So I will most likely be in the market for a new (my first actually) laptop in the next couple of months and was hoping to get some help choosing a good one for me. Here is what I'd like to do with it, ranked in order of importance/frequency:

1. Web-browsing, web video (youtube, hulu, netflix streaming...) as well as school work (Word, Excel mostly)
2. Photo editing
3. Watching DVD's, playing music through iTunes, watching downloaded video, may also use a TV-out port, or hook up an external monitor (VGA or DVI)
4. Some very casual gaming, possibly some older games

I'm looking for a screen size from 13" to 15", doesn't have to be ultra-lightweight. I don't know if I should go with integrated graphics (makes me cringe just thinking about it, although I'm sure they've gotten better since 2004 when I last had such a system) or dedicated. Is the battery life difference really that much? Is there a Windows machine that can switch between the two like the new Macbook Pros? (Don't want a Mac, have software for school I need Windows to run, don't like the idea of installing Windows on a Mac). I'll be doing a good amount of photo work, as well as the videos so I think dedicated may be the way to go...

Lastly, any brand suggestions? Best bang for the buck? I don't need extensive support or software bundles, already have what I need. I've looked at Dell, HP & Lenovo & that's what led me here, trying to decide which one. Sorry for the long initial post, but wanted to get all the info out there and to be clear. Thanks in advance for your help!

Oh yeah, almost forgot the most important part, price range hopefully between $1000-$1500

1/7/2009 8:44:39 PM

Whats wrong with running windows on a mac? it boots into windows just like any PC. works totally fine.

I'd recommend a mac.

1/8/2009 12:37:43 AM

The thing is, I'd probably end up running Windows 99% of the time, so why pay the "Mac tax"? I've used Macs and just don't really like them. For some reason, call me crazy, but I really just like Windows better, its what I know.

1/8/2009 11:17:17 AM

Quote :

" 1. Web-browsing, web video (youtube, hulu, netflix streaming...) as well as school work (Word, Excel mostly) 2. Photo editing 3. Watching DVD's, playing music through iTunes, watching downloaded video, may also use a TV-out port, or hook up an external monitor (VGA or DVI) 4. Some very casual gaming, possibly some older games "

This can be had for much less than 1000-1500. Look at newegg.com or watch slickdeals for some good deals on laptops. I honestly wouldn't spend more than $700 on a new laptop these days

[Edited on January 8, 2009 at 1:26 PM. Reason : ]

1/8/2009 1:25:39 PM

Quote :

"This can be had for much less than 1000-1500. Look at newegg.com or watch slickdeals for some good deals on laptops. I honestly wouldn't spend more than $700 on a new laptop these days "

Yeah, you can get some pretty powerful laptops for right at $1000.

1/8/2009 5:06:45 PM

Thanks for the help so far. After browsing newegg, I'm looking at a few 14" & 15" Asus machines that look exceptional for ~$1000. Anyone had experience with Asus laptops?

1/8/2009 11:32:55 PM

Just to close out this thread, I picked up a new lappy tonight from Best Buy. It's an HP dv3000
Core2 Duo P7350 @ 2.0Ghz
4gb ram
320 gb HDD
Nvidia 9300M w/512 dedicated memory
1280x800 13.3" LED display
AGN wireless, bluetooth
Integrated webcam
Vista Home Premium 64-bit

...other stuff that doesn't really need to be mentioned. Got it on a deal that ended tonight for $999.99. So far I'm really liking it, after about an hour & a half of use, running loads of updates & installing my software, getting ready to do the file transfers, maybe I'll wait until tomorrow... Just glad to have this now, my 4.5 year old Dell 8300 crapped out on me earlier this week, bad stick of ram, now its hobbling along with only 512MB on XP. This is a much needed change!

1/17/2009 9:33:25 PM

Wanted to bttt this thread instead of creating a new one. I am going to need a laptop for the following:

1. Web-browsing
2. Using Microsoft Office suite
3. Entertainment (no gaming)

Through work I found the following deal:

Operating system - Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)	
Processor - AMD Turion(TM) X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor RM-72 (2.1GHz)
Display - 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
Memory - FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (1 Dimm)!!
Graphics card - 256MB ATI Radeon(TM) HD 3450 Graphics
Hard drive - FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Personalization	Webcam Only
Keyboard	HP Color Matching Keyboard
Networking	Wireless-G Card with Bluetooth
Modem Port	No Modem
Primary DVD/CD drive	SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
Primary battery	6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Productivity software	Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
Security software	Norton Internet Security(TM) 2009 - 15 Month Subscription

2/3/2009 9:02:28 AM

Looks decent enough, but if wireless N if an option, I'd tack it on

Also if the cost isn't prohibiting, a 1920x1200 screen would be a better choice for a screen that size

2/3/2009 9:33:37 AM

that's a pretty decent deal, though i'm a much bigger fan of intel procs

2/3/2009 9:52:57 AM

Cost is somewhat of a limiting factor, I got laid off from my Consulting job so I have to turn in my laptop in a couple weeks and am in need of this new one.

2/3/2009 10:10:14 AM

i hated the brightview display we've got on our office laptops, too much glare (but if its the only option i wouldn't call it prohibitive from turning down a deal)

2/3/2009 10:27:20 AM

^^ in that case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147920

free shipping and no taxes saves you an additional ~$75 if you're buying your configured one from HP directly...so you're looking at saving almost $400

[Edited on February 3, 2009 at 10:40 AM. Reason : .]

2/3/2009 10:38:04 AM

gah deciding on a new laptop is hard.


i haven't bought a new computer in years. I know the basics of what to look for but the big question are what are some new things to avoid. Brands, schemes, vista versions, etc?


EDIT

can someone look at these two laptops and tell me what the difference is...(besides screen size). Everything else seems to be the same, except that the dv6 series is cheaper.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147791

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147916

[Edited on February 3, 2009 at 12:01 PM. Reason : add]

2/3/2009 11:45:20 AM

^ the dv6 has:

- a 16" (instead of 15.4") screen
- a P7450 2.13ghz (instead of P7350 2ghz) processor
- a 400gb (instead of 320gb) hard drive
- 512mb (instead of 256mb) 9200M GS video
- gigabit (instead of standard 10/100) LAN
- different resolution

all-in-all, the dv6 is better and for less (except that it's bigger and more than a pound heavier)

[Edited on February 3, 2009 at 12:26 PM. Reason : list-style!]

2/3/2009 12:25:18 PM

how does the dv6 look top to bottom? I could care less about weight. I just want something that will run smoothly and will not be obsolete for a while.

2/3/2009 3:29:04 PM

Here is the link for the laptop in question on my post above.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147916




Things I'd ultimately be doing..

1. itunes (with all of my music/video on an external HDD)
2. video (hulu, dvd, other streaming video)
3. internet browsing
4. torrent downloading and seeding.
5. will ultimately like to have it networked wirelessly to my ps3 to play music over my surround sound.
6. some VPN/remote desktop access for work.

is there anything that may be too overkill for my needs? I really want the ability and performance to be able to download files, browse the internet and playback or stream video and music all at once without skipping/buffering/freezing.

2/3/2009 3:54:41 PM

I might sell my Pavilion DV9000us laptop

1.6ghz duo core amd x64
Vista home premium
1gb ram
80gb hd
Wireless built-in
Webcam built-in
17in 16:9

Make reasonable offers and I might consider selling it.

2/3/2009 4:26:00 PM

that sounds solid but I'd keep my eye out for a better deal

I got

Gateway P-7811FX Laptop: Centrino 2 Duo P8400 2.26 GHz, 4GB DDR3, 200GB 7200RPM HDD, DVDRW, 512MB nVidia 9800M GTS, WiFi N, 17" WUXGA LCD (1920x1200), 9-Cell Battery, Vista Premium

for a little over 800 a few months back

2/3/2009 4:45:12 PM

I reckon the laptop I have is worth $550. It also has a burner (obviously) and geforce go card, but I forget which one.

2/3/2009 4:47:24 PM

fuck, which site did you nab that from? sounds like a pretty badass setup from what i've been reading today.

2/3/2009 4:47:47 PM

The only downside to that is that its a Gateway. From my experience a Gateway seems like shit after 1-1.5 years. Just seems like they get slow for no reason no matter how good you treat them. Maybe its just me but thats what I think.

2/3/2009 4:50:03 PM

tiger direct

hard drive is a bit small but I got like 2 tbs of external space anyway so no big deal

2/3/2009 4:56:05 PM

yeah the harddrive is the least of my worries, and it being 7200 speed makes up for it. Will definitely load basic programs much faster.

2/3/2009 4:57:43 PM

I think I might jump on this deal - any reason why I shouldn't:

HP Pavilion dv9823cl 2.0GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-60, 250GB 5400RPM HDD, 3072MB DDR2 system memory, 17" BrightView WXGA+, NVIDIA GeForce GO 7150 up to 1071MB Video Memory, LightScribe Super Multi 8X DVDR/RW with Double Layer Support, 802.11b/g Wireless LAN, WebCam with Integrated Microphone, 8 Cell Battery, Windows Vista Home Premium, refurbished by HP, 90 day warranty

http://www.buy.com/prod/hp-pavilion-dv9823cl-laptop-17-wxga-high-definition-widescreen-x2-dual/q/loc/101/209112784.html

$559.99

2/9/2009 9:22:58 AM

^ the only items of note are:

1.) intel > amd
2.) geforce go video isn't anything special, so i wouldn't count that as a plus
3.) it's refurbished

it's okay...it's just not anything spectacular

2/9/2009 9:44:32 AM

Thanks - do you know of better deals for what I'm looking for:

1. Web-browsing
2. Using Microsoft Office suite
3. Entertainment (no gaming)

I don't need something super-powerful, just something that's going to run and not give me problems.

2/9/2009 10:20:35 AM

Mixed bag of questions, let me know if I should break up the post to a laptop buying thread and a laptop help thread.

Situation
My wife was assigned (now owns) an IBM Thinkpad R40 from school in 2004 and its starting to become a POS. I currently backup her files occasionally, but don't otherwise maintain anything. I haven't kept up any type of geek enthusiasm for years and never owned a laptop. She has nothing that originally came with PC. I cant spend a lot of time tinkering as she has to use it daily while shes finishing up grad school.

Solution
Buy her a new laptop and take hers to tinker around with when I have the free time. Once I get everything rolling I have my own laptop.

Laptop Buying Questions
She really likes the Thinkpads and I will probably get the R series. With that known:
1. Could I switch the OS of the new (Vista) and old (XP) laptops knowing each install has specific drivers?
2. If I bought a generic XP install, how hard would it be to put on a laptop?
3. Can you get anything other than office 2007 for new laptops?
4. Is the R series the best way to go? DONT need much portability, DONT need power, DO need nipple trackball, DO need rugged.

Old Laptop Fixing Questions
1. Would it be difficult to reinstall all of the software and drivers to an XP install from ALTERNATIVE places. I would still be using my legit XP key.
2. Will ALTERNATIVE XP installs even validate with my OEM CD key?
3. Should I just forfeit the (ridiculously high) amount of cash for a replacement disks knowing that if I spend a full weekend messing with this i'll be pissed off?

3/12/2009 12:10:14 AM

1.) not likely...check out the model before you buy and google XP drivers...if it's possible, i guarantee there's a thread/forum out there already
2.) not hard, per se...see above
3.) you can buy 2003 via ebay or something, i'm sure...or you could torrent it
4.) if you want the eraser/nipple thing and rugged, lenovo is probably your best bet

1.) it shouldn't...just check IBM/lenovo's site for the drivers and whatever software you want (though IBM's wireless management software is horrid...i'd skip that)
2.) depends on the torrent you download (let's be honest here)...the thinkpad came with a legit copy of XP and the COA should be on the bottom...it should tell you which version you have (SP2 was released in august of 2004, IIRC, so it might be an SP1 version)...download the correct version and you should be okay
3.) i'd only do that if you can't get the correct version of XP to work...even then, fuck microsoft and fuck IBM/lenovo and just install whatever copy of XP that you want (IBNoenRANT)

[Edited on March 12, 2009 at 7:59 AM. Reason : NIPPLE.]

3/12/2009 7:58:52 AM

I need to buy a new laptop before June 29th. Is there any reason I should wait, or should I go ahead and get now. I have no use for one yet, but it would be nice to have if they aren't doing any serious upgrades to laptops.

3/16/2009 6:41:05 PM

haven't read the thread

but lenovo has some great deals going on right now. find them on slickdeals then right before checkout there is an additional discount they're doing. $800 computers going for like $500's after tax. not bad.

3/16/2009 7:23:06 PM

they had some $2000 tablets on sale for like $800.

new specials come out every tuesday.

really good deals right now.

3/16/2009 8:50:01 PM

so buy now instead of waiting?

3/16/2009 11:36:54 PM

i'd wait...the economy is in the crapper and even when it wasn't, there were weekly deals to be found on the likes of http://www.slickdeals.net/ and http://www.bensbargains.net/

you will only come out ahead by waiting a few months, especially as newer specs like DDR3 become more readily available...laptops are like new cars...you pay a premium for a new one, but the minute you turn it on, it loses a significant percentage of its value...might as well wait the few months and get a better, faster, and newer laptop for the same price you'd pay today, especially if you don't have any use for it any time soon

3/17/2009 8:07:26 AM

bozo: If the wife is set on a thinkpad go for the SL series, they can be had for like $500

3/17/2009 10:12:28 AM