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Best laptop brand to buy...

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AFIsoldier

Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2003
Location
Albemarle, NC, USA!
College is coming soon, and I'd rather get a hang of the new computer early so now I'm laptop shopping.

I like to game, but it's only CS:S, BF:2, possibly BF:3, and other older games.
It needs to do all the basic stuff a college kid would want, e.g., surf the web, check email, instant message, music, videos, etc.
I like the simple styling of IBMs, and the "cool" AlienWare looks.
A decent warranty would be nice (never know when you're in college), and something that isn't gonna break every time it gets a little rattled.

I have a good idea of the system specs that would fit the profile, but I don't know where to start shopping. Any help would be great
 
Acer's are good quality, plus good bang for the buck. sift through newegg's stock to get an idea. in my opinion dell's laptops are not as dependable...
 
Acer ftw. Their support is incredible. They recived my laptop, fixed it, and sent it back from the depot on the same day... never seen any other company do that.
 
From a pure reliability standpoint I'd recommend IBM and Toshiba.

We currently have 40 IBM and Toshiba laptops in the field ranging from Micronesia to central Africa and have had no reports of problems for two years. Most of these machines are the T60 and Tecra A3 series and are used in the field by wildlife biologists and Government Agencies. When the repair depot is 10,000 miles away, it's imperative to have a reliable machine first and foremost...

Remember, however, that any manufacturer can produce a lemon; I've seen quite a few Satellite Pros in our shop time and time again.
 
ive had 2 ibm thinkpads that ive loved to death. im typing this on one of em now. rugged, simple, quiet, pretty darn secure especially the newer ones. its my recommendation.
 
I've also seen the ruggedness of IBM thinkpads, though I opted to go for a portable desktop with as much power as could be squeezed into a laptop. Mine is a Sager, who uses the same motherboards as Alienware but puts them into a more modest shell. The advantage to leaving out the modding is that it doesn't take over a month for them to build it(like Alienware). I've had one or two problems with mine, and support has taken 1-2 weeks turnaround.

My laptop before this was a Dell Inspiron 4000, their support is terrible. I kept having problems with the BIOS not detecting the hard drive, and I was under warranty for them to send a technician to fix it. I phoned support a number of times and ran through the same tests they told me to do over and over again, but since they couldn't figure out the exact nature of the problem over the phone they refused to come and repair it!
 
CyberFed said:
see my sig. enough said.

sig=blank

WOW! AWESOME LAPTOP!!!

*EDIT*
No longer blank...now i can say "awesome laptops" without the sarcasm!
 
Last edited:
I have a HP but I wouldn't say it was especially rugged. The viewing angle is a little poor and I'm not best pleased with the keyboard but it feels solid enough.
 
Acers, as previously stated, are great bang for the buck laptops. Mine, which I use for school/work, has been working great for some time now. Can't game on it though, since it only has onboard video.
 
Having been inside too many laptops over the years(development and PE), I'd say IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads. I have run 4 over the last 7 years and when I start the new job in two weeks, it'll be five with the new T60. It's not the outside. It's the engineering inside. Alienware is an ODM supplied company. The laptops are built by another company and rebadged/recased, as are many other brands. IBM/Lenovo has their own development team. They aren't the fastest on the block, largely by choice, but get a T series and it'll be reliable. The roll cage and active shock protection are quite worthwhile. If you are patient and rumors are correct, Nvidia video solutions are coming, so there may be better gaming abilities.
 
I guess I'm one of the few who likes Dell. :shrug: They've been good to me and they get my top vote, particularly because of the price.

Honestly the only complaints that I truly have about laptop manufacturers is with Apple, particularly with the somewhat shoddy build quality in the iBooks and Powerbooks from a couple of years ago. I don't have a newer Apple so I don't fully know how their build quality is now but my three year old iBook G4 had a crack in the case, case discoloration, and warping plastic long BEFORE I actually dropped it. Their support is good though, if you have Applecare or the original warranty still valid.

If you can afford it, Fujitsu makes great laptops.
 
I have a beef with Dell. Their LCD screens are pretty terrible from a contrast ratio perspective. As a web developer, I have a hard time seeing similiar colors....

Apple messed up their iBooks bad, but I think they're making a come back on the macbooks.
 
My buddy has an Asus laptop, it's a quality piece of hardware but he's had a few problems with it. I think the LCD went out and he had to send it in for a replacement screen.
 
Elif Tymes said:
I have a beef with Dell. Their LCD screens are pretty terrible from a contrast ratio perspective. As a web developer, I have a hard time seeing similiar colors....

Apple messed up their iBooks bad, but I think they're making a come back on the macbooks.


I really enjoy Dells notebook LCD qualities. they have the best quality screen that I have experienced. there keyboards are second to only IBM.

IBM by far has the best keyboard, and the dottouch is great, I prefer it greatly over the touch pad.

but with that said, I own 3 Dell Laptops. I like the fact I have greater options with component selection that Dell offers. IF IBM gave me more screen options and better graphics options, they would be my company of choice.

My friend has had one Acer, didn't keep it too long. and moved to a toshiba, when price is a major factor, Toshiba, Acer, and Asus are the 3 companies you look at. HP, Sony are in the middle. and, IBM,Dell, Alienware are at the top
 
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