laptop suggestions?

[chantheman]

im looking for a new laptop for grad school in a couple months. trying to keep it under 1500.

anyone have a toshiba? im looking at the Qosmio.

thanks in advance

[fadingblue]

my cousin got a decent hp at compusa (2.2 ghz core duo, 1 gig or ram, 120gb hdd and 15" screen) for 650 dollars, such a good deal.

i would get a macbook, theyre fast and easy to use and look good

[samsikle]

macbook. for the pure fact that if you fuck it up somehow the genius bar will fix that shit.

[aziz]

^ Co-sign....

I just purchased one a few days ago for this upcoming school year as well. Only con is the battery life...lasts about 5 hours with straight use? That's about average for most laptops, but when I'm on this thing, it feels less than 5 hours. & also when you use it for a long period of time, it tends to get really hot...but overall, I love it.

[samsikle]

yeah they lie. i swear it has a 2 and a half hour battery life.

[1995chardx]

my hp is holding up just fine. dv2000 ftw

[red]

by far the best bang for the buck.

and dont let the no-name brand fool you. sager is a company famous for their high-powered laptops. and this particular model is based on compal's IFL90. compal is actually the 2nd largest computer manufacturer in the world, producing computers for the likes of dell, sony, and hp.

you could get the following for only $1579 (what especially drew me to this computer was the nVidia GeForce 8600GT):

XOTIC / SAGER NP2090 ( COMPAL IFL90 ) Intel Core 2 DUO / 15.4" WS/XGA / 512MB PCI-Express GeForce 8600GT Video / DDR2 667 / SATA

- 15.4" WXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1280x800)

- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

- Standard Dead Pixel Policy

- ~Intel® Core™2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz w/4MB L2 On-die cache - 800MHz FSB

- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 8600GT DX10

- None Standard

- ~ 2,048MB DDR2 667 PC2 5300 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory

- 1GB Intel® Robson Turbo Memory (Vista Only)

- Standard Finish

- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software

- ~ 160GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA 300 7200RPM Hard Drive

- None Standard

- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)

- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera

- None Standard

- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included

- Integrated System Speakers - Included

- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR

- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n

- None Standard

- Carying Case Optional (Select if desired)

- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)

- 110/220V 120W Auto Switching AC Adapter - Included

- None Standard

- None Standard

- None Standard

- Integrated Fingerprint Reader

- None Standard

- None Standard

- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's

- None Standard

- None Standard

- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime Toll Free Tech Support (Extra 2 Year Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

of course, you could always modify the setup, in case you value some parts more than others.

[thelion1856]

I heard that mac computers take forever to rip and burn dvd's. is this true?

[fndmybetterhalf]

stay away from Toshibas, theyre terible. my brother and i both had toshibas for our undergrad and within the first year, it was overheating almost every 15 minutes til it literally fried the input jack thing and so now its dead. same exact thing happeend to my brother's. Toshibas had several law suits and have recalled several models cuz of problems.

i replaced the Toshiba with a macbook and i couldnt be any happier. doesnt cause me any problems and if it does, Genius bar will take care of it right away.

i dropped my Macbook and the inside keyboard shield cover thing cracked in 2 places, they replaced it within a couple days.

[maxmax]

get a macbook.

[Dick Danger]

I was gonna say voodoo, but then I saw the budget. macbook

[sohoADDICT]

i have the IBM (lenovo) t61p, just got it and im loving it so far.

[willb]

I have a toshiba right now (not sure model number as of right now lol) but i'm getting a macbook for my freshman year in college, I'm waiting to get it right now. I just hear more positive things about macbooks and their support.

[aziz]

I heard that mac computers take forever to rip and burn dvd's. is this true?

Nope...

123

[chantheman]

yea i dont think im going to go toshiab aymore. good looking out on the overheating problem.

ive been looking at macs, just not sure if i want to take the plunge into the world of macs.

if i stayed with windows i now looking at

HP Compaq Business Notebook 6710b - Core 2 Duo T7300 2 GHz - 15.4" TFT since i might be able to get it for under $900 and adding a gig of RAM. any comments?

edited. correct specs are below

[aziz]

ive been looking at macs, just not sure if i want to take the plunge into the world of macs.

Trust me...it's not that hard to adjust to Mac's.... plus, you can always install bootcamp, which allows you to run Windows on Mac.

[bchhun]

Trust me...it's not that hard to adjust to Mac's.... plus, you can always install bootcamp, which allows you to run Windows on Mac.

yeah the mac is sexy. doesn't run slow like a virtual machine either.

[Tarmac]

how come everyone likes bigass 15 inch screens? I would love it if mac re-introduced a 12 inch version. that shit was fly as hell

[aziz]

^ There's a 13" inch MacBook out right now....

[red]

if i stayed with windows i now looking at

HP Compaq Business Notebook 6710b - Core 2 Duo T7300 2 GHz - 15.4" TFT since i might be able to get it for under $900 and adding a gig of RAM. any comments?

processor model AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60

processor speed 2.0 GHz

??

are you talking about the same computer? because amd doesnt make the t7300. and i really doubt youd be able to get the t7300 at that price.

[chantheman]

your right i put the wrong specs. retail is like 1400 but my mom can get 40% off being a teacher. i want a core 2 duo if i dont go mac.

here are the right specs

Item # 572975

Manufacturer # S6579851

manufacturer Hewlett-Packard

system type notebook

built-in devices stereo speakers, wireless lan antenna

embedded security trusted platform module (tpm 1.2) security chip , fingerprint reader

width 14.1 in

depth 10.4 in

height 1.3 in

weight 5.7 lbs

localization english / united states

processor intel core 2 duo t7300 / 2 ghz

processor type dual-core

64-bit computing yes

data bus speed 800 mhz

chipset type mobile intel gm965 express

cache memory type l2 cache

memory 4 mb

configuration features 2 x 1 gb

storage controller type serial ata

serial ata interface serial ata-150

hard drive capacity 160 gb - serial ata-150 - 5400 rpm

optical storage type dvd¦rw (+r dl) / dvd-ram

read speed 24x (cd) / 8x (dvd)

write speed 24x (cd) / 8x (dvd¦r) / 2.4x (dvd+r dl)

rewrite speed 16x (cd) / 4x (dvd¦rw) / 5x (dvd-ram)

disc labeling technology lightscribe technology

video hardware card reader

supported flash memory cards sd memory card, memory stick, memory stick pro, multimediacard, memory stick duo, xd-picture card

type of display 15.4" tft active matrix

maximum resolution 1680 x 1050 ( wsxga+ )

widescreen display yes

digital camera use security lock slot (cable lock sold separately), system password, power-on password, memory change alert, hp protecttools embedded security, hp disk sanitizer, hp enhanced drivelock

graphics processor / vendor intel gma x3100

video memory shared video memory (uma)

max allocated ram size 384 mb

audio formats supported sound card

audio codec ad1981hd

data input method 1 x battery ª 1 x docking / port replicator ª 1 x ieee 1394 (firewire) ª 4 x hi-speed usb - 4 pin usb type a ª 1 x display / video - s-video output - 7 pin mini-din ª 1 x network - ethernet 10base-t/100base-tx/1000base-t - rj-45 ª 1 x modem - phone line -

input device(s) type keyboard, touchpad

modem fax / modem - mdc

max transfer rate 56 kbps

protocols & specifications itu v.21, bell 212a, itu v.22, itu v.22bis, itu v.29, itu v.32, itu v.32bis, itu v.34, itu v.17, itu v.23, itu v.27ter, itu v.8bis, bell 103j, itu v.92, itu t.30, itu v.250, itu v.251, itu v.80

fax compatibility g3

networking network adapter

wireless lan supported yes

wireless nic intel pro/wireless 3945abg

data link protocol ethernet, fast ethernet, gigabit ethernet, ieee 802.11b, ieee 802.11a, ieee 802.11g

remote management protocol snmp

expansion slots total (free) 2 ( 1 ) x memory - so dimm 200-pin ª 1 ( 1 ) x cardbus - type i/ii

compliant standards sound blaster pro, high definition audio

manufacturer selling program hp smart buy

power device external

wattage ac 120/230 v ( 50/60 hz )

memory type ddr ii sdram - 667 mhz

installed qty 1

capacity 55 wh

operating system Windows Vista Business

software intervideo windvd, hp quick launch button software, hp protecttools security manager, hp help and support, hp wireless assistant, synaptics touchpad driver, norton internet security (60 days subscription), hp backup and recovery manager, roxio easy media

warranty 1 year warranty

service & support details limited warranty - parts and labor - 1 year

min operating temperature 32 ¦f

max operating temperature 95 ¦f

humidity range operating 10 - 90%

shock tolerance 125 g @ 2ms half-sine pulse (operating) / 200 g @ 2ms half-sine pulse (non-operating)

vibration tolerance 0.75 g @ rms (random) (operating) / 1.5 g @ rms (random) (non-operating)

[zelah]

get a macbook

[nairb49]

I'm not sure where you're located, but if you're in Canada, and want and IBM, use visaperks.ca

I"m grabbing an X61 with the base for september.