Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Laptop questions

OK, I've been saving for a few months and have some money to spend on myself. I'm purchasing a laptop, but I would like some input from you guys (and girls ) before making a final decision.

I need a computer to last me through at least four years of college. On top of that, I'm going for a computer science bachelor's, so I'm doing more than just word processing (which my current 366 MHz computer can handle ). My absolute top budget is $1700, but I would like to keep it around $1400.

I have been looking forward to a Compaq Presario 1700 laptop: PIII 1.2GHz, 256 MB SDRAM (max 1024), 30 GB HD, modular floppy & DVD/CDRW drives in a 5.4 lb case with Win2000. (There were some other goodies too, like S-Video and stuff ) Until recently, it was only $1374.

Recently my dad recommended I look at the P4 or Athlon-4 models, as these will likely not become outdated as quickly as the PIII's are. The best I've found is the Compaq Presario 700 series - similar configuration as above mentioned model, but with P4 processor and DDR SDRAM instead, Win XP Pro, and it's a three-spindle device (HDD, floppy, and DVD/CDRW all in the unit). I've also found the Toshiba Satellite 2400-S202: P4 1.6 GHz, 256 MB DDR SDRAM, 30 GB HD, DVD/CDRW, floppy, and WinXP Home in a 7.5 lb case for appx $1650.

I need a laptop because there is a likelihood that I will be commuting to college (it's only 10 minutes up the road). I've already ruled out a desktop because of this. Also because of this, weight and size is a slight issue (nothing more than 8 lbs). Ethernet is a must, and I need nothing more than a 14.1" screen, but don't want anything less.

Do you have any other suggestions, or am I on the right track with these particular models?

One other problem: WinXP Home Edition doesn't work on my (future) college campus' network. I have to have either XP Pro or Win2k. XP Pro is available free legally from my college; would it be more easier to get a laptop with XP Home and then upgrade, or just pay the extra $50 for the right OS shipped with the machine?

At my firm we use Compaq, Dell, and IBM. Everyone says the IBM are there favorites.
I have been using a IBM 600X for almost 2 years and I love it. My computer never sits on my desk overnight as I pack it everywhere and I have never had a problem with the portability and toughness of it. I know ther are slekker smaller ones made by Sony and Toshiba. My opinion.

In two-months I get my new machine and am looking forward to a P4 based machine.

You need to sit down and ask yourself what kind of performance you need. Going out and getting a P4 just cause you want it to last is going to cost you alot more than your budget. What will you be doing to require such a fast computer? That little 366 will do just fine for most any school/internet work. This might just be me, but even on the rare occasion Ihave a laptop to work with, I usually come home to my desktop and finish whatever I Was doing. So for me, I'd probably settle for a decently fast P3 system with all the goodies...dell, love em, and it'd be refurbished from dell too. Cheaper, warranty...and CHEAPER!!!!! Form follows function.

FWIW circuit city has a HP laptop (build to order) as follows:

P4 2ghz
256mb ddr
30gb hd
24x cdr
8x dvd
16mb ddr video
15" sxga
wireless lan built in
wired lan
56k
all the normal inputs/outputs (s-vid included) and weighs 7.4lbs IIRC

all this for $1864-$200rebate=$1664
price ends 6/15/02

By all means... stay away from Compaq laptops...

Sub-par equipment that will NOT last. Sure Compaq may have great customer service, but do you want to USE your laptop or just continually fedex it back and forth to Paq?

If $1700 is all you can budget, you probably won't be finding a P4 lappy with all the features you want/need. I'd suggest looking at lappys with AMD chipsets... they're lower priced and have about the same performance.

I think Dell has some AMD models. Perhaps Toshiba as well.

Just my 2/100 $...

--JamesT

I have a Sony Vaio laptop and I love it.

Chemguru: did you have any personal Compaq experience? I've checked epinions.com and cnet, and (for these particular models) the ratings were pretty good. It seems to be their desktops primarily that have bad quality control, IMO.

Checking the refurbs was a good idea - I had forgotten. I've found some I like on various manufacturers' websites, although I expected better deals on refurb Dells. (doesn't seem to be much of a discount there :rolleyes: ) Found a Compaq I like though!

SVTour98, I'm hoping to go to Circuit City tonight; I'll check out some deals there (notably that HP).

Thanks everyone for your responses!

HP, eeeewwww. When I worked at Worst Buy we had about 10-15 machines on display and the HP's routinely froze, several times a day, and they all weren't running the same OS either.

While they are rather expensive for what you get, a thinkpad is def one of my favorites.

One thing that I will say after working in retail for awhile is that no matter what brand of machine you are looking at, someone had a lemon and will ***** about it all day long. With that being said out of the 3 brands I sell I would go with a Toshiba 1st, Compaq 2nd and HP 3rd.

cnet has some reviews of machines, out of which the IBM thinkpad a series just got an editors choice. you might want to look and see what they say about other stuff Cnet .

Another option you might want to consider is this: For about $350 you can get a palm pilot and a folding full size keyboard, if you are primarialy bringing the computer to school for note-taking this is something you might want to consider, and than just keeping the machine you have now for a little longer.

oh and one last thing, Dell's products often do well, you might want to head over to their site and price one out.

-Pete

I went to CompUSA and Circuit City after posting tonight, and am now typing this post on my new computer. Of all the brands I have been seriously considering - including WinBook, Compaq, Toshiba and HP - I never thought I would end up with a .....

Sony Vaio.

That's right. Circuit City had a Sony Vaio FXA out for $1699. With their $200 rebate (active tomorrow) it comes down to $1499 and taxes.
It has:
- AMD Athlon XP 1.3 GHz
- 14.1" XGA TFT screen
- combo DVD/CDRW
- floppy built in (removable for optional 2nd batt.)
- 30 GB HD
- 256 MB RAM (max 512)
- all the Sony fun stuff, like iLink and video out - minus S-vid
- WinXP Home

I think I got a pretty good deal. I had never considered Sony because although I knew they were quality, they were also expensive. This one is pretty sweet. It's quiet too - by far the quietest laptop I've ever personally used!

Thanks for all of your input and suggestions! I took them all into consideration when making this decision.

Good luck with it! One of my friends picked up a vaio last August and it's been good so far, except for stability (but then again it IS running windows Me, so who says it's the hardware)

-Pete