Help me choose a laptop

LuisRM

LuisRM

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I was hoping to get some opinions/suggestions on getting a new laptop. I'm not committed to any store/brand. Here is what my wife and I will and won't be using it for.

Budget is $750 for the laptop. (shipping won't be factored into the budget)
Have to purchase MS Office Student (full version, not upgrade). Sam's Club $122 (cheaper anywhere?)

What we will use it for:
Wife will work from home on it - Word, Excel, VPN (networking to work desktop pc)
We will wirelessly connect to our internet
We will use it as our main iTunes hub and store all our music on it (podcasts and ~3,000 songs)
Take it with us on trips, etc.
Watch movies on it
Burn dvd's (dual layer)
Connect external HD to burn dvd's/backup our desktop pc files

What we will NOT use it for:
My graphic design business (no major Adobe programs will be put on it)
Storage/backup of misc. files.
[FONT=times new roman,new york,times,serif]
Misc.:
Has to have Vista.
Since it will store our music I want to have about 250gb of hd space (recommend other size?)
2gb of ram (recommend other size?)
Wireless network capability (built in?)
Speed isn't a major issue, since it won't be working with ram heavy programs.
Screen size isn't a major issue.

These are two I just pulled up as starting points. References really.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834101152

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834107013

[/FONT]

Any ideas/suggestions would be great. I know there are plenty of CAG's out there with much more knowledgeable than me when it comes to this. :D Thanks again!
 
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Screens can make or break your experience on laptop. I wouldn't recommend getting one that you haven't actually seen in person. Other than that, you've got the right idea looking at the specs on the Compaq (not that i can recommend the brand).

As far as finding a cheap version on Office, I would hit up friends that are in college or work for a college. MS typically offers employees and students Office at an extremely discounted rate (as an undergrad I scored XP Pro, VS 2003, SQL Server 200, etc. all for cost of shipping. more recently I got Office 07 thru my job at the U for 7 bucks).
 
best buy was selling some decent toshiba laptops for under 700. theyre pretty good and have very nice screens.
 
[quote name='UnderwaterMadman']I would avoid Acer/HP/Compaq.

Dell/Gateway/Lenovo Thinkpads/Sager are decent choices.[/quote]

Compaqs are indeed crap, but Acer and HP are pretty good. Also, it's funny you say that Gateways are good computer but that Acers are bad since they are one in the same. Acer owns Gateway. Acers are actually fantastic computers. I have an uncle that bought an acer and swears by the things.

To give you a better assessment OP, Dell's have substantially improved their quality since a few years back. Michael Dell has really brought back the company and their parts, service, quality have all increased significantly. Lenovo are pretty decent/standard but I don't really find them anything special. HPs are great...don't let the naysayers fool you. I've had an HP laptop that's lasted 5-6 years now. Also, my Uncle bought one of them, and while you pay a bit of a premium (just like if you bought a Samsung or Sony tv), it's worth it. They're solid. It's just it will take you a bit to find one with the proper specs you want.

I've heard from customers and the internet that the Toshibas have vastly improved over what they once were. I know them as crappy computers with parts that break often. Fujitsu actually fits this mold currently. In addition, Sony laptops I find aren't worth the money and are simply over priced. I've also seen several that have broken easily.

Personally, and this is merely my suggestion, but I would get a Mac laptop and throw on Vista or XP. That way you have the best of both worlds.
 
My recommendation is a Dell. I had a HP, it was nice but just wasn't as great as I wanted it to be. The new Dell laptops are pretty nice, from what I've seen. Haven't had any personal experience with their customer service, though.

Some things to note:

-Nearly every laptop has built-in wireless. Most will include wireless G while some include wireless N.

-250gb is good for the hard drive. You should check though to see if its 5400rpm or 7200rpm. 7200rpm is better because it can read/write to the drive quicker.

-2 gig memory is the minimum you should get, anything less is severely hurting your performance (especially if you include Office 2007). 3 gigs is alright if you can find a laptop for under $750 that has 3 gigs included. In my opinion though, for a laptop that won't be used for gaming (or primary gaming) then anything over 2 gigs is overkill.

Can't really think of anything else to add here. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

*Oh yeah, forgot. I'm a mac guy :D Got the best of both worlds (Vista Ultimate and Mac OS X Leopard). Then again, it was also $3,000.*
 
I have always had compaq and HP. My desktop is around 10 years old , and is the same speed if not faster then my new labtop.

I bought the Compaq deal from best buy for around 400, and it works great.
 
I was hoping to get some opinions/suggestions on getting a new laptop. I'm not committed to any store/brand. Here is what my wife and I will and won't be using it for.

Budget is $750 for the laptop. (shipping won't be factored into the budget)
Have to purchase MS Office Student (full version, not upgrade). Sam's Club $122 (cheaper anywhere?)

What we will use it for:
Wife will work from home on it - Word, Excel, VPN (networking to work desktop pc)
We will wirelessly connect to our internet
We will use it as our main iTunes hub and store all our music on it (podcasts and ~3,000 songs)
Take it with us on trips, etc.
Watch movies on it
Burn dvd's (dual layer)
Connect external HD to burn dvd's/backup our desktop pc files

What we will NOT use it for:
My graphic design business (no major Adobe programs will be put on it)
Storage/backup of misc. files.
[FONT=times new roman,new york,times,serif]
Misc.:
Has to have Vista.
Since it will store our music I want to have about 250gb of hd space (recommend other size?)
2gb of ram (recommend other size?)
Wireless network capability (built in?)
Speed isn't a major issue, since it won't be working with ram heavy programs.
Screen size isn't a major issue.

These are two I just pulled up as starting points. References really.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834101152

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834107013

[/FONT]

Any ideas/suggestions would be great. I know there are plenty of CAG's out there with much more knowledgeable than me when it comes to this. :D Thanks again!
 
Screens can make or break your experience on laptop. I wouldn't recommend getting one that you haven't actually seen in person. Other than that, you've got the right idea looking at the specs on the Compaq (not that i can recommend the brand).

As far as finding a cheap version on Office, I would hit up friends that are in college or work for a college. MS typically offers employees and students Office at an extremely discounted rate (as an undergrad I scored XP Pro, VS 2003, SQL Server 200, etc. all for cost of shipping. more recently I got Office 07 thru my job at the U for 7 bucks).
 
best buy was selling some decent toshiba laptops for under 700. theyre pretty good and have very nice screens.
 
[quote name='UnderwaterMadman']I would avoid Acer/HP/Compaq.

Dell/Gateway/Lenovo Thinkpads/Sager are decent choices.[/quote]

Compaqs are indeed crap, but Acer and HP are pretty good. Also, it's funny you say that Gateways are good computer but that Acers are bad since they are one in the same. Acer owns Gateway. Acers are actually fantastic computers. I have an uncle that bought an acer and swears by the things.

To give you a better assessment OP, Dell's have substantially improved their quality since a few years back. Michael Dell has really brought back the company and their parts, service, quality have all increased significantly. Lenovo are pretty decent/standard but I don't really find them anything special. HPs are great...don't let the naysayers fool you. I've had an HP laptop that's lasted 5-6 years now. Also, my Uncle bought one of them, and while you pay a bit of a premium (just like if you bought a Samsung or Sony tv), it's worth it. They're solid. It's just it will take you a bit to find one with the proper specs you want.

I've heard from customers and the internet that the Toshibas have vastly improved over what they once were. I know them as crappy computers with parts that break often. Fujitsu actually fits this mold currently. In addition, Sony laptops I find aren't worth the money and are simply over priced. I've also seen several that have broken easily.

Personally, and this is merely my suggestion, but I would get a Mac laptop and throw on Vista or XP. That way you have the best of both worlds.
 
My recommendation is a Dell. I had a HP, it was nice but just wasn't as great as I wanted it to be. The new Dell laptops are pretty nice, from what I've seen. Haven't had any personal experience with their customer service, though.

Some things to note:

-Nearly every laptop has built-in wireless. Most will include wireless G while some include wireless N.

-250gb is good for the hard drive. You should check though to see if its 5400rpm or 7200rpm. 7200rpm is better because it can read/write to the drive quicker.

-2 gig memory is the minimum you should get, anything less is severely hurting your performance (especially if you include Office 2007). 3 gigs is alright if you can find a laptop for under $750 that has 3 gigs included. In my opinion though, for a laptop that won't be used for gaming (or primary gaming) then anything over 2 gigs is overkill.

Can't really think of anything else to add here. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

*Oh yeah, forgot. I'm a mac guy :D Got the best of both worlds (Vista Ultimate and Mac OS X Leopard). Then again, it was also $3,000.*
 
I have always had compaq and HP. My desktop is around 10 years old , and is the same speed if not faster then my new labtop.

I bought the Compaq deal from best buy for around 400, and it works great.
 
Fantastic! Thanks for the help everyone. As for the mac comments, I work on a Mac at my primary job and I wouldn't mind getting one, but it's just out of my budget this time. Especially the one I would really want.

Thanks again everyone, this will help me make a more informed decision!
 
Don't get a screen smaller than 15 inches/ whatever it is I forgot and am dumb right now. Anything less and it's too small.

That's pretty much all i got.
 
[quote name='hiccupleftovers']Compaqs are indeed crap, but Acer and HP are pretty good. Also, it's funny you say that Gateways are good computer but that Acers are bad since they are one in the same. Acer owns Gateway. Acers are actually fantastic computers. I have an uncle that bought an acer and swears by the things.

To give you a better assessment OP, Dell's have substantially improved their quality since a few years back. Michael Dell has really brought back the company and their parts, service, quality have all increased significantly. Lenovo are pretty decent/standard but I don't really find them anything special. HPs are great...don't let the naysayers fool you. I've had an HP laptop that's lasted 5-6 years now. Also, my Uncle bought one of them, and while you pay a bit of a premium (just like if you bought a Samsung or Sony tv), it's worth it. They're solid. It's just it will take you a bit to find one with the proper specs you want.

I've heard from customers and the internet that the Toshibas have vastly improved over what they once were. I know them as crappy computers with parts that break often. Fujitsu actually fits this mold currently. In addition, Sony laptops I find aren't worth the money and are simply over priced. I've also seen several that have broken easily.

Personally, and this is merely my suggestion, but I would get a Mac laptop and throw on Vista or XP. That way you have the best of both worlds.[/quote]

HP and Compaq are the same company now too - so there shouldn't be much if any difference between the quality of their stuff. All the PCs/Laptops we get at work from them are branded HPCompaq now....
 
Small sidenote, if you by chance get an HP... AVOID the ones with the glossy screen. You'll know it when you see it. I use one for business, and I HATE how much crap reflects off of it in every day use. I think you can opt out of the Glossy Screen if you buy direct from HP. Horrible, horrible feature. Gotta find me a anti glare screen film to counter the nasty-ass thing. My bet is it's to grab the attention of joe-sixpack.
 
[quote name='Aleryn']Small sidenote, if you by chance get an HP... AVOID the ones with the glossy screen. You'll know it when you see it. I use one for business, and I HATE how much crap reflects off of it in every day use. I think you can opt out of the Glossy Screen if you buy direct from HP. Horrible, horrible feature. Gotta find me a anti glare screen film to counter the nasty-ass thing. My bet is it's to grab the attention of joe-sixpack.[/QUOTE]



It's all preference. Glossy screens will, indeed, have glare when sun directly hits the screen. The plus side is that colors are more vibrant. The other choice is a matte screen. You won't get that much glare but colors won't be as bright.

I have a 17" MacBook pro and I decided to get the glossy screen. Sure, it does reflect some light, but it is brighter. Then again, I also don't use that much in pure daylight.

To the OP, my recommendation, is to go to any store and see if you can see which type you like. Any mac store will have some models out to show the difference between glossy vs. matte. In the end, it's your choice. Cheers!
 
I can comment on Dell's customer service and their overall awesomeness.

I bought a laptop in 2003 and did not buy an extended protection plan. After 3 years of use, it started to overheat a lot and the fan had to kick on quite a bit. I called Dell about it and they said that they would ship me a box to put my laptop in and to ship back to them. I assumed I would be receiving a bill with it but never did; received my laptop back in 3 days with a new heat sync and they even fixed my keyboard which I didn't even mention!

I have owned 2 Dell laptops now and 2 desktops and think they are great!

I am really skeptical of Vista so far, however. My mom's dell desktop that is brand new has not done too well with that operating system. She has 2 gb of ram and an amd dual core processor so the problem doesn't lye within her specs.

Good luck in your search!
 
Fantastic! Thanks for the help everyone. As for the mac comments, I work on a Mac at my primary job and I wouldn't mind getting one, but it's just out of my budget this time. Especially the one I would really want.

Thanks again everyone, this will help me make a more informed decision!
 
Don't get a screen smaller than 15 inches/ whatever it is I forgot and am dumb right now. Anything less and it's too small.

That's pretty much all i got.
 
[quote name='hiccupleftovers']Compaqs are indeed crap, but Acer and HP are pretty good. Also, it's funny you say that Gateways are good computer but that Acers are bad since they are one in the same. Acer owns Gateway. Acers are actually fantastic computers. I have an uncle that bought an acer and swears by the things.

To give you a better assessment OP, Dell's have substantially improved their quality since a few years back. Michael Dell has really brought back the company and their parts, service, quality have all increased significantly. Lenovo are pretty decent/standard but I don't really find them anything special. HPs are great...don't let the naysayers fool you. I've had an HP laptop that's lasted 5-6 years now. Also, my Uncle bought one of them, and while you pay a bit of a premium (just like if you bought a Samsung or Sony tv), it's worth it. They're solid. It's just it will take you a bit to find one with the proper specs you want.

I've heard from customers and the internet that the Toshibas have vastly improved over what they once were. I know them as crappy computers with parts that break often. Fujitsu actually fits this mold currently. In addition, Sony laptops I find aren't worth the money and are simply over priced. I've also seen several that have broken easily.

Personally, and this is merely my suggestion, but I would get a Mac laptop and throw on Vista or XP. That way you have the best of both worlds.[/quote]

HP and Compaq are the same company now too - so there shouldn't be much if any difference between the quality of their stuff. All the PCs/Laptops we get at work from them are branded HPCompaq now....
 
Small sidenote, if you by chance get an HP... AVOID the ones with the glossy screen. You'll know it when you see it. I use one for business, and I HATE how much crap reflects off of it in every day use. I think you can opt out of the Glossy Screen if you buy direct from HP. Horrible, horrible feature. Gotta find me a anti glare screen film to counter the nasty-ass thing. My bet is it's to grab the attention of joe-sixpack.
 
[quote name='Aleryn']Small sidenote, if you by chance get an HP... AVOID the ones with the glossy screen. You'll know it when you see it. I use one for business, and I HATE how much crap reflects off of it in every day use. I think you can opt out of the Glossy Screen if you buy direct from HP. Horrible, horrible feature. Gotta find me a anti glare screen film to counter the nasty-ass thing. My bet is it's to grab the attention of joe-sixpack.[/QUOTE]



It's all preference. Glossy screens will, indeed, have glare when sun directly hits the screen. The plus side is that colors are more vibrant. The other choice is a matte screen. You won't get that much glare but colors won't be as bright.

I have a 17" MacBook pro and I decided to get the glossy screen. Sure, it does reflect some light, but it is brighter. Then again, I also don't use that much in pure daylight.

To the OP, my recommendation, is to go to any store and see if you can see which type you like. Any mac store will have some models out to show the difference between glossy vs. matte. In the end, it's your choice. Cheers!
 
I can comment on Dell's customer service and their overall awesomeness.

I bought a laptop in 2003 and did not buy an extended protection plan. After 3 years of use, it started to overheat a lot and the fan had to kick on quite a bit. I called Dell about it and they said that they would ship me a box to put my laptop in and to ship back to them. I assumed I would be receiving a bill with it but never did; received my laptop back in 3 days with a new heat sync and they even fixed my keyboard which I didn't even mention!

I have owned 2 Dell laptops now and 2 desktops and think they are great!

I am really skeptical of Vista so far, however. My mom's dell desktop that is brand new has not done too well with that operating system. She has 2 gb of ram and an amd dual core processor so the problem doesn't lye within her specs.

Good luck in your search!
 
Personally, I'd HIGHLY recommend staying away from vista.... (for about 6,000 reasons I won't get in to, thats a whole different topic, lol) I own a computer repair shop and consulting firm and I run into vista issues on a daily basis.

but if your hearts set on it, I'd go with an HP or Lenovo (both are well built laptops)

I would RUN FAR AWAY from Acer , Toshiba and Gateway. I see more and more of these come in with bad motherboards and overheating problems than any other laptops. And Gateway's service is the worst I've ever delt with for any product I've ever bought, electronic or not.

I'm not a fan of Dell at all, but you could do worse.

If the computer isn't being moved around a lot (if you basically keep it on a desk most of the time) get the biggest screen you can afford. As far as the specs go, 2GB of RAM (or more because of vista) is really the only thing I'd worry about. the CPU really doesn't matter for what your going to be doing with it (as long as its not some cheap ass celeron). Anything thats dual core will suit you just fine. (Athlon X2, Pentium Dual core or Core 2.) Just stay away form anything that says sempron or celeron

good luck!

EDIT:

did a quick look on HP's site, check out this computer:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...satile+performance&series_name=dv6700t_series

yI'd do a custom configuration, and upgrade teh ram form 1GB to 2GB, and if you want, upgrade from a Pentium dual core to a Core 2 (its only 50 bucks) and your still at about 700 bucks. not too shabby.

might be able to find a coupon code or somethign on the internet to try and make it a bit cheaper as well.
 
[quote name='hiccupleftovers']Compaqs are indeed crap, but Acer and HP are pretty good. Also, it's funny you say that Gateways are good computer but that Acers are bad since they are one in the same. Acer owns Gateway. Acers are actually fantastic computers. I have an uncle that bought an acer and swears by the things.

To give you a better assessment OP, Dell's have substantially improved their quality since a few years back. Michael Dell has really brought back the company and their parts, service, quality have all increased significantly. Lenovo are pretty decent/standard but I don't really find them anything special. HPs are great...don't let the naysayers fool you. I've had an HP laptop that's lasted 5-6 years now. Also, my Uncle bought one of them, and while you pay a bit of a premium (just like if you bought a Samsung or Sony tv), it's worth it. They're solid. It's just it will take you a bit to find one with the proper specs you want.

I've heard from customers and the internet that the Toshibas have vastly improved over what they once were. I know them as crappy computers with parts that break often. Fujitsu actually fits this mold currently. In addition, Sony laptops I find aren't worth the money and are simply over priced. I've also seen several that have broken easily.

Personally, and this is merely my suggestion, but I would get a Mac laptop and throw on Vista or XP. That way you have the best of both worlds.[/QUOTE]


I was speaking from my personal experience. I have seen/used significatly a few acer laptops and a few gateways over the past year. The gateways have had a much higher build quality. The acers have been flimsy and show signs of wear from normal use very quickly. My future fathe in law has a Gateway that extremely solid, I was very skeptical when they got it but I have to say that gateway has really turned the corner and is producing some worthwhile computers now.

Remember just because Gateway and Acer are owned by the same corp it most certainly does not mean that their laptops have anything in common.

HP is the worst company I have ever had to deal. Worst quality laptops and by far the worst Indian call centers. I know 5 people who have had HP laptops in the past 2 years all have had significant problems (myself included).

I completely agree with you about Dell. Great prices and pretty darn good laptops.
 
[quote name='thelazyone22']If it applies to you at all:

www.theultimatesteal.com[/QUOTE]

I did that a few months ago, paid for a physical disc and never got it... I definitely recommend getting it through the Ultimate Steal site, but don't pay extra for the physical disc that you probably won't receive...
 
[quote name='Captain_Insano16']HP and Compaq are the same company now too - so there shouldn't be much if any difference between the quality of their stuff. All the PCs/Laptops we get at work from them are branded HPCompaq now....[/quote]

I believe HP never converted the old Compaq factories, so they're still manufactured crappily. I have seen lots of them where parts break.
 
[quote name='UnderwaterMadman']I was speaking from my personal experience. I have seen/used significatly a few acer laptops and a few gateways over the past year. The gateways have had a much higher build quality. The acers have been flimsy and show signs of wear from normal use very quickly. My future fathe in law has a Gateway that extremely solid, I was very skeptical when they got it but I have to say that gateway has really turned the corner and is producing some worthwhile computers now.

Remember just because Gateway and Acer are owned by the same corp it most certainly does not mean that their laptops have anything in common.

HP is the worst company I have ever had to deal. Worst quality laptops and by far the worst Indian call centers. I know 5 people who have had HP laptops in the past 2 years all have had significant problems (myself included).

I completely agree with you about Dell. Great prices and pretty darn good laptops.[/quote]

I guess you must be a very select individual when it comes to Acers/Gateway and HPs.
 
[quote name='Koggit']I did that a few months ago, paid for a physical disc and never got it... I definitely recommend getting it through the Ultimate Steal site, but don't pay extra for the physical disc that you probably won't receive...[/quote]

I'd love to get it through that site, but don't have an edu account. Not a huge deal though. The Home/Student version isn't too terribly expensive.

Also, thanks for the opinions everyone, I really appreciate it. I'll be putting together all the comments and figuring it out from there. Have a great day!
 
[quote name='hiccupleftovers']I believe HP never converted the old Compaq factories, so they're still manufactured crappily. I have seen lots of them where parts break.[/QUOTE]

I worked for HP up until last year when I decided to go to grad school. HPs and Compaqs are virtually the same and are built in the same places (most often in China or Taiwan). The internal parts of equal consumer HP and Compaq laptops are usually exactly the same. It's only the casing that's different. Most PC companies don't really have "factories" per se. The computers are manufactured by companies called Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs). These companies include Quanta, Asus, Wistron, Compal, Clevo, and others. Big PC companies (HP, Dell, Acer, etc.) usually tell the ODMs what they want the computer to have and what it should look like, then the ODMS proceed to mass produce it after approval. Recent 15.4" consumer HP/Compaq notebooks are usually made by Quanta or Compal. Recent 14" HP/Compaq notebooks are usually made by Wistron. Even though I really liked working for HP and can whole-heartedly recommend their products, when it comes to laptops, it usually is best to do a bit of research to see who the ODM is and how their reputation is when it comes to build quality. You can't really get too hung up on brand (except for when it comes to support, of course). The forums at notebookreview.com are a good place for research and suggestions.
 
[quote name='LuisRM']

Any ideas/suggestions would be great. I know there are plenty of CAG's out there with much more knowledgeable than me when it comes to this. :D Thanks again![/quote]

I know someone mentioned Macs before, but currently Apple is having a clearance sale of refurb Macbooks. This one is $799 + tax. It's only 80gb, but you can easily swap out hard drives of Macs if you run out of space. Same goes for RAM.

Refurb Macbooks are very good, according to some people I know. I had a refurbed Macbook Pro and it worked really well.

My other suggestion would be HP. My whole family has HP laptops and they all work really well.
 
[quote name='slimvinnieb86']I know someone mentioned Macs before, but currently Apple is having a clearance sale of refurb Macbooks. This one is $799 + tax. It's only 80gb, but you can easily swap out hard drives of Macs if you run out of space. Same goes for RAM.

Refurb Macbooks are very good, according to some people I know. I had a refurbed Macbook Pro and it worked really well.

My other suggestion would be HP. My whole family has HP laptops and they all work really well.[/quote]

Thanks again! I put together an excel spreadsheet of everyones comments and Dell and HP got the most positive responses, so I'll be looking into that. Also, I know someone who just bought a refurb mac, I will look into that. :D

I think I'm going with the following specs, since I want to have this for a while. Just have to find one now that matches this.
HP/Dell
3gb ram
250 gb hd (7200 rpm)
Some sort of Dual core processor (T7100 processor or T8100)
Dual layer dvd writer
webcam integrated in
15" screen (or 17 if the price is right)
Vista

Here are some I found which are close.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-P...id/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do#prodspecs
Doesn't have blutooth or the faster HD which would be nice. And the processor isn't as fast as someone suggested I get. Is that the difference between a T5400 and the T7100, processing speed?

This would have been nice, but it's totally sold out. Missing blutooth and the faster processor, but good overall.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...=product&tab=1&id=1203815682805#productdetail

This one is good, but it doesn't say how fast the HD is and what model (TXXX) the processor is.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147667
 
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Just a little update for the OP in case you're interested. May be out of your price range, but HP is doing 30% all laptops configured at $1299 or above. I bit on the deal, since I'm selling my Thinkpad and replacing it with a HP:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Your customized PC includes:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]- HP Pavilion dv6700t Special Edition CTO
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.40 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
- 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
- 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 50% OFF 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS - For Core 2 Duo Processors
- HP Imprint Finish (Influx) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
- FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive from 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive!!
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, san-serif]$930.29 + [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$80.24 = [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] $1010.53
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Saved $398.70 [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Coupon NB3098[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
 
My sister had terrible experiences with an older Dell, but I myself have had nothing but excellent service.

Got an Inspiron 700m in 2005 with a full warranty. Worked perfectly for about 2 years, last year the video card died. It was on-board, which required the whole mobo to be replaced. They made a house call for free and replaced it, and it's had no problems since.

Just bought an XPS 1330 to replace my 700m (wanted to sell it while it still had a year on it's warranty, lest it's value go down even more) and I'm in love with it. Shipped a week early, have had no problems whatsoever.

A friend of mine swears by Acer also, and an ex has a Gateway which has been great to her for over 3 years.

The 1330 is my 1st experience with Vista. I don't really like it, and they do offer drivers for XP if I want to switch, but it voids the software warranty, and I'm not sure if I want to do that yet (though I doubt I'd ever call them for something software related).
 
[quote name='slimvinnieb86'][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Just a little update for the OP in case you're interested. May be out of your price range, but HP is doing 30% all laptops configured at $1299 or above. I bit on the deal, since I'm selling my Thinkpad and replacing it with a HP:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Your customized PC includes:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]- HP Pavilion dv6700t Special Edition CTO
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.40 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
- 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
- 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- 50% OFF 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS - For Core 2 Duo Processors
- HP Imprint Finish (Influx) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
- FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive from 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive!!
- SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
- No TV Tuner w/remote control
- High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, san-serif]$930.29 + [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$80.24 = [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] $1010.53
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Saved $398.70 [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Coupon NB3098[/FONT]
[/quote]

Thanks, I noticed they had a sale and will check it out.
 
I actually use a Fujitsu notebook (lifebook) and the crystal LCD is by far the best laptop screen I've seen. I tried using the new Vaio and I couldn't stand the LCD on it. As far as hardware, zero problems in a year of owning it.
 
Remember just because Gateway and Acer are owned by the same corp it most certainly does not mean that their laptops have anything in common.
Click to expand...

Actually, Acer owns Gateway. And Acer's products are quite good. They are massively successful in foreign markets.
 
Everyone I know who has a Dell that isn't the XPS has had nightmares. Everyone's had it repaired, from battery problems with overheating, to dead HDDs, to broken screens, keyboards, and fans, among other problems. These are bought within the last 1-3 years. I'd stay away.
 
my toshiba kicks ass and the screen is awesome. main thing you want to do is check out the reviews people do on the site. you can learn alot about the laptop youre looking to buy that way.
 
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