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Booker
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 12 Oct 2002
Posts: 2562
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
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 Posted: 09/18/04 - 00:10 Post subject: laptops
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who makes the best ones?
if i want it to run linux who should i buy from?
this is purely for work/school, no gaming.
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Spitulski
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 23 Nov 2002
Posts: 4344
Location: Washington
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 00:13 Post subject:
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Best laptop? Probably an Alienware A-51 or some shit.
Most overpriced? Alienware.
Best Value? Not Alienware. Toshiba Satellites have been my favorite as of late.
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Kurel
RealPoor Sensei
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 1877
Location: Cali
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 00:48 Post subject:
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Alienware laptops have a serious issue with heating and their customer support sucks ass.
I'm using a Sony Vaio that I've loaded with Gentoo Linux in a dual boot, the screen is nice (very bright and sharp, plays DVD's like a dream), has an S-Video In, DVD-Burner, Smart Media slots, and a TV tuner so I can watch TV on it. It comes with an 80 gig HD and I have everything for school loaded on it (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier, Visual Studio, Net Beans, 3D Studio Max, Macromedia studio, Maya etc).
It runs games pretty well too with it's Nvidia Geforce FX Go GPU and 1 gig of DDR RAM. My only real compaint is that the sound is kinda weak and I'd reccomend getting a headphone Amp (like $20 from Radio Shack and some batteries) and a good pair of headphones to boost the signal comming out of it.
There's a small amount of ghosting with the LCD screen on some FPS games like Doom 3 and UT2K4, but it's not really a gaming laptop so it doesn't concern me too much.
The wireless LAN feature is niffty, and comes with a hardwired NIC card and a 56k modem for those times when broadband isn't available.
The only real issue I've ever had with it was while installing Gentoo, it took me a while to get the wireless card working, but I think that's common with most distro's (and the fact that I'm not a Linux expert yet).
The battery life is kind of short (roughly an hour unplugged) but the only real time I have it running in battery mode is when I'm moving it around before I plug it into the wall anyways, or sitting in a non-computer related class dinking around (like English) where a wall socket isn't available.
I paid about $3k for it at Circuit City in Flordia about 6 months ago, I'm sure the price has come down quite a bit.
I heard good things about Dell and Toshiba laptops as well, but I'm just going off my personal experience.
Edit: I should mention it's a GRT series.
Last edited by Kurel on 09/18/04 - 00:53; edited 1 time in total
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Tolanin
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 16 Oct 2002
Posts: 3551
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 00:53 Post subject:
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dells are the best value if only for the warranties.. nothing beats 3 year full coverage and purposely wrecking it after 2 years so you can get a new free one thats better than the one you broke cause they dont make those any more.
If you want a linux one i dont think anyone makes linux laptops so you would have to install yourself... ibm thinkpads are strong but pricy, alienware are overpriced and heavy.. if you want a cheaper, more mobile laptop then dell is the best choice... inspirion line is nice as well as latitude, in general latitude is more bang for your buck in terms of power and the inspirion are lighter... niether is really better for the price point just depends what ya want... thats only in general they kinda cross over between each other i think now so it might just be black case vs silver case ;p.. can pick up one of those (lower end) for prolly 1k if you wait for a sale w/ 3 year warranty.
I usually hesitate to recomend dell but their laptops i have always had good luck with... also it might be worthwhile to look into the refu8rbished ones that they have.. you get the same warrantys, generally they check refurbished more closely than normal and you get a lower price and the real reason to do it is they tell you shit like harddrive speed, ram clockspeeds and stuff before you buy it (they dont for the normal type cause they dont know what their frankenstein factories will turn out for you) but thats important stuff to know since a 5400 rpm is a big diff from a 4200 and same with ram.
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Spitulski
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 23 Nov 2002
Posts: 4344
Location: Washington
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 01:05 Post subject:
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Had some issues with Dell. Specifically, wireless networking. Still recommending taking a look at a Toshiba Satellite - the integrated wireless is so bomb.
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Tolanin
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 16 Oct 2002
Posts: 3551
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 01:08 Post subject:
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| Spitulski wrote: | | Had some issues with Dell. Specifically, wireless networking. Still recommending taking a look at a Toshiba Satellite - the integrated wireless is so bomb. |
most of that depends on software and ethernet card.. you can pick both of them =/.. toshiba i looked at before buying my laptop, they do make decent products but i have never had experience with their tech support so dunno since i think thats a major factor in laptops.
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Jinu
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2396
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 01:44 Post subject:
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I'd say the warranty was the #1 issue with laptops. You're not looking for speed demons with laptops generally. You want it to do a few things well and because they are so delicate, you want to know they'll get fixed when something goes wrong.
#2 I'd say is fan noise level.
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Overon
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 14 Oct 2002
Posts: 3602
Location: PLANE OF PIXIES
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 15:15 Post subject:
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Occulis
RealPoor Jedi
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 13293
Location: Moral Relativity Central
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 15:21 Post subject:
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I'll just quote the sentences where you're talking out of your ass, exaggerating, wrong, or flat out lying:
| Tolanin wrote: | dells are the best value if only for the warranties.. nothing beats 3 year full coverage and purposely wrecking it after 2 years so you can get a new free one thats better than the one you broke cause they dont make those any more.
If you want a linux one i dont think anyone makes linux laptops so you would have to install yourself... ibm thinkpads are strong but pricy, alienware are overpriced and heavy.. if you want a cheaper, more mobile laptop then dell is the best choice... inspirion line is nice as well as latitude, in general latitude is more bang for your buck in terms of power and the inspirion are lighter... niether is really better for the price point just depends what ya want... thats only in general they kinda cross over between each other i think now so it might just be black case vs silver case ;p.. can pick up one of those (lower end) for prolly 1k if you wait for a sale w/ 3 year warranty.
I usually hesitate to recomend dell but their laptops i have always had good luck with... also it might be worthwhile to look into the refu8rbished ones that they have.. you get the same warrantys, generally they check refurbished more closely than normal and you get a lower price and the real reason to do it is they tell you shit like harddrive speed, ram clockspeeds and stuff before you buy it (they dont for the normal type cause they dont know what their frankenstein factories will turn out for you) but thats important stuff to know since a 5400 rpm is a big diff from a 4200 and same with ram. |
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Overon
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 14 Oct 2002
Posts: 3602
Location: PLANE OF PIXIES
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 15:21 Post subject:
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| Jinu wrote: | I'd say the warranty was the #1 issue with laptops. You're not looking for speed demons with laptops generally. You want it to do a few things well and because they are so delicate, you want to know they'll get fixed when something goes wrong.
#2 I'd say is fan noise level. |
i agree warrantee is the best
also .. go to cnet and look at the approval ratings
my current laptop is an IBM T30 and i f*****g hate it .. it has a 39% user approval rating (which is f*****g terrible) .. i know people with other laptops that like them (IBM T40, toshiba M200 tablet) and they have at least 70%+ user approval ratings on cnet
usually dependant on how many people post on the user approval rating its a good judge of how good a product is .. especially laptops because the main problem with them is shit breaking all the time
i personally am leaning towards an apple powerbook laptop for next year when my warrantee runs out for my s****y T30 (because without the warrantee its as good as garbage) .. because from what i hear the apple powerbooks are decent and solid .. they are also nice and fast as opposed to all the PC laptops i am familiar with that are slow as f**k .. they get an INCREDIBLE approval rating on cnet, but i dont know if thats just stupid apple people going "OMGOMG THIS IS SO GREAT" before they even release the f*****g product ... watch out for that .. idiots on cnet like to write reviews even before the f*****g product is out saing "OMG THIS IS SO GREAT ITS THE BEST THING EVER I WILL LOVE IT I KNOW IT" or "THIS IS SO s****y OMG, THE SAMSUNG X8274 WILL OWN IT WHEN THEY COME OUT"
anyway, check cnet approval rating before making a decision on the laptop you buy, no matter what you decide on
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Jinu
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2396
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 15:39 Post subject:
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If you're not happy with the quality of the IBM, i dunno about macs. The laptops can be pretty s****y too.
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Overon
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 14 Oct 2002
Posts: 3602
Location: PLANE OF PIXIES
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 16:09 Post subject:
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| Jinu wrote: | | If you're not happy with the quality of the IBM, i dunno about macs. The laptops can be pretty s****y too. |
its mainly the T30 .. ive found people using the T40 think its a good machine ..and from what ive seen is much better .. but personally im turning away from IBM overall just because i dont think its worth the price to get one at my school (they way overcharge because they put software on it that i can get for free)
from what i see and have heard the macs are very good laptops if you dont mind the fact that they are macs .. ive just become annoyed at the quality of PC laptops due to the fact that they are really slow just by the simple fact that they are laptops .. also since i am a student i get $400 off the higher end 15" powerbook .. and right now theres a whole "if you buy an ipod you get a $200 mail in rebate" .. and i can buy an ipod for $230 .. so yay for $30 ipod that i can sell for another $200 if need be
but if anyone has more input on the mac laptops id be willing to listen .. im also interested in the toshiba M200+ tablet line just because i think the tablet functionality is cool .. and the toshiba one is basically a decent laptop with tablet functionality (as opposed to most others, that generally turn out to be a s****y laptop with tablet functionality)
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Tolanin
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 16 Oct 2002
Posts: 3551
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 18:26 Post subject:
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what pc laptops are really really slow.. for the price point of a powerbook any pc laptop you get should be pretty darn fast.. if you mean just slow at running games then ya i guess they are slower but pc games are more demanding graphically n stuff... not that mac doesnt make awesome laptops cause they do.
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kemble
RealPoor Sensei
Joined: 14 Oct 2002
Posts: 1909
Location: MI
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 20:00 Post subject: Re: laptops
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| Booker wrote: | who makes the best ones?
if i want it to run linux who should i buy from?
this is purely for work/school, no gaming. |
Dell.
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kireol
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 02 Aug 2003
Posts: 9517
Location: Royal Oak, MI
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Posted: 09/18/04 - 20:48 Post subject:
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I have a toshiba and <3 it big time. got mine at best buy (their warranty beats out all others. free laptop every year cuz it "breaks"  )
Emachines actually makes a really nice amd64 for cheap at Best buy
Dells are nice if you get dual batteries.
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Overon
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 14 Oct 2002
Posts: 3602
Location: PLANE OF PIXIES
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Posted: 09/19/04 - 14:14 Post subject:
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| Tolanin wrote: | | what pc laptops are really really slow.. for the price point of a powerbook any pc laptop you get should be pretty darn fast.. if you mean just slow at running games then ya i guess they are slower but pc games are more demanding graphically n stuff... not that mac doesnt make awesome laptops cause they do. |
every PC laptop ive seen so far runs slower than my f*****g p3 733 desktop in just regular windows
when it takes like 10 seconds to bring up the start menu and you are sitting there going "wtf" theres something wrong
they arent always that slow but they can be that slow for no apparent reason sometimes (and lets not begin to think about running shit like maya and photoshop on a PC laptop)
the mactops seem a bit faster, yet their specs make them a lot better than most pc laptops anway .. plus just look at the picture ... drool
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Tolanin
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 16 Oct 2002
Posts: 3551
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Posted: 09/19/04 - 16:24 Post subject:
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| Overon wrote: | | Tolanin wrote: | | what pc laptops are really really slow.. for the price point of a powerbook any pc laptop you get should be pretty darn fast.. if you mean just slow at running games then ya i guess they are slower but pc games are more demanding graphically n stuff... not that mac doesnt make awesome laptops cause they do. |
every PC laptop ive seen so far runs slower than my f*****g p3 733 desktop in just regular windows
when it takes like 10 seconds to bring up the start menu and you are sitting there going "wtf" theres something wrong
they arent always that slow but they can be that slow for no apparent reason sometimes (and lets not begin to think about running shit like maya and photoshop on a PC laptop)
the mactops seem a bit faster, yet their specs make them a lot better than most pc laptops anway .. plus just look at the picture ... drool |
macs get some points from that ya but honestly my laptop has a 1.5 ghz pM right now with a 32 mb integrated vid card and only 512 mb of ram.. only paid 1100 for it and i never get lag like that with menus.. even after running for days on end.. i dont use photoshop alot or for real intense stuff but its been ok when i have used it.. if you got something with more ram a higher clock chip and one of the new radeon 9800 m cards you would fly through photoshop i bet.. mac are great because they always run well.. but alot of thats cause they make them themselves and people who buy pc laptops dont know what they are doing alot of the times and just get shit ones with a few decent specs and ignore everything else.
i gotta say tho i almost bought a mac and if it wasnt for the fact that i constantly move stuff between my laptop and desktop and use them together i would have.
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