Which laptop should I buy?

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

I've never owned a laptop, but FWIW, my brother's VAIO laptop rocks.

After looking at Dell's website, I'm really not that impressed with the values. Yes, the baseline Inspirons are cheap, but it doesn't look like much computer without tacking on what are no doubt expensive upgrades. I'd rather lay out a little more upon checkout and get a more robust system.

 

[Alan Shutko]

Another vote for Thinkpad here. Nothing else PC Compatible lasts as well. Vaio's are notorious for being flashy and fragile systems. Dell's machines are cheap junk, as are consumer Toshibas. Everything else is even worse.

If you want a laptop which will basically sit in one place, will only be used for a year or two before being replaced, and will be babied along, get anything you want. If you want to buy something you'll still be using in a few years, get a Thinkpad. Alternately, consider the business lines of Toshiba or maybe Dell. Their business lines are more robust than their consumer lines.

Me, I just ordered a new Thinkpad T42 to replace my 4.5-year-old A20p, which is only being replaced because I'm lusting after a new machine. We don't buy anything but Thinkpads in this family anymore... too much experience with the competition.

 

[Elephant]

Vaio > Dell

www.averatec.com is worth perusing, as well.

 

[Angcuru]

Never buy anything manufactured by Dell. Ever. EVER!

Try here. www.tigerdirect.com

I myself use a Viewsonic 1250S Convertible Tablet PC.

 

[Achan hiArusa]

Durability

iBooks aren't made of plastic, they are made of polycarbonate fiber, the same stuff they make bulletproof windows out of.

 

[Krieg]

iBooks aren't made of plastic, they are made of polycarbonate fiber, the same stuff they make bulletproof windows out of.

Which is also known as....plastic.

 

[Starman]

I'd recommend the Lappy 486 as demo'd here.

Starman

 

[Achan hiArusa]

Plastics and Polycarbonate Fibers

Which is also known as....plastic.

Alright Smart Alec. I meant to say that it is made of polycarbonate fiber which is much more durable than standard plastics (explanation below).

Most plastics are long simple chains of fairly noncomplex organic molecules with straight unbranched or simply branched chains, they have relatively low melting points. Polycarbonate fibers are polymerized chains of aromatic compounds, because they have far more carbons (and double bonds) in a smaller area they have much higher toughnesses and melting points.

Standard Plastics:

http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/POLYMERS/Polymers.html

Polycarbonate Fibers:

http://www.ptsllc.com/polcarb_intro.htm

 

[Abstraction]

I vote Apple, because Apple rocks. Don't forget that you will keep that Apple computer longer than you would keep a comparable PC. Some notes. Apples work just fine for gaming, depending on your gaming needs. True, not for the game-junkie as many games are not available for the Mac as soon as PC. I am guessing your gf just plays an occasional game and you install a couple for yourself? Apple is fast and graphics are beautiful. Also, Apples may not have worked well in a business environment 6 years ago, but now they rule the roost. Totally compatible.

If you do consider buying an Apple, I think it is VERY IMPORTANT to just get your gf a card that tells her she is getting a computer in January. Macworld San Francisco is in January and they make their biggest announcements for the year at that time. There are often price drops on currently available systems as they upgrade the line.

 

[Y.O.Morales]

Thank you all for the support. I've narrowed my options to these two:

IBM ThinkPad R51
(http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=-840&productId=8730790&storeId=1&langId=-1&dualCurrId=73&categoryId=2302836)

or

IBM ThinkPad T42
(http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=-840&productId=8717189&storeId=1&langId=-1&dualCurrId=73&categoryId=2072541)

The two are almost identical, with the following meaningful differences:
1. R51 costs $230 less
2. T42 weights 0.8 less
3. R51 has a CD-RW (cd burner)
4. T42 has an "ATI Mobility Radeon 7500" (Graphics Card), while R51 has only an "Intel Extreme Graphics 2"


I'll probably go with the R51, since my gf burns CDs often and it's cheaper, but really, the R51's graphic card worries me. I don't know the diference between the two cards.