Looking for a Laptop

Hell if I know. I spent freaking $1700 on mine.

Good luck!

lol...but you had different needs!

What I need can be found in our price range. I don't need long battery life, for instance. Won't be using it in that capacity much. I also don't need a large hard drive, I've got externals and flash drives for that. And webcam? I don't think so! LOL! Not integrated, at least, that's just one more thing to break.

I just bought an HP with the configuration you're looking for at Office Depot for &670 after rebates. NOT HAPPY! See my blog here.

1. Microsoft screwed up the wireless beyond all belief. I am barely able to get on at MacDonalds, with the router right there within feet of me. I cannot get on at all anywhere else so far. There are MANY blogs and discussions on this topic. My theory: Microsloth deliberately screwed it up in order to force everyone into their DRM system, in which you have to sign away your life in order to get upgrades, and if you say "No," the first time you connect with MS online from your new machine, you don't EVER get to rescind your choice. So, there's allegedly a hotpatch from MS to fix the wireless protocols they screwed up, but it costs money and if you get it, I'll bet they want you to sign on the dotted line.

2. They offer their Virtual PC for free that would supposedly solve the problem by allowing you to run legitimate copies of other OS's under Vista, without repartitioning, etc., but it is only available for the business editions of Vista, which cuts out the students and the rest of us.

3> In spite of the dual-core Turion and 2 gigs RAM, the machine is very sluggish, and constantly misinterprets my finger on the touch pad to boot. Windows asking me if I want to do something pop up again and again. Note that I have been a major PC user from the early '80's and make my living as a corporate inhouse web designer and graphic artist. This is the MOST frustrating OS ever!

4> The DVD doesn't work very well either. It glitches, it freezes with brand new major release DVDs and tries to insist that region one disks are foreign. The physical mechanism looks like it could fall apart spontaneously.

5> Vista takes so much horsepower that it not only slows everything down to a crawl, it also runs the battery down in about 90 minutes on a good day.

6> At MicroCenter, the few remaining pre-Vista, XP machines they have are selling at a premium, even the same exact model.

Yeah, I can get Ultimate, but I'll probably run VMWare rather than Virtual PC. I'm looking into Linux from scratch and I need a platform to run that. I am also going to work with several different network configurations and VMWare will give me some options.



Agreed. I'm not a Vista fan, but since end user support relies on my knowledge of it, I need to advance in that area. It's that old necessary evil.

Since you're knowledgable, what do you think of my running XP as the native O/S and Vista as virtual? Would that be a better use of system resources so I'm not using Vista full time? Another option I've considered is dual booting, but I have heard that Vista is not fond of dual boots.

As for wireless, it's not a major priority for me, personally. I would prefer wireless, but I am not reliant on it. And I WILL be getting a USB mouse...I am NOT a fan of touchpads!

I just (as in last week) bought a Toshiba Satellite A215 from circuit city.  It has Vista and 2gb.  I paid $699 regular price but they will match any competitors price.  Of course AFTER I bought it I found it on base for the same price, but I wouldn't of paid taxes!  GRRRRR.  But I imagine this weekend they have some good sales.

Oh well.  So far it is great.  I just do surfing, email, word docs, stuff like that.  It doesn't come with office.

It has an AMD Turion 64...ATI Graphics card...Dolby sound....windows vista.  Great budget notebook.

What size screen?

UAC has to be easily one of the most inanely STUPID ideas ever incorporated into a machine. At first I liked it, but that was only because, when logged into a user account I didn't have to bail and log on in an admin account to make changes, but I gotta say, UAC got REAL old REAL quick!

I've had 2 Fujitsu notebooks, one for nearly 3 years, the other for nearly 2. The younger one is up & running 24/7, the older up & running about 20/5. They've both performed flawlessly and are visually very attractive machines with outstanding displays. The price may be a little higher than an equivalent Dell (I've had Dell notebooks previously & am currently running one of their new Vostro ST desktops as my primary home machine) but Fujitsu's quality is outstanding, what few minor support issues I've had were handled expeditiously and I would be hard pressed to move back to Dell, despite the fact that 2 of my business partners just purchased Vostro notebooks which seem pretty decent & have a much better display than prior Dell models.

Both Dell & Fujitsu incorporate proprietary video drivers, even when using nVidia or ATI GPU's, which can be very frustrating because you can't usually update them the way you can with desktop add-in cards (Dell even crippled the Vostro desktops with ATI X1300 Pro cards - no way to update even those drivers, which seems really silly to me).

I ran into significant hardware failure problems with my Dell Inspiron 4000, right after the warranty expired, natch. Hard drive failure, fan failure, display failure, replaced all 3 on my own & back up & running each time & I know anything can happen with any product, but the Fujitus run like the Energizer Bunny and seem to be much more durable than the Dell was. No experience with Vista on any brand, so no help to you there.

"Since you're knowledgable, what do you think of my running XP as the native O/S and Vista as virtual? Would that be a better use of system resources so I'm not using Vista full time? Another option I've considered is dual booting, but I have heard that Vista is not fond of dual boots."

Not really knowledgeable. I run the computer and do my thing, but I still use Win2K Professional at work, because of all the stuff I need that will break if we upgrade. We lost about 1/3 of our apps between Win95 and Win2K, and it appears that Vista is going to be worse. I have real doubts about running virtual machines under Vista, as Vista has to be still running in the background, right? Or maybe not. But I suspect that the native OS would run better by itself, except for the areas where custom drivers are required, anyway... I'm assuming that VM and VPC both filter the sub-OS calls to the Vista drivers or some such thing, saving you from having to hunt the drivers down and install them.

I bought a Gateway laptop in December that runs Vista, and it runs great. VERY fast, sturdy design, nice keyboard. Wireless works great, and is very easy.

My opinion - it don't matter much what label is on the outside, it'll be either AMD or Intel on the inside with little or no real difference between them.  On video cards there is basically ATI (AMD now) and NVidia, so again, not a lot of difference.  Oh, I guess you could mix Intel into the works, but that is if you are grabbing a machine that uses shared memory for it's graphics which will rob a nice sized portion of RAM from your use and turn it into video memory slowing your PC but making the graphics look a bit prettier).  As you point out, 2GB is minimum, but then again in most laptop configs you may find that 2GB is the maximum you can do.  You might consider that aspect when shopping and go for a laptop that can handle more than 2GB if possible.  Perhaps 1GB built-in with ability to add 2GB in addition to that.  At least that way you'd be able to break out past the 2GB mark if necessary.

With Vista, if you have a USB Flash type drive that supports ReadyBoost it'll help performance on any machine using 2GB or under.  That would obviously include a machine that has 2GB but which has sacrificed some over to (shared) video memory.  512MB of ReadyBoost flash drive will help speed up disk access somewhat and return some performance back to you without you having to spend a ton of money on the flash drive.  2GB flash drives that support ready boost should be available at a fair price too.  Only real disadvantage to using ReadyBoost is you pretty much sacrifice that USB flash drive to that task and don't want to remove it once you are running.  Meaning you no longer have a USB flash drive to use for your own storage but instead you've sacrificed it to system needs.

If you spend up into that $1k range and just beyond, you may find a system that doesn't do the shared video memory and instead has a half-way decent built-in video subsystem.  Only real problem with that is it'll get dated fast anyway.  Laptops tend to lag behind desktop performance wise anyway, and the chipsets for video and such keep rapidly improving.  Depending on how long you intend to use the system, you may find it gets old quickly.

If you don't mind a refurbished system, you can check TigerDirect.com.  You may not like some of the brands they offer, but they do offer warranties on all of what they sell.  Multiple brands with prices starting in the $400 range, working up as features increase.

NewEgg.com also a cheap place to check.  Both being mail order typically means you aren't paying sales tax, but that may wind up a wash when you consider shipping  (though TigerDirect.com often times has 'free shipping' sales that will help avoid that issue too).

You could also check Freecycle.org and/or CraigsList and eBay for used systems that are still expandable.  I found a decent used system in another forum area I frequent.  Person was going to sell it but couldn't find the O/S media.  It helped keep the price down to a reasonable neighborhood for me to purchase, and now it's my wife's system to use wirelessly in our living room while my youngster monopolizes the family PC.

Best of luck with whatever you get.  You have enough PC skills to survive pretty much anything so I'm sure you'll do just fine.  Hopefully you can grab something at the lower end of the range and save some money now that can be used to get a better/faster system later if you really want.

Actually, terp, in my experience, there's quite a bit of difference between brands. Motherboards, service and support are the main biggies. As a techie, I know which brands seem more prone to trouble (which is why I'm willing to look beyond Dell. I like them in general, but I've worked on enough to be hesitant).

I want to stay away from refurbs this go around. Nothing wrong with refurbs, but I want a system built for Vista compatibility. I think I've decided I'll have Xp Pro as the native O/S (yes, you CAN still get them!) and run Vista in a virtual environment. That way I'm not suffering from O/S overload 100% of the time...only when I'm running Vista.

I know I'm getting a low end machine, but I've got too many other things on board to spend all my money on the laptop.

Also...I've got a PIII laptop that's in good shape but being replaced. I'll probably get about $250 off of it by including the docking station in the sale. I need to have at least ONE new system in my home (my desktops are cannibalized!)

Actually, terp, in my experience, there's quite a bit of difference between brands. Motherboards, service and support are the main biggies. As a techie, I know which brands seem more prone to trouble (which is why I'm willing to look beyond Dell. I like them in general, but I've worked on enough to be hesitant).

Understand where you are coming from, but to me you typically find that the manufacturers worked off a reference chipset provided by one of a handful of manufacturers, so you really don't see that much difference except for warranty -- unless you get a system where the manufacturer pushed their equipment to get extra performance at the expense of stability in which case I'd be avoiding that company like the plague anyway.

 

You make me snicker a bit here:

Also...I've got a PIII laptop that's in good shape but being replaced. I'll probably get about $250 off of it by including the docking station in the sale. I need to have at least ONE new system in my home (my desktops are cannibalized!)

I'm still considering grabbing another laptop myself and piecing out the PC I'm typing from.  I doubt I'd get a lot for the PC here, but pieced out, I may get a little more for it as someone uses some of the items from same to upgrade their own older system(s).  Anyway, I'd considered looking for an older laptop myself, even back into that Pentium III range, but I just can't make myself do it knowing that you can get brand new laptops (even if refurbished) for in the lower $400 range.  Even used P4 systems (nice ones) show up in the $250 - $350 range if you catch someone that is hell-bent on upgrading for some reason or another (see note above about the system I got for my wife )

Yeah, I was trying to figure out what my old laptop would fetch, and it's hard, although laptops do hold their resale value better.

It's only got a 500mhz proc, but 512mb memory, and it does have XP Pro. The docking station, I figure, is what makes it worth asking $250.

I was trying to figure out what my old laptop would fetch, and it's hard, although laptops do hold their resale value better. It's only got a 500mhz proc, but 512mb memory, and it does have XP Pro. The docking station, I figure, is what makes it worth asking $250.

The one that I just sold (with wireless card tossed in) up on eBay a few weeks ago -- 300 Mhz Pentium, not Pentium II or Pentium III, but Pentium -- fetched just over $50.  You'll lose a little, unless it's a local sale, because of the shipping costs you'll need to factor in and including the docking station will work against you in that area (added weight = more shipping costs, which equals lower bids in most cases as people consider total cost and not just their bid amount if you go with eBay).

If you can sell locally (CraigsList type thing) you can probably do a little better.  Pentium III with 512MB should run Ubuntu fairly nicely, or kick the crap out of Win2K.  XP Pro not too bad, but perhaps a tad under performing compared to Win2K with that equipment.  Win98 or Me (fresh OEM load) would blaze on it I'm guessing.

Someone will surely take it off your hands.  Hopefully in the neighborhood (price range) you are looking for.  eBay continues time and again to prove to me that old saying about a fool and their money, or at least that people are more generous with their money when they think someone else may outbid them for something

No, I'm going to post it up at the college. Used electronics aren't a good sell on eBay unless you have a MASSIVE seller rating, in my experience.

As for craigslist, we are too rural. I have not seen a craigslist for our area.

OK, there is a craigslist in Amarillo now (there wasn't, last I checked), but postings are sparse. I could probably come out better selling this through the local computer repair shop on commish.

No, I'm going to post it up at the college. Used electronics aren't a good sell on eBay unless you have a MASSIVE seller rating, in my experience.

Posting around College would seem a good bet though I'd recommend checking sale prices on eBay and using those as a guage as to how much to expect to get, and even then work down a hair assuming that people that might get interested in an item they see posted at College are less motivated buyers than are the ones on eBay.

I think you are right about the seller ratings on eBay though, which is part of why I'm happy mine is well up in the 350+ range (achieved slowly but surely through many, many transactions.  If everyone that I've ever done business with had been nice enough to -- as I have -- leave feedback for me, it'd be in the 400+ range).

Higher ratings = more trust that you aren't selling junk, or at least that you've adequatedly described the junk and that there's still enough value to make it worth bidding on.

Again though, I wish you the best of luck and hope you find someone that offers up a decent price.  Just as a wild guess, I'd think you'd probably see the lower end of numbers you mentioned, and if so, it would probably be a good deal for all involved.

My wife has a Dell - we have had some problems.  A friend just got an Acer from Circuit City.  2gb, Core 2 Duo, and Vista Home.  Not bad the little I have played with it.

I like Dell, but am impressed with this Acer.  I will be keeping an eye on it.  As for your idea of Vista on XP, unless you REALLY have to run Vista all the time, I would go that route.  It is still too flaky to have to run it all the time, while XP has gotten rock solid with SP2.

 

Oh, I've checked baselines on eBay, and my pricing's competitive. I was gonna sell the laptop itself for $200, but since I have no use for the docking station, decided I would bundle them to try to get a better price.

BTW, I was wrong about the proc. It's a 598 Mhz...a little better.

As for eBay, though, there's a high percentage of stolen laptops sold on eBay, and many of the legitimate ones ship either with NO operating system, or in this generation of computers, with Windows 2000 or (gasp!) ME. When they do come loaded with XP (let's face it, most who would be interested in this laptop will be looking for XP!), there's often a WGA issue. None here. I loaded the computer with OpenOffice, AdAware, Spybot, and AVG, so it's ready to go and I will advertise it as such. I don't think I'll have much problem selling it.

It's a good laptop in general. I just need a platform to run Vista, and since I need a laptop for other purposes, it makes sense to go ahead and get the laptop with it rather than upgrading.

Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to end up with. By using VMWare, I can shut down Vista when I don't need it.

Sorry it took so long...been busy.

Screen size on my Toshiba is 15.4 inch wide screen.

Well, if I go for an XP build that narrows the contenders down substantially.

I'll probablyend up finding out Dell is my best deal (because of discounts, etc), but at least I know I've checked around.