What is the best laptop to get? in your opinion.

Also please provide the link to the item and how much it roughly costs.

P.s please dont list dells

What do you have against Dell laptops? The Inspiron series is quite good, and inexpensive to boot.

MacBook/Pro

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=925997E8&nclm=MacBookPro

Only laptop you'll ever need. Boots XP/OS X and probably vista as well. I haven't regretted my purchase yet.

[quote author=heRo link=topic=16135.msg162630#msg162630 date=1166168842]
MacBook/Pro

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=925997E8&nclm=MacBookPro

Only laptop you'll ever need. Boots XP/OS X and probably vista as well. I haven't regretted my purchase yet.
[/quote]

I don't think he has $2500 to spend on a laptop, he works at Target.

[quote author=Denial link=topic=16135.msg162628#msg162628 date=1166165184]
What is the best laptop to get? in your opinion.

Also please provide the link to the item and how much it roughly costs.

P.s please dont list dells


[/quote]

What've you got against Dell? I have a Latitude D505 with a 1.5GHz Pentium M and it's been my trusty sidekick for over 2 years. I've dropped it multiple times, scuffed it up, spilled things on it, played countless hours of WoW and Warcraft III, popped the J key off (quickly and easily replaced the keyboard that time) and it still runs great and gets over 4 hours to a full battery charge.

The trick with Dell is to buy Small Business if you can -- American tech support call centers! :)

http://www.edealinfo.com/dell/ has a bunch of Dell deals and coupon codes. Otherwise, I'd recommend HP-branded laptops, or if you've got the dough a high-end system from Alienware. I've also heard good things about Sager -- http://www.powernotebooks.com/ carries those.

[quote author=Stealth link=topic=16135.msg162632#msg162632 date=1166173993]
[quote author=Denial link=topic=16135.msg162628#msg162628 date=1166165184]
What is the best laptop to get? in your opinion.

Also please provide the link to the item and how much it roughly costs.

P.s please dont list dells


[/quote]

What've you got against Dell? I have a Latitude D505 with a 1.5GHz Pentium M and it's been my trusty sidekick for over 2 years. I've dropped it multiple times, scuffed it up, spilled things on it, played countless hours of WoW and Warcraft III, popped the J key off (quickly and easily replaced the keyboard that time) and it still runs great and gets over 4 hours to a full battery charge.

The trick with Dell is to buy Small Business if you can -- American tech support call centers! :)

http://www.edealinfo.com/dell/ has a bunch of Dell deals and coupon codes. Otherwise, I'd recommend HP-branded laptops, or if you've got the dough a high-end system from Alienware. I've also heard good things about Sager -- http://www.powernotebooks.com/ carries those.
[/quote]

I wouldn't buy Alienware, both their desktops and laptops are like bricks. Unless, of course, you like bricks.

I have a Macbook Pro and it runs very well. I have Vista on mine too and aside from a few drivers missing (I'm sure bootcamp will be updated in a few months to correct this) it runs very smoothly. Though personally I find Vista to be very dissapointing.

Anyway get the Macbook Pro, it's very light, it's thin.. and it just fucking works.

Dell Latitude D820.  Very nice, and at a very good price.

HP Pavilion dv6000z series - $549.99

or

HP Pavilion dv9000z series - $829.99

I snagged a Gateway CX2724.  It's a Tablet PC with a Centrino Duo at 1.6GHz and 1GB of memory.

If you do graphic art or the like, I highly recommend the tablet.  It greatly sped up my work in the field.

[quote author=Trance link=topic=16135.msg162636#msg162636 date=1166177958]
I have a Macbook Pro and it runs very well. I have Vista on mine too and aside from a few drivers missing (I'm sure bootcamp will be updated in a few months to correct this) it runs very smoothly. Though personally I find Vista to be very dissapointing.

Anyway get the Macbook Pro, it's very light, it's thin.. and it just fucking works.
[/quote]
Amen to that.

[quote author=topaz link=topic=16135.msg162631#msg162631 date=1166170527]
[quote author=heRo link=topic=16135.msg162630#msg162630 date=1166168842]
MacBook/Pro

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=925997E8&nclm=MacBookPro

Only laptop you'll ever need. Boots XP/OS X and probably vista as well. I haven't regretted my purchase yet.
[/quote]

I don't think he has $2500 to spend on a laptop, he works at Target.
[/quote]


Target isn't my only income i make stuff elsewhere as well

Anyway  mac looks to be very good how is it in gaming / playing movies and the lifetime of the battery

Battery life from what I hear is pretty good. As for gaming -- I hope you like Blizzard games because everything else is PC-only :)

[quote author=Stealth link=topic=16135.msg162677#msg162677 date=1166301739]
Battery life from what I hear is pretty good. As for gaming -- I hope you like Blizzard games because everything else is PC-only :)
[/quote]

hmmm intresting that could be a problem then.

[quote author=Denial link=topic=16135.msg162675#msg162675 date=1166301268]
[quote author=topaz link=topic=16135.msg162631#msg162631 date=1166170527]
[quote author=heRo link=topic=16135.msg162630#msg162630 date=1166168842]
MacBook/Pro

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=925997E8&nclm=MacBookPro

Only laptop you'll ever need. Boots XP/OS X and probably vista as well. I haven't regretted my purchase yet.
[/quote]

I don't think he has $2500 to spend on a laptop, he works at Target.
[/quote]


Target isn't my only income i make stuff elsewhere as well

Anyway  mac looks to be very good how is it in gaming / playing movies and the lifetime of the battery
[/quote]

Macbooks have integrated graphics so some "gamers" don't like that, but with mine I have 2 GB installed and games like warcraft and wow run smoothly.  Macbook pros have even better graphic cards that aren't integrated like the macbooks and they are supposed to be real good with games. There are many reviews on the gaming situation with them, if you want to read some, google it.  The battery life of my macbook is pretty good, I watched a couple movies on the plane with it and still had about 30 mins left on the battery. Overall it is the best laptop I've ever had (I have had 4).

I use my MBP to do a lot of Audio & Video stuff so I usually eat up my battery in a few hours. The most annoying thing about the MBP is the magsafe power cord... it comes off way to easily... drives me nuts.

If you want to play Windows games just install XP (vista is a waste of time right now)

I gotta say though that this laptop is the most powerful computer I've ever had (until next month anyway).. has 3GB of RAM 2.33 core 2 duo... etc etc and it's just solid. I'd recommend staying away from the glossy screen though, unless you like having a mirror.

Get a Lenovo (formerly IBM) ThinkPad. I'm still using a ThinkPad 600 (think mid-90's) on a regular basis. They're indestructable and quiet, don't run hot, etc.

How long does a average battery last and how long does it take to charge it back up?

Also how long does it take till a battery dies completely?

I've never gotten a laptop before mostly pc based.

[quote author=Denial link=topic=16135.msg162691#msg162691 date=1166352896]
How long does a average battery last and how long does it take to charge it back up?

Also how long does it take till a battery dies completely?

I've never gotten a laptop before mostly pc based.
[/quote]

Seven-nine hours, three hours tops.

Total battery life? Several years, at the least.

I rock a first gen core duo top-of-the-line 17" MacBook Pro. Battery life is 3-5 hours depending on what you're doing. Pretty solid machine; I use it for hardcore programming, schoolwork, audio engineering for my band, and light gaming on my XP partition.

Essentially, if you want a big screen or a graphics card, get a Macbook Pro. Otherwise, I'd go for the straight MacBook. It's cheaper and has most of the same features.

It doesn't take long to charge up... but I can utterly destroy my battery if I use it for DJ'ing within an hour. I've had good experiances with Thinkpads as well.. however this was before they were purchased by China..

[quote author=Trance link=topic=16135.msg162732#msg162732 date=1166799085]
It doesn't take long to charge up... but I can utterly destroy my battery if I use it for DJ'ing within an hour. I've had good experiances with Thinkpads as well.. however this was before they were purchased by China..
[/quote]


so i guess if i do hardcore stuff i should have it plugged in?

Yeah, really hardcore stuff.. usually you'll be fine.. When I use the DJ'ing software I'm constantly using the HD so it eats up the battery at a rate of 1% a minute or so. If I'm encoding a DVD it usually won't kill the battery.

Yeah man.  Watching DVDs, porn, gaming, video editing, anything with intense hard drive usage, anything with intense network card usage - plug it in plug it in.

I have to say I agree with the Dell people.  I just got a Dell Inspiron Core 2 Duo.  It's quite nice.  Has a real gfx card in it so I'm running games like Battlefield 2142 and Oblivion with higher gfx settings and they run fine.  Dells are one of the top rated companies for laptops year after year.  Also, I hear Sony Vaios are good.  PC Magazine and PC World both review laptops about every six months.  You should check out their websites for more detailed info on some of the more popular models.

Btw.  Please, for the sake of yourself and your loved ones, don't get a Compaq (HP).  Unless you want to install a pirated version of Windows plan on using a spyware laden operating system because they ship with about 65 processes running on boot  ::)

As for whoever made the statement about the Alienwares being bricks... Alienware laptops are just Dell XPS series laptops with cooler cases ever since Dell bought them about a year ago.

[quote author=Fapiko link=topic=16135.msg162737#msg162737 date=1166805402]
Btw.  Please, for the sake of yourself and your loved ones, don't get a Compaq (HP).  Unless you want to install a pirated version of Windows plan on using a spyware laden operating system because they ship with about 65 processes running on boot  ::)
[/quote]

Most major manufacturers preload your computer with a bunch of useless junk, though it's generally not spyware. HP also is not going to sell you a pirated copy of Windows; WGA is a controversial and really fairly inaccurate system. I have opted out of it on all my systems, which all have legal copies of XP Home or Pro. More likely something on the system failed WGA -- at any rate, HP techs should get you out of that mess without much trouble.

I think he meant format and reinstall, not that it shipped with pirated software.

[quote author=Forged link=topic=16135.msg162757#msg162757 date=1166840545]
I think he meant format and reinstall, not that it shipped with pirated software.
[/quote]


[quote]Btw.  Please, for the sake of yourself and your loved ones, don't get a Compaq (HP).  Unless you want to install a pirated version of Windows plan on using a spyware laden operating system because they ship with about 65 processes running on boot[/quote]

Even though that's what he said?

LOL.

Don't get any of the Toshiba Satellite series, the standard battery that comes with them lasts about an hour.

[quote author=topaz link=topic=16135.msg162758#msg162758 date=1166843633]
[quote author=Forged link=topic=16135.msg162757#msg162757 date=1166840545]
I think he meant format and reinstall, not that it shipped with pirated software.
[/quote]


[quote]Btw.  Please, for the sake of yourself and your loved ones, don't get a Compaq (HP).  Unless you want to install a pirated version of Windows plan on using a spyware laden operating system because they ship with about 65 processes running on boot[/quote]

Even though that's what he said?

LOL.
[/quote]

"Unless ... plan on ..." seems like an if/else construct.  if (you do NOT want to reinstall Windows) then {you will be using a spyware laden operating system}.  It's unfortunate that Fapiko assumed that a reinstall would necessarily be a pirated version, since it seems to have confused people.  Note: I have no experience with Compaq systems, and cannot attest to whether their default install is actually that burdened.  I am merely trying to clarify a statement that is causing parsing problems.

Heh. Even if you ask for no extra software, most companies will put it on there anyway.

[quote author=topaz link=topic=16135.msg162629#msg162629 date=1166167832]
What do you have against Dell laptops? The Inspiron series is quite good, and inexpensive to boot.
[/quote]

Dell does make a fantastic laptop, but their technical support is the worst of all computer companies. 

I haven't had a problem with my Inspiron though so I haven't had a need to call them...

I have a gateway, its a 2.0ghz, 512ram, about 3-4 years old now, on 24/7 with a restart maybe every 2 weeks, never had a problem <3 it.