Best laptop brand to buy...

AFIsoldier · 01-30-07, 09:50 PM

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

brickout · 01-30-07, 10:12 PM

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...

Cheator · 01-30-07, 10:34 PM

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.

hafa · 01-30-07, 11:17 PM

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.

The_Jizzler · 01-30-07, 11:22 PM

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.

Springbok · 01-31-07, 10:30 AM

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 · 02-01-07, 07:39 AM

see my sig. enough said.

Maviryk · 02-01-07, 07:44 AM

Have you considered picking a laptop that CAN'T game? Might be a good thing if you're going to college.

brickout · 02-01-07, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberFed

see my sig. enough said.

sig=blank

WOW! AWESOME LAPTOP!!!

*EDIT*
No longer blank...now i can say "awesome laptops" without the sarcasm!

Cheator · 02-01-07, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maviryk

Have you considered picking a laptop that CAN'T game? Might be a good thing if you're going to college.

Old man alert! Break out the Metamucil.

David · 02-01-07, 09:00 AM

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.

mage_x · 02-01-07, 12:38 PM

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.

Xaotic · 02-01-07, 06:17 PM

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.

benbaked · 02-01-07, 07:23 PM

I guess I'm one of the few who likes Dell.

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.

Elif Tymes · 02-01-07, 08:08 PM

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.

Malpine Walis · 02-01-07, 08:52 PM

Does anyone have experience with Asus lappys? New egg has some good deals on them right now.

Springbok · 02-01-07, 09:02 PM

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.

Section8 · 02-02-07, 10:43 PM

I will let you know how my Dell works out. I just ordered a XPS M1710

I so wish you could just build your own laptops.

deRusett · 02-03-07, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elif Tymes

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

wa77ss · 02-03-07, 10:55 AM

I got a toshiba and i love it

01-30-07, 09:50 PM	Thread Starter #1
AFIsoldier Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Albemarle, NC, USA!	Best laptop brand to buy... 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
	QUOTE Thanks

01-30-07, 10:12 PM	#2
brickout Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bozeman	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... __________________ --------------------------------------------------- c2d/4GB ddr3/4850/Antec Fusion --------------------------------------------------- Lappy u7300/4GB ddr3/8400 --------------------------------------------------- heatware
	QUOTE Thanks

01-30-07, 10:34 PM	#3
Cheator Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ottawa, Canada	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. __________________ Optimus (Main): Antec P180, Asus P5Q-E, E8400, 4 GB G.Skill PC8000, ATI 4850, Seagate 320gb, Antec TrueControl II Teletraan I (htpc): Asus M2N-E, X2 4400+, 2 GB DDR2, ATI 3450, Sapphire Theatrix, 1.25TB storage, Antec SP2 400w Galvatron: Asus M2NPV-VM, 4200+ X2, 2GB DDR2, ATI 2900xt, Seasonic 500w Tracks: Acer AS5920, C2D 2.1ghz 45nm, 3GB DDR2, Nvidia 8600m GT, 250gb hdd Gears: Asus Eee PC 701, 1 GB DDR, Win XP My Heatware! "Duct tape is like The Force. It has a light side, a dark side and it holds the universe together." - Malpine Walis
	QUOTE Thanks

01-30-07, 11:17 PM	#4
hafa Premium Member #24 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: A tiny dot in the middle of the Pacific	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. __________________ . HTPC: Core i3 540/8GB/300GB Raptor/GTS450-1GB/W7P-64 ~\|~ File Server: (Green) AMD 4850E/4GB/6TB RAID/Windows Server 2008 ~\|~ Notebook/Workstation: M780 Toshiba Convertible Tablet/i7 M620/8GB/128GB Crucial M4 SSD /7200RPM 750GB/W8 Pro Putting the YO back in YOU(')R(E)... \| Who is this "u" person, anyway?
	QUOTE Thanks

01-30-07, 11:22 PM	#5
The_Jizzler Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: To the Moon	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.
	QUOTE Thanks

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01-31-07, 10:30 AM	#6
Springbok Member Join Date: Aug 2006	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! __________________ CPU: i7 860 quad GFX: Sapphire 5850 MOBO: Asus Sabertooth RAM: 4GB Mushkin 1600 PSU: Corsair 520W modular HDD: 1TB, 400GB WD OPT: Pioneer 16X DVD-R WATER: Swifty XT BIX2 D5
	QUOTE Thanks

02-01-07, 07:39 AM	#7
CyberFed Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Orlando Florida UCF Alumni! C/0 2005 Computer Engineering	see my sig. enough said. __________________ I couldn't begin to list my computer specs here..I work as a systems engineer for NASA just imagine the toys I get to play with.. :)
	QUOTE Thanks

02-01-07, 07:44 AM	#8
Maviryk Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA	Have you considered picking a laptop that CAN'T game? Might be a good thing if you're going to college.
	QUOTE Thanks

02-01-07, 09:00 AM	#11
David Forums Super Moderator Overclockers.com Lead Editor Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Hiding from Americans and making pretty colours in a drybox in St Andrews	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. __________________ David J. Nelson MChem(Edin) PhD(Strath) AMRSC [Academia Profile] OC Forums Super Moderator // Overclockers.com Editor The Workhorse: [Lenovo W510] Intel Core i7-720QM / 8 GB DDR3 / nVidia Quadro FX880M / Crucial M4 256 GB SSD / Windows 7 The HTPC/Server: AMD Phenom X4 9650 / 6 GB DDR2 / nVidia 8300 / 5 TB of HDDs / Antec Solo II Case / Windows 7 The Gaming Rig: AMD Llano A6-3650 / 4 GB DDR3 / nVidia GTX260 / 2x 500 GB HDD in RAID0 / Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 Case / Windows 7 The Benchmarking Setup: Various LGA775 chips / Asus Rampage Formula / 2 GB OCZ 1066 MHz DDR2 / nVidia Quadro NVS 285 / 320 GB HDD / Windows 7 My research fellowship is eating all my time, so I may be slow to reply to emails and private messages.
	QUOTE Thanks

02-01-07, 12:38 PM	#12
mage_x Member Join Date: Oct 2002	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.
	QUOTE Thanks

02-01-07, 06:17 PM	#13
Xaotic Very kind Senior Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Greensboro NC	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.
	QUOTE Thanks

02-01-07, 07:23 PM	#14
benbaked Folding/SETI/Rosetta Team Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: WA	I guess I'm one of the few who likes Dell. 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. __________________ HEATWARE (22-0) \| Folding/SETI/Rosetta (crunching BOINC as the ben.World.order) *My computer hardware is too old and embarrassing to list in my sig.* StaTek is my hero
	QUOTE Thanks

02-01-07, 08:08 PM	#15
Elif Tymes Member Join Date: Dec 2004	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. __________________ Heatware: Trolls: You mess with one of us, you mess with SSS Gamertag: Elif Tymes
	QUOTE Thanks

02-01-07, 08:52 PM	#16
Malpine Walis Disabled Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Banned Camp	Does anyone have experience with Asus lappys? New egg has some good deals on them right now.
	QUOTE Thanks

02-01-07, 09:02 PM	#17
Springbok Member Join Date: Aug 2006	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. __________________ CPU: i7 860 quad GFX: Sapphire 5850 MOBO: Asus Sabertooth RAM: 4GB Mushkin 1600 PSU: Corsair 520W modular HDD: 1TB, 400GB WD OPT: Pioneer 16X DVD-R WATER: Swifty XT BIX2 D5
	QUOTE Thanks

02-02-07, 10:43 PM	#18
Section8 Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI	I will let you know how my Dell works out. I just ordered a XPS M1710 I so wish you could just build your own laptops. __________________ Intel Core i7-2600K---> Koolance 370, HWLabs GTX240, D5 Vario 3 X EVGA 480 GTX SC watercooled--> VID-NX480 blocks, HWLabs GTX 480, D5 Vario, Koolance RP-452X2 Corsair 800D Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 MB SILVERSTONE ST1500 1500W PSU 16G CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT (4 x 4GB) PC3 12800 2 X Kingston HyperX SH100S3B/120G SATA 3 in RAID 0 1 X OCZ Vertex 120G, 1 X WD Caviar Black 1TB Dell 3007 WFP-HC Z-5500's Windows 7 64bit
	QUOTE Thanks

02-03-07, 10:55 AM	#20
wa77ss Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Virginia	I got a toshiba and i love it __________________ Heatware
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