So I've had my lap top for about 4 years and it's gotten to the point that I need to purchase a new one since it's pretty slow.

I don't know much about computers and whats new soo if you have any suggestions that would be great! I'm willing to spend about $400-$1000. The macbook is high on my list but it's so damn expensive that I don't know if I want to spend that much money.

Is it possible to buy a new computer but have windows xp?

11/15/2008 5:17:33 PM

decent $600 machine with XP

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3548293&Sku=T70-15017

11/15/2008 5:28:53 PM

I would buy the cheapest laptop I could find with 2gb of ram that wasn't a dell.

You may try Tigerdirect.com right now... they're having a early black friday sale. Or Newegg.com on black friday may have a couple of good deals. Screw going and waiting in line at Bestbuy the morning of.

By the way how you been? You still living in Charlotte?

11/15/2008 5:41:27 PM

hey keener! Do you know if say I wait and buy an apple during black friday..will my dad's discount work on it too? (he gets a discount working for ibm and last year they had $100 off computers)

yup I'm still in charlotte! I'm actually in Raleigh right now for the weekend!!

11/15/2008 6:01:07 PM

Not sure why ^^ is against dell.. they aren't bad machines. They def have some decent laptops for under $1K

I'd keep an eye out on slickdeals.net and look around on dell's site.. post here what you're looking at before you buy and someone will help you out from there

11/15/2008 8:53:33 PM

^^ The Macbook costs more but you're getting a much better built laptop that the low end IBMs and Dells (which is what'd you be buying in the <$1000 range).

See if you can find someone to get you an edu discount too maybe.

[Edited on November 15, 2008 at 9:05 PM. Reason : ]

11/15/2008 9:05:09 PM

Quote :

"The Macbook costs more but you're getting a much better built laptop that the low end IBMs and Dells (which is what'd you be buying in the <$1000 range)."

Impossible to go wrong with a ThinkPad. Up your budget a little and go for the best.

11/16/2008 9:38:02 AM

I've just had 3 or 4 friends that have had problems with dells in the past... May be better now. But I agree with ^... Thinkpads are pretty nice, and very reliable. If you really want a mac though you may as well just cough up the extra money and get that. I think you can find a base model for $1000-$1199.

And yeah a state discount might help.

11/16/2008 10:33:59 AM

as cheap as laptops are now...i'd do what keener first said and get the cheapest one you can get with 2 gigs....because in a few years from now they will be just as cheap if not cheaper and you can buy another one

1000 now
450 now+450 a few years from now

few years from now you'll not only have saved 100, but have a newer laptop

by the way i got my first dell(inspiron 2650) in nov of 2002, and the thing still works...and i've done all kinds of shit to that thing...dells are tanks

11/16/2008 11:41:39 AM

i've had some problems with my dell, but yeah ^, mine is still going fine.

11/16/2008 12:24:13 PM

^ there's a difference between working "fine" and working "well" though.

I have a Dell Inspiron 1520 (it was ~$1000 because it has a discrete GPU ) and it does all sorts of weird things, that aren't software issues, but are design issues. The keyboard/touchpad drivers are frozen for about 15 seconds after waking from sleep so you can't actually use the computer, and they will spontaneously crash while just using the computer and have to manually be relaunched. When the battery dies, it doesn't actually give you a notification until after the computer sleeps which is useless, the HD constantly sounds like it's reading from the drive, even though i'm in XP with indexing turned off. The trackpad itself is annoyingly small too, and the wireless card driver will sometimes hang if you are connecting to a weaker network, forcing you to disable then reenable the card.

If you are not that particular, you can buy a cheap laptop and live with the flaws until you just get sick of it, or pay a little more money for a nicer laptop that would give you less hassles.

11/16/2008 1:34:04 PM

buy a netbook

11/16/2008 1:57:59 PM

Dells are tanks. I've had my inspiron 9100 since 2004. With a Pentium 4 3.2ghz and an ati 9800 pro 256MB gpu, it still runs pretty well for todays standards. The warranty has been a life saver because i've been really rough with it, and gotten a few things replaced. Whenever something breaks i simply go to dell.com and chat with a technician and usually by the next business day there's a guy at my house replacing the part. I don't even have to drive anywhere. Does IBM or Apple send repair men to your house?

Plus the Dell studio laptops for ~1000 are an amazing deal. They're on sale too. Neither the IBMs or Apples have HDMI outs. Very useful. That's where my vote would be. Dell studio or 1330.

11/16/2008 3:50:52 PM

if your dad gets IBM discount, tell him to goto IBM EPP and buy a used/new laptop there.

they've got decent deals, once in a while you'll find a really good one.

$400 for a T43 with XP.. all the jazz and stuff.

11/16/2008 6:20:58 PM

the computer I have right now is a T43 and I've had so many issues with this stupid thing for the past 6 months. I got it in 2005 and I have a feeling it's about to crash soon.

For one I can only upgrade the memory to about 1 gb and I only have a 50 gb hard drive so I keep having to delete things to fit all my stuff on my computer.

I was looking at the dell studio's...they don't seem so bad.

Well we compared my discount (my account wasn't really deleted until this summer) against my dad's discount and his is even bigger than the student discount. I still have my ID though that says it expires 2012 so can't I use that at the apple store?

11/16/2008 9:42:35 PM

I got a good price on my HP and it's working pretty well

11/17/2008 2:11:30 PM

Every manufacturer has it's pros/cons. I've always been a ThinkPad fan.

Quote :

"Whenever something breaks i simply go to dell.com and chat with a technician and usually by the next business day there's a guy at my house replacing the part. I don't even have to drive anywhere. Does IBM or Apple send repair men to your house? "

I'm not big on the repair man coming to my house concept. Lenovo sends a box to you next-day air and you pack up your machine then a day or two later you have it back. Fairly painless.

Quote :

"Plus the Dell studio laptops for ~1000 are an amazing deal. They're on sale too. Neither the IBMs or Apples have HDMI outs. Very useful. That's where my vote would be. Dell studio or 1330."

Both the Lenovo SL and IdeaPad series have HDMI out for future reference.

11/17/2008 3:46:14 PM

I have a T42p and that thing is my workhorse. I beat the hell out of it through both usage and physical abuse and it still runs like a champ. You can't beat the reliability of a thinkpad. Not sure what's wrong with your T43, maybe dont use Limewire, etc?

11/17/2008 8:05:57 PM

haha I use a lot of adobe photoshop and illustrator...it doesn't really like me having both programs open at the same time

11/17/2008 8:22:42 PM

Quote :

"Every manufacturer has it's pros/cons."

To what extent is that true? I have heard the viewpoint that the manufacturer doesn't matter, it is the specs only that matter. Some other people say that the manufacturer matters a lot as well. The processors, memory, and hard disks come from 3rd party manufacturers, right? What is the reality? Or is it somewhere in the middle of the 2 extremes?

The only way to know the truth would be to buy 1,000 laptops of a certain spec of each brand (i.e., 1,000 Dells, 1,000 HPs, etc, all of the same specs), and then test them and see how long they last and then find some averages, medians, and standard deviations. Has anybody ever done it?

So anyway, since you think every manufacturer has its pros and cons, could you please list the pros and cons of the following, as I am looking to buy a new laptop soon:

Dell
HP
Toshiba
Sony
Acer
Asus
Fujitsu-Siemens

Thanks.

[obviously, this is aside from looks]

11/18/2008 3:15:02 PM

^he's right. Every company has it's pros/cons. Aside from the internal components, it's about case design and reliability. I mean look at Apple. I don't think anyone is arguing that they blow any other company out of the water in terms of case design. Their new laptops are solid Aluminium and Glass. Plus there's a big difference in case reliability from like Dell or Asus. Every company makes their laptops differently, and some cases are cheaper than others.

11/18/2008 3:20:53 PM

You can only comment on products you have experience with. Keep in mind that one quirk for one person may be a perk for another.

Example: I love Lenovo's ThinkVantage software, but here are some on here who would like to strangle me for that comment. They are purists and hate the fact that a company would work so hard to include robust and well developed software, since they're going to erase it anyways and use their own software.

Another golden rule to remember is: "You get what you pay for". And that rule holds very true in the laptop marketplace.

11/18/2008 3:47:41 PM

OK, are there any manufacturers I should avoid? Acer?


What manufacturers would you recommend?


What do you think of Toshiba?

11/18/2008 3:53:54 PM

^ definitely NOT Toshiba.

They often put fans on the bottom of their laptop, making them very prone to overheating.

11/18/2008 4:33:22 PM

another lenovo vote, but I'm biased.

have good deals going on right now. Actually makes them around the same pricepoint as competitors right now.

Example:



Ideapad Y530
Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T3200 processor ( 2GHz 667MHz 1MB )
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
15.4 WXGA TFT with integrated camera LCD Glossy 1280x800
Intel Integrated Graphics X4500
2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
160GB 5400
DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) 24X Max
Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 5100
6 Cell Lithium-Ion
One year parts and labor (system battery: one year)

$610

[Edited on November 18, 2008 at 4:48 PM. Reason : ,]

11/18/2008 4:43:43 PM

hp are prettier

11/18/2008 4:46:08 PM

Quote :

"ntel® Pentium® Dual Core T3200 processor ( 2GHz 667MHz 1MB )"

That is SO old. I would rather get one with a recent processor. Also, she runs Photoshop and Illustrator AT THE SAME TIME!

Quote :

"They often put fans on the bottom of their laptop, making them very prone to overheating."

Oh, never realized that. Thanks. But I have a nice laptop cooling pad, and I use it all the time. If I bought a Toshiba and used the pad, wouldn't that reduce the overheating by a lot?

OK, what about the other brands?

HP
Dell
Sony
LG
Acer
Asus

Quote :

"Plus there's a big difference in case reliability from like Dell or Asus."

So which are you saying is better?

11/18/2008 4:52:16 PM

The nicer Sony laptops i've always been impressed with, same with HP. Sony has the least "crapware" installed by default between the 2, meaning a MUCH better out of the box experience.

Apple is still better than both though.

11/18/2008 5:03:02 PM

^^

ehh my little x61 with an Intel L7500 (1.60 GHz 800 MHz 4MB) handles running all my apps simultaneously just fine (photoshop, dreamweaver, fireworks, etc.)

but I guess if you HAVE to have the newest thing, you can always upgrade. I was just making the point that lenovo's aren't all fucking expensive like the $2000 x300.

11/18/2008 5:13:51 PM

My next laptop better have an i7 in it.

11/18/2008 5:15:54 PM

Quote :

"the computer I have right now is a T43 and I've had so many issues with this stupid thing for the past 6 months. I got it in 2005 and I have a feeling it's about to crash soon. For one I can only upgrade the memory to about 1 gb and I only have a 50 gb hard drive so I keep having to delete things to fit all my stuff on my computer."

For less than ~$200 you can upgrade to 2GB of memory and a much bigger hard drive.

11/18/2008 5:59:36 PM

I was looking at black friday deals..and dell's deals aren't bad at all. I'm really looking at the dell studio!

http://bfads.net/Dell-Studio-15-Laptop-15-LCD-Core-2-Duo-3GB-RAM-320GB-HDD-at-Dell-Home

only $699

11/18/2008 9:34:31 PM

Okay I've decided to pay the extra money and get a macbook...does anybody know really the difference between the new white macbook or the black macbook? All I can tell is the graphics card...

11/23/2008 10:19:51 PM

different speed processors by default, different amount of ram also..judging by the first few lines of their description anyways

white

Quote :

"2.1GHz * Intel Core 2 Duo * 1GB DDR2 Memory * 120GB hard drive1 * Intel GMA X3100 graphics * Ships: Within 24hrs * Free Shipping * $999.00 "

black

Quote :

"2.0GHz * Intel Core 2 Duo * 2GB DDR3 Memory * 160GB hard drive1 * NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics * Ships: Within 24hrs * Free Shipping * $1,299.00 "

[Edited on November 23, 2008 at 10:24 PM. Reason : asdf]

11/23/2008 10:23:58 PM

well when I went to customize the white one making it 2 gb and 160 gb hard drive is still cheaper than the black one...

11/23/2008 10:27:35 PM

bc of the video card

and never ever EVER buy RAM from apple. complete and total rip off

[Edited on November 23, 2008 at 10:33 PM. Reason : oh and black is DDR3 ram, white is DDR2..]

11/23/2008 10:33:16 PM

really? Is it possible to install my 1 gb ram that I have in this computer into the apple one so I have 2 gb?

I'm thinking of getting the white one..with my dad's discount it's about $939 then last year they had $100 off all lap tops...so it'll be $839 with free shipping

11/23/2008 10:43:55 PM

Quote :

"Is it possible to install my 1 gb ram that I have in this computer into the apple one so I have 2 gb? "

depends on your current computer--i doubt it's the same type though so basically no

..it's cheaper though to buy RAM on amazon or something like that and it's really easy to install

11/23/2008 11:16:25 PM

The newer ones also have a faster bus speed (but lower cache), as well as being the unibody construction (which makes them more durable, and they feel a lot nicer in your hand).

The newer ones though ONLY have a DisplayPort on them, not the DVI, so you'll need to specially purchase the DispalyPort to DVI or VGA adapter depending on if you even use that.

But the main difference, as has already been noted, is that the GPU is MUCH nicer on the newer ones.

The newer ones also don't have ANY firewire ports on them (vs the older ones having firewire 400 IIRC), but you probably don't use that either.

Oh and the newer ones use DDR3, which means 99% of older laptops' RAM won't be compatible.

Another big difference is the trackpad. The new ones have the new multitouch trackpad where the entire surface clicks like a button. This is by far the most unique (and best) feature of the new laptops, that you'll want to be somewhat familiar with. This video goes over what's different in about the last fifth of it: http://www.apple.com/macbook/design.html#designvideo (it's pretty short so you might as well watch the entire thing).


[Edited on November 24, 2008 at 1:18 AM. Reason : V yeah you're right]

[Edited on November 24, 2008 at 1:19 AM. Reason : ]

11/24/2008 1:06:58 AM

Quote :

"Oh and the newer ones use DDR2, which means 99% of older laptops' RAM won't be compatible. "

more like they use DDR3, amirite? i mean, it does state that in the quotes straight from the apple website that i've already posted.

11/24/2008 1:10:40 AM

i really like this deal: http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/143203

i'm thinking about selling my HP on ebay and getting this one

i dunno if i can live with an AMD proc though after tasting some core 2 duo sweetness with an FSB to die for

[Edited on November 24, 2008 at 3:01 AM. Reason : .]

11/24/2008 2:47:02 AM

yeah i saw that on slickdeals today and wondered if it was a good deal

11/24/2008 3:00:03 AM

here are a bunch more--
http://www.notebookreview.com/deals/

i was debating getting a netbook but i want something with a high resolution screen that looks good on the go and can handle some light photoshopping

11/24/2008 3:05:51 AM

^^^

Quote :

"17in"

11/24/2008 8:21:22 AM

yeah 17 inch is pretty big for a laptop

11/24/2008 12:49:06 PM

yah but look at those specs - they're really good for that price...

netbook price with desktop replacement specs

probably overheats like a bitch

11/24/2008 2:20:40 PM

http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/143266

6.5lbs. 15.4"; Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (Penryn) @ 2.26GHz; 1GB RAM; 80GB HDD; DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo; 802.11b/g; Vista Home Basic; 6-cell; 1yr warranty

$739.00 - 15% off Code: USPBLACKFRIDAY = $628.15 Free Shipping

worth it?

i can upgrade the memory myself later. what do you think?

edit:

fuck i can never turn down a processor with more cache and a better resolution screen
when i choose those it turns out to be $240 more

[Edited on November 24, 2008 at 3:01 PM. Reason : .]

11/24/2008 2:59:08 PM

http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/143262



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11/24/2008 5:47:54 PM

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11/24/2008 10:36:35 PM

set'em up

11/24/2008 10:51:23 PM