Looking to pickup a new laptop for the Fall.

[Seditedi]

I'm transferring out of my community college hence I'll need a PC to take with me to school. Definitely wanting a laptop and I'm interested in spending about 700 dollars on one.
Not looking for a gaming laptop, just something for classwork/web browsing/music. Any suggestions on the best buy for the price?
I'd like a DVD and CD-Burner as well.

[buttson]

http://1-4u-computer-graphics.com/2notebooks2800.jpg

[volcanicweather]

http://1-4u-computer-graphics.com/2notebooks2800.jpg

Honestly what is the point of this post...


On topic - I get e-mails from Dell on a daily basis from work and they are having a one-day sale on a decent laptop today. See below:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... lid=640546

[Keno]

http://1-4u-computer-graphics.com/2notebooks2800.jpg

Honestly what is the point of this post...


On topic - I get e-mails from Dell on a daily basis from work and they are having a one-day sale on a decent laptop today. See below:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... lid=640546

Wow any way you config that it's actually a pretty decent deal. If all you're looking to do is music/email/web browsing you'd probably be fine with that $499 basic one. Make sure you get a WiFi card.

[Isiolia]

Main problem with cheap laptops tends to be that they're rather not-svelte. Well, that and crapping out a lot.

If you had a bit more money to spend, I'd suggest a Macbook, but those start at around $1100.

Dells are alright, but if the D531s are any indication, current model reliability in the lower price point is sketchy.

[Seditedi]

O yea forgot to mention, not interested in Macs lol
So the lower priced Dells aren't very reliable then?
Looking for a Dell preferably, but which model is best to go with ?

[Amele]

O yea forgot to mention, not interested in Macs lol
So the lower priced Dells aren't very reliable then?
Looking for a Dell preferably, but which model is best to go with ?

if you have the cash, the new macbooks are basically the best windows laptops on the market (and I'm not being ironic)

now that the macbooks use intel core2duo processors they can run windows natively using free-ware dualboot, or even be overinstalled in entirety. and the support programs and hardware quality are almost without peer - you just really pay for it.

[wyrmtung]

Since price is your main concern, visit Dell and visit HP. Pick whatever laptop is on sale, choose the options you want within your budget and call it a day. There is no point in looking at other companies.

[Seditedi]

O yea forgot to mention, not interested in Macs lol
So the lower priced Dells aren't very reliable then?
Looking for a Dell preferably, but which model is best to go with ?

if you have the cash, the new macbooks are basically the best windows laptops on the market (and I'm not being ironic)

now that the macbooks use intel core2duo processors they can run windows natively using free-ware dualboot, or even be overinstalled in entirety. and the support programs and hardware quality are almost without peer - you just really pay for it.

Well I do have the cash, just not looking to go overboard with it. Are macs hard to learn? (used windows since win95 so..)

[Khamsin]

O yea forgot to mention, not interested in Macs lol
So the lower priced Dells aren't very reliable then?
Looking for a Dell preferably, but which model is best to go with ?

if you have the cash, the new macbooks are basically the best windows laptops on the market (and I'm not being ironic)

now that the macbooks use intel core2duo processors they can run windows natively using free-ware dualboot, or even be overinstalled in entirety. and the support programs and hardware quality are almost without peer - you just really pay for it.

Well I do have the cash, just not looking to go overboard with it. Are macs hard to learn? (used windows since win95 so..)

Might be a steep learning curve, especially while you learn where all the settings are and how to configure drivers, ports, wireless network settings, display settings, any attached devices, mapped drives, etc. and hope you don't crash it with the wrong settings or mismatched drivers or power failure during flashing memory, and so forth. It'll probably take a while to get the hang of properly installing new software with the appropriate installation configuration, too.

Mind you, I don't have experience with Macs, I'm just basing this off experience with computers in general.

[Amele]

O yea forgot to mention, not interested in Macs lol
So the lower priced Dells aren't very reliable then?
Looking for a Dell preferably, but which model is best to go with ?

if you have the cash, the new macbooks are basically the best windows laptops on the market (and I'm not being ironic)

now that the macbooks use intel core2duo processors they can run windows natively using free-ware dualboot, or even be overinstalled in entirety. and the support programs and hardware quality are almost without peer - you just really pay for it.

Well I do have the cash, just not looking to go overboard with it. Are macs hard to learn? (used windows since win95 so..)

Might be a steep learning curve, especially while you learn where all the settings are and how to configure drivers, ports, wireless network settings, display settings, any attached devices, mapped drives, etc. and hope you don't crash it with the wrong settings or mismatched drivers or power failure during flashing memory, and so forth. It'll probably take a while to get the hang of properly installing new software with the appropriate installation configuration, too.

Mind you, I don't have experience with Macs, I'm just basing this off experience with computers in general.

unless your plan is to mess with the darwin kernel 90% of that will take care of itself. the remaining 10% - 9% will crash just the app you're trying to use, requiring you to relaunch it, the remaining 1% will require a system reboot.

most installation on macintosh is as simple as it is on windows - next>next>pick folder>install>done. and keeping track of where configuration information for applications is on mac OS X is much easier (applications are actually application directories (kind of like an executable zip file) that slipstream all their configurations inside them.)

mac OS X is rock solid compared to XP/Vista - you are trading customizability for stability... but given that laptops aren't customizable (much) to begin with, this is an easy trade imo.

and again, you can (without voiding your warranty) set up a macbook to primary boot windows XP or vista and use it as a windows machine continuously - no OS X usage required. (this will take some work - you'll need to know how to install windows for instance, haha)


if you're interested in actually learning mac, the hardest part is probably getting used to the floating dock (it's kind of like the task bar but combines quick launch and open apps together) and how to actually -close- things. you don't need to get used to single button mousing, but if you do it can take some effort to learn to do the command+click combo instead of right clicking but it isn't much more difficult than hitting say, shift+space at the same time *shrugs*

[wyrmtung]

Someone coming from the PC world to the Mac world can hit the ground running. The learning curve is very low. I did it two years ago with basically no training. Just remember that Bill Gates stole all of his good ideas from Apple so you already know how to do most of what you need to know. Just kidding...kinda.

[Seditedi]

No, you're not kidding, its pretty true lol.

[Amele]

what wasn't stolen from apple was stolen from Xerox and BSD.. lol

[Isiolia]

Well I do have the cash, just not looking to go overboard with it. Are macs hard to learn? (used windows since win95 so..)

OS X is easy. It's like any other computer. If you know -what- you're doing, not just -how- to do it, you'll have no problem adapting. No harder than going from 2k/XP to Vista. Actually...probably easier, because it tends to be more logical/straightforward.
Installations are very typically drag and drop. Literally. Download Firefox.dmg, open, drag the Firefox icon to Applications folder (or wherever you want it). Done.

Though, as pointed out, the real advantage is that you can run nearly any OS on the hardware. I got a Macbook for Christmas. It's been able to boot XP since about two hours after I unwrapped it. The only odd thing when doing that is that the thing still only has one button for the touchpad. However, Mac touchpads are sublime. Two fingers on touchpad to scroll. Two fingers + click = right click. Even in Windows.

Granted, if all you want to do is run Windows, you have more options than what Apple gives you. But OS X is -really- nice, especially for a computer you just want to work. While it's not immune, Mac-based viruses and spyware are just very, very rare.
So having the ability to run that is cool.

Plus, in terms of size/weight/battery life, Macbooks are great. Not that there aren't others that are too, but the relatively sparse model lineup for Apple does mean it's an easy thing to recommend. Not like saying Dell, this model, not that model, get this option but not those two options, etc.
I would like it better if it had a decent discrete video chipset though >_> But it's the same Intel GMA stuff you'll find in a lot of laptops regardless of manufacturer.