off-brand laptops

tommyj27

tommyj27

Not really Banned
ok, i'm thinking about getting rid of my laptop, it's a good machine, but in retrospect, not really what i want in a laptop. i'm going for something light[er], small[er], with mad battery life. i know thinkpads are kinda the king of laptops, but they're awfully pricey. what are my options for quality laptop manufacturers beyond the biggies? (IBM, dull, gateway, hp, toshiba)
 
Yeah, I probably went too far. I don't know about other manufacturers, but i'll give you my opinion about those who I know.

I have an HP, there are only 3 things i dislike about it: the dvd drive is a samsung, the hdd is a bit slow and the screen is good but i've seen better. Best speakers i've seen in a laptop.

I love the Sony Vaio's screen but those are more expensive, the overall quality is good.

I've never tried IBM's because most of them have a smaller screen than the usual, and are more expensive.

Compaq, as usual, stay away from it :D (even thou I haven't tried any product after their merging with HP).

Dell seems to be the big deal actuall, good screen and components, battery life on centrinos is good and the price is unbeatable.

Toshiba, those are really good but their cd drive is likely to fail or not read some discs with time, the speakers are crap.
 
pretty much my thoughts, except that i'm pretty turned off to dell, poor ergonomics on the laptops, and hellish customer/tech support. the only way i would consider buying another would be if it were through Dell Small Biz, at least with them i can talk to a tech in north america.
 
Ive got and use both the IBM and Sony. the sony is nice and they have great customer service. Had to ship it to them twice in 3 years.so not to bad. minute stuff, basic going over to make it all spiffy again.

the IBM is nice but smaller screen, Havent had to send it in since ive had it. 3 years also.
great battery life compared to the sony.
thats my only complaints of either.
 
Luis G said:
Yeah, I probably went too far. I don't know about other manufacturers, but i'll give you my opinion about those who I know.

I have an HP, there are only 3 things i dislike about it: the dvd drive is a samsung, the hdd is a bit slow and the screen is good but i've seen better. Best speakers i've seen in a laptop.

I love the Sony Vaio's screen but those are more expensive, the overall quality is good.

I've never tried IBM's because most of them have a smaller screen than the usual, and are more expensive.

Compaq, as usual, stay away from it :D (even thou I haven't tried any product after their merging with HP).

Dell seems to be the big deal actuall, good screen and components, battery life on centrinos is good and the price is unbeatable.

Toshiba, those are really good but their cd drive is likely to fail or not read some discs with time, the speakers are crap.
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HP/Cpq lappys are C.R.A.P.

To be avoided like a used diaper.
 
tommyj27 said:
pretty much my thoughts, except that i'm pretty turned off to dell, poor ergonomics on the laptops, and hellish customer/tech support. the only way i would consider buying another would be if it were through Dell Small Biz, at least with them i can talk to a tech in north america.
Click to expand...
I've had two IBM thinkpads.....tough as shit, but both were used and so I can't comment on the nonexistant battery life. IBM is proud of their replacement parts.

In January I bought a Dell Latitude C640 off-lease. Most excellent for battery life when used in tandom (I typically go about 5-6 hours). The only thing I wish it had was the high-end LCD (so I could go higher than 1024x768). The C640 I use at work does 1152x864 and its a world of difference.

I will never touch an HP/Compaq laptop. Saw way too many of those when I worked retail. Toshiba had the best track record when it comes to home-user product lines.
 
I've had a thinkpad; sturdy machines but pricey.

The one I'm using now (since about last May) is made by emachines (believe it or not, they've gotten their act together & being bought by gateway helps). Paid around $1200 for it after rebates.

If I had a wad of cash I would get a top of the line Saeger. But that's just me. ;)
 
if it has the substring win you better stay away from it, especially if it is in the form of a preffix ;)
 
I had a Gateway until about 2 weeks ago. I spilled milk in the keyboard on accident, it's gone now. Until then I only had one problem with it....but it was a major problem - the screen stopped working one day. Boom, no more picture. The laptop was stil under waranty so they fixed at no additional cost since it wasn't my fault (unlike the milk). I was without the machine for 10 days. They even payed for shipping.

MY girlfriends parents have a Winbook monitor and it works fine, but I can't vouch for their laptops
 
the more and more i think and look at new notebooks, the more it looks like a T42, and a $2k+ price tag *puke*
 
Professur said:
Dude. Ya pay now, or ya pay later. It's up to you.
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i know, it would seem that thinkpads can do no wrong (or a lot of wrong, depending how much wrong you want to do :evilgrin:). good battery life, reliable, small. but there is another notebook that shares these traits with the added bonus of being super-sexy, and it has fruit on the lid. either way, it's all pipe dreams until i offload the dell, i can't possibly justify keeping two laptops.
 
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