| Author | Message | ||
     optimyst Citizen Username: Optimyst Post Number: 165 Registered: 6-2001 |
My friend has to buy a notebook ASAP to start grad school soon. I told her MOL is a good objective place to get reviews on the current technology. Any thoughts on this ? | ||
| Bailey Citizen Username: Baileymac Post Number: 412 Registered: 3-2005 |
Well.. I'd sugest a new MacBook or maybe a MacBookPro (Apple Computer) You can buy Microsoft Office for the Mac, and could even install Windows on it if you need to. No spyware, extremely little, if any, virus threat. Easy to use, great suite of software. Go to The Apple Store in Short Hills Mall, very cool stuff. | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider  Post Number: 15343 Registered: 1-2003  |
The question is too broad. You have to cite model numbers, configurations, and price for us to give an informed decision. If you pressed me to answer such a broad question, I'd say that I prefer Dell's consumer grade stuff to HP's. (And my preference is the other way for commercial grade stuff.) | ||
| Glock 17 Citizen Username: Glock17 Post Number: 1774 Registered: 7-2005  |
If you're going PC and laptop...get a Toshiba. | ||
| sac Supporter Username: Sac Post Number: 3718 Registered: 5-2001 |
Also, check with the institution to see if they have any recommendations. It may or may not matter, but it doesn't hurt to have a compatible model that they can provide tech support on, especially if you plan to hook up to their network or use their programs, etc. I know that Seton Hall, where I am in graduate school, offers an option to obtain a laptop through the university by paying a higher technology fee, which allows you to receive full support of the computer while a student and then to own the machine when you graduate. This may or may not be a "good deal" but it is worth checking into if something like this is available where she will be studying. | ||
| Brett Citizen Username: Bmalibashksa Post Number: 2619 Registered: 7-2003 |
I would not recommend a Dell laptop. We have 6 and all have been sent back multiple | ||
| TarPit Coder Citizen Username: Tarpitcoder Post Number: 126 Registered: 12-2004  |
If they do get a Dell - consider paying the extra money for the super-duper support. The one where the tech comes out and fixes it. The Dell I used had three serious faults (new motherboard swaps required each time) in 4 years. Stuff happened like the plastic melting above the CPU, the display going wonky, and then random crashes. Apple seem to be suffering some serious quality control problems lately too - I guess that makes me think that whatever they choose it may be worthwhile sucking it up and spending say $300 for good support. | ||
| wnb Citizen Username: Wnb Post Number: 513 Registered: 8-2001 |
Dell, in my experience, is inferior in design and built with substandard components. My company uses them exclusively now and they've been plagued with hardware problems. If I had to buy my own machine, I don't know what I would choose, but I do know what I would stay away from - Dell. Does anybody know how that Chinese company that bought IBM's laptop division is holding up? Those IBMs were real workhorses and well built, but I don't know if this new company is upholding those standards. | ||
| Politicalmon Citizen Username: Politicalmon Post Number: 250 Registered: 9-2005  |
Let's face it whether it's Dell, HP, Gateway or whoever the machines are quite similar. What I would look for in narrowing down the candidate is 1 - CPU / I prefer AMD over Intel and that will insure 2 things - a 64 bit processor & lower power consumption - the 2nd item of importance is the screen - make sure you spend the extra money and get the upgrade to the LCD - each company may call this something different - I just checked Dell's web site and it looks like they are no longer offering the LCD upgrade? The upgrade was a process owned by Sony that some laptop manufacturers will provide for an additional cost. It will make a world of difference in how the LCD appears. If you don't know what I'm talking about stop at CompUSA and look at the Sony laptop LCD screens then look at the others. I purchased a Dell last year for my wife - upgraded the LCD and she couldn't be happier - I was hesitant at purchasing it since it lacked the AMD chip I wanted but last year the chip was in short supply and the vast majority of laptops were Intel based. Most of the other components are pretty much the same give or take a little. I choose not to recommend Apple only because historically I would never purchase a 1st generation Apple product - wait for the 2nd generation laptop if you’re thinking Apple. If you choose to go with Dell, Google search 'Dell Coupons" before you purchase the unit. I did this and was able to find a $500 coupon for the purchase of a Dell laptop - that brought the price down from $1700 to $1200 quite substantial I'd say. | ||
| optimyst Citizen Username: Optimyst Post Number: 166 Registered: 6-2001 |
Thanks all ... keep the advice coming if you can Update: now my friend is also taking a serious look at a Macpro and less and less at Dell ... She is reading the discussion here and it really will help her decide. | ||
| TarPit Coder Citizen Username: Tarpitcoder Post Number: 128 Registered: 12-2004 |
I agree 100% with politcalmon about OLDER Intel laptop chips / chipset. Stay clear of any Pentium 4 (P4M) or Celerons. They suck power and get really hot. The Pentium M is a good laptop chip. It runs cool, has decent performance per watt, and the wireless chipsets seem pretty good. The new Intel Core architecture is currently the leader in performance per watt. I'd sum up CPU's in terms of preference like this: Intel Core Duo / Intel Core Intel Pentium-M / AMD Turion 64 AMD Athlon XP-M / Sempron Pentium 4 / Celeron Video chipsets is harder. NVIDIA and ATI graphics will be MUCH faster than built in Intel graphics. If your not planning on playing games it wont matter. If the price difference is small - getting an Nvidia or ATI chipset is worth it (say less than $100) over integrated. If you get a PC and plan on upgrading to Windows Vista then you want a good video card with 256 MB of video RAM. I don't actually think it's too smart specing a laptop for Vista... I'm not sure if Dell/HP/IBM will even say 'Vista capable' for any of their laptops... Specs wise and value for money I think the Macs are compelling. Otherwise, I would go for a cheap PC laptop. Futureproofing a PC laptop to run Vista just seems too expensive to me. |
