Need help buying a Laptop

[rooney11]

My 18th birthday coming up, so i parents are willing to buy me a laptop for school and such... i have a budget up to $1000 before tax. I need some input or someone suggestions to lead me into buying the best laptop available and not getting ripped off. I will probably be using the laptop to watch movies, tv shows and do homework (essays, spreadsheets etc.). I am not much of a gamer. I would also like to know what brands are good, what processors are the best, etc. Thanks

[1337rice]

pretty much any brand will do fine...its just the matter of how much and how youre gonna use it
if you don't game much, a $600-800 one would do just fine

Intel - good ones
- Centrino
- Centrino 2

Intel - bad ones
- Intel Pentium Dual Core

AMD - good ones
- Turion RM series
- Turion Ultra (ZM series)

AMD - bad ones
- Athlon (QL series)

[acidbaby]

is centrino same as core 2 duo or core duo

whats bad about the ql?

[Warlock]

Selections can be narrowed down in a real quick, if intending to use WindowsXP.
Most manufacturers limit WinXP options to their business class models.
Warranty length is another factor to quickly narrow down choices.

[darkprince]

is centrino same as core 2 duo or core duo

whats bad about the ql?

Centrino are more energy efficient meaning your laptop will run longer then the Core 2's.

[Kasakato]

"Centrino" and "Centrino Duo" ARE NOT CPUs. They are a platform which includes an Intel CPU + wireless + chip set. A Core2Duo CPU is the best way to go.

[evanx]

Have you tried getting the feel of the different display sizes at a local Futureshop/Bestbuy? Also, is this a desktop replacement or just for carrying around campus?

[jpark59]

Here's some ideas.

get more than 4MB L2 cache CPU integrated laptop. 2MB L2 is kinda weak.

avoid any soldered memory, which means integrated on motherboard to run dual channel.

if you're not a gamer, don't get a fancy gpu installed laptop. Instead, get an intel graphic chipset integrated laptop and spend some $ on getting a SSD drive.

Asus, Lenovo make good laptops in my opinion.
Business sake, I'd get lenovo, for gaming and movie watching i'd get Asus.


If you don't play games, net-book would be nice also.
They are very light, fast, 7hr battery life also cheap.

Decent desktop + netbook is an ideal computing.

[Kasakato]

Here's some ideas.

get more than 4MB L2 cache CPU integrated laptop. 2MB L2 is kinda weak.

avoid any soldered memory, which means integrated on motherboard to run dual channel.

if you're not a gamer, don't get a fancy gpu installed laptop. Instead, get an intel graphic chipset integrated laptop and spend some $ on getting a SSD drive.

Asus, Lenovo make good laptops in my opinion.
Business sake, I'd get lenovo, for gaming and movie watching i'd get Asus.


If you don't play games, net-book would be nice also.
They are very light, fast, 7hr battery life also cheap.

Decent desktop + netbook is an ideal computing.

SSD is pointless unless you have a need for it. The cost and possibility for an early death make it a bad option. That being said if its an EEE, you dont have much choice.

[1337rice]

"Centrino" and "Centrino Duo" ARE NOT CPUs. They are a platform which includes an Intel CPU + wireless + chip set. A Core2Duo CPU is the best way to go.

uhh...yeah, but sticker wise, it would be a whole heck of a lot easier to find the sticker that says Centrino rather than finding the words Core 2 Duo.

[Kasakato]

uhh...yeah, but sticker wise, it would be a whole heck of a lot easier to find the sticker that says Centrino rather than finding the words Core 2 Duo.

Laptops which meet the Centrino Duo or Centrino 2 standard should also have a Core2Duo sticker.

[CSR]

lenovo ftw!

[jpark59]

SSD is pointless unless you have a need for it. The cost and possibility for an early death make it a bad option. That being said if its an EEE, you dont have much choice.

15ms VS 0.1ms

You still love your old plattered drives? lol
I love my new SSD drive!!!

I use a laptop for portability. I got E8600 @ 4.8GHz running desktop with two 4870s and 1.5TB space :)

[acidbaby]

whats bad about the ql-60

trying to find a laptop arround $500 or so
2 gig ram, 15 inch screen, 120 or more hdd space, 802.11n and bluetooth be nice too, firewire be a nice bonus too

[Kasakato]

15ms VS 0.1ms

You still love your old plattered drives? lol
I love my new SSD drive!!!

I use a laptop for portability. I got E8600 @ 4.8GHz running desktop with two 4870s and 1.5TB space :)

Sure, random seek time is impressive. However by looking at other factors, SSDs are equal of HDDs. HDDs are in no way "old" and will be around for a little while longer. Too lazy to find the article I was looking for, but this came up:
http://www.macobserver.com/article/2008/02/06.9.shtml

[1337rice]

whats bad about the ql-60

trying to find a laptop arround $500 or so
2 gig ram, 15 inch screen, 120 or more hdd space, 802.11n and bluetooth be nice too, firewire be a nice bonus too

the QL is similar to the Pentium Dual Cores...it uses more power than the RM (by 4W TDP), it has 512kb less L2 cache than RM

[rooney11]

Have you tried getting the feel of the different display sizes at a local Futureshop/Bestbuy? Also, is this a desktop replacement or just for carrying around campus?

Yea, already been to fs and bestbuy, the laptop would be meant for carrying around campus (not a desktop replacement), i wouldn't get a screen bigger than 15.4", and i was leaning towards the HP DV5-1118CA w/ 2.00 ghz, 3gb, 320gb hard drive for $799 at bestbuy, but i am having question marks with the processor --> Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Mobile Processor T3200
(2.00 GHz, 1 MB L2 Cache, 667 MHz FSB)

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329744-64354-64354-3744201-3828093.html

[jackrabbit000]

If you plan on carrying it anywhere, even around the house I don't recommend getting a 17" notebook. I bought the 17" Hp Dv7 1020-us and it's a huge and way too heavy to carry around. I returned it the next day and bought the Hp Dv5-1034-ca 15.4" instead. Comes wiith a Blu-Ray ROM Supermulti DVD+/- R/RW, 2.0ghz Intel Core2 Duo P7350 Centrino 2 processor, 4gigs of ram, 1066mhz FSB, and Nvidia 9200M GS video card etc. Check the Hp website for the complete specs. I've had it for 2 months and no problems yet. Only minor drawbacks are the piano black finish which shows fingerprints and smudges and the touchpad which feels sticky and your finger doesn't glide very easy. Bought a bluetooth mouse and use it 99% of the time anyways. Just be aware if you plan on getting one...it's a Vista 64 bit operating system.

[Ironwall]

It feels like we're in a forum to debate about which CPU is the best?

The kid simply needs advise on which laptops to go!
And, He's 18, we should consider that he would play games?

Now, here's my suggestions and tips
With $1000.00

You should have
CPU: Core 2 Duo T5750+
RAM: 3GB DDR2+
HD: 250GB+
Video: Depends on the Brand

Rest is pretty much same
You can expect 6-8 Cell Battery, Card Reader, Wireless N, Webcam, Vista, etc..

Personally, I like ASUS

Models you can try
F6A-A2, M51E-C2, M51Sn-C1

And, if you can afford to spend $2-300, go with M50VM Series
You can compare prices on www.shopbot.ca

*Please note that these are my personal preference*

Hope this helped :)

[syuzh]

The netbooks seem fine. ~$500 after taxes, and they can play games like Guild Wars. eee pc/aspire ones that is. no optical drive, but you can always get a usb external one.

[rooney11]

I narrowed my choices to these three and half, all from BB,

HP Pavilion 15.4" Laptop featuring Intel Pentium Dual-Core Mobile T3200 (DV5-1118CA) 2.0 ghz/ 3gb/ 320gb $799
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10112440&catid=25253#

HP 15.4" Laptop featuring Pentium Dual Core Processor T2390 (DV6948CA)
1.86ghz/ 3gb/ 250 gb $699
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10108341&catid=25253#

Sony VAIO 15.4" Laptop featuring Intel Pentium Dual Core T3200 (VGNNS130DW)
2.0 ghz/ 3gb/ 160gb $699
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10113303&catid=25253

FOR $100 MORE UPGRADE:
Sony VAIO 15.4" Laptop featuring Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5800 (VGNNS140DW) $799
2.0ghz/ 3gb/ 250gb
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10112736&catid=25253

fyi, I was leaning towards the sony vaio w/ the upgrade for $799 and the hp pavillion T3200 also for $799, can any one give me insight into which one would most likely be the better buy

[Ironwall]

Oh No It's Hp And Vaio!

[rooney11]

Oh No It's Hp And Vaio!

why, are they bad laptop manufacturers?:|

[KorruptioN]

Oh No It's Hp And Vaio!

Shows how much you know if you're going to call them "Vaio". Not all Sonys are lousy.

Personally, I cannot stand the stupid layout on bilingual keyboards. Most HP and Toshiba notebooks are guilty of this. Be sure to try them out before you buy.

[rooney11]

Any suggestions???

[loglive]

If you plan on carrying it anywhere, even around the house I don't recommend getting a 17" notebook. I bought the 17" Hp Dv7 1020-us and it's a huge and way too heavy to carry around. I returned it the next day and bought the Hp Dv5-1034-ca 15.4" instead. Comes wiith a Blu-Ray ROM Supermulti DVD+/- R/RW, 2.0ghz Intel Core2 Duo P7350 Centrino 2 processor, 4gigs of ram, 1066mhz FSB, and Nvidia 9200M GS video card etc. Check the Hp website for the complete specs. I've had it for 2 months and no problems yet. Only minor drawbacks are the piano black finish which shows fingerprints and smudges and the touchpad which feels sticky and your finger doesn't glide very easy. Bought a bluetooth mouse and use it 99% of the time anyways. Just be aware if you plan on getting one...it's a Vista 64 bit operating system.

Hi, where did you buy the DV7 from/returned it? How much was it? Do you know if they still have it?
Thank you.

[cyl]

Hi, where did you buy the DV7 from/returned it? How much was it? Do you know if they still have it?
Thank you.

COSTCO ?

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10317501&whse=BCCA&Ne=4000000&eCat=BCCA|84|22494&N=4009835&Mo=27&No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&cat=22494&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-CA&Sp=C&topnav=

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10317635&whse=BCCA&Ne=4000000&eCat=BCCA|84|22494&N=4009835&Mo=27&No=5&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&cat=22494&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-CA&Sp=C&topnav=

[loglive]

COSTCO ?

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10317501&whse=BCCA&Ne=4000000&eCat=BCCA|84|22494&N=4009835&Mo=27&No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&cat=22494&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-CA&Sp=C&topnav=

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10317635&whse=BCCA&Ne=4000000&eCat=BCCA|84|22494&N=4009835&Mo=27&No=5&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&cat=22494&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-CA&Sp=C&topnav=

Thank you so much for your answer. I don't see the DV7-1020US in your links and none of those go close to the one I'm looking for. They sold them at Staples for 1049 CDN but they only had 10 and they're gone and never come back
You see, DV7-1020US had everything: intel, 3M cache, 1067 bus, giga network, discrete video, TV tuner, blueray and if I'm not wrong DDR3 (4G upgradable to 8) but anyway none of the products at costco have all I mentioned. Could you imagine to buy this jewel for 1049 CAD?:mad:

[renhui]

Thank you so much for your answer. I don't see the DV7-1020US in your links and none of those go close to the one I'm looking for. They sold them at Staples for 1049 CDN but they only had 10 and they're gone and never come back
You see, DV7-1020US had everything: intel, 3M cache, 1067 bus, giga network, discrete video, TV tuner, blueray and if I'm not wrong DDR3 (4G upgradable to 8) but anyway none of the products at costco have all I mentioned. Could you imagine to buy this jewel for 1049 CAD?:mad:

looks like the dv7-1020us is quite a bang for the buck.

If you need a multimedia center which just sits there instead of being carried around most of the time, 17" and above is the way to go.
otherwise I would stick with a 14", even 15" is too huge and heavy.

[loglive]

looks like the dv7-1020us is quite a bang for the buck.

If you need a multimedia center which just sits there instead of being carried around most of the time, 17" and above is the way to go.
otherwise I would stick with a 14", even 15" is too huge and heavy.

I'd say it was since I can't find it in Canada anymore for that price. By the way, what is the reason they don't sell the same stuff for same money in Canada as in US. I kind of feel frustrated, the difference is huge. It's like they sell here the rejects of US for huge prices, like Canada is a luxury trash bin of her southern sister. BTW, I'm just a flocking.. immigrant so... I have the feeling it's all about the relations between these two countries and the one and only China...
It's not only the price, but it's hard to find all those features in one box at the same price with all the kitsches there. The 2G CPU speed can be easily overseen given the cache, bus and memory upgrade...
And yes, I need a multimedia center, we only have a computer in each room, but what about the kitchen and the bathroom? And I weigh 220 pounds, ie 100 kg.