Now I need computer help, please.

[Kurt]

Okay, so I am looking at some laptops. These are the ones that I have in mind. I am looking to spend between $600 and $700. I would like an 80GB Hard Drive but 60GB would be okay I guess.

 

Here is a Gateway. 80GB Hard Drive

 

Here is a Compaq. 60GB Hard Drive.

 

Here is another Gateway. It has a 60GB Hard Drive, but this is the right price.

 

Here is an 80GB hard Drive Gateway.

 

Here is a Toshiba.

 

Okay, so I heard that Gateways are not the greatest, but they are in my pice range for what I want. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Are these computers not the greatest, or would the work?

 

Thanks a lot!

 

Kurt

[NickolasJames8]

Gateway anything is totally wack

[Drewbie]

Try a dell? or a emachines.

[Kurt]

Dells are like a thousand dollars.

 

I heard that eMachines are junk.

[Drewbie]

Could of sworn I seen a cheap dell, Or get a fairly new cheap laptop of off ebay?

[rec]

Compaq/HP has one hell of a buy at Best Buy:

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1153997317199

 

It has the Turion X 2 chip, a gig of memory, an 80 gig hard drive, etc.

 

All for $799 on their Wednesday sale, and it may be that HP will pay the shipping.

 

Anyway, that's a good price for what you can get.

 

rec

[JamesSavik]

I've been a Systems Administrator for 20 years. As such, I was in charge of buying equipment, software, installing it on my network and taking care of it. Equipment that was reliable and didn't give me a lot of trouble was always my favorite. That is what I looked for when I bought stuff.

 

My favorite vendors for laptops are HP and Toshiba.

 

I may have a few gray hairs but those two companies aren't responsible for any of them.

[Davey]

Dells are like a thousand dollars.

 

I heard that eMachines are junk.

 

I used to own an emachine desktop, notice the 'used to' It sucked. I kept it for like three months then sold it on ebay. I now use a Toshiba satelite and Ive never had a problem

 

Dave

[TalonRider]

I've been using a Toshiba laptop now for over a year and I've had no problems with it. I bought it at Staples. And at the risk of getting yelled at, Wal-Mart carries them now.

 

Talon

[Dio]

Okay, so I am looking at some laptops. These are the ones that I have in mind. I am looking to spend between $600 and $700. I would like an 80GB Hard Drive but 60GB would be okay I guess.

 

Okay, so I heard that Gateways are not the greatest, but they are in my pice range for what I want. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Are these computers not the greatest, or would the work?

 

Thanks a lot!

 

Kurt

I don't know much about computers, but of the three people I've known who've bought gateways, all three of them sold them off within two months of purchase for various reasons(the first and foremost being lack of quality). I have a dell d410(yup...a little pricey, but worth it imo being lightweight and long battery life) and my roommate runs a toshiba satellite. She got her toshiba for a good price, and from what I understand, she hasn't had a problem with it yet and recommends it highly. I guess it kinda depends what you're planning on using the laptop for. I use this laptop in lecture halls, library, coffee shops etc. so I needed something light and easy to fit into my backpack. My roommate on the other hand, uses her laptop almost like a desktop, and only occasionally brings it to class.

 

Anyhoooooooo, good luck in your search!

 

-db-

[rec]

I had serious problems with my Toshiba Satellite laptop, so, at the moment, I won't buy another Toshiba machine, even though I liked the computer for the first year or so that I had it.

 

What happened is that the battery would be used up even when the machine was plugged into AC power until the computer turned itself off for lack of battery capability. Only then would it accept a recharge. The problem apparently existed with other users, because there were posts on some of the computer advice sites asking for fixes to the same problem. Toshiba was unhelpful; their site had no information on a problem that existed with a least a number of users.

 

So I junked the Toshiba and bought a Compaq (HP) Turion 64 bit laptop a year ago and have been extremely happy with it. I had one mechanical problem that required a return to the factory. HP had my computer picked up by UPS on Monday afternoon, and it was back in my hands on Wednesday morning, all repaired--and with a new BIOS installed--at no charge. They won my business for a good long time with that kind of service.

 

rec

[Guest raz]

I had serious problems with my Toshiba Satellite laptop, so, at the moment, I won't buy another Toshiba machine, even though I liked the computer for the first year or so that I had it.

 

What happened is that the battery would be used up even when the machine was plugged into AC power until the computer turned itself off for lack of battery capability. Only then would it accept a recharge. The problem apparently existed with other users, because there were posts on some of the computer advice sites asking for fixes to the same problem. Toshiba was unhelpful; their site had no information on a problem that existed with a least a number of users.

 

So I junked the Toshiba and bought a Compaq (HP) Turion 64 bit laptop a year ago and have been extremely happy with it. I had one mechanical problem that required a return to the factory. HP had my computer picked up by UPS on Monday afternoon, and it was back in my hands on Wednesday morning, all repaired--and with a new BIOS installed--at no charge. They won my business for a good long time with that kind of service.

 

rec

 

I'm looking for a laptop right now too, and I'm seriously considering the Turion 64.. the only thing that I'm worried about is the 2.5 battery life. Is that enough? Or should I try to go for the 4.5 upgrade?

[Kurt]

Hmm, thanks a lot guys. I have to save a little bit more money, and I want to look around some more, I am leaning towards the Toshiba, but I have not really looked into any Dells, so i will do that. I have a compaq Desktop, and it has had no problems, so I may look into those too.

 

Kurt

 

Hmm, thanks a lot guys. I have to save a little bit more money, and I want to look around some more, I am leaning towards the Toshiba, but I have not really looked into any Dells, so i will do that. I have a compaq Desktop, and it has had no problems, so I may look into those too.

 

Kurt

[rknapp]

Word to the wise: AVOID COMPAQ AND GATEWAY AT ALL COSTS!!! Compaq couldn't build a decent computer to save their lives, and Gateway is not far behind them. Trust me, I *HAD* a Presario for a number of years. It gave me nothing but trouble throughout its life, and I spent more time tracking down problems than doing anything remotely useful with it. When I built my custom desktop, *I kid you not* life was all the more sweet, and I did so much better in school! Mostly because I have had obsolutely zero problems with the new machine (now four years old) in its life. It just need some new upgrades to keep up with new programs (at least double the ram to 1GB, another HDD, faster processor, and new graphics card will dust her off).

 

For you, I would recommend Dell. I've also heard many good things about HP and Toshiba. In fact, HP might be Compaq's only saving grace nowadays, though a friend of mine has a new Compaq desktop, and I can't that friggin POS.

[rec]

I'm looking for a laptop right now too, and I'm seriously considering the Turion 64.. the only thing that I'm worried about is the 2.5 battery life. Is that enough? Or should I try to go for the 4.5 upgrade?

 

It depends. The extra battery life is a real boon, but I don't go on long plane trips, and most of the time I have AC power nearby, so I rarely use my battery that much. I think you can upgrade later to the more-cell battery, if the cost is too much now. And having two batteries is nice.

 

rec

[Narcidius]

Kurtie... i have a gateway.. you do not want a gateway.

[PartsBoy]

Hey Kurt,

 

Just to put in my two cents, I have had two Toshiba laptops over the past 6 years and have had no problems with either of them. I used to do warranty repair for Toshiba, Compaq, HP, and IBM (now Lenovo) The two that I really recomend are Toshiba and Lenovo. The experience I've had with both have been really good. Compaq allways were good with customer service, but their actual product left alot to be desired. HP and Compaq being the same company, I would rate them the same. Gateway and Dell are both garbage, so I really wouldn't recomend them, customer service wise or product wise.

 

Hope this helps,

Aaron

[Kurt]

Thanks a lot everyone. I will look into this stuff.

[NickolasJames8]

I wonder why Gateway makes such crappy computers and people keep buying them

[Davey]

I wonder why Gateway makes such crappy computers and people keep buying them

 

My bet would be price, people will pay what they can afford. Often sadly price has to come before quality.

[NickolasJames8]

But if the quality sucks, won't they just have to spend more money anyway to get another one when the cheap one burns up??

[Davey]

But if the quality sucks, won't they just have to spend more money anyway to get another one when the cheap one burns up??

 

You're totally right. But I think they don't see that when they buy. I think its like an impuse, they really want the PC for lets say to get on the internet, so they just buy the cheapest. In the end if it does burn up then yeh, they'll need to spend more. But its the impulse to get on the internet that drives them, say that person waited another 6 months and saved up then they would get a better one, but how many people do you know can wait six months? It sucks, if they sell something then they need to be sure it works properly.