Next best computer brand?

[mknabster]

I am looking to get a new laptop before i go off to college next year, because my 5 year old Dell Inspiron 5100 has so many things wrong with it, it's not funny. Now i know that Macs are the best to get, but, since money doesn't grow on trees for me, what's the next best brand?

[Savagebasher]

dell/hp/acer/asus/toshiba

format the dell, all your problems will go away.

[runninmann]

I am looking to get a new laptop before i go off to college next year, because my 5 year old Dell Inspiron 5100 has so many things wrong with it, it's not funny. Now i know that Macs are the best to get, but, since money doesn't grow on trees for me, what's the next best brand?What, we don't have enough arguments around here without this?:)

[JCR]

Lock n load gentlemen.

[Quad]

Thinkpads are very fine machines in a laptop and they may make macs look more affordable to you. I have used a few sony's and though generally overpriced (for what you get) they have worked well enough. Nowhere as well made or engineered as thinkpads though. I have used dells as well, I do not like watching money flush down the toilet that fast.

My brother (who is a complete mac fanactic (I think because he owns mac stock)) tells me that cheap mac laptops are not made well. I would tend to trust him on that. I would then conclude that you would want a slightly better than bottom of the barrel mac if you go that way. I think macs are not so high priced as you do get lots of software with them. That is the expensive bit to me. So if you plan to use macs in the future you should look into them now as you may aquire a load of software over the years and that makes switching more and more expensive as time goes on, although dual boot/virtual machine options help here.


Nothing like a good mac/pc debate it make religious/cultural/civil wars so much easier to understand.


but do try saveagebashers plan to do a retore and you may squeeze another year from you current machine. I can safely predict next years machines will be better, faster and cheaper.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I used to worship Fujitsu laptops, but they have not been so special since the days of the original Pentium .. (I just replaced my 266MHZ "Tillamook" equipped Fujitsu a year ago. It's still running strong though :) )

Nowadays I am impressed with the value you get from the more mobile (14' screens and smaller) HP/Compaqs..
I had to do very little tweaking to mine to get it running very well. Acers are more affordable slightly, but you need to uninstall a lot more crap.

[aussieskier]

I used to worship Fujitsu laptops, but they have not been so special since the days of the original Pentium .. (I just replaced my 266MHZ "Tillamook" equipped Fujitsu a year ago. It's still running strong though :) )

Nowadays I am impressed with the value you get from the more mobile (14' screens and smaller) HP/Compaqs..
I had to do very little tweaking to mine to get it running very well. Acers are more affordable slightly, but you need to uninstall a lot more crap.

I too have had good experiences with the HP/Compaqs and the Acers. They make a solid running machine and even with the boxed software and other crap that they come with they don't have many problems. They are hard to beat for the price.

Personally I went with a business Dell latitude. I found that i was the best deal as I get 3 years of full warranty service (thats to the farm's small business account). And they finally went to the metal bodies and frames!

I don't think you could go wrong with any of those that have been suggested thus far.

[rhys]

I have a Compaq - the same V2570NR that my niece owns. Both of us had our batteries fail within 8 months. My new one is heading downhill too.

I would recommend looking at a laptop with a battery that lasts. The Compaq batteries just don't seem to have what it takes.

I would avoid any of the cheap laptops if you want something decent.

[timbernet]

I have an Asus laptop - and a home built desktop. The Asus is great (they made computers for Apple as well) - it looks pretty, and it is well built. BUT - my next laptop will be a Thinkpad - I am outside with a computer too much and I like the construction of the T-series...

[mknabster]

Yea my Dell now, i have replaced just about everything I could with it, except the graphics card and processor. The list is as follows, all in order: battery, hard drive, RAM, fan, heat sink, and motherboard. So i jsut wiped it about a week ago, and am starting anew, and also anew to few more problems too. I'm just afraid to bring it with me next year. Thanks for responding everyone!

[CyberDyneSystems]

I have a Compaq - the same V2570NR that my niece owns. Both of us had our batteries fail within 8 months. My new one is heading downhill too.

I would recommend looking at a laptop with a battery that lasts. The Compaq batteries just don't seem to have what it takes.

I would avoid any of the cheap laptops if you want something decent.

Good point! I will agree with the battery issue for the Compaq/HP's.. it sort of slipped my mind.

The mid and lower priced models at least ship with a very anemic battery. It's like the set of "starter toner" that many laser printers ship with. With the HP/Compaq models (at least most of them ) you should include an extra 130.00 or so for the "real battery" as well as an extra piece of change fro the RAM upgrade in the initial cost.

For instance the DV1000 series and a host of others usually ship with an anemic 6 cell L-ion batt, when the the "real" batt you want has 12 cells for easily double the run time.

There are even third party manufactures selling compatible batts, I haven't tried them, but the fact that HP has been good about using the same batteries in so many models has made the third party option more profitable. Even name brands like Duracell if I remember correctly are making them.

Links .
Cheesy 6 cell that they ship with;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834998098

OEM 12 Cell upgrade;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834998043

Trusted name brand upgrade 12 cell;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834998218

[rhys]

If I get my Apple Mac then I might not replace my battery. If I do then there's a local shop that charges pretty much the same for the 12-cell. They're called "batteris plus".

[Skip Souza]

I bought two Compaq V3000 last year.
The first got left on then nipped of of the airport transit bus between Heathrow and Gatwick. It was a ready made unit that I purchased at Office Depot. The only problem was that weak 6 cell battery. Other than that it was quite nice.
I replaced it with another V3000Z which was customized through Costco. Since it was about 6 months later I got a 12 cell battery and a faster AMD Turion dual core for the same money as the first one. So far so good. Battery is really worth the extra expense.
I like the 14.1 inch screen for it's portability. I have seen 17 inch and larger laptops but jeez, that is like carrying around a pizza box. :-)

You guys in London keep an eye out for my laptop will ya? ;-)

[Bob_A]

laptops can have a lot of problems if the CPU runs too hot.

For example, I was having problems with my Dell Inspiron 9100 overheating and slowing down to a crawl within a half hour of turning it on. I removed the fans and found the cooling fins inside the case were plugged solid with dust and fluff. after I vacuumed them clean the thing runs like new.

[GilesGuthrie]

HP/Compaq laptops are awful. Their technology is outmoded (weak wireless signals, basic and fragile docking stations, lack of onboard biometrics and hardware encryption), and unreliable. They're also relatively heavy for the specification, and prone to failing with tough use.

The IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads are excellent machines. Far better specified at the price point, and much more reliable, they're also lighter and more attractive. I've had my T42 for a year now and it's been excellent. The only criticism I have with it is that it tends to drain the battery excessively when in standby, but you can stop this by hibernating it.

If I wasn't buying an IBM/Lenovo unit, I'd look long and hard at a Toshiba, followed probably by a Dell and then an Acer. Acer are doing great value notebooks in the mid-price range: around £600. Some of the Fujitsu notebooks are very good, but beware the cooling on the ultra-portables: they have a heat channel that goes very near to the wrist rest and so become quite uncomfortable to use after extended periods of thrashing the processor.

[dougxt]

I just bought 2 toshiba laptops and I'm very happy with them. what really sold me was the lcd screens. they're just as bright as my desktop lcd. before these I had a compaq. the lcd on that was really dim. same with my mother's acer laptop.
also, on the toshiba there is a vent on the side which keeps it considerably cooler than the compaq. giles is right on the weak wireless, my compaq would crap out all the time, the toshibas haven't dropped yet.

[Ospi]

From my work iv come to the conclusion the better laptop manufacturers are Toshiba and HP with the Acers and dells coming close. I own a Toshiba myself and wouldnt swap it for anything else.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I like the 14.1 inch screen for it's portability. I have seen 17 inch and larger laptops but jeez, that is like carrying around a pizza box. :-)



I agre completely. To me laptops are 14" and smaller.
The "Yachts" are "Marginally Portable desktop replacements"

[Nidz]

I test many hundred laptops a week straight from the factory and I have to say that the Dell's are rarely faulty but the old Acer ones would have many faulty ones.