Input needed on a Laptops

[Rabs]

I'm in need of a new laptop as well and plan to get one after Christmas. I went to Best Buy and they seemed to have several in the 500-700 range. But seems like lots of you are giving different viewpoints on various brands!

[IggyWH]

I'm in need of a new laptop as well and plan to get one after Christmas. I went to Best Buy and they seemed to have several in the 500-700 range. But seems like lots of you are giving different viewpoints on various brands!

Don't listen to them. Everyone is a fanboy or against a certain company for various reasons. The truth is any pre-built computer is full of mass-produced, cheap products. Since you can't build your own laptop, you just buy one and hope it holds up. That is, if you pass on the warranty, which this is one of the few times that I'd actually say get a warranty!

[AThrash37DSnyder]

Anything but Acer...They are the worst

[Molina00]

I don't pretend to be an expert, but I had an old Compaq Presario for about 3 years and never had any problems with it. I then upgraded to a Toshiba Qosmio last winter and it has run great for the year I have owned it. My brother has an HP laptop and has never had a problem with it either.

The Qosmio is really nice. I can browse the internet, listen to music, run graphically heavy programs like 3D design programs and Photoshop at the same time with little slowdown. Of course it's a year old now so you could get something probably a lot better for what I spent by now.

I can't say much about Dell or Gateway. For some unknown reason I just completely avoid them, except for at work where I am stuck with a Dell.

I have never had a Sony, but from reading the specs and looking at prices it seems like you can definately get more bang for you buck with other brands. They seem overpriced and not quite as good on the specs as some other similarly priced models.

[TechMan]

I went with this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+...9045&cp=1&lp=1

originally 549

[Rabs]

Here is what I'm leaning towards for $699 from Dell, is it a good deal?

Software & Services
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T6600 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)

Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 - Word, Excel + PowerPoint

1 Year Basic Service Plan

McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months

15.6” High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera

3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz

Size: 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD

8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)

56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)

Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card


High Definition Audio 2.0

Standard Keyboard


Black Chainlink





My Accessories

Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year










My Software & Accessories





Also Includes
Studio 15 Notebook
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9, English/French/Spanish
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor
1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection