I need a laptop? What to buy?

[BenoA]

Any suggestion? My kids are always on my PC...

A laptop would be could but I don't want to spend a fortune.

Any model/brand suggestion or that I should avoid.

CPU/RAM... So many options.

What do I need to run the upcoming Winblows 7 ???

While mostly do internet stuff with it but will also some audio recordings.I have a Line6 UX2 for an audio interface.

Let me know.

[Soap]

Make sure it has it least 2gig of memory and a large HD.

With that said, it comes down to a personal preference for features, meeting your needs and warranty.

I prefer HP laptops because I work with them in an educational environment.
They honor their warranty without a hassle and in my personal experience as a laptop they just work. Never had to contact their support so I can't speak about that. But the best support is the support you don't need to contact because the product works like it should.

Good luck

[Jacksons Shred]

Avoid Toshiba.

[Nazgul]

HP (Pavillion). Couldn't be happier with my DV4 series .

[pebber]

Acer

[BenoA]

Acer

Thanks for all the answers guys. Acer not bad? I just sawy that one local shop here is having a good deal on one model from them.

[Inazone]

Before you make a decision, consider what features mean the most to you, and compare prices/features of the typical off-the-shelf consumer models to business-class machines. A few years ago, our (former) laptop support guy pushed hard for Sony Vaio laptops for our sales force. Total junk, every last one. Next time around, we switched to IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads, and they have been our standard for years now.

Do you care about long battery life, or will it be plugged in most of the time? Do you need lots of bundled software, or would you be happier starting with just a clean Windows install and loading what you need as you need it? Need a docking bay or port extender unit? Need a big screen, or will you be hooking it up to an external monitor? Those are the things you pay for. Also keep in mind that most laptops cut the CPU speed considerably when running on battery power, and in my experience, mobile versions of most CPUs - especially when combined with certain front-side bus speeds, RAM types and onboard cache - don't run as fast as an "equivalent" desktop unit. Part of it comes from trying to use lower voltages with lower heat. Laptops also have a lot of mobility-related hardware and software that will be a pain in the rear when trying to record, so you want to minimize wasted CPU and memory usage.

Just things to think about. I strongly suggest that you look at business-class laptops. Buy an inexpensive LCD monitor rather than spending extra money for a bigger laptop screen. You already have a recording interface, but recording to an internal laptop hard drive will be pretty painful, so get an external hard drive for storing music, as well as photos or any other files that don't absolutely need to be on your internal boot drive. If at all possible, look for a laptop with a 7200 RPM SATA drive, and the same for an external. Internal storage is more expensive when dealing with laptops, so you don't need it to be huge.

[Spivonious]

HP support is great.

I think you'll be fine as long as you stick with the bigger brands, like HP, Dell, Gateway, even Toshiba is good. I'd stay away from Acer (heard some bad stories) and Sony Vaios are total junk.

For Windows 7, I'd get at least 2GB of RAM. Everything else really doesn't matter. If you're just wanting one for internet/email/light word processing then I'd look into netbooks. They're tiny and have decent battery life. Otherwise, check out the $500-$1000 range. Oh, and wait to buy until October 22nd (Win7 release date).

[Musician78]

I have an HP and it is the biggest piece of shit computer I have ever had. The last one was a Dell, and I really didn't have any issues with that. Next time I am getting a Mac.

[Newc]

I've got a Toshiba laptop and it doesn't give me trouble. Winblows Vista gives me trouble, but that's Winblows, not Toshiba.

However, if the PC does everything you want, get the kids a netbook for their Facebook and Twitter and email crap. They can't do a lot of software, but they can do what they need. If they have school work, there's always pen and paper.

[broken_fusion]

I have a Dell Vostro. Has what you need and nothing you don't. Doesn't come with all that promo software that expires and then clogs shit up and begs you to buy it. I paid around $500 with an 8 hour battery.

http://www.dell.com/us/en/business/notebooks/vostronb/ct.aspx?refid=vostronb&s=bsd&cs=04&ref=lthp

[Shawn Lutz]

I got a couple of the HP DV9000's with the 17in display...PoS's, 3 mother boards, a display and a HDD go south on them. 2 mobo's we under warranty, the 3rd one wasn't until I completely bitched up the command chain and they finally gave in and repaired that for free. The HDD really wasnt that big of a deal other than HP wanting to charge 4x's money for a comparable drive....I bought one elsewhere and did it myself.

I have an HP desktop that has been rocking for years. I'll never buy an HP laptop..even the HP laptop I have from work is a PoS.

I didnt have any luck with Dell laptops either..

[BenoA]

Wow... Plenty of response! Thanks a lot guys. I've been getting even more confused.

I went to a huge retail place on lunch time. So many choices... And the prices go up quite fast depending on the options.

That visit was good as it made me wonder that I should reformat and setup that old desktop I have under the stairs collecting dust. With a decent LCD monitor it could make a DVD-video player/internet machine...

And as Newc said, my actual PC is still doing the job for me.

[Nazgul]

BTW, check out Dell Studio 14z. Intended for students. I would have gotten those instead of HP, but they're not available in Europe.

[wilkinsi]

Excuse the hijack. I've used plenty of laptops and they all have hungry power supplies. Fact is, I need enough USB's for internet (unless it has an in-built wireless network card), my GT-10, my external hard drive, a mouse (I don't like those in-build pads) and my mobile phone. In addition, I don't want some crappy 1.81mhz processor with 1GB of RAM. I want at least double that. Suggestions?