Laptop recommendations
 

The better halves Compaq has died and it its off to the shops tomorrow to buy a new laptop. I'm more interested in brand reliability (the Compaq has been shite to be honest) than anything else, as I can sort out the specs myself.

Any horror stories to tell... or laptops that have been working flawlessly since Noah was a lad?


I was thinking HP?

Re: Laptop recommendations
 

HP seems good. My compaq is crap but saying that, isn't that hp anyway?:lol:

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Well it is, but I think the HP's are a bit better screwed together.... though perhaps its just wishful thinking on my part. :)

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Wouldn't be hard. My compaq is crap. they look like 2 different products for sure. Toshiba is hard to beat I reckon.

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We've got a Sony Vaio, does the job!! Only problem is I can't get it to print to Dell printer...:confused:

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Tosh was another one I had in mind. I'm only basing my HP idea on the desktops I've owned, as a couple of them ran for years, ones still going after six years.

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My OH says they are all shite :rolleyes: You need to look after them properly and it depends what you are using it for and you need a decent cooling pad thing too - crap ones don't work apparently.

What do you need it for? :confused: (asked by Mr SC!) Also get a good warranty.

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Desktops are different though as they don't need the same cooling capacity as a laptop.

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Don't you just love the fun and games you can have with device drivers... :rolleyes:


Coming from a mainframe background I still think of any other type of computer as just "toys and accessories'

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It's not going to be state of the art stuff... basically used for internet stuff and playing bloody Farmville on Facebook !!

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Really... I'm shocked. :rofl:

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Thought about a netbook? Samsung do one with some 9 hrs on the battery(quoted 12} I am looking at it. Around $500

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Does the size/type of the screen matter?

Only asking because EEE netbooks are as cheap as chips with a screen up to 13 inches.

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I think it will need to be a laptop... she won't be able to see her pumpkins on Farmville on a tiny screen. :eek:

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She could get a life? Unlike me!

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:rofl:

Hubby's got a Toshiba laptop (work gave him it) and it's never overheated - and that's all he is willing to say (he said :blink:) cos 'they are all shite'.

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Get a life.!!!!. She's just come from the desktop upstairs to tell me that farmville have a pot of gold for St Pats day....

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I take it back! Toshiba is the best according to popular opinion. Have you thought about Dell?

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Dell will take too long. Farmville pumpkins will have withered and died by then... and I'm not kidding !!

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My laptop is a Dell - it's pish :thumbdown: Overheats all the time.

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Right... Tosh or HP then. Cheers folks

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HP expensive :(:D

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:lol: seems really mixed reviews anyway!

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My SONY experience is not so good. I got one last January and it had to go back for repairs three times in ten months; two hard drive failures, power adaptor failure, broken fan. All deemed not due to any damage caused by me but when it broke the fourth time (fan again) I had a nightmare trying to get a refund and they wouldn't even extend the warranty despite it breaking four times.

It doesn't work with HP printers either.

Finally got refund though and I now have an Acer aspire. I had an acer before the Sony and had no problems for the 5 years I owned it.

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From personal experience, we had a Sony Viao, and it couldn't handle the warm summers. I literally had to have a tray of ice underneath it to back up the data from the hard drive before it died. And then it did die.

We've now got a Dell Inspiron, and its been working fine for 4 years.

When this one dies I'd go for this

Unfortunately Mrs JTL would beat me to death before I even got the credit card out :p

JTL

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Mines is a dell inspiron and had it for 4 years too, but it overheats all the bloody time :frown:

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Notebooks tend to overheat if you use them in bed (sitting on bed clothes blocks the vents).... you are really supposed to have them on a flat table with air circulating underneath.

I once seen someone pull the remaining 3 rubber feet off a Notebook because 1 was missing and it was wobbly on a flat surface... bad Idea it supposed to have a few mm clearance for ventilation.

HP and Compaq same company... same products maybe slightly different specs and casing. HP just kept the Compaq branding.

If you want to do it right get a Macbook Pro.

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Well on a serious note, I'm quite tempted by the Mac Book Pro. I haven't used the Mac OS since Uni, but everyone I know who buys one raves about it.

But maybe that is just me being a geek, I like to figure out new OS's

JTL

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We've not had those kind of problems thankfully!! The major one is the printer... Grr! It did overheat when we first arrived, it used to go black screen but after cooling it down and trying again it started to work fine!!

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We have a Mac Air, it's a beautiful computer and we haven't had any problems with it. :):thumbup:

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I have one and it's very good for general surfing, etc :thumbup:.

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It's a great machine. Just works. I have one, as does my wife and I wouldn't swap mine for any Windows based machine period. Its a premium product and it shows.

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I've just bought a macbook pro, based on recommendations from friends who would not consider buying anything else now. It's taking a bit of time to get used to, but I really like it so far. 7 hour battery life is useful too

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I will be in the market soon. Can you do much the same as on a PC? I really fancy one, they look good too:thumbup:

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Anything you can do on a PC you can do on a Mac. Be prepared for some initial frustration if you change over...but have met very few people(if any) who have made the switch that end up regretting it. Also, if you are currently running a machine on XP and buy a new PC machine you will need to learn Windows 7 anyway. The initial cost may be more but you will have a machine that will last a lot longer. Windows tends to clog up over time and slow down. My current MacBook is 3 years old and still runs as fast as it ever did. Viruses aren't an issue. Some people believe this is because Macs don't have a big enough user base but the OS is a lot more secure.

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I always run maintenance on my machine regularly but it still seems to slow regardlesss. Vista is pants, I have switched it off totally and the machine runs a bit better. Yes, may look at a Mac. Which one though? lol!

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I have a 17" MacBook Pro and run Leopard and Windows XP simultaneously on a split screen, plus how ironic is it that how well Windows runs on a Mac...

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Ah bollocks - there's a certain snobbery about having a mac:D

So there.






































:unsure: <hides>

Re: Laptop recommendations
 

Our Compaq was the worst computer I've ever owned.

Samsung are doing well with their comps, runs very well and hasnt overheated once..... Our EEEPC is flawless except for the very small screen.... it does run linux though so thats probably half the battle..... recommend that just for the expierence of learning how to install basic linux programs.

Bought a Macbook Pro for my Daughter last week, so far so good, havent had to use any Windows programs on it so far, I'm going to try and avoid bootcamp. I'm personally having lots of trouble with the touchpad on it. 'twas ok once I plugged a mouse in.

To sum up, if its basic browsing and office applications I reckon a EEEPC running Linux is really a worthwhile alternative and saves you 1,000 bucks over a Macbook Pro..... get solidstate drives as well so far more robust for a much cheaper price. Linux is worth the bother IMO..... I'd suggest they are at least equal if not more robust than the Macbooks.

BTW I stream to our now "spare" EEEPC and run media from my computer to my TV through it.... works great, although I havent downloaded a decent interface program for it.... damn versatile machine for the price.

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My compaq is a pile of junk. I hate it. Bad choice there, but it was cheap!