Laptop Advice/Money No Object

The_B_Man

me mate sez to me on sat nite that his da won a big claim and is giving him a few grand for a laptop and he asked me to look into the very top of the range laptops for him. he told his da that laptops are at least 3 grand and his da was fine and said he'd even give him more than that. So, i've been hearing good stuff about the new toshibas with their 17" widescreen TFT's and such, is there any good high end laptops he should consider?

also, do u need high specs for AutoCAD?

rymus

If I had three grand (again) to spend on a laptop I'd give Toshiba a VERY wide berth. I got a Toshiba Satellite 5100-503 back in June 2002 (I think it was the top of the range machine back then) and I've had nothing but problems with it. First thing to go was the CD-RW/DVD drive and the keyboard. A few months later the hard drive went, thankfully that decided to happen just inside the warranty. The latest is that a few months ago the graphics card went south (nvidia geforce 4). I sent it to be repaired yesterday and when I get it back I'll be looking at a repair bill of about €600 for a new motherboard.

Maybe I've just been extraordinarily unlucky but I wouldn't be willing to chance it and buy another Toshiba. I don't know what I'll go for next, maybe back to Dell?

joePC

With that type of budget try these:

Alienware

Dell XPS

Mach 2 Computers

I would go with one of these companies rather than Tosibia there good but not as good as these.

Thanks joePC

littlemiss

I was in the same dilemma a few months ago. I think I must have reviewed every website going. Now I know many people are violently opposed to Macs but I have no idea why. I have always used PCs but after using an apple to do a presentation I was converted. I recently acquired a 12" powerbook ( along with the 3 year warranty it costs about €2400) and it was the best decision ever. It is ridiculously light weighing about 2.1kg which is perfect for carrying everywhere. The powerbook also comes in a 15" and 17" screen. They are really easy to use and have loads of different features such as wireless and bluetooth. I'd suggest to your friend that he checks out the mac website www.apple.com or www.apple.ie
As for auto cad... not sure but apples are well known for their clear graphics. You still have to buy windows but it is the same as that on PCs and I think there is a cheaper student version available.
Anyway I'd definitely advise him to get a powerbook.

BeatFreak

http://www.rockdirect.co.uk , I got mine here. Extremely high spec and 3 years warrenty. I've had no problems as of yet. Might I recommend the Quaddra DTS Pro that's what I got

rymus

Rock direct have some lovely deals alright. Looks like I could get a machine with a similar spec to my current laptop from them for about £1200

Clinical Waste

http://www.alienware.ie

For an amazingly high spec game machine.
Plus the fact that its a head turner.
You'll see very few of these around.

CyberGhost

www.pctorque.com

SAGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trust me go with this one if you want to own the very best laptop in the world!

Sagers are unbeatable!

of course they come with the price! but are cheaper than alienware, and much more powerful!

The_B_Man

he said he's definitely not gettin an apple.

them Dell laptops are a bit much. it costs round 3 grand for a P4 1.7Ghz!! but I like the look of them alienware ones and the sager ones are good too. ill have to send him the links for him to decide.

i didnt know toshibas were that unreliable. I was told by someone else they were meant to be the best in the world.

kegan5

Tell him to give me the money instead.

rymus

Originally posted by The_B_Man
i didnt know toshibas were that unreliable. I was told by someone else they were meant to be the best in the world.

Are you sure they didn't say "worst in the world"? Those Sager ones look lovely, just keep in mind that if the bastard breaks down it's a trip back to the US to get it fixed... if the warranty covers anywhere outside the US that is. If not youre screwed. (No I didn't read the fine print)

Had I deep pockets at the moment I reckon I'd get a 17" powerbook and one of the higher end Alienware machines. Naw, sod that... I'd spend the money for the powerbook on a Canon digital SLR

kaimera

money no object?

go here : *drools*

Dempsey

Originally posted by The_B_Man
he said he's definitely not gettin an apple.

them Dell laptops are a bit much. it costs round 3 grand for a P4 1.7Ghz!! but I like the look of them alienware ones and the sager ones are good too. ill have to send him the links for him to decide.

i didnt know toshibas were that unreliable. I was told by someone else they were meant to be the best in the world.

Mate of mine got a 3.06GHz 512MB 64MB GFX, DVD/CD-RW, blah blah off dell for 1800 there 3 weeks ago off dell

CyberGhost

Kaimera - holly crap! Pctorque sells the same machines 2000$ cheaper!

littlemiss

Originally posted by The_B_Man
he said he's definitely not gettin an apple.

Before he completely rules it out, tell him just to check out their website. About four months ago I was the same, said that there was no way I'd get an apple but am really glad I did, the new apples aren't as evil as the old ones.:)

RicardoSmith

Don't think AutoCad is available on Apple Mac is it?

I bought a Sony, since if I have a problem I can return it to them anywhere in the world. They also have the best screens IMO. Check out the Sony Onyz screens before you buy.

http://www.sony.ie

Those ones that Kaimera links are faster though.

rymus

Ahh well, in fairness... there isnt much faster or more expensive than an "L"

Big Chief

i'd go with the alienware rig personally

BeatFreak

Thats wierd, that go laptop place that Kaimera linked has the EXACT same specs as the RockDirect.co.uk lappys. I bought a Quaddra DTS pro from Rock and its the only difference between mine and the Hollywood laptop is the badge... One warning about buying a laptop with a sub tho, make sure the keys on the keyboard are a tight fit otherwise your keys will rattle like fook everytime your frequencies drop as I found out. VERY frustrating...

CyberGhost

Beat Freak, Submarine, Quaddra DTS Pro, Alienware,Area-51m(the first model), Sager, are all made by a company called Clevo

from all those companies Sager has the best customer service and the best prices

check this forum out
http://notebookforums.com/index.php?
you'll get all this answers here

BeatFreak

Ah right I see, thought there was something going on... Problem with sager is that they are american, which makes buying it and getting it back into the country a problem and returning it for warrenty would be a pain I'm sure...

CyberGhost

yea. that sucks!

I know a guy who paid 500 euros of VAT and excise to get it here!

neokenzo

Originally posted by Big Chief
i'd go with the alienware rig personally

Yeah so would I. Check those beauty up. They look fantastic imho

CyberGhost

leeroybrown

I know someone who had to pay nearly €200 for fully insured delivery to the UK for a warranty repair on a laptop.

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by CyberGhost

Whats that? I'm assuming from the file name its a Alienware one?

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by leeroybrown
I know someone who had to pay nearly €200 for fully insured delivery to the UK for a warranty repair on a laptop.

Warrenty and support are thee most important things on a laptop.

CyberGhost

Originally posted by RicardoSmith
Warrenty and support are thee most important things on a laptop.

I second that!

BeatFreak

I agree! That's why he should go with RockDirect, 3 years warranty and fantastic free (afaik) support. Okay for repairs you have to get the lappy to England but if you keep the box it came in that shouldn't be problem, then just SDS the package for free from work (in my case anyways ) and your flying. Aside from Alienware there isn't any company in Ireland making high spec gaming machines well not with 9600Pro's anyways. Rock get my thumbs up...

CyberGhost

Beat Freak, erm.. you are wrong mate!

Inspiron 9100 !?

Mobility Radeon 9700!

Ricardo - yep, that the alien, the new model(m2)

The_B_Man

so its best to get a laptop from an irish based company just in case u need to send it back for repairs?

ill probably tell him to get an alienware one then. ill do a bit more research aswell. ill have to have a word with the bloke who told me about the toshibas!:rolleyes:

kaimera

Originally posted by CyberGhost
Kaimera - holly crap! Pctorque sells the same machines 2000$ cheaper!

ammm...just in case you didn't read the 'L' notbook specs...the entire OS is stored IN RAM == lightning fast.

I didn't go through the entire pctorque site [stupid 56k and pics dont go well] but I dont think thats how they store the OS. [could be wrong :dunno:]

CyberGhost

they are identical, so it can be done with pctorque too, and L is terribly overpriced! i configed a laptop and the total came out 9,962.99!!!