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What brand laptop should I get?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by R0ckets03, Jan 15, 2007.

  1. R0ckets03

    R0ckets03 Member

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    Sony Vaio? - or are these overpriced?
    Dell?
    Gateway?
    HP? - ehh...
    Toshiba? - the current one i have is a toshiba and it is a minion of the anti-Christ.

    My requirements - small, portable and fast. gonna use it basically for Office and internet.

    Me budget - $1200
     
  2. Coach AI

    Coach AI Member

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    It's hard to tell a person what type of laptop to get. I really think it is nothing more than personal preference. For every person that curses an HP there is a person who swears by them.

    Dell, I keep hearing is having a lot of customer support issues.
    Don't know about Gateway.
    A lot of people buy HPs.
    Toshibas too.

    Vaios may be a little overpriced, but they are pretty sexy.

    I'd say just go by specs/price, and get some sort of warranty/coverage on it. It's a little too hard to try and guess which brand will last you how long.

    Except Compaq. Everybody hates Compaq.
     
  3. aznhobo1

    aznhobo1 Member

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  4. Lil

    Lil Member

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    Really depends on what you want:

    Purely price and specs: Dell, Acer, Gateway
    Pure performance/coolness: Apple or Sony
    Reliability/Service/Price/Specs/Performance: HP

    OK. I'm biased. I work for HP, but honestly we've got some pretty competitive products out there lately. Dell's are just junk that overheat and actually blow up on you. Apples and Sony's are cool, but then you're paying $400 just for the brand. HP's pretty middle of the road (we try to actually spend money on service and reliability), but that's why we're #1...

    if you wait a week, you're gonna see a pretty kickass 12" tablet on hpshopping.com ;) right now that's only available to our corporate customers. maybe that's gonna meet your requirements?
     
  5. rockbox

    rockbox Around before clutchcity.com

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    I would get a dell right now since they are cheaper and if it blows up in a couple of years, you can get a new one for the savings you got.

    I don't have anything against HP's but I think they are generally overpriced unless you want to do the rebate game.

    I just don't believe in spending alot of money on a laptop when its going to be obsolete in 2 years. Check sites like fatwallet or techbargains before you do anything because that is where all the good deals are. If you do decide to buy dell, either use a coupon from these sites or buy one from ebay for a buck.
     
  6. R0ckets03

    R0ckets03 Member

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    I just went to the HP website. You definitely get more for your buck. Any coupon codes since you work for HP? :)
     
  7. VesceySux

    VesceySux World Champion Lurker
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    What group do you work for at HP? I worked for HP's consumer laptop group this past summer.
     
  8. studogg

    studogg Member

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    Acer. Good bang for the buck and your not paying for brand name.
     
  9. Coach AI

    Coach AI Member

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    Y'know, back in the day their desktops were **** (IMO) but I've noticed that they've got a few years under their belt now, and that their laptops have good tech at a good price.

    You use one?
     
  10. geeimsobored

    geeimsobored Member

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    Dell has gone down the crapper. Customer service blows and I haven't been too impressed with their PCs.

    I've had good experience with Toshiba. My old Toshiba started to fall apart during year 3 but that's pretty standard with laptops. And if you have extended warranty (which is a MUST with any laptop) you should be covered in that regard. Also, Toshiba support was pretty solid.

    Personally, I made the Apple switch and got a macbook pro. I put Windows on it also in case I need any windows-only apps but that hasn't been an issue so far. It's been great so far.
     
  11. R0ckets03

    R0ckets03 Member

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    In my two hours of extensive research (with many long breaks to play the Wii) I have decided:

    Dell - overheating problems and they are not even that cheap anymore.
    Toshiba - I would have to get it super cheap for me to even consider it. I am typing from a Toshiba and I feel like breaking it.
    Gateway - not cheap anymore either.
    HP - pretty good and decently priced.
    Sony - Cause I wanna be cool, plus not really that much more expensive.
     
  12. Coach AI

    Coach AI Member

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    Yeah, though it has been mentioned; whenever I get a new laptop there's a good chance it will be a macbook.

    I won't use the laptop to play games (good gaming laptops are too expensive) and everything else would be fine (internet, word processing, music, etc.).

    The only problem is price is usually a little higher. But the quality and performance may be worth it.
     
  13. doboyz

    doboyz Member

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    I would suggest the Macbook right now. Very nice for all that you're looking for and for around 1100. Light and portable. I think my next notebook will be a Macbook pro or a macbook.
     
  14. R0ckets03

    R0ckets03 Member

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    Is it cheaper to get a laptop at Best Buy and Circuit City or online from Sony.com or HP.com?

    I'm pretty sure I'm going with one one of those.

    Thanks for the suggestions, but Apples are not for me.
     
  15. Mikeylu

    Mikeylu Member

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    i just got the sony SZ series..its awesome..and very light you may want to look into it
     
  16. maud'dib

    maud'dib Rookie

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    i got a dell inspiron 9300, used the $600 off coupon, came out just under $1300, and that was over a year and a half ago, now that same laptop would be insanely cheap. i never had any problems with it, works fine so far. just hunt for those coupons and you can get a really good deal from them.
     
  17. R0ckets03

    R0ckets03 Member

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    Anybody with coupon codes for HP or Sony?

    I looked at fatwallet, but I must be a moron cause I cant find any.
     
  18. ucansee2020

    ucansee2020 Member

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    I like Lenovo (formerly IBM) thinkpad series.
     
  19. Coach AI

    Coach AI Member

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    Are the ones you are looking at loaded with Vista?

    keep in mind, in retail stores, right now is a 'dead time' between the XP units and the rollout of Vista units. you'll see a lot of discontinued items (doesn't necessarily mean lower prices though) and low stock.
     
  20. rockbox

    rockbox Around before clutchcity.com

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    I don't know of any overheating problems with any of the current dell laptops unless you are talking about the battery problem that has effected the whole industry. Those batteries were made by sony btw.
     

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