gate1975mlm
Premium
join:2001-09-30
Philadelphia, PA
1 edit | Best Notebook computer brand? So who makes the best Notebook computers nowadays?
Gateway,Dell,HP anyone else? | |
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dbmaven
There's no shortage
Premium,Mod
join:1999-10-26
Sty in Sky
clubs: | Re: Best Notebook computer brand? Acer
Same or more features
Lower price | |
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gate1975mlm
Premium
join:2001-09-30
Philadelphia, PA
| Re: Best Notebook computer brand? said by dbmaven  :Acer Same or more features Lower price Good build quality? | |
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dbmaven
There's no shortage
Premium,Mod
join:1999-10-26
Sty in Sky
clubs: | Re: Best Notebook computer brand? Excellent build quality. | |
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bbrcat
In memory of Jeff
Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-09
NH
clubs: | Agree | |
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Locutus65
A Closed Mouth Gathers No Foot
Premium
join:2001-05-24
Houston, TX
clubs: | Toshiba. I've owned and sold several. Never had a problem one with any of them.
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GadgetsRme
R.I.P. dadkins
Premium
join:2002-01-30
Canon City, CO
1 edit | Toshiba, Acer, HP
I have a Toshiba myself, which has been great.
Two of my customers swear by their Acers as does "lilhurricane".
My son-in-law has a HP that he uses when traveling and he
would break your arm if you tried to make him change.
edit for one word.
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Gadgets | |
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pro7070
BJ "The Prodigy" Penn
Premium
join:2002-06-28
Inman, SC | I have had good luck with Acer as well. Excellent customer service. I like my old Acer than my new Core Duo Dell. Much more solid feel. | |
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ChiTang
Premium,MVM
join:2002-08-23
Alhambra, CA
| BEST in terms of WHAT?
Price/Cutomer Service/RMA Policy/Features/Warranty/Integration/etc...
I am amazed so many people can give a straight answer to such a vague question.
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I used to be indecisive, now I am not sure. | |
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| BarneyBadAss
Badasses Fight For Freedom
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join:2004-05-07
00001
 ·Verizon FIOS
1 edit | Re: Best Notebook computer brand? said by ChiTang :BEST in terms of WHAT? Price/Cutomer Service/RMA Policy/Features/Warranty/Integration/etc... I am amazed so many people can give a straight answer to such a vague question. Doesn't everyone use their notebooks for second base like I do? And when it's not base-a-ball season, I use it as a door stop! 
Hmmm... I thought it was obvious! 
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dbmaven
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1 edit | Good point. No metrics provided or requested, so it's a "touchy-feely" response.
I bought an Acer TravelMate 8210 about 10 months ago because I needed a high powered portable system. Given that it's primarily a "business desktop" in portable form - those were my requirements. It had to be portable enough to fit in a business case, which meant no 17" widescreen units.
On a price-performance basis, this was the unit that fit the bill for me at that time. 15.4" Widescreen with DVI and VGA outputs (plus S-Video if needed for presentations). Core 2 Duo T7200 (@ 2.0 Ghz), 2GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, Dual-Layer DVD writer, Bluetooth and 802.11g wireless.
It is solid (Carbon Fiber case), very fast, has good battery life, and with Dual Core I have all the power I need for the programs I end up running on a daily basis.
Additional decision points for me: generally good reports of trouble-free performance of Acer units over the last 2-3 years, generally satisfied customers, equivalent warranty to other brands.
Hope those details help put my choice into perspective. | |
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Ken Peterson
Premium
join:2000-12-08 | I've had good experience with the budget Compaqs - told two friends and they also got them - no problems and very happy.
Granted HP & Compaq are the same company, it appears that some of them are still built on different assembly lines. | |
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gate1975mlm
Premium
join:2001-09-30
Philadelphia, PA
2 edits | Re: Best Notebook computer brand? Thanks for all your good advice.
One last thing 
I would like something that is not too heavy and has good battery life like at least 4 hours. Also The main thing this labtop will be for is surfing the net and playing videos like the HD ones on quicktime. So how powerful of a cpu would I need to handle 720P and maybe even 1080P ones from quicktime? As for the price would love something around $500 but could go upto $1300 or so if needed. | |
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Gordo74
Premium
join:2003-10-28
Monroeville, PA
clubs: | I also agree with Acer...
I would also throw Apple's name into the bunch. | |
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banditws6
Shrinking Time and Distance
join:2001-08-18
Naples, FL
·Comcast
| This is a timely question for me; my wife is in need of a new notebook computer and I'm looking at our options. She currently has a four-year old Dell Inspiron 8600; to its credit, it hasn't had too many things go wrong with it, but the build quality right out of the box was atrocious (with a key popping off the keyboard on day one!). It creaks and groans and feels like it's going to come apart at any moment. The screen also failed about 1 year into the extended warranty, which you can believe I was glad I purchased.
I myself use a Dell Latitude D620 when traveling on business, which is far and away a better machine than most of Dell's Inspiron series. But the Latitudes aren't made for entertainment -- mine has just one cheesy mono speaker, for example.
One thing is certain, I'm not buying any more Dell machines.
I'm surprised at all the good remarks about Acer. For some reason I thought Acers were only good in Asia and that the machine bearing the Acer name in North America were of poor quality. For those who like Acer, what store or website would you recommend I purchase one? My wife herself is from Asia and had an Acer notebook in 1998 which she liked.
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pro7070
BJ "The Prodigy" Penn
Premium
join:2002-06-28
Inman, SC
| Re: Best Notebook computer brand? said by banditws6 :This is a timely question for me; my wife is in need of a new notebook computer and I'm looking at our options. She currently has a four-year old Dell Inspiron 8600; to its credit, it hasn't had too many things go wrong with it, but the build quality right out of the box was atrocious (with a key popping off the keyboard on day one!). It creaks and groans and feels like it's going to come apart at any moment. The screen also failed about 1 year into the extended warranty, which you can believe I was glad I purchased. I myself use a Dell Latitude D620 when traveling on business, which is far and away a better machine than most of Dell's Inspiron series. But the Latitudes aren't made for entertainment -- mine has just one cheesy mono speaker, for example. One thing is certain, I'm not buying any more Dell machines. I'm surprised at all the good remarks about Acer. For some reason I thought Acers were only good in Asia and that the machine bearing the Acer name in North America were of poor quality. For those who like Acer, what store or website would you recommend I purchase one? My wife herself is from Asia and had an Acer notebook in 1998 which she liked. NewEgg has a great selection of Acer notebooks.
»www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi···hInDesc= | |
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DKS
Damn Kidney Stones
Premium,ExMod 2002
join:2001-03-22
Owen Sound, ON
clubs: | I've had two Lenovo ThinkPads and liked them both. | |
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dbennett1106
join:2000-05-28
Menlo Park, CA | Toshiba, hands down. | |
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hkancyr
join:2003-08-05
West Haven, CT
| Take a look at Sagernotebook.com. I checked out the NP2070 upgraded a few things(processor to 2.2Ghz-Memory to 2 Gig's-HDD to 120Gigs-Bluetooth) for around $1100. Sager usually gives a lot of bang for the buck.
Once you do decide on something, go to Notebookforums.com and see what problems people are having with that particular model to avoid walking into something that was avoidable. | |
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robnelle
Blowing Kisses To You All
Premium
join:2001-12-05
Indianapolis, IN
clubs:
| Re: Best Notebook computer brand? said by hkancyr :Take a look at Sagernotebook.com. I checked out the NP2070 upgraded a few things(processor to 2.2Ghz-Memory to 2 Gig's-HDD to 120Gigs-Bluetooth) for around $1100. Sager usually gives a lot of bang for the buck. Once you do decide on something, go to Notebookforums.com and see what problems people are having with that particular model to avoid walking into something that was avoidable. I agree, the sagers are awesome. Notebookforums is a great forum and if you have time to do more research, I suggest you also check out »notebookreview.com . You will find out more than you ever thought you needed to know about pretty much every notebook on the market. | |
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| bcruze
join:2006-03-03
USA | Dell.
dell parts are more readily available than ANY other manufactor
everyone has parts that go bad. not all of them have replacement parts avail  | |
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Boricua65
join:2002-01-26
Puerto Rico
| Re: Best Notebook computer brand? said by bcruze :Dell. dell parts are more readily available than ANY other manufactor everyone has parts that go bad. not all of them have replacement parts avail I beg to differ. I haven't had any problems getting parts for the Thinkpads I've worked on. My primary location for parts is of course eBay, but I've found parts in other online stores. | |
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| | | NgtFlyer
join:2000-07-09
Marietta, GA
| Re: Best Notebook computer brand? Here's another thought to add to this post.. I just got an old Thinkpad 600 laptop from a friend.. retired because it's just old and the battery is basically shot. The laptop still works. It was used daily for almost 5 years and has sat for awhile. It booted right into Windows 2000. I'm replacing the hard drive with a larger one and plan to upgrade ram. Might put Ubunto on it.
Everything on that Thinkpad is still tight, even the screen hinges.
Meanwhile, I have a newer Dell Lattitude that is falling apart after just 3 years of daily office and travel use. | |
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PeteC2
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join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT
clubs:
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| Re: Best Notebook computer brand? Where I work, we have had Toshiba Sat. for years, and although generally serviceable, did not seem all that well constructed...lots of little "issues".
In the last couple of years we have switched over to Compaqs (HP's "low end", of course),low-cost units, and they have held up surprisingly well.
IMHO, a lot of this however remains in the hands of the end-user...I do not beat up on my laptops, and although they travel with me daily, don't take a lot of abuse. Frankly, in years of schlepping them around, I have never dropped one.
My wife has a Sony Vaio (thin & light) notebook that has held up just beautifully, and I currently have (personal, not work) a HP "Entertaiment" model notebook. I can see where someone might need a truly "rugged" notebook for specific applications/environments, but otherwise? I have used and "checked out" quite a few different brands of notebooks, and to me, most of them were really more similar than not. In fact, I have found more of a difference based on configuration (processor/ram/HD/optical drive etc.), even within the same brand, than from different makers.
The other issue seems to be service, and again, this is a tricky area, as one's personal experience, good or bad, will tend to color one's judgement on a global scale! In other words, one good, or bad interaction with customer service or a technician, may make one either too positive, or too negative towards the company's service as a whole.
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Lsdmeasap
join:2006-11-02
Buffalo Grove, IL | Asus or Toshiba | |
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Tsume
join:2004-02-23
Johnson City, TN | Acer, Panasonic (toughbook) | |
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s bassaw
join:2006-06-11
New Rochelle, NY
·Optimum Voice
1 edit | I've owned Dell, Gateway, and HP notebooks.
The quality of the Dell notebook was a huge letdown. I ended up sending it in for warranty servicing several times. I was very pleased with the quality of the Gateway system. It is built solid and has a stellar technical support department. I really liked HP because when I was shopping around for that notebook, they were the only notebook maker that offered the amount of RAM, Hard disk, and other features that I needed.
I'd say either a Gateway or HP... | |
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| PrntRhd
join:2004-11-03
Fairfield, CA | Re: Best Notebook computer brand? "There are fewer of 'em, so fewer people complain about 'em! "
not true, Acer is one of the largest PC manufacturers in the world with the purchase of Gateway.
Acer has great bang for your buck. | |
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EchoD
Moon Dust High
Premium
join:2004-01-06
Jamestown, NY | Re: Best Notebook computer brand? My mistake. I guess I missed that they purchased Gateway. I should pay more attention! | |
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JimmySask
join:2004-06-24
Regina, SK
| Two of my brothers have purchased HP notebooks recently, and I refuse to buy HP/Compaq at his point, due to the experiences they have had. Both run hot enough to fry an egg, have had problems with keys falling off, and there was an impressive amount of trial software crap.
I know several people who have recently bought Toshiba Satellites, and been pleased with them. I was happy with what I have seen of them, including software and build quality.
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kdshapiro
join:2000-03-29
Eatontown, NJ | I recently bought two Dell Inspiron 1521s and am about to purchase a third. Best however is subjective.
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Ken | |
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