Best Laptop & Best place to buy

Velcrow

Looking for peoples opinions on the best laptop on the market for around 1500 to 2000 euro - IBM, DELL, SONY, Toshiba - dont care!!!

And a supplier recommendation?

Thanks in advance for any info on this

Smellyirishman

Lovely laptops, great for processing and gaming.

Order form the site

http://www.alienware.com/Product_Pages/notebook_all.aspx

Buy now and they really cheap with the exchange rates the way they are

Velcrow

Are these from the states and if so will i not get hit by customs duty on the way in ???

Nice machines

Champ

Give http://www.rockdirect.com/ a go.

They make superb laptops:) . Can be a bit pricey depending on what you want; but you definetly get your moneys worth.

Zakalwe

As far as manufacturers go, steer clear of Dell and especially Sony (pretty but problematic). IBM and Toshiba are the makes to go for. Personally I'd recommend an IBM T4X where X = 0, 1 or 2. They are fantastic machines and the best on the market. You will pay for them though.

Tom Dunne

Originally posted by Smellyirishman
Buy now and they really cheap with the exchange rates the way they are

If you call $1700 cheap for a laptop with 256Mb RAM....

And you will most certainly get nailed at customs on the way in.

IBM are the dogs proverbials, my trusty T40 has never given me a days trouble, but, as Zakalwe says, they are quite pricey (the job supplies mine). Three hours battery life with WiFi on. Runs Renegade and Return to Castle Wolfenstein like a dream.

I haven't heard anything bad about Dell, what are the horror stories with them?

seanos

Not fan of dell laptops at all - too many bad experiences & just dislike most thigns about them.

And have to agree with others, IBM are great!
/me needs a tshirt with that on it.

Have Thinkpad R31, so p3-M 1.1, available cheaply enough second hand, and their beautiful machine, also seen R50/51, but I believe IBM to be best around, sturdy, decent looking with nice features, and overall well built.

Also - 300-400 pages of docs available online how to take whole thing apart + add any upgrades, which can be invaluable [I'm upgrading mine to handle Wireless, which consists of installing antenna up the monitor, and using mini-PCI - doubt other manufacturers will show you + supply you with information etc to install an antenna either side of screen [internally], and bring it down to the underside of the laptop [internally again]]

If want some detail info on them, lot of good Linux Thinkpad sites which will give good/bad points etc etc.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/

secret_squirrel

Personally I think the sony X505 is sex on a stick, bit out of your price range at €3k tho... (see pic)

IBM's have a good rep for indestructability. Also meant to have by far the best keyboards.

My work have dell's most of the batteries are burnt out by this stage. (tis 3 years tho)

I've just picked up one of these babies for 1100 yo-yo's V good spec for price.....

Drazhar

I was looking at the above mentioned ones (Rockdirect and Alienware) but have a look at this one. About the same price but 1024 ram, 128mb Radeon, and 120GB HD (Yes i said 120). Its the Acer Aspire 1714SMi, ( http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/acersite/asp/product.asp?recorprod=1&product=117&cat=79&ph=&keywords=&recor=&SearchFor=&PT_ID= )

Check it out, convert it over and with VAT and deliver it works out around 2k

[Edit] Man, dont i sound like a cheap ass sales man......Joe Soap, COME ON DOWN!![/Edit]

secret_squirrel

7.1KG!!! - my shuttle weighs less than that I hope you dont plan on moving around too much. It would be your entire handbaggage allowance on a flight!

(also I hope the numeric keypad is on the correct side on the uk models )

Also I would have thought you could get a 17" widescreen lappy for that, but that might be a preference thingy.

Top spec tho.

Velcrow

Thanks to all who replied we were trying to make a purchase by friday but we may hold back:

The machines in the running are

1. IBM T40
2. Dell D800
3. Dell 8600
4. Toshiba M30
5. hp pavillion 5128

Because we need one pronto I am reluctant to buy online, but maybe we need to do more research!!

If anyone has experience with the above machines or more addition let me know.

One finding is laptops aren't cheap!!

Thanks again - Boards Rocks!:D

Zakalwe

T40 without a doubt. I am typing this reply on one right now. We have outfitted all our management and sales force with these and they never have a problem.

I can't fault this machine in any way. I'm very fussy with hardware and she's done everything I asked for. It's light, thin, runs Linux perfectly, the battery life is great and the screen is sharp. Everything about the T40 screams well designed.

For the love of God, don't get a Dell or a HP. Toshiba are always a good bet though.

secret_squirrel

that begs a question - are compaq and hp laptops made in the same factories now?

coz before the merger I wouldnt have touched a hp machine but would have been v happy with a compaq.

Tom Dunne

Originally posted by secret_squirrel
that begs a question - are compaq and hp laptops made in the same factories now?

I strongly suspect they are - I am in the middle of purchasing a laptop and I went to the HPshopping.com website. I chose the HP zt series, selected various options (1 Gig of RAM, nice ). Just for the hell of it, I went into the Compaq section of the same website - guess what? Almost identical options when chosing components (even down to the widescreen options).

/OT: I would have it now only for the damn idiots don't take Irish credit cards.

cole9

www.tiny.com seem to be very good but i haven't bought from them

secret_squirrel

see also this thread

Velcrow

This is great info lads!!

Can anybody recommend an IBM supplier in dublin

- Were edging towards the IBM t40

do IBM to and WXGA model ( widescreen )??

Thanks again

Zakalwe

Originally posted by Velcrow
This is great info lads!!

Can anybody recommend an IBM supplier in dublin

- Were edging towards the IBM t40

do IBM to and WXGA model ( widescreen )??

Thanks again

Try DSS or Calyx for IBM gear. Thinkpads com in resolutions of 1024x768 1400x1050 and 1600x1200.

[nicK]

Acer Aspire 2000series for centrino: www.acernotebooks.co.uk

chanchan

have you ever considered getting a Mac? the iBooks offer huge performance for their price. if you want to go really high end, consider a Powerbook...

people might say that Windows machines are the only logical solution... but why??? my mac has Photoshop CS, Dreamweave MX, Flash MX, MS Office...

my point is, software is not an issue... and you have to consider that macs have what is THE best OS on the planet...

when you buy a mac, you are buying quality, ease of use, reliability...

when you buy a windows PC, you buy quantity, heartache, lost productivity.

lack of software my friend, is a non-issue... becuase what you get on a mac is pure quality... whereas on windows, it's pure quantity.

gaming is another matter completely though... however, there are hundred of games available for mac... game like Halo, age of empires 2, sims, Tony Hawks' pro Skater 4... all available on mac. so don't let that sway you either.

RicardoSmith

Mac laptops have had their own reliability problems and manufacturing defects over the last few years. As for software. Sure you can get mainstream stuff, but theres a lot of stuff you can't get. So if you can't what you want on the Mac then a PC is your only choice. As for performance, the Mac myth that they are faster than lower priced PC hardware has been disproved in many benchmarks, and indeed Apple has got into trouble for misleading performance claims.

So in short, Apples are nice machines, but they are not superior to PC's. But its nice to have the choice. As for PC's causing more heartache than Mac. A bad workman blames his tools. Say no more.

chanchan

name something that is not available on the mac in an equivalent or better form. something "not mainstream"

I used windows from 3.1 all the way to Windows XP... you say "a bad workman blames his tools", but you failed to mention that if the tool is a genuinely bad one, you should change to a better one... and I'm not "blaming" windows, i accept it for what it is, a POS that is only fit for masochists, and people who can't afford a mac. My tool of choice is the Mac, not windows...

you are so ill-informed it is unreal... have you ever used a modern mac for any length of time? the thing about me is, I'm a making an informed choice, i have used both in an extensive manner and a Mac is clearly better, not just with what I use it for, but general tasks like file system, interface, consistency, these are all things that everyone can appreciate.

anyone who has used a Mac for any significant length of time will attest to its superiority.

Velcrow

Thanks for the input - here's our current thinking

We are developing for widescreen so the IBM T4x is no longer a runner. Only for this it would have been our first choice.

Out of the widescreen options we discounted Dell and HP, because of customer reviews and our own experience of their aftersales support.

So, what left in the running?

Toshiba and Acer

Comparing the two on value/performance the Acer wins hands down
the model in question is

Acer Aspire 2012WLCi-XPP

If anyone has experience with this machine - I like to hear your opinions

MAC / PowerBooks - Not a runner, our development software is PC, and the final system is based around the evil Microsoft OS - we have no plans to develop a Mac version because the market is not large enough to make it cost effective

chanchan

Originally posted by Velcrow
Thanks for the input - here's our current thinking

We are developing for windscreen so the IBM T4x is no longer a runner. Only for this it would have been our first choice.

Out of the windscreen options we discounted Dell and HP, because of customer reviews and our own experience of their aftersales support.

So, what left in the running?

Toshiba and Acer

Comparing the two on value/performance the Acer wins hands down
the model in question is

Acer Aspire 2012WLCi-XPP

If anyone has experience with this machine - I like to hear your opinions

MAC / PowerBooks - Not a runner, our development software is PC, and the final system is based around the evil Microsoft OS - we have no plans to develop a Mac version because the market is not large enough to make it cost effective

so velcrow... you agree that the mac is a better environment to work in?

also, what is the product you are developing?

Velcrow

Originally posted by chanchan
so velcrow... you agree that the mac is a better environment to work in?

I don't want to get drawn in to a MAC vs PC flame.

It depends on user preference - I like using MAC for video work, pc for programming and Linux for learning something new!

Originally posted by chanchan
also, what is the product you are developing?

As for the product - it pc based presentation software, any more information and I would have to kill you

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by chanchan
name something that is not available on the mac in an equivalent or better form. something "not mainstream"


you are so ill-informed it is unreal... have you ever used a modern mac for any length of time? the thing about me is, I'm a making an informed choice, i have used both in an extensive manner and a Mac is clearly better, not just with what I use it for, but general tasks like file system, interface, consistency, these are all things that everyone can appreciate.

anyone who has used a Mac for any significant length of time will attest to its superiority.

I've been using Macs and PCs for about 12 years. You completely miss the point. If you need something that isn't on the Mac then you can't use a Mac end of story. Especially if you are in development. Active X Com, ASP, VB, VBA, VB.NET, .ASP, .NET. Etc. If theres a game you want, IL2 for example, theres simply nothing close to it on the Mac. Ditto if you want the game Total War, or Half Life. There has been battery problems, screen problems, HD data corruption problems on Apple laptops.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/12/30/dead_ibook_owners_take_protest/

I don't want to start a flame war either as I like Macs a lot, but they are far from perfect. If you want a Mac love in, toddle over to the Low End Mac site. They are blindly fanatical about their Macs there.

Twodogs

I bought a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo laptop PC several years ago and have only recently upgraded to the latest and greatest model. I have found the laptops to be of great quality and relitively cheap.

In the past I have found DELL hardware to be ****.
HP are not much better.

The Fujitsu Siemens laptop are great. Even dealing with their support lines was a pleasure.

You should at least check them out.

Drazhar

Oh well bugger it anyway secret_squirrel, i was seriously going for that Aspire 1714. I'm shaggin off to Oz in 30 days and need to bring all my stuff with me. Hmm, will have to keep looking, pretty sharpish. I needs a lapper that can handle games, and have a fair amount of space.

jank

If you want a Mac love in, toddle over to the Low End Mac site. They are blindly fanatical about their Macs there.

lol now that may be true!

Velcrow

Firstly - THANKS TO ALL ON BOARDS WHO GAVE US ADVICE!!!!

Originally posted by Drazhar
I needs a lapper that can handle games, and have a fair amount of space.

This may be your answer it was ours:

To recap we were looking for a laptop with widescreen and wifi for multimedia demos and presentations, our budget was 2000 euro...

OK the wait is over - We bought the Laptop >>>>>>>

And the winner is.........

Toshiba Satellite M35-S4561

The Specs:

Intel® Pentium® M processor 735 (1.70GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 400MHz Front Side Bus)
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
512MB DDR SDRAM (256MB x 2)
15.4" Wide-Screen XGA display
NVIDIA® GeForce™ FX Go5200 GPU w/64MB DDR SDRAM
80GB HDD (4,200rpm)
DVD Super-Multi drive
Integrated Intel® Wi-Fi® (802.11b/g)

Why???

From our research this was the best match to our needs as well as the winner in a price/performance/reliability/support & service comparison

logistic

I would definitly go for the Ibm T4x series.

here a list of suppliers Velcrow
http://www-5.ibm.com/ie/pc_dealers.html

Velcrow

Originally posted by logistic
I would definitly go for the Ibm T4x series.

here a list of suppliers Velcrow
http://www-5.ibm.com/ie/pc_dealers.html

I would agree but...No widescreen on the IBM T4x, which was one of our requirements.

Stephen

chanchan, you are such a ****ing fanboy.

macs are nice machines, yes the OS is lovely... but it won't do what he wants. So, in short, shut up.

Also, your claims about Windows being for masochists are a little far fetched don't you think?

klong

im in the same sort of situation as the topic starter, Velcrow.

only this time im on a smaller budget, <1200.

i can get 10% off a dell, but im cautious after reading the thread.
theres an ibm stockist near me, have my eye on ibm r50e. good?bad?indifferent?

any recommendations and reasons for/against?

Drazhar

Well i ended up going for the RockDirect Quadra DTS. Arrives on thursday!!

klong

is there a link?

Velcrow

1200 ex vat?

If your looking for bang for buck why not try an Acer ( uglyish - but had one for 3 years & no complaints ) or a Medion from http://www.komplett.ie/k/kc.asp?bn=10011 ( no experience with these )

secret_squirrel

klong wrote:

im in the same sort of situation as the topic starter, Velcrow.

only this time im on a smaller budget, <1200.

i can get 10% off a dell, but im cautious after reading the thread.
theres an ibm stockist near me, have my eye on ibm r50e. good?bad?indifferent?

any recommendations and reasons for/against?

First rule of laptop buying is whether you want a desktop replacement (nearly always plugged in) or mobile laptop (good battery life).

A desktop replacement will be a horse of a beast - almost as good as a full size system, just compromised on hd & gfx performance. Battery wont last for anything. Choices are A64-m or p4-m.

Mobile working - centrino based lappys rule. Performance way ahead of their clockspeed (P-m 1.6Ghz roughly equiv to 2.4 - 2.6 gig P4 Next years P4 replacement will be a dual core P-m)

In either case for the amount of money you are looking at paying I would recommend the HP/Compaq store on ebay. The lappy I am typing this on is a Compaq 1.6ghz P-m 512mb ram, 60Gb HD, DVD Rewriter, 15.4" widescreen, and enough battery life for 1-2 dvd's on a plane. It cost 1100 yoyos. The condition was described as ''remanufactured". If human hands had touched this before me I would be shocked, its immaculate. Brand New. They also have similar spec HT P2.8's if you were loooking for max performance.