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Getting a new laptop - Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, or other?
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Posted by: nikki---------------------

I plan on buying a new laptop this week, probably something from Best Buy in the $1500 range. There are a few Hewlett-Packards and Toshibas that I liked from the online specs. All similar.... same processor (Intel Centrino w/ Pentium M), same RAM (1 GB), similar hard drives (80-120 GB), etc. Two have the 15.4" screen and weigh around 6 lbs., and two have the 14" screen and weigh around 5 lbs.

I've already had a Dell laptop, and am not interested in an Apple..... does anyone recommend the HP over the Toshiba, or Toshiba over the HP.... or have any experience/feedback with the two? Or is there something else I should be considering?

Thanks!

Posted by: billtx---------------------

I have the HP/Compaq nc6000. Has integrated WLAN, been reliable so far - used for business and I travel a lot. HP has great support if something goes wrong.

I don't see many folks with Toshiba these days, don't know much about them.

Posted by: CaptainObvious---------------------

I have the HP/Compaq nw8260. It has a nice wide screen and the WLAN is always spot-on. Despite it's wide-screen format, it's nice and light.

Posted by: BMWPower---------------------

And Sony

Posted by: squeaky---------------------

Rooster and I just got the HP Pavilion with the 15.4" wide screen, etc...pretty much what you're looking at it. All said and done I believe it cost us around $1200.

I LOVE IT! I've never had a laptop before, but I really like this one. It's not too heavy, it's got a DVD Player, and the movies look great on it! I'd highly recommend it!

Posted by: junkjeeps---------------------

My wife just got a Sony Viao in the $1200 range and she likes it.

Posted by: ellandoh---------------------

4 years ago i went with the fujitsu lifebook c series , it was the most packed with options, connections, memory, and since its not a big player name as far as laptops go it was cheaper than all the rest. come to find out fujitsu holds the patent and produces a lot of parts in all laptops. been reliable and all around great deal 4 years and counting.

Posted by: Zoomer---------------------

I had my stolen toshiba replaced with a HP compaq 6120.

Works pretty good.now 1 year old... At 6months old, daughter spilled chocolate ice cream on it, ( cleaned it up and didn't tell me) and the next week I had to send it to HP for "Warranty work" HA, Screen would not come up.
Sir, it seems someone spilled chocolate on your computer, and we can fix it for $800.00.

Its been a good PC, it gets dropped, banged and bumped because of travel, and its not let me down since the I/C incident.!

Posted by: robwbright---------------------

I've had a Compaq (Presario 3000 series) for work for almost a year. I use it 12 hours a day at work and home. The only problem I've had is one speaker has sometimes quit working - must be a loose wire or something. Hasn't given me a problem in a couple months, tho, so it must have worked itself out.

Posted by: BadgerMan---------------------

I took a little gamble and bought an Acer from Circuit City, on sale for $599.00.

Centrino Pentium processor, 512M of Ram, 60G hard drive, 15.4” widescreen, DVD/CD RW, wireless card, etc.

It came with a printer/scanner/copier and wireless router, free after rebate.

So far the thing has been perfectly reliable. I love the physical size and wide screen. The smallish hard drive does not bother me as I run an external hard drive for backup and mass storage of photos/music.

Posted by: bsmith---------------------

Quote:

Or is there something else I should be considering?

Apple

I have a Dell Latitude D600 and and Apple iBook G4. They both are good for their uses and I'm happy with both. I'm not used to using Excell on the Apple yet, but for Video, iTunes, and pictures the Apple rocks.

Posted by: MrLuckey---------------------

For the past 12 years I've been getting new laptops pretty much every 2 years for work. My experience and the companies I've worked for would steer me FAR FAR away from Toshiba. At least half of them had problems within the first year. Keep in mind our laptops move every day, go into industrial environments, fly a lot and see much more abuse than the average laptop. The Dells I've been around have been much more reliable. I am now using a Dell Inspiron 6000 widescreen - absolutely love it. No idea what HP is like these days but my last experiences with them a long time ago was not a happy one. Same goes for Compaq.

Posted by: BadgerMan---------------------

I agree.

We have had both Toshiba and Dell laptops at work and the Dells are more reliable.

Posted by: CaNaDiAn,Eh?---------------------

Don't get a toshiba, I bought one for when I went away to school, and I've never had problems with it yet but there is definitely better out there. I've found that my toshiba, is much heavier, and noiser than other laptops of comparable price.

Posted by: soniccascade---------------------

Dell or Lenovo (IBM) is your best bet

HP laptops are very good, but the problem with them is that they have a tendency of chewing through hard drives. They do not have much in their engineering design to subdue any shock to the bottom base, which is where the hard drive is mounted. Another issue with HP is their support. While they are available 24/7, waiting for replacement parts will be a big hassle. I had an issue with a motherboard, and it took an act of Congress to get it here - in 4 weeks. I had to RMA a laptop to them a while back, and was not issued a replacement for 3 weeks.

Toshiba is a red flag stay away zone. Not only do they have horrible support, but their chipsets and hardware are low grade, and they have a tendency to blow out LCD screens. If that goes, you may as well buy a new laptop because it will cost about as much.

Sony, while aesthetically pleasing and very functional, is a trap. once Sony releases a model of PC or notebook, it never provides any updated drivers for peripherals and integrated hardware. If someone finds a bug in their driver files, they pretty much turn a blind eye to it. Their support is pretty much non-existant, and the price of the laptop is usually far higher than others.

Dell has a great price point, has fully available features, allows you to customize a system which will keep you from buying features which you will never use, or add those you will. Their support is fantastic, and their RMA/Parts shipment is rather quick. They used to use proprietary hardware on their systems which was a big turn off, but they finally wised up and now use standard hardware, such as RAM, video cards, etc.

IBM/Lenovo is personally my favorite, as they provide the best software integration and driver support, as well as a very bulletproof design. If you do a lot of traveling, the IBM will take the abuse and ask for more. Furthermore, IBM warranties are cheap, and offer full coverage with very fast shipping for RMA/Parts purposes. They keep warehouses at each of trhe major metropolitan airports. Personally, my company uses IBM products religiously, and as a Network Admin, I deal with them on a daily basis. I cannot say enough about them.

Sorry for the long winded post.

Posted by: crazy4nitro---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by junkjeeps

My wife just got a Sony Viao in the $1200 range and she likes it.

My wife just got her a new..(her second) Sony Vaio and we love them. worth looking at..

Crazy4nitro

Posted by: billtx---------------------

As designed, the IBM/Lenovo is great. Unfortunately Lenovo is going through a massive cost reduction using Chinese suppliers. I'm in the electronics/components industry and have first hand knowledge of it. They are going on price and sacrificing quality. I'm sure in the PC mag reviews quality ratings they will start dropping. I would stay away.

Too bad, they appear to be messing up a good brand.

Posted by: soniccascade---------------------

* this is me making a very sad face *

My Thinkpad is like my child, and the thought of degradation in support and quality makes me definitely very sad.

You are right if that is the case. They are going to slowly destroy a reputable and awesome product. This might go to show IBM that selling off their consumer side was not the brightest move.

Lets just hope their business and enterprise class hardware and support does not go the same route.

Posted by: billtx---------------------

It is sad.

If IBM has control of the product it will be fine. Lenovo is just trying to get the price out. There is a huge amount of work in ensuring that quality components are maintained. Lenovo is dropping suppliers for home grown companies, doubtful they can step in at the same level.

China is low on cost but quality is a hit and miss proposition.

Posted by: nikki---------------------

Thanks for the feedback everyone. The Toshiba is out, so that pretty much puts me between the Dell and the HP.

I have a Dell Inspiron 8100 right now, and fried a few hard drives, trashed a few power cords, and have booting and standby issues... plus my step-sis bought a Dell after me, and she had so many problems, they ended up giving her a new laptop two more times before she shipped off to the Peace Corps, and the last one took a crap over there after a few months.

I did price up some Dell Inspiron 6000 and 600M's yesterday, and they are comparable in price and features to the HP, so maybe I'll give Dell another try.

Next decision - the 15.4" screen, weight around 6-6.5 lbs, or the 14" screen, weight around 5 lbs. Anyone have preferences/feedback or pros/cons?

Posted by: nikki---------------------

Well, I pulled the trigger on a Dell Inspiron 600M... although the 15.4" widescreen looks cool, I went with the 14" for a lighter unit. I also have a Dell Latitude D610 on the way for work, which is a similar unit.... so I should get to torture test both of them over the next few years. Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Posted by: crazy4nitro---------------------

Best of luck Nikki,

HA ...Now I see why you want to sell your YZ...

.j/k

Crazy

Posted by: mojonito---------------------

don't do hp. i have a zd7040- top of the line when i bought it. it has been sent to the shop three times so far. the computer guru i have been talking to told me they are bad laptops. he said toshiba is great. my sisters hp laptop had to be replaced after a couple of months. (their pc's have treated me well though)

Posted by: RedStreak---------------------

I'd say you should loook into an H/P those are really nice and my bro just got one and loves it.

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Getting a new laptop - Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, or other?

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