Which laptop should I buy?

[Y.O.Morales]

Hi everyone:

Christmas is around the corner and I'll be responsible for giving a laptop to my girlfriend as her gift. But, which one should I buy?

Dell or Vaio?

Any other recommendations?

 

[Tanager]

Okay, I don't know a lot about laptops so I can't advise you much myself, but I've been thinking about getting a desktop replacement and started looking around on the web for information. I've found Notebook forums to be really useful, but if you decide to ask there you should make your question a bit more comprehensive. Think about things like :

What does she use her computer for? (How much processing power and memory does she need?)
Is battery life a consideration?
Weight/portability?
How much are you willing to spend?

Dell seems to have built up a nasty reputation recently. I have a three or four year old Vaio desktop which after a little tinkering (maxed up its RAM, changed from the factory install ME operating system to win2K) runs quite well, but I don;t know much about the Vaio laptops.

You might want to look at Toshiba as well, I know a couple of people who swear by them.

 

[Jonny Nexus]

What does she use her computer for?

I think that's the main issue. A particular thing to bear in mind is whether she will be using it on the move, or whether she simply wants a laptop because she doesn't want a huge desktop cluttering up her office/lounge/wherever.

I do a lot of my writing in trains and cafes using a laptop I bought specially for that purpose. So I want something very light that I can put in a backpack. I also, when I'm on the move, don't need the CD-Drive or the floppy drive. (I'm not going to be installing software, and if I'm away long enough that I want to take backups then I can use a USB memory stick).

So I've got a system that has a docking station containing the CD and floppy drives, as well as network port etc, with the laptop itself being nice and light.

So if she wants to carry it around, then you want the laptop to not include these drives. But if it's just a small, discrete "desktop" then you probably want all in one.

 

[Enforcer]

I had a very nice Dell...nice until the motherboard died for the second time--out of warranty for the 2nd death, of course. I'm thinking about switching career goals to become head of a major company's IT department just so I can buy several hundred computers from Apple and rub it in Dell's face.

That said, my replacement laptop is an Apple iBook that runs beautifully so far. Unless she'll be playing games, there's not really anything a Windows PC can do that a Mac cannot. And iLife owns Microsoft Outlook in every way.

 

[Y.O.Morales]

Thanks Tanager, for the link. I'll check there.

The laptop wouldn't need super-hardware, though. It'll be mostly for writing and college studies, and word processors doesnt need much resources. Light weight, that would be convenient.

I'm thinking of Dell for now, but I will check other opinions. Can't spend 1,000 in something that would break in a year or so.

 

[IronWolf]

You will probably get a myriad of opinions about this topic, but here's my .02.

My wife has an Apple iBook. It is nice, seems to do most of what she wants. It has nice battery life and decent looking display for a 12" laptop. For the most part it is low maintenance, spyware and viruses being nearly a non-issue.

As for the more mainstream, Dells, Toshiba's Sony's etc... I would go for an IBM Thinkpad. The R Series looks to be about in your price range. I have used Sony's, Toshiba's, Dell's and of all of those the IBM I had was my favorite. Nice solid build, nice keyboard and my favorite feature? The little keyboard light so you could type well at night without having to have a light on. I highly recommend you swing by the IBM site and take a look as you try to make your decision.

 

[Krieg]

If your gf is hard on her belongings, don't buy her a Dell. We recently went from IBM to Dell laptops at work, the IBMs are far more rugged. Most Dell laptops are made from a relatively soft plastic & get dinged up pretty easily. That seems to be mainly a cosmetic issue as it doesn't seem to affect the failure rate. Still, having a multitide of little pock marks in your laptop isn't a confidence builder.

Dell has also had a lot of problems with hard drive failures in the past, although they seem to have gotten most of it under control.

As for Sony, you are going to pay a premium for the bells & whistles. You are going to have to decide if the doodads are worthwhile enough to justify the extra cost.

If she likes the shiny gadgets get her the Sony, if price is your main concern go with the Dell, if you want rock solid dependibility and can deal with the boring looks (and added cost), think about IBM.

I'm thinking about switching career goals to become head of a major company's IT department just so I can buy several hundred computers from Apple and rub it in Dell's face.

I hope you enjoy filling out several hundred apple care warranty cards by hand to go along with them.

Apple's in a corporate environment is kinda like Rosie O'Donnel at the Republican National Convention (Or Rush Limbaugh at the DNC if you prefer), they don't mix well.

there's not really anything a Windows PC can do that a Mac cannot.

....given a few caveats: gaming (as Enforcer already mentioned), enterprise solutions (see above) & be reasonably priced.

 

[ph34r]

Sager. www.pctorque.com She'll love you forever.

 

[Enforcer]

If she likes the shiny gadgets get her the Sony, if price is your main concern go with the Dell, if you want rock solid dependibility and can deal with the boring looks (and added cost), think about IBM.

I'd go with IBM if I was going back to Windows. None of my classmates have had complaints about their Thinkpads (other than looks).

I hope you enjoy filling out several hundred apple care warranty cards by hand to go along with them.

Apple's in a corporate environment is kinda like Rosie O'Donnel at the Republican National Convention (Or Rush Limbaugh at the DNC if you prefer), they don't mix well.

It'd be worth the time. My hat of Dell know no limit... Did you know that the motherboard for the Dell Inspiron 5150 apparently fails so often that they can't keep the damn replacement boards in stock? And that they cost over $400? And that even if you say "yes" in response to the question, "Would you like Dell to call you when we have more in stock?" they won't call you because it's all part of their insidious plan to turn you into a Dell-hating raving lunatic? And then, when they're finally in stock and you order one, the order gets delayed for the specific reason: "we are experiencing an unexpected delay with your order and will not be able to ship this order"?

....given a few caveats: gaming (as Enforcer already mentioned), enterprise solutions (see above) & be reasonably priced.

Gaming clearly fails on an Apple and I'd be foolish to argue otherwise (and we both agree).

I have no experience with Apple in a corporate setting, so I can't comment on whether they'd be able to deal with businesses or not...but I did read about how one university (Virginia Tech?) created a gigantic supercomputer by linking lots of dual-G5s together. I'm guessing Apple had something to do with that. And Microsoft Office runs just great on my iBook.

As for price, the iBook that I bought came to almost exactly $1200. That's including the $150 I paid for MS Office Student/Teachers Edition. In my book, that isn't bad for a computer that is a) fast, b) pretty, c) runs all the software I need, d) comes with iLife--in my opinion better than anything similar on Windows, and e) runs World of Warcraft. I guess that's more expensive than a comparable Windows PC, but I'm very happy with my purchase. Oh, I almost forgot f) IT ACTUALLY FREAKIN' WORKS!!! I HATE YOU DELL!!!!!1!

Ahem. In conclusion, buy her whatever laptop you want, I'd go with Apple or IBM if I were you. The gods will punish you for buying a Dell, however, if my ritual sacrifice has anything to do with it. And don't worry, I'm done ranting and raving in this thread.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I love my Dell Inspiron 8600 for the big screen for movies and games, and dual-page PDF viewing, but it is a little large and heavy. We have Dell Latitude 600s at work, which do just fine, too -- they're a bit more portable than the 8600.

Guess I haven't seen/had the problems with Dell others have had (and I've used/owned both Dell laptops and desktops). YMMV, I guess.