Advice for buying a laptop

[-Demosthenes-]

My thanks to everyone who helped me get figure out what to do with my current laptop. It can't quite handle windows, and you guys helped me pick a linux distro to use on it. Anyway, I need something that will run windows, or dual boot, so I can use it when I need it. We have a copy of Visual Sudio .net which I'd like to play around with. I also need itunes (no really good substitute on linux that I could find), and the ocasional thing that will only work on windows (eg. putting ipod linux and compressed video on my ipod nano using mv player - way easier for me on windows).

 

Anyway, I was looking for suggestions for a laptop to buy. Originally I looked into ebay, but I thought I might buy something new since the Core 2 duos came out (and AMD's responce soon) so prices should be down, right? A cheap Dell seems like a good idea, still using Pentium M, so it's not as expensive as the Core duos. I don't need it for gaming or anything, just enough to run windows well (which is a surprising amount). Any other ideas, are mine very good?

[Dak]

quick piece of advice: dont get a laptop unless you actually have good reason to get a laptop.

 

Desktops are, $ for $, better. so, if you can make do with a desktop, get desktop components, and assemble a desktop yourself. that be the cheap way.

[insane_alien]

friends don't let friends buy dell.

 

if you really need it to be a laptop try an asus or acer. heck, even a thinkpad. my R50e will run XPpro easily and now that i have a nice big hard drive, dual booting is easy with plenty of room on each.

[5614]

Demosthenes: what exactly will you be using this for? Other than iTunes and Visual Studio? As dak said, desktops are much better value for money. Can you get a desktop? And how much are you willing to spend? Quality for $500 is a lot different to quality for $2000.

 

i_a: what is wrong with Dell? They're expensive, but you're paying for name/quality. Although I suppose quality, now-a-days, can be found elsewhere such as Acer.

[insane_alien]

well, the price differences of a few hundered £ between a dell and another lappy of identical spec.

[-Demosthenes-]

quick piece of advice: dont get a laptop unless you actually have good reason to get a laptop.

 

Desktops are' date=' $ for $, better. so, if you can make do with a desktop, get desktop components, and assemble a desktop yourself. that be the cheap way.[/quote']

 

I want to be able to do stuff at home and at school, and other places I go. A desktop would be a lot cheaper, but I couldn't take it with me

 

I was looking at Dell because they were relatively cheap. Is there something wrong with them, do they break easier or do they have some other problem?

[Sisyphus]

If you're going to buy a Dell, take advantage of the fact that there are so many of them out there. Before you buy one, google the model you're interested in for common problems. If there are any, there's bound to be lots of people complaining about them. I should have done that before I bought my Dell 5100 laptop, since they all have MAJOR overheating problems that develop after a few months, something I would have known if I'd been smart enough to do more research ahead of time.

[radiohead]

Do a DIY. They are cheaper and generally are more reliable.

[-Demosthenes-]

Hey thanks guys, I think I'm going to wait a while and see how well I get by with my current desktop for a semester, then decide if I need a laptop.

[Dak]

I want to be able to do stuff at home and at school, and other places I go. A desktop would be a lot cheaper, but I couldn't take it with me

 

Ah, yes, fair enough. that'd be the main problem with desktops

 

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how hard is it to build a laptop? is it pretty much the same as building a desktop?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I haven't seen any company that sells empty laptop cases.

[CanadaAotS]

yah, I think its a wee bit more intricate lol.

 

you have to stuff desktop specs into something with an eighth of the volume...

[5614]

I was looking at Dell because they were relatively cheap. Is there something wrong with them, do they break easier or do they have some other problem?

No there's nothing wrong with them.

 

Stereotypically they are very good quality with very good customer services. Stereotypically they are also very expensive.

 

Just like when you buy Nike products you are paying for the name, same thing with Dell.

 

Although now-a-days I think the price is quite reasonable and whilst the quality remains as good as ever you can find quality elsewhere too.