I am interested in buying a laptop... I mainly need it for work on the go. I wouldn't mind have the ability to play online multiplayer games, but my primary tasks would revolve around surfin the web and staying in contact with people.

What are some decent brands to consider? Pros/Cons on Macs vs. PCs?

10/7/2007 12:06:39 PM

Apple

Contrary to popular belief, they do make current versions of W.O.W. for Mac.

[Edited on October 7, 2007 at 4:30 PM. Reason : ]

10/7/2007 4:29:42 PM

get a macbook pro, you won't be disappointed. i'm certainly not.

10/7/2007 4:31:56 PM

For the usage he is talking about...I'd buy the cheapest available in the market.

10/7/2007 6:17:46 PM

I am like the cheapest person on the planet, except when it comes to electronics. Get something that runs Mac OS. It's worth the price premium, which is actually becomming less of late.

10/7/2007 10:31:02 PM

this is stupid...why is everyone suggesting apple? when his main uses are "surfin the web" and "staying in contact with people" apple shouldn't even be in the running...this is personal opinion, of course, but apples are overpriced as it is, and he could spend half the money on something that would be just fine for his uses

you apple fanboys are retarded

10/8/2007 2:08:55 PM

I'm gonna agree with quag on this one.

10/8/2007 2:10:49 PM

What size would you be comfortable with? 12 inch, 13 inch, 14, 15, 17?
What kind of processing power is important to you? Can you go budget (1.66 ghz C2D or Turion X2) or do you require more power than that?
Resolution?

You say you need it for work on the go, what kind of work are you talking about here? How many programs will you be running at once?

Do you have anything you need to run that's specific to a type of OS. Can you use a Mac, or do you need Vista or XP?

10/8/2007 2:12:28 PM

Quote :

"this is stupid...why is everyone suggesting apple? when his main uses are "surfin the web" and "staying in contact with people" apple shouldn't even be in the running...this is personal opinion, of course, but apples are overpriced as it is, and he could spend half the money on something that would be just fine for his uses "

Except Macs are still relatively easier to maintain for a n00b and still have less risk of virus/spyware, a Mac would be perfect for someone like him.

10/8/2007 2:15:45 PM

how are the integrated graphics on the macbook? that's the only thing that bothers me about the macbook really.

[Edited on October 8, 2007 at 2:29 PM. Reason : and how will Leopard change the significance of graphics card]

10/8/2007 2:29:19 PM

The integrated graphics are just like any other integrated graphics.

And Apple isn't using any features in the UI that integrated graphics can't handle easily, so from that perspective, it's not a problem. The only think wrong with integrated graphics, like for any computer, is that they are crap for 3d gaming.

10/8/2007 2:31:38 PM

To address your "decent brands" question, on the PC side of the house I'd say:
1. Lenovo Thinkpad (built like a tank, but pricey--also, the non-Thinkpad models are an unknown quantity at this point)
2. Toshiba (good product, I've known several folks to be very happy with them)
t-3. Dell (stay away from their low-end models, the mid/higher-end machines are pretty nice)
t-3. Gateway (Dell comment also applies here. They will eventually lose this spot due to the Acer takeover but it's too recent to have caused any problems yet...)

[Edited on October 9, 2007 at 10:49 AM. Reason : r]

10/9/2007 10:48:55 AM

I've got a fairly powerful Dell laptop and a bottom-end macbook. In general my user experience on the macbook is better for the following reasons:

1.) boot-up/resume-from-hibernation/shut down times are about 1/3rd what they are on the pc.
2.) programs like maple load and run quicker on the macbook
3.) macbook has never crashed on me - in fairness, the Dell's crashes are due to quirks with its hibernation NOT windows really.

Specs-

Macbook:
2.0 ghz core 2 duo
1gb 667 mhz ddr2 RAM
integrated graphics

Dell:
2.2ghz core 2 duo
2gb 667 mhz ddr2 RAM
ATI x1400 graphics card (yea I know that's crap)

The dell cost about 1200 when I got it, and the macbook was 889 through a special below education deal.

10/9/2007 11:54:25 AM

If you're looking for a simple basic laptop I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Acer yet.

10/9/2007 12:16:29 PM

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0710macbookrev.html

santa rosa PLZ

10/9/2007 12:29:02 PM

whats the cheapest core 2 notebook?

10/31/2007 4:22:44 AM

Based on initial requirements, I would recommend:

Quote :

"I mainly need it for work on the go."

Keep it under a 14" screen (wide or regular).
Keep it under 5 lbs.

Unless you don't mind carrying around a brick.

Quote :

"I wouldn't mind have the ability to play online multiplayer games,"

Stay away from all Intel/AMD integrated graphics. Also keep away from low end Nvidia/ATI graphics. Pick your preferred model from preferred vendor, then visit www.nvidia.com or www.ati.com for comparison info.

Quote :

"but my primary tasks would revolve around surfin the web and staying in contact with people."

Any laptop will do these last two tasks for you. Even the cheapest one on the market. Just make sure if it has Windows Vista, it has atleast 1GB of memory. I recommend 2GB of memory if you plan on doing a lot of multimedia or multitasking work.

[Edited on October 31, 2007 at 8:39 AM. Reason : recommendation]

10/31/2007 8:36:16 AM

Quote :

"Contrary to popular belief, they do make current versions of W.O.W. for Mac."

incorrect. The same cd's for PC are also the install discs for Mac. So you don't have to go out and buy a different version. Same applies to Warcraft III.

Also now EA has ported all their games to support Mac OS X. If you go into the apple store their gaming section has grown to a whole 2 shelves!

10/31/2007 9:08:33 AM

^ think he just meant that the current cd's have mac versions but idk

10/31/2007 9:25:53 AM

sounded to me he was saying they make the game for Mac but you have to buy it.

10/31/2007 9:50:32 AM

^^^^you can't have a small/light laptop AND have a something other than integrated graphics or a low-end 3d card

10/31/2007 12:20:14 PM

hey how much is like the cheapest decent core 2 duo?

11/1/2007 1:51:53 AM

what do yall think of that laptop?

11/4/2007 5:43:25 PM

i would cut off my hands before i used that piece of crap

11/4/2007 5:45:38 PM

what makes you say that? i might get it fo christmas

11/4/2007 6:22:35 PM

mostly i'm just a snob. mostly.

11/4/2007 8:07:05 PM

How about instead of looking for the cheapest piece of shit you can find, you look for something that is going to provide solid performance for around 5 years.

11/4/2007 8:58:47 PM

what if i just take really good care of it?

my dell is 5 years and still going...its on its last leg though(one of the 2 hinges is disconnected

11/4/2007 9:13:10 PM

http://www.lenovo.com

Or if not, just stay away from anything built by Apple.

11/4/2007 9:20:22 PM

oh man FUCK apple...

11/4/2007 9:29:00 PM

^^ Apple consistently gets the best ratings for performance and reliability for their laptops.

In fact, if you plan to run Windows even, an Apple is one of the best:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136649-page,3-c,notebooks/article.html

Quote :

" The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year is a Mac. Try that again: The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year--or for that matter, ever--is a Mac. "

Apple tops statistical survey on reliability:
http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/10/23/apple.tops.reliability/

Apple tops reader reliability report by PC Mag:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2184104,00.asp

It's okay if you don't want an Apple, but the only rational reason to not want one is if its out of your price range. But, if you want quality, you'll definitely get it with Apple.

[Edited on November 4, 2007 at 9:29 PM. Reason : ]

11/4/2007 9:29:23 PM

theres gotta be some pc laptop that could beast it...

[Edited on November 4, 2007 at 9:33 PM. Reason : i'd rather get an ibm than an apple]

11/4/2007 9:32:45 PM

^ They're decent laptops too. They're usually only a hair behind Apple in reliability.

And IBMs are solidly built, and have some neat features. But they are extremely ugly, and you can't easily dual boot Mac OS and Windows if you wanted to.

11/4/2007 9:36:30 PM

yo i'm kinda scared about going to vista...it comes with that, not xp

11/4/2007 9:50:33 PM

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4068

get one of those... Steampunk Notebook...

actually, go to that site's forums and the first section you'll find is entitled "What notebook should i buy"... it's very helpful...

11/4/2007 9:51:19 PM

I bought a Gateway from Best Buy last Friday and I've already decided to take it back and switch to a Mac. I have no interest in suffering through another shitty OS from Microsoft, and I don't want to buy something new only to load XP on it. Vista is obese and awful. Nothing runs well. It takes up more than half the resources of my already pitiful laptop.

I want something reliable, robust, and easy to use. At this point I no longer care if it's not Windows.

11/7/2007 10:48:42 PM

If you're going to spend that much money on a Macbook, why don't you just get proper Windows-based laptop from Dell or IBM (aka Lenovo) rather than the POS Gateway you picked up?

Oh and FFS, don't buy a computer from Best Buy ... that is, unless you like paying more.

[Edited on November 7, 2007 at 10:54 PM. Reason : .]

11/7/2007 10:53:36 PM

It was sorta an emergency purchase. Old laptop died and I HAD to have something for the weekend or I'd be borked.

But after having it for a week I've decided I'm done with it.

I'm tired of having bad experiences with PC manufacturers. I really don't want to put up with Vista and Microsoft taming the beast. I consistantly hear/read/research too many bad things about Vista and tons of good things from Mac owners.

So, I'm willing to pay a little more and try out the enemy.

11/7/2007 10:57:44 PM

Contrary to popular belief, it's still possible to get a machine with XP. (I don't like Vista very much either...)

Also, just to throw it out there, Gateway actually got broken up into two pieces in the takeover. Acer got their "consumer" products and MPC got their "professional" products, which were actually good-quality machines.

11/8/2007 10:36:49 AM