Dell laptops.. Worth the price...

[hzsogood 5,000+ posts]

I have never been a fan of Toshiba.They arent as easy to work on, and their CS really sucks.

I'm not pro dell either, but for a 1st time PC buyer with your needs the Dell is not a bad way to go. I would only go for the ext warranty on the Dell because they have had some problems of late, on their Batteries and Adaptors. The more profficient your are with PC's and the maintainence the less you need the warranty on any of the other brands (IMO).

Media Center, if it doesn't ****, then it's not as impressive as one might think.

If your laptop is going to be for Media only, then it's OK, but if you're using it for the purposes you first listed, then You dont need it. Remember though, after the processor and expandable memory, it's all subjective. If you want MC instead of XP,(I SHOULD HAVE SAID, MC INSTEAD OF PRO) then dont let us talk you out of it.

As far as Vista, if you will want it then just make sure you get a good-excellent graphics card, and have at least 1gig ram as a previous poster stated, but I would go with 2gig.

Hint: doubtful you should try out Vista when it first comes out. Wait a while (six months or so) then get it, and get the full version or you'll be pissed.

BTW: i didnt spell check, but dont hold it against me.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

EDIT

Makes much more sense to me now.. Especially the XPMC vs pro thing..

/\/\

According to the failure rate chart, and alot of reviews ive seen online.. Of all companies HP seems to be above average in almost everycategory especially there 5000 model ..?? i think..

First off dells are overpriced and flimsy.... As an IT guy I can say both their desktops and laptops are very overpriced. Oddly enough their flat panel monitors are excellent and at a **** good price. One of Dells saving graces is their sales from the website where you can stack coupons found on the web to save alot of money.... check this website for deals on laptops:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?sduid=91997&f=9

be patient and wait. I JUST bought an Acer 1.7ghz P4 centrino, 512mb ram, 15.4" screen, 60gb hd laptop for $400 at circuit city... I've alkso seen some nice Core duo laptops on there for ~600

Ohh and from persoanl experience Lenevo's are the best laptops. Easiest to support and very well built

The coupon thing would be nice.. how exactly does it work? and ive read good things about lenovo as well..

So maybe this will be easier...

I need a laptop for around $1500 w/warranty.. with

-17" screen , 2GB memory , 100+GB Hd , core duo or (2) , nice graphics card , great music photo and video quality , etc .. Any ideas??

 

[hzsogood 5,000+ posts]

any rec's yet?? I really wanto to have it ordered or bought by this weekend, thats why i keep pushing the thread HP, toshiba, dell, lenova, ??

 

[kngadrok 10+ year member]

any rec's yet?? I really wanto to have it ordered or bought by this weekend, thats why i keep pushing the thread HP, toshiba, dell, lenova, ??

you got PM

 

[theCybe 5,000+ posts]

you can run windows on your mac now, too.

thereby eliminating the only reason you might not want to buy a mac.

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

That doesn't make it any more benefitial to buy the mac.... you're just buying a PC with the mac brand, like a Dell or HP, except you're paying EVEN more.

 

[kngadrok 10+ year member]

That doesn't make it any more benefitial to buy the mac.... you're just buying a PC with the mac brand, like a Dell or HP, except you're paying EVEN more.

Why is there this bias here against well known manufacturers, Dell, JL, Mac.......You are not just buying a name, it does come with a product that built those names. It's like, once a company becomes well known, and successful, they are no longer perceived as they once were. These company's did start small you know, just as most of them do, God forbid they grow and become large corporations.

Just because they become profitable, doesnt neccessarily make them the "evil empire", neither does the price of their products.

 

[kngadrok 10+ year member]

most companies eventually slip, and therefore have need for restructuring, & refocusing on what made them successful in the first place is you are referring to Dell.

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

Why is there this bias here against well known manufacturers, Dell, JL, Mac.......You are not just buying a name, it does come with a product that built those names. It's like, once a company becomes well known, and successful, they are no longer perceived as they once were. These company's did start small you know, just as most of them do, God forbid they grow and become large corporations.Just because they become profitable, doesnt neccessarily make them the "evil empire", neither does the price of their products.

There's nothing wrong with large companies. What's I have against most of these large companies is that they try and cut costs so much, that they cut out quality service and tend to favor sub-par quality parts.

The problem with macs is their "high end brand new technology" is typically regular pc hardware that's been around for several years. That and the fact that they've made everything so propreitary you can ONLY use mac, with absolutely no "aftermarket". It would be like buying a car, and you could only run fliuds (coolant, windshield washer, GAS) provided by the dealership.

 

[kngadrok 10+ year member]

\

There's nothing wrong with large companies. What's I have against most of these large companies is that they try and cut costs so much, that they cut out quality service and tend to favor sub-par quality parts.
The problem with macs is their "high end brand new technology" is typically regular pc hardware that's been around for several years. That and the fact that they've made everything so propreitary you can ONLY use mac, with absolutely no "aftermarket". It would be like buying a car, and you could only run fliuds (coolant, windshield washer, GAS) provided by the dealership.

I dont see the problem. So you dont like them for personal reasons.

Ok.

I thought we were trying to help the OP decide what's best for him.

My comment about MAC's was in jest.

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

\
I dont see the problem. So you dont like them for personal reasons.

Ok.

I thought we were trying to help the OP decide what's best for him.

My comment about MAC's was in jest.

The problem is ALL of the main compaines have taken extreme efforts to cut cost - not personal reasons, business strategies. I am a PC repair tech, so I have a little background here.

My reasoning for not liking macs was that there's no point in buying a mac now, because it's just a PC with the Mac name.

Anyway, one final comment about one of the posts above me here: What about DEI, who's produced a BETTER product after DEI bought them?

If this were me, I'd search around newegg for a laptop shell and build my own. That way I ensure that I get the best quality parts that I could afford.

And to fin: There's nothing wrong with buying a $300 dell Desktop or $500 Dell laptop as long as you know what to expect, a disposable unit that's designed to last approximately one year before any kind of non-user related falure. (most people don't realize this and are attracted by the pricetag and then when it breaks, they ***** and moan)

 

[kngadrok 10+ year member]

The problem is ALL of the main compaines have taken extreme efforts to cut cost - not personal reasons, business strategies. I am a PC repair tech, so I have a little background here.
My reasoning for not liking macs was that there's no point in buying a mac now, because it's just a PC with the Mac name.

Anyway, one final comment about one of the posts above me here: What about DEI, who's produced a BETTER product after DEI bought them?

If this were me, I'd search around newegg for a laptop shell and build my own. That way I ensure that I get the best quality parts that I could afford.

And to fin: There's nothing wrong with buying a $300 dell Desktop or $500 Dell laptop as long as you know what to expect, a disposable unit that's designed to last approximately one year before any kind of non-user related falure. (most people don't realize this and are attracted by the pricetag and then when it breaks, they ***** and moan)

If you'll read the original posters post, you will see that he may not be able to build his own PC, hence the post's in the first place. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

looking at a E1705 and after i built it up with the duo 2 and a bigger HD im all the sudden at 1700 bux.. Im also looking at Toshiba and sony, and comments or help would be great.. Gonna be using it for pretty much basic internet, TL, media , etc etc.. No gaming or any huge editing

They all come with instructions anymore. All you need is a (remotly steady hand - aka no parkensons disease) and a very small flat an phillips head screw driver). Most now, just take off a pannel on the back, pop in the processor. another pannel has the ram. A third has the hard drive - all directions included. Plug in and you're good to go.

Here: 750 bucks with a 3 year manufacturer warranty and it's a pentium m, none of that celeron crap

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834146137

 

[hzsogood 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for the replies.. again.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I know i should just build one but its just easier for me to get everything upgraded to what i want from the start i guess, even tho a pal of mine does work on computers ( repair tech, programming ) .. Like i said im now looking at an Hp as well .. Well see what happens .. Im going to need to build and order almost all of them off the net once i decide what one to get since BB is the only one who has The exact toshiba i want, well almost.. everything but ( core 2 duo )

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

Dell is overpriced junk. I say that as a former technician who fixed the "recently out of warranty" laptops and desktops all the time. If you haven't been following the news, they are stopping the coupon deals and their laptops are known to catch on fire randomly while charging.

Make no mistake about it; for the same money you'll never get out of a laptop what you get out of a desktop PC except for portability. That said, the Thinkpad mentioned above won't do much without a RAM upgrade and won't serve much media purpose without a DVD Burner and maybe even a new video card. Just a straight word processing and internet machine.

 

[hzsogood 5,000+ posts]

This is what im looking at ( well, one of them.. ) Look on here to see if what i chose is needed or not..

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto/computer_customize_components.do