Need advice! Want to buy new laptop...

[93cobra]

Computer guys...My wife & I want to buy a nice laptop. Dosen't have to be able to run NASA but at the same time ...I want to buy something that will be decent for a couple years. I here Windows Vista isn't doing ao well & to stick with XP ??? One guy swears on Dells, the next HPs...All we want is something that we can store music, get on the web, & if I want to throw in the latest version of Flight Simulator...I want it to be fast enough etc...

I just don't want to go out & buy something then 2 weeks later hear about me over paying $200 or I should of bought something else

Any advice would be great...model / place to buy etc..

Thanks in advance
Johnny

[beefcake]

if you do a store bought type, i would do a dell,

i'm not sure, but AJ might be able to put you something good together as well, support members :)

[Jeff88coupe]

Well...you just missed some pretty good deals on labtops yesterday...although they may still be on sale threw today at office depot/staples/office max. They all had sale flyers in thursday's paper. My father-in-law just got himself a 17" HP laptop for $700 after rebates that was pretty decked out. If you buy anything new now it comes with windows vista which is a memory (RAM) hog...I'd get as much RAM as you can...2 Gig if possible. You can find smaller 15.4" screen laptops for ~$400-450...but I would add more memory to them than what comes standard.

[mach_u]

I should be able to set you up with something decent. PM me with what kind of price range you are wanting to work with and what you will be using it for. We have everything from 1-2 yr old off-lease business laptops to new. The nice part is that we are local also, so you don't have to talk to India if you have a problem! :bigthumb You are dead on with Vista also. You don't want it, believe me!

[Black92LX]

www.apple.com it's the only way to go.

[cstreu1026]

www.apple.com it's the only way to go.

I'll second that. My wife and I both have Macbooks and I have an older Power Mac G4 desktop. I will never go back to another windows machine.

[93cobra]

thanks for everyones help...mach u, i'll pm you later this weekend. i think i will stay with a windows machine...don't need to spend $3-$4K on a mac for the digital editing programs & sound recording stuff i hear a lot of people use them for. also aren't a lot of websites more user friendly with windows machines?

[Kelly Pelrine]

Alienware is the way to go. They are expensive but so worth it! Technology changes so fast its kinda hard to not feel like your behind after a month lol. I learned my lesson buying half way decent laptops which i only used at the races.... they just dont hold up to the abuse. So i ponied up the $$$ and got a custom built one from Alienware. Stay away from HP/Compaq and the cheaper Dells. Toshiba is a decent one also.

[Black92LX]

thanks for everyones help...mach u, i'll pm you later this weekend. i think i will stay with a windows machine...don't need to spend $3-$4K on a mac for the digital editing programs & sound recording stuff i hear a lot of people use them for. also aren't a lot of websites more user friendly with windows machines?

You can get a Mac for FAR less than $3,000 that will smoke a PC.

I have never came across a website that has not been compatible with my Mac.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/91354000/wo/Y13LrCZZ7ps42VnJcll14yhVGGW/2.?p=0
$1,099

[cstreu1026]

You can also buy refurbished products from Apple. Thats how I bought my Macbook.

There laptops start at $899 an carry the same warranty as their brand new machines.

[rmracing]

Dont buy HP. There customer service SUCKS. I have spent hours and hours on the phone and spoken to about 10-15 different people from india who dont understand english not alone be able to understand how to solve a problem in english . They ended up after a couple weeks of phone calls and hours later telling me they were going to send me a new hard drive to install myself and see if it fixed the problem .Well that was over a month ago and I still have not recieved any parts or solutions on my labtop whch is still under warranty.

[jdubya]

www.apple.com it's the only way to go.

Yep, I have one when I go fishing...as an anchor. :D

It's all about service IMO when you buy one. Dell has good support AS LONG AS YOU GET GOLD SUPPORT. Otherwise you'll be talking to Habib to get your issues resolved. HP is good also we have thousands out in the field and the support is pretty decent.

[rmracing]

Yep, I have one when I go fishing...as an anchor. :D

It's all about service IMO when you buy one. Dell has good support AS LONG AS YOU GET GOLD SUPPORT. Otherwise you'll be talking to Habib to get your issues resolved. HP is good also we have thousands out in the field and the support is pretty decent.

If Hp has even decent support then do you have a better number or contact for it because India isnt doing crap for helping me . A side note , after i bought my computer I read a report on ratings for computer company customer service and hp was at the bottom .Now I see why:mad:

[Katmandu]

You can't go wrong with the mid-range Dells. :bigthumb

Stay with XP.

I deal in used Dell laptops alot. Let me know what you need/budget and I'll get you one. :bigthumb

[IWRBB]

Mine's a Dell. Not low end, not high end. 2 years old, I use it every day, no problems. You can get a good deal on the Dell laptops using the millions of coupons they offer. Check the online coupon sites for the current offers.

[jdubya]

Also Dell has a refurbished link on their website. You can get full warranties on them also.

[07thorobrd]

last year i got a toshiba laptop and for about 3 months i couldnt use wifi on it. i wanted a dell xp or a macbook but my dad was buying so i was just pleased to get one. after numerous calls to toshiba they finally got the wifi problem straightened out and i havent had any problems since then. my cousin also has a toshiba and he hates it he had to take it in because the screen stoped working and he has had a few other problems with it as well but i cant remember the specifics. i would say save yourself some trouble and money in the long run and get a dell or a macbook. another good thing about macs is that there arent very many viruses that they can get bc there arent as many people that have macs as comp. with windows xp. hope this helps

[93cobra]

well i was out looking a little yesterday and every single computer guy we talked to asked why do you not want vista??..what software or programs are you running etc that your concerned with??? after not really having any answers, all agreed that some people do have a good reason to say they don't want vista at the moment but claimed its a no brainer for me to indeed get for future purposes

i have come to the conclusion that i want a computer (laptop or desktop) that has hdmi output that I can run my flight simulator game 1080p to my big screen. i don't care if its a computer put together that i just stick behind the tv and have a cheap keyboard laying on top of it...as long as it meets the game requirements and has a good enough video card etc...im good

then i'll just let jen "my wife" get her white or pink sony viao or whatever the hell she wants. im not going to argue over that ....we found one loaded pretty decent yesterday for like $600. with her UC card, she can get windows etc for like $10

if anyone can help on my deal i want for the game that would be awesome

[jdubya]

I'm testing Vista at work and I don't like it. Here's a few reasons why:

Performance is lacking. I have a dual core Proc with 2 gigs of ram and it take forever to load.
Installed AIM reaks havok on the network resources. I get all kinds of resource errors on booting and there isn't a fix yet available except reloading Vista. (Per Microsoft)

Hardware support sucks. I have to buy ANOTHER new video card if I want to run it at home, which at this point I don't.

Vista just isn't ready yet. Hopefully SP1 will fix a lot of the issue it has.

[mach_u]

well i was out looking a little yesterday and every single computer guy we talked to asked why do you not want vista??..what software or programs are you running etc that your concerned with??? after not really having any answers, all agreed that some people do have a good reason to say they don't want vista at the moment but claimed its a no brainer for me to indeed get for future purposes

i have come to the conclusion that i want a computer (laptop or desktop) that has hdmi output that I can run my flight simulator game 1080p to my big screen. i don't care if its a computer put together that i just stick behind the tv and have a cheap keyboard laying on top of it...as long as it meets the game requirements and has a good enough video card etc...im good

then i'll just let jen "my wife" get her white or pink sony viao or whatever the hell she wants. im not going to argue over that ....we found one loaded pretty decent yesterday for like $600. with her UC card, she can get windows etc for like $10

if anyone can help on my deal i want for the game that would be awesome
I would avoid Sony PCs like the plague. They are the most awful laptops to work on, parts are expensive and are just crap IMO. Not sure if they have changed the design on the one you are looking at but for years they had a horrible power plug in design on the motherboards that would literally cause the power connector to fall off rendering the laptop useless. We just worked on a 17" model last week that we had to remove something like 20+ screws off the back JUST to replace the hard drive(usually takes 3 or 4 on Dells, etc.) - oh yeah, 13months old and already had a bad hard drive, bad DVD Burner and a stick of bad memory.


I'm testing Vista at work and I don't like it. Here's a few reasons why:

Performance is lacking. I have a dual core Proc with 2 gigs of ram and it take forever to load.
Installed AIM reaks havok on the network resources. I get all kinds of resource errors on booting and there isn't a fix yet available except reloading Vista. (Per Microsoft)

Hardware support sucks. I have to buy ANOTHER new video card if I want to run it at home, which at this point I don't.

Vista just isn't ready yet. Hopefully SP1 will fix a lot of the issue it has.
Those reasons plus a million more are why Vista is getting such a cold response. That is why Microsoft has continued the supply of XP and I had heard from our Microsoft rep that there is already discussion of a new OS within two years.