Can you reccomend a laptop

[bobby123]

I am off to uni soon and need a good laptop, needs to be cheap but powerful aswell, any reccomedations?

 

[tipstir]

Welcome to TechSpot!

Compaq/Hp pretty good you really don't need to spend a lot of money. $500 to $800 mid price and for that you get some great deals.

CPU
Dual Core (Intel)
or
AMD X2 Core X64

RAM
1GB

HDD
80 to 160GB

LCD
Ultra Bright (better to get)
14 to 15 Size

Video
ATI PCI Express (faster)
Don't get Intel Graphics too slow..

Media
All flash media support
DVDRW/CDRW DL 16x or higher

Battery
12Cell longer time

AC PSU cord (get two of them if you can)

Carrying Case (some come them some don't) you'll need one

 

[TimeParadoX]

That computer Tipstir is good enough for college

 

[bobby123]

I need it to take it to india btw and also I am in uk at the moment so buying one here.

 

[tipstir]

That computer Tipstir is good enough for college

yes! I got one myself and I do repair laptops from dell, ibm, gateway, toshiba, compaq/hp.. The one I got is HP/Compaq, no problems with it also has bluetooth wired 10/100 wireless highspeed 54G 125mpb and widescreen with The BrightView screen is a more reflective surface that provides more vivid color and higher contrast LCD screen. I did upgrade RAM, and battery and changed the OS. But most of you are very lucky as they are now giving more RAM. and the 12 Cell battery compared to 6 Cell. What the different 6 Cell rated to last at half CPU power 3 hrs. With the 12 Cell you get 6 hrs. I have the AMD CPU and got the AMD power adjuster so I set mine to max 1.9GHz I can get 4 hrs out of the battery.

Compaq -open

Compaq - closed

The model I have is still around but you get more for you money today..
You'll save more money on Compaq the HP are the same they have some more toys and features. But it's up to you with your budget.

The newest model is V6000z you can get that $299 online or $449 in retail when they have that deal again. I didn't know about the online price oh well.

In the UK you should be able to find the uk model..

V6000z Compaq Review
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3438&review=Compaq+v6000z

Newer models for 2007 look like this..

Even Wal-mart sells these, you can get a good deal also...

 

[rickk1]

I've been told that Acer builds the majority of laptops for Dell. I don't know how truthful that is but if I were buying a new laptop, there is only 1 name that I'd put my hard-earned dollars into and that is a Dell.

Compaq is now owned by HP. They are essentially the same now. I'd stay away from either of them. Their tech support is horrible and if your laptop needs to be reformatted, I've yet to see a compaq or an hp come with the operating system cd and a cd containing drivers. You're pretty much on your own. You may have some luck surfing their website and finding some drivers but for the most part, how can anyone surf to a website if that is the only system they have available to them? This is one of the reasons I love Dell so much. They give you or rather some of them give you the option to receive a media cd which is the operating system and a driver/applications cd.

Another reason is that Dell has some sort of automated licensing code built within the cd so that when you opt to format and reload the operating system, you don't have to active it...the cd ensures that it gets activated automatically as long as their cd is being loaded onto a Dell. This is not possible with a compaq or an hp system. And most of the time, you have to call-in the code to microsoft when redoing the compaq/hp system and they'll tell you the code is wrong. Been there...done that!

Dell's are much easier to work on too. Dell, Compaq, HP, Gateway, etc. are all proprietary.

 

[tipstir]

Well it use to be AST was the ones who built DELLs back in the day. Even if it's ACER who now owns Gateway batch of systems.

Compaq or HP same company now have good systems, true you can't know which one is going to hold up better. You can get luckly and really have a good laptop. DELL fail more, they're trying to improve but have to compete so they make them laptops cheaper. With DELLs most devices can be changed out for rebuilt items you don't get anything new. HDD and MOBO mostly are changed out. Tech can replace those for you. Toshiba Tecra and the SPro at one time made laptops to last I have one now going 9 years no problems it runs XP Pro. I also own two DELLs they're giving me hell, but I can repair them but they're not as good a Toshiba or a new Compaq.

Well that CD -activated stuff you can get around that... I didn't like the OS that came with my Compaq so I had replaced it. But most users won't be doing that.

Compaq with AMD Mobile or X2/X64 with ATI M Series or Nvida is very good for school an etc..

HP more for gaming and video editing..

DELL business class is no better than the home version but I won't say that the Latitiude for Business can play games some can some can't. ACER is would be my choice over a DELL. Even if ACER is making DELLs still price and features should make you decide.

Tech Support (helpdesk) varies and it depends how the technician was trained they can only do so much from the data of problems and solved issues to be use to help the user out of a jam. You might get a tech who has the answer then you might get one who really doesn't know the ropes yet.

Used Laptop:

IBM T-40 or T-41 are great, T-43 lots of problems
DELL C600 series PIII should be avoided

 

[rickk1]

DELL fail more

I guess this just goes to show that some of us have better luck with some manufacturers than others. I've got 3 Dell laptops, 2 with 98 and 1 with xp, and have never had a problem with any of them. However, I've had a Compaq and an HP and had nothing but problems with them. All I got was the run around from Compaq and HP since the laptops were under warranty. They wouldn't give me the time of day. Thus, the Compaq and the HP quickly became boat anchors which is something they're finally good at.

I've got several friends that have Gateway laptops and they say there is none any better.

Truth be told, I've found that Dell is by far the easiest to work on.

 

[tipstir]

Are these the ones you own for yourself right? Sometimes you can get luckly with them. The problem is DELL doesn't really test the devices out for the 48 hrs they should do. We see a lot of DELLs fail right out of the box DOA, alots of bad MOBO, PSU, Batteries, LCDs you name it it happens. Then there are users who do the crazy things to their DELL. But some users don't have problems. So I can't say all DELL are bad, but if you buy a laptop leave it on for 48 hrs to see how it stands up. If you start having problems with the new laptops in 5 days take it back to the store and get another model. Check the box to make sure it wasn't returned as a lot of stores try to past on other users problems and returns.

I've repaired a lot of DELLs, Compaq, HP, Gateway and IBM. Yes DELL are easy to work, but they use too much rebuilt parts. HDD, CD/DVD and FD seem to fail just as much as the MOBO. We had one where the Modem was missing and it was DELL fault.

 

[bobby123]

wow wow, can we keep on thread, what should I get lol and someone give me a link for their reecomendation?

 

[rickk1]

leave it on for 48 hrs to see how it stands up.

First off, I will never let a laptop run when I am sleeping. It makes no sense. These are laptops that I own outright and bought them new from Dell. I've also got relatives and friends that have never had problems with Dell laptops and some of them have left them on for weeks at a time without problems.

I repair lots of Dell, Compaq, HP, Gateway, Acer, etc., and rarely do I ever have to replace mb's or cd/dvd-roms with Dell. However, I've replaced lots of mb's with HP & Compaq. All manufacturers have problems with hard drives. I am not particularly fond of Seagate/Maxtor hard drives. I've had problems where they would not honor warranties. I've had lots better performance, efficiency, and longevity using Western Digital.

I personally recommend Dell. If someone ever gave me a Compaq or an HP for my own, I'd use it as a boat anchor. To me, they're junk! I've had tons of problems with Compaq/HP. All manufacturers lie but Compaq/HP lies the most. They're almost as bad as Microsoft or better yet...politicians!

 

[bobby123]

what should I get dell then and where from?

 

[rickk1]

Surf to http://www.dell.com and look over their laptops offered. XP is still available...that would be my main choice. I'd then configure a new Dell through their site. Several things I suggest are at least 1gb ram and at least a 120gb hard drive. I also would not get any antivirus on it. I'd use AVG Free Antivirus. If you need office applications such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc., and you are a college student, I recommend getting Office 2004 or Office 2007 at your college/university bookstore. Don't get the student version...get the enterprise version. I think it is offered at most campus bookstores for $27. This is the current price at Indiana University.

 

[tipstir]

First off, I will never let a laptop run when I am sleeping. It makes no sense. These are laptops that I own outright and bought them new from Dell. I've also got relatives and friends that have never had problems with Dell laptops and some of them have left them on for weeks at a time without problems.

I repair lots of Dell, Compaq, HP, Gateway, Acer, etc., and rarely do I ever have to replace mb's or cd/dvd-roms with Dell. However, I've replaced lots of mb's with HP & Compaq. All manufacturers have problems with hard drives. I am not particularly fond of Seagate/Maxtor hard drives. I've had problems where they would not honor warranties. I've had lots better performance, efficiency, and longevity using Western Digital.

I personally recommend Dell. If someone ever gave me a Compaq or an HP for my own, I'd use it as a boat anchor. To me, they're junk! I've had tons of problems with Compaq/HP. All manufacturers lie but Compaq/HP lies the most. They're almost as bad as Microsoft or better yet...politicians!

Really can't say that as you do what I do repair hardware as I do laptops, desktops, workstations and servers. The question is which can last or performs. But you and I can go at this for a long time. I recommend anyone trying to save money get a Compaq, if you want something higher end get HP.

DELL laptops are made by: Quanta Computer out of Twain and China as with most laptops now come from China.

The problem I have with DELL is that they don't hold up so well and they do give problems. The D620 business class Latitude okay, I use at work C600 and C610. But I won't recommend them. Though as they start to give problems done the line..

If you want to get something good start here.... Compaqs from HP
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...landing=notebooks&a1=Brand&v1=Compaq+Presario

Anyway let the user choose... DELL, Compaq, HP, IBM, SONY, Acer, Emachine. Gateway.. Then there is Panasonic Tuff Notebook with touch control, but they cost a lot more more rugged.