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View Poll Results: Which to buy?
HP ze5470 0 0%
Toshiba A25-S307 2 40.00%
Other 3 60.00%
Voters: 5. You may not vote on this poll

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  #1  
Old 07-29-2003, 08:10 PM
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Laptop Help

I'm going to be getting a laptop for college and am currently looking into two models that have DVDRW. I have never had a laptop nor has anyone in my close family so I don't know what to look for.

One of them is the HP ze5470 (2.66 Pentium 4, 512MB RAM, 15" XGA, 80GB HD, 64MB ATI Radeon 4x, 54g wireless LAN, 266MHz Bus, 512KB Cache, 16 bit Soundblaster, 2x2x5 DVD+RW).

The other is the Toshiba A25-S307 (2.8 Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 15" XGA, 60GB HD, 32 MB CyberBlade XP2, 802.11a/b LAN, 512KHz Bus, 512KB Cache, 1981B codec sound, 1x1x8 DVD-RW).

Both are selling for $1649 after rebates at bestbuy. I am leaning towards the HP because of the bigger hd, 64MB graphics, an IEEE port, and the 54g card. Anyone with any laptop experiene have any suggestions? If you know of another model that is better than these for around the same price let me know. I need a 802.11b LAN, atleast 40GB hd, and DVDRW. Which is better DVD+RW or DVD-RW?
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  #2  
Old 07-29-2003, 08:28 PM
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I prefer the HP laptops.
That is all I use for my companies laptops.
We have had a few problems with them but their support is excellent and if we do have a problem they get serviced very quickly. HP's customer service is top-notch.
I also noticed that HP installs less of the crap software that every manufacturer tends to put on laptops. (ISP Software/Bad Antivirus/ etc..)

I have tried Dell in the past and they are good machines, they are just kind of plain looking. If I am spending over $1000 for a laptop I want it to look good!

I have not had too much experience with Toshiba but if the HP has the specs you are looking for I would steer that way.
Customer service is a big plus and I know HP/Compaq has it.

Hope I helped a little.
If you have any questions let me know. ( I do it for a living)
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  #3  
Old 07-29-2003, 08:34 PM
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Thumbs up Helped a lot

I have heard that HP laptops weren't very reliable but it was basically a friend of a friend type story. From what I have read Toshiba's are very reliable, but when they do break customer service is practically non-existant. The other thing with the Toshiba is not that it has garbage software, but it doesn't have half the software the HP comes with. I did not really concider Dell because I find they are too expensive for what you get and service isn't nearly as good as they try to make it seem. Thanks for the help, I was hoping someone who actually worked with computers would respond.
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  #4  
Old 07-30-2003, 08:23 AM
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I bought a Dell Inspiron 8100 like a year+ ago and at first I was trhilled with it until I saw a bunch of peoples toshibas and then I was lees than thrilled, there displays look sooo much better. I mean I have 1600x1200 resolution that is damn clean but it sucks if your at an angle.
When I was shopping for mine it was a toss-up between Dell and HP but this guy I worked with kept having problems with his HP and I knew very satisfied guys with Dell's.
Today I'd be tossed up between Dell and Toshiba the software issue doesn't sell it for me since I'll change it myself. I guess the only real thing Toshiba has against it is the fact that I chose to boycott them after they sold the mill specs of our submarine screws to the Soviets . If It wasn't for that I'd say toshiba.
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  #5  
Old 07-30-2003, 06:09 PM
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At the construction company I work for, we use all Toshiba and IBM laptops, and Dell desktops. We've had major issues with the Toshibas, mostly display problems from what I understand (this was before my time.) And yeah, their customer support can't get much worse. I can't remember how many drivers and such that I've downloaded that just plain don't work. Thats why we started buying nothing but IBM. We've yet to have a major problem with any IBMs, and their customer support is excellent.

As for the Dells, I've never used their laptops, but their desktops alone make me hate them. It's just all the stupid, minor, irritating problems you have to deal with (like a proprietary keyboard and BIOS on a RAM stick, come on now, thats just ridiculous.) You'd never catch me with anything from Dell.

HP is kinda borderline right now, with them now owning Compaq. HP was good, but Compaq sucked, and I haven't tried anything new enough to see if the quality was effected by the merge. HP probably has the best customer support in the industry, though.

My personal favorite is the Sony VAIO. I've owned my Sony desktop for about 2yrs now, and I've never had a single problem with it, not one. A friend of mine has had a VAIO laptop for about the same amount of time, with the same results. And he's one of those types that doesn't realize that there is life beyond the LCD monitor, so imagine how much it gets used. I've heard that their customer support isn't the greatest, but I wouldn't know, I've never used it.

So, if I had to choose a new laptop, it'd either be a Sony VAIO or an IBM. Hope this helps!
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  #6  
Old 07-30-2003, 06:18 PM
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I have a Dell and an IBM and second the IBM vote for quality. I think ever since HP started down the "computers are a commodity" level of marketing (selling at Wally World, etc.) their product quality has taken a dive. All the above complaints about Toshiba would make me nervous.

I picked up the IBM in a group buy along with work a couple years ago and it has been flawless. The Dell has lost a keycap and frequently doesn't respond to the left side shift key anymore (it's about 2 years old now).
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  #7  
Old 07-30-2003, 07:57 PM
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I voted other. Get a powerbook dude, you'll never want a PC again. I even made a thread full of guys who know a lot about laptops to help you decide:

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=170487

- Rob
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  #8  
Old 07-30-2003, 09:13 PM
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Well

The Macs are nice, I've just never been a huge fan. Honestly most of my free time is probably going to be spent playing games(atleast I'm honest), not the Macs specialty. I would go IBM, but they are too expensive (for what I want I'd be up to about $3k). Worth the price, just not really an option. Unfortunately my college (Rider Univeristy) has no discounts, and only accounting students buy "their" laptops, which wouldn't even be close to "my" requirements. The problem I really want DVDRW, which is very hard to get in a laptop. I'd go Sony but the ones that have DVDRW dont have LAN cards (WHY????). Thanks for the post Rob

P.S. "For starters that guy doesn't seem to know the difference between a laptop and a 747."-if he's insinuating (sp?) that the laptops I like are too big, size is not really an issue (besides, I could use a little exercise). I will not have a desktop to play around with so I need something atleast almost as powerful. Its not the size (reversed in this case) that counts, its how you use it. The tiny laptops arent good for much more than word processing.
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  #9  
Old 07-30-2003, 10:57 PM
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I've been through three dells, a compaq, an IBM, and a Sony.

Dell has been my favorite for some time overall. I like their conservative style (these were all Latitude models), and rock solid feel. Only problem I ever had on them was consistent through all three - the keyboards stop responding one key at a time...that happened on all three. Weird, eh?

The Compaq was surprisingly nice. Junky feel...but really cool styling and no keyboard problems. The display was not as nice as the dells.

I hated the IBM. Mostly because of style and that dumb pointer stick. It's like an alien laptop. Only problem was a bad CD-ROM.

The Sony was neat at first...but got old quick. These are really geared for home use...seriously to the point that they make business and industrial use harder. No problems though, and a REALLY nice display.
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  #10  
Old 07-31-2003, 08:12 AM
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I have owned a Dell, a Sony, and I currently have a Alienware laptop. Out of the three, the alienware is by far my most favorite. It's basically a desktop crammed into a laptop chassis...'nuff said. Downsides, they run on the expensive side, and battery life is crap. Out of the other two, I prefer Dell. If DVD-RW is a major factor for you, I would suggest this. Get a middle of the line Dell. You can get them decently equipped for under $1500, easy. Make sure it has either usb 2.0 or a firewire port. Then just buy an external DVD-RW/CD-RW combo drive. Just plug it in when you need it...and it saves on carrying weight. Just my 2 cents...
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Old 07-31-2003, 09:45 AM
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I used to repair laptops at CompuCom and I will never buy anything other than an IBM laptop.

You can get a faster, cheaper laptop, but you won't find a better one. Plus you can actually get all the drivers for everything if you want to change your OS

Doug
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Old 07-31-2003, 11:27 AM
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If it's gaming you're after just build a cheap PC for under 800 bucks, and get a used laptop for around 600. That way you can play the newest games and have them look great, and still have a computer to do homework with outside. Right now I'm typing on my 700mhz Sony Vaio, it weighs UNDER 3lbs, and it has wireless. I love it. It's model PCG-SR17K, check it out:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,13392,00.asp

I bought mine with a wireless card for 800 bucks. Shibby deal.

- Rob
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Old 07-31-2003, 10:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by srmifer
I have owned a Dell, a Sony, and I currently have a Alienware laptop. Out of the three, the alienware is by far my most favorite. It's basically a desktop crammed into a laptop chassis...'nuff said. Downsides, they run on the expensive side, and battery life is crap. Out of the other two, I prefer Dell. If DVD-RW is a major factor for you, I would suggest this. Get a middle of the line Dell. You can get them decently equipped for under $1500, easy. Make sure it has either usb 2.0 or a firewire port. Then just buy an external DVD-RW/CD-RW combo drive. Just plug it in when you need it...and it saves on carrying weight. Just my 2 cents...
As dorky as this must sound Alienware products excite me if money was no issue I'd by about 4 pc and 2 laptops from them right now.
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  #14  
Old 08-03-2003, 08:39 AM
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Final Choice

I ended up with an HP ze5375. It doesn't have DVDRW but after reading up on the technology I decided to wait and get an external drive that can do + and - once the prices go down some. My laptop has 40GB, 512 Ram, 2.4 Pentium 4, 802.11b, 64mb Radeon, DVD/CDRW, firewire+3 usb, AND an internal floppy (one of the only laptops I could find with one, yes I still use floppies). Will be $1099 after mail-in rebates. It's basically the same as the HP I was looking at only no DVDRW, only 40GB, and 802.11b instead of 54g.

P.S. It has cool blue lights too
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  #15  
Old 08-03-2003, 01:06 PM
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Sounds like a good price.
I hope it works well for you.


Chris
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