Computer opinions needed!

Non-neopets general discussion.
danceu4ia
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Computer opinions needed!

Post by danceu4ia »

Good Afternoon everyone!

I am in need of some assistance. ^^

I'm trying to collect some reviews of laptops, and general information, but there are so many that I have never heard of before, it's getting harder for me to keep track of it all!

I would love it if I could hear what laptops any of you have, and some pros and cons, if you don't mind.
I'm looking for a small(ish) laptop to assist me with my university studies, and I do not (as of yet) have a preference in the PC vs Mac debate.

I hope this doesn't start a PC vs. Mac debate, I'm really just looking for you guy's favourite laptops, and why. Thanks!
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Arviragus
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by Arviragus »

When I graduated from high school three years ago, my parents bought me a Dell Inspiron 1150 as a grad/18th birthday/Christmas gift, and I couldn't be happier with it. While perhaps a bit clunkier than some of the other lappies on the market at the time, it's easy to operate, user friendly, and DURABLE. I spilled Coke on it my second year while I was up late writing a paper one night, and, once I took it all apart, rinsed everything off with hot water, and left it out to thoroughly dry, I was able to put it back together and have it run as if nothing had happened. They've since stopped making my model of Inspiron, but my parents recently bought two of the 1501 models that they're now making, and after playing on them for a bit I would say that it's just a sleeker, more updated version of Compy.

One thing I would caution with Dell, however, is to make SURE you spend the extra money to get the extended warranty. Over the summer, the heat sink on mine started to go, but Dell's return-to-depot service meant they sent me a shipping box, paid for shipping both there and back, and fixed it at no charge for me. It was a bit of a hassle trying to get it shipped back to me at a convenient time, but I think it was a breakdown in communication between Purolator and Dell, and not so much the fault of Dell. Hope that helps!

Edited to add that if you're familiar with using the Microsoft Office umbrella of products, for university I would actually recommend Office Small Business rather than Office Home and Student. Small Business has Publisher bundled in with it, in addition to Word/Excel/Powerpoint that comes with both that and Home and Student, and I've found myself, personally, using Publisher a surprising amount for various projects that require a more creative touch. It costs a bit more, but I'd say it was money well spent.
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Jessi
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by Jessi »

I will -not- recommend my laptop to you, which is a cheap Acer we got at Walmart xD We bought it cheap because we (being FMD and I ) only use it for one thing: writing. Seriously. It runs Microsoft Word, which is all I care about.

We also got the extended warranty on it, however, and I would recommend that with whatever laptop you get - or computer in general. Both FMD and I have desktops as our primary computers, and I made the mistake of NOT getting an extended warranty on my 'new' one, which died after a year and there was nothing I can do about it.

I'm partial to HPs, but that's just my own personal preference.
Kidnemo
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by Kidnemo »

I have a Macbook, the black one *cough* and it's basically a dream come true. I haven't upgraded to Leopard yet but I plan to and I think that'll make it even better. I like it because it's just so simple and easy and pretty. I've used Macs before but not for a while but I was able to get to grips with it in less than a day. The only gripe I have is that it does sometmes get really, really hot.. I've not had a laptop before this so I don't know if it's a general problem but yeah, really hot. haha.
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ladynight6
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by ladynight6 »

Ooooh! I'll recommend my current laptop. :P It's a Panasonic Toughbook, mine's CF-Y5. It's really light compared to my family laptop, weighs about 1.5 kilos. I carry it around and I don't even realize I have it on me. The batter lasts long, about 5 hours or so, so that's good and it recharges quickly even when it's in use. And the battery is in a place that it doesn't feel overly hot if you have it on your lap, and the fan is on the side so it doesn't get blocked. And the best part, it's meant to be like a military model so it can be dropped from up to 10 feet and it won't break! Aaand it has a keyboard with a drain, so if a drink gets poured on it, it'll drain through without damaging the inside of the laptop. :D
FaerieInGrey
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by FaerieInGrey »

If you're using it for college, see if your college recommends anything in particular. For instance, all of the "graphic design" programs at my school want you to have a Mac, and all of the "Engineering" ones want you to have a PC. It's not that you couldn't work with whatever you got, but might as well make it easier on yourself.

I also have a MacBook, and I used to be very anti-Mac. I tested out the laptop and asked around, and overall people said that I would love it. I do. Everything that I need to use it for works perfectly, which never happened with my old PC one (which I will not recommend - it was a Sony VAIO from about 2001). I got the regular white MacBook, though I wanted the pretty black one like Ollie has.

Leopard has problems right now (well, a lot of programs haven't updated yet to work with Leopard), but I imagine that that will be fixed very soon. I'll be upgrading to it once the tech guys at my school give us the go-ahead.

If you end up going PC, ladynight's sounds very cool. A drain!
oogabooga
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by oogabooga »

If you do go with Windows, think about whether you want to go ahead and get Vista or try and find XP (it's still possible, but Dell, for example, has a very limited selection). I'd personally get a Mac if I was buying a computer now, but it really depends on what you want. My own laptop (Dell Latitude D600) has worked great for me, but it's now four years old so it may be a bit obsolete.
Joey
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by Joey »

My Laptop is a Dell Latitude D820 if I'm finding the right name for the thing. And it's been good to me, though I haven't pushed it that hard. I mainly use it for writing and MapleStory, and it does both very well.

I wouldn't recommend HP, I had a Pavillion ze5700 that died for no apparent reason after less then a year and took down a bunch of unbacked up stuff with it. And I'm still angry.
Cranberry
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by Cranberry »

I would recommend that you find a small computer store where they build computers, and have one made for you. That's what my family's done with all of our computers, and they've lasted great (I used one of them from 1999 to 2006 and only upgraded because Quicktime and Messenger wouldn't run on Win98 anymore ;)). Then if they have issues, there's no mailing them to some huge company. Having a computer made to your specifications generally doesn't cost a whole lot more than buying from a chain, either.
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danceu4ia
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by danceu4ia »

So far, I have looked up almost all the computers recommended to me by you (thanks!), and realized that...well, there is a huge price difference between Macs and everyone else. And I can't buy Macs/Macbooks "refurbished"
...not to make anyone mad but, anyone know the major differnces between a Macbook, and say a Dell Inspiron 1420?

Cranberry, you say someone made you the computer, do you mean contructed, or fixed up/refurbished?
Oh, a side note, I do not have any laptop requirements, it is recommended that you have one for university, but it doesn't matter which one. ^^


One more question...should I even try to buy one online, or should I personally find it in a store?

Thanks for all the amazing, and quick, responses. Much appreciated!
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Arviragus
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by Arviragus »

My parents have bought both my laptop and their two online at the Dell site, and had no issues with it. With Dell, you pick and choose components such as the hard drive, CD/DVD burner, and battery size to suit your needs, and then they build it to your specifications and ship it out. I have no idea how other companies do it, however.
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Cranberry
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by Cranberry »

danceu4ia wrote: Cranberry, you say someone made you the computer, do you mean contructed, or fixed up/refurbished?
Oh, a side note, I do not have any laptop requirements, it is recommended that you have one for university, but it doesn't matter which one. ^^
I mean constructed. :) The guys here are good; I told them what I planned to do with it (games, watching downloaded TV, that kind of stuff) and they helped me decide on how much memory and everything I needed. They also let me haggle on the price. ;) It's nice having one made for you, because then they don't pile on any extra crap (the guys here are nice and put on OpenOffice and Nero and AVG and a few other things that most people would use). I also just like getting personal service. I never buy computers from chain stores. If you have a shop like that near you, it's worth checking out, even just to look at the generic floor display ones they've built and compare prices with the chains.
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Ken
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by Ken »

I, too have a Macbook. I love it to death! Its been almost a year and nothing freezes, plus, I don't get spyware/viruses/adware on it, so its running as smoothly as the day I bought it. It does get a bit hot though, but other than that, I would give it a A++++++. Im running Leopard, btw.
daysleeper
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by daysleeper »

Hi,

I also have a MacBook about a year old with the Intel core 2 duo, so I can run PC stuff if necessary, but I have yet to use that feature. I really, really like it. I actually use it as my primary desktop computer and have it connected to my rotatable LCD monitor, which you'd have to climb over my dead body to get, a logitech laser mouse and an Icekey keyboard which I'm also very fond of. I love how the Mac is so easy to get up and running and plug into all my other stuff and bam! it recognizes everything -- digital cam, iPod, etc with no problems. And if I want, quick disconnect and off on the go with it.

I got the 13" display white one and have had one problem over the past year. One day I sat down and.... nothing. Dead as... dead. No warning. Went to the Apple store that night for repair and needed the logic board replaced, they don't know why it failed. It was still under warranty but if it wasn't it would have been several hundred dollars to fix. So we purchased the extra 2yr warranty on it. Luckily they had the part in stock and we got it back in 2 hours (me=very happy for that) So, I was glad to be able to take it right in instead of shipping it somewhere but it does cast a little doubt on it's reliability.

I like that I no longer worry about viruses etc. and FFox doesn't freeze up on me anymore. I don't have to restart/reboot for days and maybe weeks if I didn't do software updates.

Cranberry has a great idea but make sure you know that the place has a good rep for follow-up service. My sister-in-law got hers from a local build-to-suit place at a good price. Unfortunately now she's had a few problems and their support is somewhat less than stellar under new management. So make sure you know the warranty and who you can take it to if they move, sell the business, etc.

Hope this helps. Good luck!!
EofS
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Re: Computer opinions needed!

Post by EofS »

I've been exceedingly happy with my Dell Inspiron (510m, but that'll be a very out of date model now). I liked being able to pick and choose components to suit me - for example choosing a single stick of RAM so I could upgrade later, but foregoing an HDD bigger than 30gig because I simply don't need that sort of capacity.

We choose to pay for 3 years of worldwide on-site next business day support (because I was moving to Finland right after I bought the laptop ;0) which turned out to be a good thing. My harddrive failed spectacularly one day and although I initially had a little bit of trouble with their support (no I cannot check for the bloody knoppix worm, because the harddrive is dead and I cannot boot to Windows or anything else!) once I worked out the right type of support to activate I could not have been more impressed. Less than 24 hours later a new HD had been couriered to my house (I elected to install my own because it was very easy) and it didn't cost me a penny. Incidentally, I now know that the failure was a) mostly likely caused by my own mistreatment and b) signposted from a long way out before it happened. People, if your hard disk sounds like an F1 race, you've got a problem ;0)

Also if you do still want XP not Vista, Dell pressured Microsoft into letting them sell it again.

My Dad recently got a very high-spec Vaio which is pretty damn shiny, but in terms of design I would much rather have my Dell - it's little things like his not having a catch at all to hold the screen down. What's up with that? It does have a beautiful picture quality though.

Oh and since you're a student, do pay attention to the weight. Especially if you think you might fly occasionally with the laptop. Mine is 3kg I think and it does feel heavy to me these days, although I've also used heavier.
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