Searching for a possible laptop. Need advice.

I've never owned a laptop in my life, however I have owned plenty of desktops so I know my share. With graduation in the near future, and the real world of work ahead of me, I've found multiple occasions recently where it would have been beneficial to own a laptop. So I've come here to get some advice and input on laptops.

Goals/Use: Pretty much need Office 07, Internet, and maybe a few other misc programs. This is strictly a business professional laptop and will be treated like such.
Budget: I want to say $800 for now, cheaper is definitely better considering I'm probably going to be spending 2000+ on a desktop in the near future.

My thoughts so far:

Mac's, although I don't really know how to utilize them, and they are very expensive. In my opinion, hand's down the best laptops made. The materials used to actually make it seem so much sturdier then something like a DELL. DELL seems to use much cheaper plastic and have a less rigorous manufacturing process. That said, I have looked at DELL and they offer really good prices. I checked out their certified refurbished laptops and you can get away with some nice specs for 400-500 dollars. Regarding Mac's sturdiness and strength, I'm beginning to consider the ThinkPad as the Windows equivalent. The new SL series I've considered to be the best option right now.

Hopefully this isn't too long winded, and I explained myself clearly, if not please ask for clarification. Hope you guys and gals can help.

Apple definitely builds a nice notebook but you pay for it. Most consumer type notebooks aren't quite as substantial and may feel cheaply built whether they are or not.

Sounds like what you are after is a business class notebook and most that I have come across have been well built and sturdy but boring looking. Probably any lattitude or Thinkpad should fit the bill, no need for a discrete video card or super fast CPU for office apps.

Since you mentioned refurbs here are the outlet links.

Dell Business Outlet
Lenovo Outlet

Is it generally recommended to stay away from refurbished?

PrometheuSBoxeR said:

Is it generally recommended to stay away from refurbished?

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Not really, I owned few of them and there is NO difference between refurbished or new one.

Based on my dell experience, they put them through all of the tests. System is restored to original state. Cosmetically, looks like new.

What I would be caution for is "open box"

PrometheuSBoxeR said:

Is it generally recommended to stay away from refurbished?

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I think it is OK to buy refurbs from the likes of Dell and Lenovo. They typically carry warranties similar to, if not the same, as new units. They also tend to give you the opportunity to upgrade the warranty. I have had good experiences with them.

Also, if you look at the descriptions at both Dell and Lenovo outlets, you will see there are many that are listed as "New" or Previously Ordered New" which are new systems that were ordered but never shipped. They are a little more than the refurbs but cheaper than the new CTO's on the main site.

Buying refurbs off Ebay or other E-tailers, not so sure about that and warranties are often times not as good and return policies definitely not as good.

meionm said:

Not really, I owned few of them and there is NO difference between refurbished or new one.

Based on my dell experience, they put them through all of the tests. System is restored to original state. Cosmetically, looks like new.

What I would be caution for is "open box"

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or "Scratch and Dent" as Dell likes to call it.

I would check out http://www.xoticpc.com for quality, top of the line laptops.

Sager is what I have and it's terrific.

The ole' saying, you get what you pay for.

http://forum.notebookreview.com is another place for research.

geto said:

Sager is what I have and it's terrific.

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Sager/Clevo have always made quality machines (except for some of their rebrands) and have been doing so for a very long time. I don't understand why they are not more popular?

If you want something with metal, then get a Twinhead.

If you want a "lody-da!" business class machine, I highly suggest something from Samsungs's X460 series. Some of the newer buisness class Asus machines look really nice too but I haven't seen any in person yet.

Tophinater said:

Sager/Clevo have always made quality machines (except for some of their rebrands) and have been doing so for a very long time. I don't understand why they are not more popular?

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They are quite popular with the enthusiast/gamer crowd, not so much with the business/office types and probably a bit overkill for them too.

I like the Lenovo's, problem is I'm not sure I can get by with 1280x800 resolution, I'm probably going with the standard 15.4" but it doesn't seem like there are many 1650x1080's.

Edit: I am trying to understand the true difference between ThinkPads/IdeaPads, and which is really more suited for what I will be using it for. On their main site, I can configure a IdeaPad with:

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Eligible for FREE Windows 7 Upgrade
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz SODIMM Memory (4 Dimms)
15.6 HD WLED Glossy, 1366*768 with 1.3M integrated Camera
Intel GMA 4500M UMA graphic card
320GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Bluetooth
Broadcom Integrated Gigabit Ethernet (802.11G)

All for 829.00 New.

I think that Thinkpad is the business line and Ideapad is the consumer line and constructed as such.

I spec'ed this one out for a friend last week, but it was mainly for GPU power on a budget

Obviously needs more ram and an upgrade to a T6600 brought the price to $655 shipped

If anything it gives you the 10% off code in case you go with a Lenovo