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  • Laptop recommendations?

    I'm about getting tired of my old laptop - HP Poomillion (Pavilion) with a Smeleron CPU 1.5GHz, 256RAM, USB1, etc.

    What's this Core Duo? Judging by the price I'd assume it was a Celeron (256K on die).

    Not picky about brand, as long as it has an Intel CPU (too many compatability issues with AMD and such), a PCMCIA slot, USB2, and at least 1GB RAM (though as long as I can upgrade it from 512 to 1GB or more myself, I'm ok).

    15" screen is ok with me, mostly what I want is something with processing power - basic 3D apps without choking too hard (2 3rd generation Poser figures in a scene), edit AVIs up to 700MB without whining about Virtual Memory, etc.

    OS isn't a factor - it'll get XP Home whether it wants it or not.

    I'd prefer a DVD burner (DVD-/+R is fine, RW and DL not necessary).

    Most of all it has to be reliable. While my old HP can't take the bigger files easily, it has survived 4 years in an industrial environment that can kill moths in 5 minutes or less.

    Now the kicker: less than $1200. $800-$1100 is my preferred range , as this will in no way be competition for my desktop. I want it for work, but I have to do a lot of stuff like presentations and training videos, and I'd rather not have to wait 12 hours for a 3 minute 640x480 clip to render only to have the system choke on it (like Old Faithful).

    And I'd greatly prefer new over slightly used, unless you know of a Crackhead deal.
    I want to depart this world the same way I arrived; screaming and covered in someone else's blood

    The most human thing we can do is comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

    My Blog: http://newcenstein.com

  • #2
    Check out the Dell outlet, alot of good stuff there. I found a nice one with a 15 in screen, 1 gb mem duo core proc and it works well for presentations and all the other programs i have. 900 bucks. Plus it will run my pro tools.

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    • #3
      Dell.

      jacksoncsplayer, are you running PT on Vista?
      Henrik
      AUDIOZONE.DK - a guitar site for the Jackson and Charvel fan

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      • #4
        Look at Best Buy. They will uaully have a real nice one for $400-$600. I got a nice Toshiba for $500 after upgrading the ram.

        Matt

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        • #5
          Look at a used MAC. G4 or G5 powerbook.

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          • #6
            I have a Dell, but now I using a new HP. I like the HP, its pretty slick, and it was really cheap for the specs............

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            • #7
              Recent experience with Dell laptops suck...their service sucks and I'll never own another Dell LP.

              The HP DV series laptops are really sweet. I have 2 of them and they have the 17inch wide screen monitor..DVD, build in web cam, wireless and Vista. Both of them are nice and I may grab another couple to relace desktops around the house.

              I bough them from Fry's...refirb specials saved me couple hundred..
              shawnlutz.com

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              • #8
                Originally posted by yard dawg View Post
                G5 powerbook.
                No such beast exists.

                Remember... you get what you pay for.
                I use ThinkPad's. They just work. I just got a new T60 yesterday for work and it kicks ass.
                Close to $1,400, but it comes with an ATI X1300 graphics chip with 512MB of VIDEO memory, Centrino Duo (dual core) 2GHz CPU, 1.5GB ram, 5400 rpm 60GB hard drive (small, I know) and a CD/DVD burner.
                -Rick

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                • #9
                  Dell.

                  I just bought a Latitude D830 with a WUXGA screen, DVD burner, 2 Gig RAM, 1.8 Gig processw/ 800MHz bus. I used my company discount and got it for about 1525.00.

                  I would never say the Dell stuff is the cheapest, but we use Dell laptoprs at work, and I have literally drug them all over the world with me, from India to Korea to England, and been very pleased.

                  I'm not saying that I've never had a failure, but we beat our stuff pretty hard, and I have definitely been imnpresses with their durability. And thats with the standard models, not the "ruggedized" units. Hell, I knocked one of them off of a table onto the floor at the office, and aside from a slight dent in the corner, it still worked fine. Which was too bad, because I was angling to get a new one.

                  - E.
                  Good Lord! The rod up that man's butt must have a rod up its butt!

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by jackson1 View Post
                    Dell.

                    jacksoncsplayer, are you running PT on Vista?
                    No, Cant make it work. But then again I don't have the correct chipset either and it works fine. PT is so finicky wouldn't work on one dell but runs fine on my other two.

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                    • #11
                      Costco has good deals on laptops. I bought 2 Toshibas in April, and for what they were loaded with (160 gig HD, 2 gig RAM, other crap) 15.5 wide screen for under $1K it was the best deal at the time. Anyting else with the same stuff was $1300 - 1500. Plus, you get the bonus warrenty without paying extra.
                      ...that taste like tart, lemon yogart

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                      • #12
                        Personally I'd say go for an Apple if you have the $.

                        In the Win world I've always found Toshiba to be a very good brand, and Dell have always been good as well. In the time I've had to deal with their support they've been very good.
                        Fwopping, you know you want to!

                        VI VI VI: the editor of the Beast!

                        There are 10 kinds of people who understand binary. Those who do and those who don't.

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                        • #13
                          You do know that Costco does not do the "return it for whatever reason" thing anymore.

                          "Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund."

                          Due to customer abuse of their return policy, Costco dropped the computer return policy from 6 months to 90 days.

                          They do give a warranty that is 2 years from date of purchase, BUT... YOU are responsible for sending it back to the vendor. Costco will not take it back if it is no longer "in stock".

                          My grand father had to take his brand new Gateway back after two weeks when the drive died. Since they sold out of them, he was told that HE would have to send it to Gateway if he wanted it fixed.
                          I told him to just return it for a FULL refund and go pick out another one that was in stock. It was still within the 90 days.


                          -Rick

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                          • #14
                            panasonics are the tough ones - they are expensive though

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                            • #15
                              Well, looks like I had to settle for a Toshiba A205 from WalMart. I didn't get hosed on it too bad - new from Ebay dealers was about $100 less, but I did get the 2 year service plan.

                              Vista sucks so far.
                              I want to depart this world the same way I arrived; screaming and covered in someone else's blood

                              The most human thing we can do is comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

                              My Blog: http://newcenstein.com

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