Here's my dilemma. I was all set to buy a Dell laptop yesterday. A friend of the family who knows computers inside and out provided the information below for a Dell that would cost $749. It would be used for home/work.
But after talking to my sister in California last night, she said...No Eddie, don't buy a Dell laptop!." (That's what my sisters call me). She said I better get a 15.4" screen and they just bought one (maybe Toshiba or HP) and got better features at a better price.
I have had goo success with Dell. What would you do? And sorry about this long post. I realize it is quite a mouthful...
Here's the email from our family friend regarding the Dell:
I just sent you a computer I configured through dell. This computer is Brand New. It features a 14.1 inch screen which is smaller than the typical new standard of 15.4 inches but in my opinion it is much better because it make the computer more portable without losing hardly any screen size. The CPU is a dual core 2.0 GHZ which should be enough for you. The memory is 3 GB which is more than enough; I decided on 3 GB instead of 2 GB because the computer will run a little better with 3 GB and it will be better in the future. The video card is an 128MB NVIDIA GeForce® 8400M GS. That should be a great card that can do anything you would need it to do, graphics wise. The hard drive is an 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM). After talking to my dad we decided for reliability a 5400 RPM hard drive would be better for you. If you have any questions feel free to email me back.
Can't edit (sorry about "goo" instead of "good.") But here is what my sister had to say:
Hi Eddie, You might want to check out the Toshiba’s. Office Depot has an ad this week. We bought the Toshiba Model P305-S8820 435805 which has a 17" trubrite widescreen, Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo Processor Centrino, 3GB DDR Memory, 200 GB hard drive, Reads and writes dual layer DVD’s, CD with labelflash, Integrated webcam & microphone, Windows vista home premium, integrated 802 wireless LAN. $779.99. I’m sure you can get a 15.4" screen for less money.
Lisa
I would go for the 15.4" laptop. That extra diagonal inch is going to be a lot for little to no increase in cost. I would go to Best Buy/Circuit City/Office Depot and look around. I found this on Best Buy's website that has a bigger hard drive. Dell laptop If you are worried about price they have a Compaq that's going to be comparable to the Dell that was quoted by your friend.
I would go with whatever you feel comfortable buying. I've never had a problem with any computer I've bought from Acer to Emachine to Dell. As long as you stick with a dual core processor you should be fine. If you are worried about portability I would stay away from the 17" widescreen laptops, my brother has one and the thing is freaking HUGE. I can't imagine carrying that to appointments.
My opinion... $749 is a great price for that Dell. Stay away from the Toshiba's. I had one for a week.... returned it, and went back to Dell. They run slower (even with the same stuff in it...), and things like an integrated webcam just aren't needed. Also, stay away from Vista.... many of the insurance related things I have on my computer won't run at all on Vista.
I would try and get a computer with XP.
Best deals for a Dell laptop are on refurbished.... You can start here for that:
Dell to me is the most reliable, and from what I have heard they are relocating most (if not all) of their support staff back to the US... which will make support even easier.
Shareitnow, which is a desktop share program doesn't work with Vista... that is the main one. I have Vista on one machine, and XP on another... and primarily use my XP machine now.
I don't have Norvax right now, and find myself running quotes with the desktop programs, and sometimes (not all the time) have had issues getting those programs to boot up properly, or they run slow. I've never had those issues on my XP machine.
Norvax will be fine with Vista, as it is a hosted program, right? If it doesn't reside on your actual computer, than you shouldn't run into any issues there.
I have a 14 inch screen on my Acer laptop. Wife has a 15" Dell.
Mine is much lighter and more portable.
Most of my work is done on a desktop (Dell) so the screen size isn't an issue with me.
Both came with Vista Home Premium and I have not had problems. But I don't use a lot of insurance software since most of my proposals are done using web based programs.
If you are using carrier software, or open source software, you may have an issue with Vista. Eventually they will come around but Vista has been out for a year so that is enough time to get with the program.
XP is no longer sold at retail. Updates will probably continue for at least 5 more years (they still send updates on 2000 from time to time).
By software standards, XP is old and bordering on ancient. Introduced in 2001 it has been updated and patched so many times it no longer is anything like the original product.
That being said, there are over 400 million machines running XP, so . . .
Dell is good. You can sometimes find deals through Dealcatcher as well as direct from Dell on refurb modles.
I got mine new via Dealcatcher. Had everything I needed and the price was right.
If the laptop is going to be a substitute for a desktop most of the time, get the larger screen. If it is really going to be a laptop and used on the road, then get the smaller scren.
I have a Compaq Presario v200 which is terrific. I'm writing this now while on vacation at the beach. It has a bright, wide aspect ratio 14" screen. I also use it for Power Point displays.
"The 15.4 inch Dells have no video cards. They use integrated video, which I believe should be stayed away from with Vista. The 14.1 inch and 17 inch screens are the only Inspiron's with a video card available." Oh well.
If it's for work and going mobile at all then stick with the Dell, but you need to open the purse strings and look at the 15.4 Dell Latitude. They are big bad brutes. Why are they so heavy? It's the only laptop on the market that has a titanium allow body and is fully shock absorbed inside. If you open one up they look nothing like any other computer on the market. Max it out. Forget people saying you don't need this or that other than you don't need: Quad Core and more than 256 vid card. You only need that if you game. High rpm speeds are fine. 160 gig hard drive, 3 gig ram, Duo core 2, biggest battery, and the in home warranty. I've used it once and it was great. If the machine is built strong and maxed out you won't have to upgrade it for 4-5 years. They also make a fully rubber/armoried version, but thats another grand. Mine ended up at about $1900. I'm planning on using it for seminars and such and it will take some major knocking around. My brother has been build computers, writing software, and setting computer systems for international corporations for the last 20 years and last is what he built for me on the Dell site. He equips all the lawyers at a large law firm he works with and this is what he builds for them. His old Dell 600 Latitude is about 5 years old and still works great.
I deal exclusively with an indie on computers. They build it and guarantee it. Service is the best. My new laptop came with the XP which I wanted. It's easy for me to get work done. I go to their little store and they put my unit on the table and fix it while I wait. It doesn't get any better.
The smartest techie I've ever met said when buying a laptop to buy a Lenovo. Something about there being a cage around the hard drive. Seemed like good advice.
Also have an uncle that does small business networking, etc. that recommends all of his clients buy Macs...says it's a dumb business move as he never goes to see the ones that take his advice. Problem is you can't buy a Mac for 6-700 bucks.
My main goal when getting my laptop was portability. I checked out Dell, Gateway, and some others but wandered into Officemax and fell in love with a Toshiba Satellite U305 (I think) with like a 13.2 inch monitor.
The specs are not as fast as some but all I really use it for is a program for quotes or either a factfinder type software(well and cruising this forum a bit). It borders on a thin and lite but not officially is one so it's cheaper.
It's very handy and I love the size, I haven't had any major trouble with it in 3 months or so either.
Does Anybody Have a 14 inch?
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