Speaking of Laptops

[Rescue84]

I'm in the market for a new laptop... I've narrowed it down to Dell or Lenovo (IBM) based on price, reliability, and repair history. My goal is to have this for about 5 years... in my opinion that's the longer end of the laptop spectrum.

I'd like some input mostly on the brand, but also the components as they have comparable models based on these specifications:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache

OS: Vista Home Premium (Opinions on Vista?)

Display: 15.4" (1280x800)

Graphics Card:
(Dell)256MB GeForce 8600M GT
(Lenovo) 256MB GeForce Go 7300 w/ Turbo Cache

Memory: Preferably 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 @ 667MHz
(Lenovo seems to only allow 2GB max)

Hard Drive: 160GB SATA 5400 RPM

Optical: CD/DVD RW

Wireless: Bluetooth and
(Dell) Dell 1505 Wireless N-Mini card
(Lenovo) Intel WiFi Link 4965AGN

Sound Card: Basic

Anything that wasn't specified, the basic is probably fine. Please leave comments, questions, and suggestions as I'm not all that well versed with laptops. The laptop is primarily going to be for business/school type work. Thanks in advance.

 

[TheBlueWave]

I've owned a couple of them and my suggestion is that you evaluate what you need so you don't over spend. For example, if you are taking it with you everywhere, get a lightweight unit, as it will cost less and still do lots of things the "big dogs" can do, and still be fast. In fact if you aren't a gamer, don't spend 2,500 on a laptop. My work computer, a Compaq nc6220 is a little over a year old, but runs very fast and reliably. Plus the Centrino setup is very battery efficient, something to consider if you plan on taking if everywhere with you.
There really isn't a bad laptop out there, all of them are very powerful these days.
I like Macs the best but they are very costly and I really don't take tons of pictures and movies, anyway. My small work computer suits me just fine.
Good luck with your shopping.

 

[alaskaman]

I went with Dell 600M. in 2005

14.1 screen 100 hard drive. 512 Ram and still fast though I would upgrade that.

5.4 lbs. fast and light. added some nice Logitech external speakers from Dell. a couple hardware (shell) issues but the home warranty is great you call em. they ship and the tech arrives at your door usually within 2 days sometimes less. go with speed is my thinking may not be the fanciest but fast light and adapatable.

 

[Koz]

Good bang for the buck! Extremely mobile (4.5lbs.), very powerful (2.2 dual core, 2 gig ram, 200 gig HD and lots of goodies) and it's a tablet

http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/product/product_detail/GA647UA%23ABA?

Koz

 

[praetorian]

Go Dell......

They have something at the right price for any type of use you will want....

I have been an Electronics Tech/IT guy now for 7 years. Dell or alienware get my vote.

Stay away from Vista for now if you are not PC savvy . Its not up to speed you may hate it.

 

[marjnap]

I have a Built on Asus, which is a bare bones laptop and you add hardware such as memory, hard drive and your OS. For a general user I would suggest Dell. One suggestion I would make is go with a 7200 HD if at all possible. It is worth any extra you have to pay. It will make big difference is the speed of your laptop. My laptop is as fast or faster then most desktops. Also, check out http://forum.notebookreview.com/
I found people are real helpful there and you will get an idea of which laptops are having issues. If they will give you XP instead of Vista I would take XP instead. Vista is still have serious issues.

 

[Mark86]

Are you looking at the Dell XPS? If so, I have heard amazing things about that computer. The video card in the Dell is the same as I have in my Macbook Pro and it is great! You can do serious gaming and graphic intensive work with it. I would go with the Dell from the two models you mentioned.

Have you looked into the Macbook Pro? You can get up to 4 gb of RAM, same video card, and a 2.4 ghz processor. The new Macs can run Windows with bootcamp, which is not an emulator. It is basically the same as running either XP or Vista on your PC. The price may be a bit higher, but you can't beat the quality of a Mac. The display on the Mac is also the best you can get!

 

[Rescue84]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I ended up going with a Dell Inspiron 1520. It will have a 2GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 3GBs RAM, 256MB GeForce Go graphics card, bluetooth 2.0, wireless N mini-card, 160 GB hard drive. Oh and Vista... I've heard mixed reviews, I'm looking at it from the standpoint that if I hate it I can always switch back to XP.

I went with the normal display which I kinda regret simply because I won't be able to upgrade it later but I'm happy with the compromises I made, it's a reasonable price and it should perform well. Thanks again everyone.