

stay away from compaq or hp unless you get the warranty,

go with sony or toshiba(who i hate) or averatec(cheap and pretty good stuff)


as for virus protection and all that good stuff
http://www.download.com/1200-20-5150080.html?tag=fea_txt

for free

and definately, use firefox

 

Didn't Thinkpad get bought out by levano? Are you sure you still want to buy a thinkpad?

 

Sony VAIO

or

Toshiba Sattelite





(but I have an upgraded Gateway)

 

You want the best, IBM is the way to go for laptops..

You want the best price, Dell is the way to go for laptops..

You want the best packaging, Gatway is the way to go for laptops..

 

a friend of mine who's in the laptop business told me that he would pick IBM to be the best laptop maker, they do generally cost more b/c they're targeting business and educational users. Even though IBM never have the lastest designs or features, but they're reliable and general tasks performances are good. Sony, Toshiba, and Dell would be second. Sony and Toshiba b/c of their designs and somewhat reliability, and Dell b/c of their price (you do have to shop around) and functionality... and then there's everything else....

 

I have a Sony and an IBM, and the IBM blows the Sony away.

Course, I just heard yesterday that you can get a Dell laptop for $499, and that's hard to ignore.

 

I've researched laptops for so many people (and myself), and here is my brand advice..

IBM is at the top. They lead in basically every category--but they blow the others away in sturdiness.

Toshiba, Sony are on the next level. However, I believe these are too expensive for what you get. I think you should either spend approx. the same amt for the IBM or move down in price.

Dell, Compaq, HP (a newcomer to this part of the list) goes here. HP and Compaq still produce separate lines, but since the merger, HP's quality has improved to that of Compaq. If you're buying in this price range, *prior to this year* I would have said go with a Compaq. However, Dell has made enormous strides in their laptop production, and going with many of their newer models would be the smartest buy amongst the budgets on this list now.



So I guess what I'm saying is:

1) IBM
2) Dell
3) Compaq/HP
4) Sony/Toshiba

And move Dell to #1 if cost is a primary concern