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Please help me choose between these laptops?

Comments

  • #2
    The_Conductor
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,286 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    Lots of generalisations but hey-

    HP- avoid like the plague. Very bad reputation.
    Acer- lovely screen, nice machine, have never owned one, but thought about it
    Samsung- acknowledged to have the best screens in any laptops, and good build quality
    Lenovo- built like a brick. Boring but reliable. If it says it'll do something- it will.
    Acer- brilliant reputation particularly in netbooks. Not so well known for full spec'ed machines.

    Best bang for your buck- I'd look elsewhere. The Ryanair of laptops- Dell.... There is a link in Bargain alerts for a 1 day sale on Sunday- which looks interesting.

    Suggestion- buy a machine with a discrete graphics card- don't rely on the onboard graphics (particularly the Intel GM45 chipset graphics).

    S.


  • #3
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    ceoexec2 wrote: »
    I have been looking around since and seen this one
    ACER DUAL CORE 500GB LAPTOP 477464 - Special Order

    what are peoples opinions of this machine. it seems a bit good to be true given the spec and i am wondering if the build quality is poor. ive checked reviews and they are mixed.
    It has a nice spec for the price. Good dual core, tonnes of ram, very large HDD. The GM45 is a great integrated graphics solution, it performs better than the low-end discrete GPUs of last generation (eg 8400M etc). Not much to complain about.

    I would still go for one of those Lenovo's. They are solid machines, and can be had even cheaper than the dabs price. Ram and HDD prices drop so quickly these days that I wouldn't base the decision too highly on those specs.


  • #4
    ceoexec2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 167 ✭✭ceoexec2


    voodoo_child wrote: »
    I would still go for one of those Lenovo's. They are solid machines, and can be had even cheaper than the dabs price. Ram and HDD prices drop so quickly these days that I wouldn't base the decision too highly on those specs.

    where can you get the lenovo cheaper. ive been lookin but cant find.


  • #5
    denat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 189 ✭✭denat


    ceoexec2 wrote: »
    where can you get the lenovo cheaper. ive been lookin but cant find.

    Exactly the question I was about to ask.

    The Lenovo promoter hints that there may be other cheaper suppliers than dabs and elara (earlier post) but doesn't answer the ultimate question - where else to buy?

    is this lenovo thing like the Freemasons or what?


  • #6
    ceoexec2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 167 ✭✭ceoexec2


    seeing as the n500 is still being recommended against the others ive mentioned, im just wondering if id be better going up the range for a thinkpad. what is the main difference between the n500 and the thinkpad range


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  • #7
    ceoexec2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 167 ✭✭ceoexec2


    As above. What specs other than battery life, processor, hard drive and ram should be considered.

    what type of ports and cards would be preferable. thanks


  • #8
    Alanstrainor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,157 ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    ceoexec2 wrote: »
    As above. What specs other than battery life, processor, hard drive and ram should be considered.

    what type of ports and cards would be preferable. thanks

    Threads merged.
    It depends on what you want to do.
    Gaming will require a dedicated graphics card, outside that there's really not much else to consider.


  • #9
    okee
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 156 ✭✭okee


    I've been doing a bit of research myself and the Lenovo 3000 N200
    seems like a good bargain
    Lenovo 3000 N200 from Laptopsdirect

    Comes in at €603 +delivery
    I know someone who got one from laptopsdirect.ie recently ordered Monday had it on Friday.

    3yrs collect and return warranty
    Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 / 2.1 GHz
    NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 256 MB
    1GB Ram
    160GB HDD
    1.3 mp cam
    Mic built in
    finger print reader
    Max Resolution 1680 x 1050 ( WSXGA+ )

    Ok the ram is a bit low but you can pick up 2Gb for approx €35 delivered from memoryc

    I tried speccing a similar machine at dell and on other sites but nothing comes close,I think the only major draw back (depending what you do) is the num pad is accessed via the FN key, so to use Home, End PGUP PGDN etc you have to press the FN key first


  • #10
    ceoexec2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 167 ✭✭ceoexec2


    thanks for that. ive been on the lenovo site and going by this link http://www.pc.ibm.com/europe/notebook/why/en/nseries.html the n500 series is the newer version of the n200 series and superior to it.

    i think its better to wait until the n500 price comes down a bit. i could be wrong though as the spec you quoted seems good.

    i cant understand how a big brand like lenovo is so hard to find in the high street stores. i dont want to buy from laptopsdirect if i can help it as ive heard nothing but bad on this site about them.

    elara is not too cheap either. dabs are getting higher specd machines in a few days i think


  • #11
    tomcollins97
    Closed Accounts Posts: 951 ✭✭✭tomcollins97


    ceoexec2 wrote: »
    I have been looking around since and seen this one
    ACER DUAL CORE 500GB LAPTOP 477464 - Special Order
    QUOTE]

    This one looks like a seriously good deal. Full size keyboard, 4 GB Ram, 500 GB HD, dual core processer. Any opinions??


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  • #12
    Lobelia Overhill
    Closed Accounts Posts: 704 ✭✭✭Lobelia Overhill


    I have an Acer laptop, I'm delighted with it. I dropped it and it's still functioning within normal parameters ... got a built in webcam and mic, a slot for one of those "chips" you use in a digital cam, DVD/CD rewriter drive and other bells and whistles...


  • #13
    Hobo Sapiens
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 46 ✭Hobo Sapiens


    okee wrote: »
    I've been doing a bit of research myself and the Lenovo 3000 N200
    seems like a good bargain
    Lenovo 3000 N200 from Laptopsdirect

    Comes in at €603 +delivery


    That's expensive IMO. My N 100 cost €600 (+ delivery) in March 2007.

    Today, the N 200 is priced at €400.

    Link:


    I know someone who got one from laptopsdirect.ie recently ordered Monday had it on Friday.

    3yrs collect and return warranty
    Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 / 2.1 GHz
    NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 256 MB
    1GB Ram
    160GB HDD
    1.3 mp cam
    Mic built in
    finger print reader

    Nice feature but very finickety.



    Max Resolution 1680 x 1050 ( WSXGA+ )

    Ok the ram is a bit low but you can pick up 2Gb for approx €35 delivered from memoryc


    And the keyboard is terrible for an IBM/Lenovo laptop. I had to get a replacement keyboard (great service though from the Lenovo repair unit here in Ireland).



    ... I think the only major draw back (depending what you do) is the num pad is accessed via the FN key, so to use Home, End PGUP PGDN etc you have to press the FN key first

    Every other brand that I've seen has discrete keys for the HOME and END key functions, but on the Lenovo 3000 series it's a Frustrating two-hand operation.



    Despite these drawbacks (all interface-design mistakes/problems), the system performance on my N 100 has been stable and reliable (especially after I disabled most of the Lenovo software).

    I'd love have one of these...


    ... scarily expensive!


  • #14
    angel01
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,030 ✭✭✭angel01


    smccarrick wrote: »
    Lots of generalisations but hey-

    HP- avoid like the plague. Very bad reputation.
    Acer- lovely screen, nice machine, have never owned one, but thought about it
    Samsung- acknowledged to have the best screens in any laptops, and good build quality
    Lenovo- built like a brick. Boring but reliable. If it says it'll do something- it will.
    Acer- brilliant reputation particularly in netbooks. Not so well known for full spec'ed machines.

    Best bang for your buck- I'd look elsewhere. The Ryanair of laptops- Dell.... There is a link in Bargain alerts for a 1 day sale on Sunday- which looks interesting.

    Suggestion- buy a machine with a discrete graphics card- don't rely on the onboard graphics (particularly the Intel GM45 chipset graphics).

    S.

    Sorry but are you having a laugh, I wouldn't touch anything but HP. Have had several machines and all have done a great job for me. Great machines.


  • #15
    Tom Dunne
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,212 ✭✭✭✭Tom Dunne


    angel01 wrote: »
    Sorry but are you having a laugh, I wouldn't touch anything but HP. Have had several machines and all have done a great job for me. Great machines.

    You dug up a post from February this year for that?

    It's like all computers ask a thousand different people, you will get a thousand different opinions.

    Personally, the one and only HP laptop I had gave me nothing but trouble.


  • #16
    angel01
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,030 ✭✭✭angel01


    Tom Dunne wrote: »
    You dug up a post from February this year for that?

    It's like all computers ask a thousand different people, you will get a thousand different opinions.

    Personally, the one and only HP laptop I had gave me nothing but trouble.

    Actually no, I happened to be browsing this forum as I bought a new laptop recently. I saw that post and chose to comment, Isn't that what forums are for? Didn't realise there was a rule that you could only comment on recent posts? I presume that is why we keep the history of peoples posts.


  • #17
    J_Dublin15
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 217 ✭✭J_Dublin15


    Actually you'll find Hobo Sapiens dug it up.......

    But in concur myself, having had a number of HP machines both in a corporate and hoime environment we've had no problems whatsoever, however when it comes to Dell Optiplexes, we've had no end of problems, mostly relating to cooling, the inspirons have never been good in my experience either, the Precisions and the XPS fare much better, but thats reflected in their price tag also.


  • #18
    kuban-83
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 35 ✭kuban-83


    Hey

    From the list you give i would place in the first Toshiba then Lenovo. That's the laptops where I had the best experience. It was the sme for my collegues.


  • #19
    exozzie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14 ✭exozzie


    I am on my 4th Thinkpad - the first 3 were IBM T series and were boring but tough (and bloody heavy). My current one is a Lenovo model R61 - less than 18 months old - just ordering a new battery now after only 300 cycles, the DVD access switch is broken and the PCMCIA slot cover is broken. Combined with Vista this computer has really annoyed me.

    In fairness I am a consultant and I travel a lot and the machine is always being packed/unpacked, but it is the last Thinkpad i will buy.


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