Laptops...... ugh...

Hey guys... hopefull this area of TW sees some traffic.


I am in the market for a new laptop (my acer extensa is 1. way too big 2. the screen is falling off (hinge broke a month after the warranty expired))


So far, I am looking at the: (no i will not get a mac.....)

Toshiba t78-

Lenovo Thinkpad Edge 14

I have not had any luck with HP, Dell, E machine, Acer... so I am trying to stay away from them at all costs.
I have heard Toshiba makes decent laptops. Which one would you all go with between these 2? I am awesome with electronics but once it comes to buying a laptop, I do not keep up with all the latest and greatest technology.

Are there any other laptops you would recommend in the $500-700 range?


Oh... forgot.... All I really do is school papers/ excel sheets, no crazy editing stuff, watch an occasional netflix video, listen to music. I don't play many games (usually only random online things).

 

im a hp guy...benn using them for 14 years now.....never had 1 problem.........
so i will be of no help
man up and sell a kidney and get a mac book

 

Toshiba makes a pretty good computer, if you need to look up some reviews check out cnet.com

i don't have any first person use with those computers tho...

 

My wife and I each have one. Hers is slow as hell and has various misc windows appear on startup, or hangs up right after logging in (remove battery and try again) etc. Mine seemed to run much better although I use it less than she does but last week Windows (XP Pro) simply decided not to run anymore. Couldn't boot on safe mode or anything. FML.

We're buying Macs from now on.

 

Thank you. For some reason every HP I touch, the thing goes bonkers. There was one in the family when we updated to service pack to (vista), HP didn't say anything about having to download some patch or whatever until we called to figure out what the deal was.... when the computer would not start up or anything... I can't exactly justify spending that much $$ on a mac. Plus I don't need it for what it is supposed to be used for (editing).

thank you. I have played with a few of them and liked them quite a bit. They all seem pretty solid to be put in the backpack and hiked around campus and through airports.

 

No hp sucks I have had 2 in last 2 years and they are junk and I don't buy the cheap ones ..

I'm going apple next

 

For the kind of $ the two you linked to, you could get a nice laptop with a core i5. I would try for one of those. You just have to look around at the tech deal websites and wait for a good deal to pop up or check Amazon/newegg frequently and see what the prices are. The i3's are good but the i5 processors are much peppier and will probably be a little longer before the performance is so slow you need to upgrade to a faster model.

 

thanks! any other sites you recommend? I know newegg and tiger direct but thats really all I know that I trust.

 

Get the lenovo but step up to the T series. Powerful, light and super tough

 

you can check the deal sites like dealcatcher.com and slickdeals.net. I think there's another one called techbargains too? Can't remember offhand. There's probably a million of them out there those are the ones that come to mind.

The wife and I got this one for her sister for Christmas:

Acer AS5742-7653 15.6" Laptop (Mesh Black)

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-AS5742-7...ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1294688477&sr=1-1.
She had a cup of coffee on the laptop (her old one) and knocked if over, frying the mobo. I tried to fix it but to no avail. It's a really nice laptop. Very peppy, nice finish (kinda reminds me of a carbon fiber look) and at the time was on sale for $579 IIRC. Good deal for a last minute laptop buy. I have an Acer at home that's going on 4 years old and haven't had any problems yet *knock on wood*

 

Toshiba Satellite is what I have and I have been very happy with it. I go it for about $500. My sister-in-law as the same one I do and it is used everyday between her and my nephew.

 

I've had a Sony Vaio that I bought about 4 years ago that has given me absolutely no trouble at all. Used it for my last 3 years of college and surfing the internet. Never really gamed on it. Mostly just the stuff you're talking about (Word, Excel, internet, etc). I'll be replacing it with another one within the next year. But it still works great!

 

Thanks for all the help guys.

Tacoman, I have not seen it. Might check that out depending on how much it costs.

I have heard the Sony's have gotten a little better over the years. May give them a chance as well.

 

What type of phone do you have? You can use Skype video chat on a iPhone 3GS (keep in mind you'd have to flip the phone around) or an iPhone 4, and it will soon be available on Android (for example, Verizon confirms it will be out for all their LTE phones).

for the most part laptops will have a camera built in whether you wanted it or not.

 

Just bought a high end gamer. Not sure if it's your style and if you need all that power but you wont have to update it for a while.

ASUS G73jh. Little pricy but well worth it imho.

 

x2.... except I paid a lot more. Go w/ Toshiba. I've have 4 years w/o a problem with my Toshiba Satellite. Its been the best laptop I've ever had, and Ill def. be buying another.

 

Go to www.cnet.com and you will find in depth reviews and prices for almost any laptop or any electronic for that matter. Its like the Tacoma world for electronics

 

Dont waist your money on an Core i7, its not much faster that an i5 and the i5 is alot cheaper. The i7 overheats too.

 

I have a toshiba satalite thats about a year old if your interested. My mom bought it about this time last year and the hdd pooped. I dropped another one and threw on vista ultimate. It's practically brand new.

L305D-S5974

 

x2

My HP has been rock solid. HDX 18.

Maybe you got a lemon?