I'm going to be needing a new laptop for the online Masters cours I am taking. Does anyone have any advice in choosing a laptop. Is there anything I need to stay away from, and anything that is a must have. This will be going on my student loan, and I want to keep the price around 1k, but have a 17 inch screen. What is the most reliable brand...Dell, Sony, Toshiba, HP?
Do you plan on taking your laptop everyday for school? If so, I would suggest in not getting a 17 inch, its pretty big to be lugging around all day. I just started Law school and did a ton of research on laptops. I bought a HP Pavillion and got a really good deal, but it ended up completely breaking on me after 2 weeks. I returned it and decided to get a Vaio, even though it was a little pricey, I have no complaints. Dell has pretty good deals on their laptops as well.
I'll be in an online course, so I will mostly work from home, but I will need to take it with me occasionally.
Dell is having a clearance on Latitudes. http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/dec_blank_page?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
just picked up the oldest girl a Toshiba laptop for Christmas for right at 1K got a 17" widescreen with a built-in ten-key It looks really nice and hasnt been a problem so far, my Toshiba laptop also has been trouble free for right at a year now. Toshibas seem to be pretty good for the money.
a ten key built in!! Then I could do work on it.. call it a business expense. Wonder if work would go for it.
The 17-inch laptops are pretty nice, because they have fullsize keyboards. I greatly enjoy that aspect. People on this board seem to like Dell... but I've had nothing but bad experiences with them. I favor HPs. If you're not going to be doing anything really system-intensive with it (video editing, gaming, etc.), then I'd say this might suit your fancy: HP dv9610. If you want something a little nicer, try customizing one of the newer models yourself.
WINNER!!! I just need my student loan to come in now...and I have about 2k left over or unforseen expenses or to put back into the loan...
Just a warning - I do side jobs on laptops and far and away the most laptops I see die before their lifespan is over are HPs. If you get one, get the manufacturer warranty for at least 3 years. This goes with any laptop.
Can't say I'm surprised. The last 2 laptops I've had were HP's and both died in about 1.5 years. I'm never looking back. I've got a cheap Gateway laptop ($500) and a Macbook...I'll probably get the AppleCare warranty before the deadline. I can't stomach another broken/major repair cost.
As someone who works for HP, in the notebooks group, no less, I'm sorry for your troubles. However, if you think this is just an HP problem, you need to open your eyes, because frankly, every OEM has troubles. For instance, my wife has had 3 Dell laptops in 5 years. She never moves them, yet they STILL keep dying on her. I myself have gone through 2 IBM batteries in 2 years with my tablet. Plus, I had to send my tablet back to IBM support for stupid hardware fixes, like a cracked chassis and a broken latch. Oh, and if I update any IBM ThinkVantage software on my computer, I get a BSOD, can't boot into Windows, and have to roll back using Rescue and Support. (Thanks, IBM/Lenovo.) See? I can play that game, too.
As a guy whose job is fixing computers, my perception is that you probably hear about an HP dying more often because they're considered to be more reliable, hence HP buyers are less likely to bother with a warranty. Dell's strategy is to give you crap to begin with, but give you an awesome warranty. They may break all the time, but people just have Dell send them a replacement. Again, maybe that's a regional phenomenon or something... but I currently have an HP dv9000t 17-inch laptop... customized $1900 model, no warranty. Had it for over a year now, and no problems whatsoever. My previous one was a store-bought HP laptop... sold it for $400 to a friend, and it's still running fine (going for 5 years). The hard drive failed on that one once, but that was it. $80 replacement... no big deal.
Hey, I wasn't trying to make a personal attack or anything, just offering my own personal experiences. I thought the first failure was an anomaly and gave HP another shot. But you know how the saying goes, '...fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...' You can't blame me for trying something new can you?
Absolutely. We have three Toshiba's in the family, all of the 'lower-end' types (below $500 each). Two of them are over three years old now (bought at same time). Had experience with almost every major brand out there, and the only other brand I would also recommend based on my own experience is Dell. I would avoid Compaq's like the plague, and Acer's are 'unproven' so far (had for two years, not a bad laptop but I don't use it much). In terms of quality/value, you have to go with Toshiba. They're rock-solid laptops. I've also had nothing but good experience on a number of Dell laptops (especially the smaller, lighter models). One of the most common problems with laptops in general are those lithium-i batteries. I've pretty much had to get mine replaces under warranty with every laptop I've had (with exception of the Dell). But yeah, get the extended warranty (at least 2 years) regardless.
Your company is far and away the worst offender. I had an HP tablet (roughly $3500 in cost, company laptop) and it didn't last 2 years with light use. More recently, had a Compaq M-series and as soon as the original warranty was over (a couple of months later, in fact) the motherboard failed and the computer no longer powers on; was told I will need $300 to replace the motherboard, apparently a capacitor needs to be replaced or something. When I did more research on that model, it turns out that NUMEROUS customers who had the same exact laptop also -- coincidentally, I am sure -- had motherboard failures, same exact 'symptoms'. Although the problem seems to be commonplace with that model, I haven't heard anything about a company 'recall' or at least some acknowledgment that the M-model is garbage, designed to fail within the first 2 years of usage. From a customer's point of view, HP doesn't give a crap about its reputation, and continues to put crappy products on the market. To their credit, they seem to make 'OK' business-oriented laptops, especially if you're willing to pay for it ($1500 or more, probably; just not tablets). Their low-end stuff however (most of which ends up sporting the Compaq brand) isn't worth the free warranty.
I have to admit I wouldn't know much about HP's lower-end models, because I've never bought one. I'm a high-end home-pc user, and I've had nothing but good experiences. Perhaps they're just not as good on the low end of things. Can't speak to their tablets, either. All I know is, their higher-quality home laptops and desktops are great, and they're generally a really good deal for the money, too.
