Laptops

[.Maleficus.]

Hey guys. I'll keep this one short. My sister is going to college in the fall and needs a laptop. I'm not going anywhere, but want one. So, in your opinion, who makes the best laptops and why? My sister is pretty well set on an HP Verve, but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks.

[Zephik]

Hey guys. I'll keep this one short. My sister is going to college in the fall and needs a laptop. I'm not going anywhere, but want one. So, in your opinion, who makes the best laptops and why? My sister is pretty well set on an HP Verve, but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks.

Personally, I'm dying to get an HP Verve. It seems like a great deal the last time I checked AND it looks cool as hell. I've heard the build quality isn't anything to boast about though, although that is how it is with most HP/Dell branded products.

But who makes the BEST laptops? Alienware, VooDoo and Falcon Northwest make very nice laptops using, to the best of my knowledge, quality products/materials. The only downside is that they cost a small fortune.

The BEST BUDGET laptops are built by mainly Dell and HP in my opinion. Dell has a fairly nice one for something like five hundred dollars, last time I looked at least. If your in the grand range, I would go with the Verve. But for something like fourteen hundred you can buy a pretty nice Dell.

Personally, I think the Verve is that perfect sweet spot in between cheap and pricey.

[Xpirate]

Don't buy the cheapest laptop that Dell makes. I speak from experience. I wish I had bought a better one.

[.Maleficus.]

Yeah, I kinda want a Verve too :D. Anyways I probably should have specified, this isn't going to be a gaming type laptop. It'll mostly be so I can do my web/programming stuff outside verses sitting at a desk. Vista Home Premium (or Ultimate) is a must since I now deal with it daily at work (and I currently don't have it :rolleyes:) but I'll definitely be putting a good chunk of the space towards Ubuntu.

[simon275]

HPs are nice but they are so overpriced. I would recommend if you dont wanna spend much get a mid range dell there is good support and lots of replacement parts. If you wanna spend a premium but want something that will go the distance and has resale value and excellent support get a lenovo thinkpad. If you want something trendy and don't mind wasting your cash then get a Vaio. Most of the big laptops like alienwares are nice but battery life is no existent.

[Zephik]

Dell Inspiron 1525 - Currently on Sale @ $799.99 from $1,188

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5550 (1.83GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® SP1 Home Premium Edition
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
CD / DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
Size: 250GB3 SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4154)
High Definition Audio 2.0
Intel Next -Gen Wireless -N Mini-card
85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
Jet Black


HP Verve - Currently on Sale @ $799.99 from $899.99

Processor: AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2 2.1GHz
Display Type: WXGA high-definition widescreen with BrightView technology (1280 x 800)
Screen Size: 14.1"
System Memory (RAM): 4GB DDR2
Hard Drive Size: 250GB SATA (5400 rpm)
Optical Drive: Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7150M (http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4145) (UMA)
Built-in Webcam: Yes
Wireless Networking: Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g)
Battery Type: Lithium-ion (6-cell)
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1

[Ichbin]

www.ibuypower.com

Its where I got mine. Hasnt failed me yet.

Cheap price for the POWA!

[.Maleficus.]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Right now I'm thinking either a Dell or HP. Dell makes Ubuntu laptops so hardware incompatibility shouldn't be too big of a problem and HP just makes some nice machines.

As far as a Lenovo Thinkpad goes, I was really considering using Intel Retail Edge to get one, but I'm not sure if that will be around in October (or if the fall deal is the Quad).

Zephik - Those two pretty much sum it up. The Dell has a slightly larger screen, but the HP has a better graphics card (for Ubuntu drivers if nothing else) and is overall better.

[Zephik]

As I know close to nothing about AMD processors, I was wondering, which of the two is more powerful? From my little knowledge I want to say that the AMD has more power, but the C2D is cooler and takes up less energy (longer battery life?). At least thats my guess anyhow...

[crenn]

C2Ds have more power, AMD have nothing to compare currently.

I'd personally recommend a low end gaming notebook. Something like the bottom end XPS machine.