Laptops

[Miike 1]

Well, my parents told me that they were going to buy me a laptop, but not an overly expensive one. I will be using the laptop just for the basics...

-MSN

-Internet

-Music etc..

My price range is up to about $1100 CDN. Im looking for any help one which brand to get etc... I have already been pointed to dell, so they're an option. Im looking for any suggestions you guys may have. Thanks in advance!

[UMWhockey 0]

I just got an HP Pavilion which is very nice. Put me back almost 1,700 US but i got clost to their top end model. Whatever you get look for the AMD Turion 64 or the Intel Duo. both are 64 bit processors which will be compatable with the new microsoft OS which should be out by the end of the year. It is supposed to be miles ahead of anything they have ever put out, which is good, because everything since 2k pro has been crap.

[kosydar 0]

I have a Sony Vaio. I really like it, but they might be a little more than you're looking to spend.

[Miike 1]

Yea im not looking to spend $1500+ on one, but i will take any ideas that are $1100 before taxes if that helps at all.

[sherwood21 0]

You can probably get an Apple iBook for 900-1000, or a Dell Latitude 810 for 1000 and a bit, those are both nice products. I really like apple products, planning on getting a Macbook Pro for school next year.

[seanmccann 3]

Apple iBook's are amazing. Buy a Mac.

[kosydar 0]

For what its worth, Apples in my experiences are really expensive to repair. My roommate has a Powerbook that he purchased in September (when he purchased it he also purchased Apple Care, their warranty program). A few weeks ago he tried to tackle me and I hit him. He stepped on his screen and it opened up too far back, if that makes sense. Everything works completely fine right now, except to close the notebook you have to push harder than normal. As resting, there is about a half inch of space between the two sides. The authorized Mac Store, the only place Appe Care will allow you to go to, quoted him $1500 above and beyond what Apple Care will pay. I understand that screens are expensive to deal with, but how the hell can you justify charging someone practically the same price of what he paid for the thing new? The only damages are on the outside, nothing about the actual computer or monitor are damaged.

Vapor, justify this.

[Miike 1]

I have a question for all you Mac users. Is Mac the same thing as windows? Like runs IE and MSN etc..? Just different manufacturer?

Also the Macs i have seen are around $1800+ Not between the $900-$1000 range.

[Steveo 0]

Personally I'd stay away from Apple unless you need it for doing advanced editing and such. Not to mention my wifes iBook has been a absolute peice of crap ever since she got it.

Stay with windows if that's what you're used to. Apple has not been very user friendly in my experiences

I have a Toshiba that has been great, Mine was more than 1100 but that was because I needed it to run high demand programs like Architectural Desktop and rendering programs

You should have no problem getting a laptop for what you need it to do for under 1100, I would say that the big box stores are your best bet for the cheapest price. Make sure you check out Costco, Future Shop/Best Buy will match their prices.

one note on Dell, I was going to get one but discovered their customer service was terrible. Also, if you ever have problems with the laptop you have to pay to ship it to them. Most shops will give you a loner, unlike Dell.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

I use apple, and love them, less bugs, easier interfacing, and it will run IE fine and MSN fine, you can save anything you do in office as a mac or pc file, so you can work with both formats.

My wife needs the PC for her work, and just bought a Dell Inspirion 6000 laptop. Its pretty good, got it through costco for $1099 US. HAs the 3 year warranty andhome service included, 2 gig hard drive, 1024 MB ram, 256 dedicated ram, nice video card, 15.4 widescreen, cd/dvd r/rw.

I think we got a very good deal, but as I was trained as a designer, and have been using mac since 96, I have to say, macs are my favorite machine on the planet.

And in a somewhat contrasting point to Stevo, my wifes co-worker recommended Dell, said they have always bought dell products because their customer service is so good.

If you get a warranty, may run a couple of hundred extra, it will include home service.

Check costco.com, even if you are not a member, it will cost you about 5% more (not sure how much more for non members as we are), but with the service package and specs, I think she got a really good deal

[seanmccann 3]

Macs are generally good if you are gentle with them, much like their iPod. If the damage is 100% your fault they are not going to want to fix it.

[Miike 1]

Thank you guys for pointing out Costco to me, i totally forgot about them. I am from Canada therefore i went to the Costco.ca site and found a Toshiba for 879 CDN i think it was. It had 60gb hard drive, 512mb ram, I think this one would be perfect for what i want to use it for. and it helps with my parents both being members.

Also still open to suggestions! Thanks for all the input so far guys.

[Nigel 0]

Thank you guys for pointing out Costco to me, i totally forgot about them. I am from Canada therefore i went to the Costco.ca site and found a Toshiba for 879 CDN i think it was. It had 60gb hard drive, 512mb ram, I think this one would be perfect for what i want to use it for. and it helps with my parents both being members.

Also still open to suggestions! Thanks for all the input so far guys.

too bad it has a celeron...

if you can find something for a little bit more with a pentium or that's AMD, i'd go for that instead.

[jjtt99 0]

Talk about a tough thing to wrap your head around. I just did a PC purchase and nearly drove myself crazy trying to figure out the pros and cons of everything. I finally found a sales guy I trusted and followed his advice. I must have went to about six stores and spoke with about 10 sales people.

Good luck!

Edit: If you're in Canada, I found the products at Staples to be competitively priced.

[Vapor 0]

The authorized Mac Store, the only place Appe Care will allow you to go to, quoted him $1500 above and beyond what Apple Care will pay. I understand that screens are expensive to deal with, but how the hell can you justify charging someone practically the same price of what he paid for the thing new? The only damages are on the outside, nothing about the actual computer or monitor are damaged.

Vapor, justify this.

That sounds more like a repair man trying to rip him off. It really sounds like a casing issue. Without seeing the machine I cannot make a judgment, of course. If the LCD panel is not damaged I can see no reason for a price that high. LCD prices have plunged over the past few years. Apple of course still is pricing them at a premium :). When you bring something to an AAR location, they are told to repair EVERYTHING, they will not just fix a dented case, they must fix everything. I would take it to an apple store. Most Apple stores do not do powerbook repairs, but at least they can tell you what exactly is wrong, and they can be trusted. AppleCare should encompass most if not all repairs, so I really cannot see why you have to pay 1500 MORE.

[Vapor 0]

too bad it has a celeron...

if you can find something for a little bit more with a pentium or that's AMD, i'd go for that instead.

AMD has a lower line also, so dont only bash intels "bargin" line. The AMD Sempron is their economy line. If the computer is going to be used for just browsing, and some downloading (legally of course), I would have no reason to need a pentium chip. Sure, if you have the money to spend, I would recomend a pentium chip or a centrino chip (which is basically a prentium chip bundeled with wifi). I do not recomend AMD mobile processors.

[sdcopp 1]

surprised that no one has mentioned sites like Overstock, Tiger Direct and New Egg. The latter two have alot of info and user reviews, and Overstock always has some decent stuff. If you're using it for just general surfing, and normal office tools a Celeron processor in a low to medium unit is fine. If you need it to do anything more resource consuming, then you want to start looking into mid to higher end models with processors like the Pentium M. HP, Dell, Toshiba and Sony all make pretty decent notebooks, it's all dependant on what little tweaks here and there you want.

[kosydar 0]

The authorized Mac Store, the only place Appe Care will allow you to go to, quoted him $1500 above and beyond what Apple Care will pay.  I understand that screens are expensive to deal with, but how the hell can you justify charging someone practically the same price of what he paid for the thing new?  The only damages are on the outside, nothing about the actual computer or monitor are damaged.

Vapor, justify this.

That sounds more like a repair man trying to rip him off. It really sounds like a casing issue. Without seeing the machine I cannot make a judgment, of course. If the LCD panel is not damaged I can see no reason for a price that high. LCD prices have plunged over the past few years. Apple of course still is pricing them at a premium :). When you bring something to an AAR location, they are told to repair EVERYTHING, they will not just fix a dented case, they must fix everything. I would take it to an apple store. Most Apple stores do not do powerbook repairs, but at least they can tell you what exactly is wrong, and they can be trusted. AppleCare should encompass most if not all repairs, so I really cannot see why you have to pay 1500 MORE.

It was taken to the only authorized Apple dealer in town, the Mac Store.

[Vapor 0]

Yeah, I understand that. But I would trust the apple store much more than I would an independednt apple dealer. Is he sure that his apple card program has not expired?

[kosydar 0]

I'd just assume his program hasn't expired because not only is it less than a year old, but they also informed him that the $1500 was on top of whatever Apple Care was going to cover.

[Vapor 0]

That really makes no sense to me. They are just trying to screw him. Apple care is a great protection program, if they are saying 1500 above what apple care will cover, that is bullshit. Either go to an Apple store if their is one in the area or call up apple and send it in.

[kosydar 0]

I'll pass that along to him. I just couldn't believe that the total cost of repair would be as much, if not more than a brand new computer.

[Vapor 0]

i mean apple care dosent really have a max... but i mean lets say the max was 1000, and they want him to pay 1500... (depending on his config) that is the same price as a new notebook or more.

[Edge 0]

I got an HP for about 1100 USD and it's treated me perfect...I use mine for Internet, music/iPod stuff, aim, and homework...that kind of stuff.

[Miike 1]

Well i've pretty much narrowed it down to Dell. I have 2 chosen out that will suit my needs.

Dell Inspiron 6400 Dual Core

and

Dell Inspiron 6000

I was thinking the Dual Core maybe better for me how i like to run a few things at the same time. Can you guys voice your opinions on my choices there?