The great Laptop discussion forum

keep looking @ the lenovo website. They seem to change their specials every 2-3 weeks. Also contact prashok, he seems to have the employee discount code.

isa - I had a Dell laptop about 2 years ago and it was not reliable at all, even without any real rough handling. It just seemed like things broke on it pretty regularly. The Lenovo's/IBM's I've had for work have endured much rougher treatment and I never had a problem with them. In the end that reliability was worth the extra cost.

Isa, join the Lenovo owner's circle.

My work issued laptop was Dell Latitude.
It was the slowest, heaviest, and most frustrating laptop I owned since Powerbook G4.

Some issues I had while using Dell:
1) The touchpad sometimes didn't work
2) Windows OS sometimes didn't start properly
3) Power/Battery management system was horrible
4) Keyboard wasn't comfortable
5) Fan was loud and laptop got hot really quickly

Good to know!! Thanks for the considerations.

My (old) work laptop was a hp/compaq. I have no idea what the model was but it kept breaking about every6-8 months - the hinges, then the hard drive, then the keyboard. Huge pain. So I've already eliminated out that brand. I don't think I want to deal with a Mac, so that's out as well. And that leaves me with Dell or Lenovo.

Another question: what about netbooks? Do any folks in bschool use those? Are we doing anything super-intense that can't be done on a netbook?

Thanks for your help!

The Great Netbook Compromise

"Mr. Compromise" considers the trade-offs between netbooks, the new class of mini laptop computers, and full-sized laptops.

https://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/03/ ... omise.html

Netbooks: When Laptops Go Light
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/techn ... .html?_r=1

LOL. So maybe not a netbook then.

Does anybody have any experience with the recent HP laptop models? I was considering the DV3-1075US. The reason I am not really intent on going in for a more expensive Lenovo is that I already have a loaded 24" iMac, so this laptop is purely for use at school and will not be my primary machine.

Also, is there any indication as to whether schools will sell a discounted Windows 7 upgrade when it is released? I am not really happy about having to use Vista, and would want to switch to 7 ASAP. Problem is that it isn't likely to come out until the Fall.

I know I promised photos of X200 earlier. I got lazy I just decided to attach photos from its notebook review :
https://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4497

Image of X200 with 9cell battery

I can vouch for that. I owned a Dell Inspiron that cost almost $2000 when I was in grad school, and I will never, ever, purchase another Dell product of any kind. The body was built with flimsy plastic, so after I picked it up a few times, the casing actually severed some wires on the motherboard. This was a widely reported design flaw, and rendered the computer completely useless. I had to go buy a soldering iron and actually piece it back together myself. It was such a poorly designed product that I vowed never to purchase another, and I would advise anybody else to think twice about a Dell laptop unless you can actually inspect it with your own eyes.

The battery life was terrible, but that I expected because it was running an Intel P4, which is a heavy-duty desktop CPU. The charger was the size of a brick, and was very heavy. Also, the fan was very loud, and the heat generated could actually keep you warm at night. Just a horribly designed computer.

It got so hot one time that my co workers (we all had same work issued Latitude) and I wanted to get a raw egg and try to fry it on our laptop and see if we can make breakfast that way.....

Speaking of DV series Pavilion HP Laptops....
I know few people who own one and their only issue is the glossy mousepad. It is so glossy textured that when your finger is moist, you can't move your finger on the mousepad. Battery life is pretty poor too.

My last work laptop was an HP (sorry, don't remember which model and they've since taken it back). Overall I was pretty pleased with it, had it for 2 years and it withstood a good amount of rough treatment at the hands of the TSA and their counterparts around the world. Didn't have any major problems with it at all. Only complaints were it's weight (even for a full-size laptop it seemed to be on the heavy side) and battery life was not real good.

My current work laptop is a Dell Latitude E6400. On the plus side it's slightly lighter than the HP (at roughly the same size), but that's about the only good thing I can say about it. The plastic feels thin and cheap, the keyboard stinks, and after a day's use the touchpad started intermittently freaking out and not working. Based on this experience and the Dell laptop I bought for personal use 3-4 years ago, I would never use my own money to buy a Dell again. Poor workmanship and awful reliability.

IMO, as I've said before, Lenovo is worth the extra money for the solid workmanship and high quality/reliability factor.

Cool, thanks for the info. That's funny because I was looking at a couple of HP's at Best Buy and did notice that the trackpad had a very slick texture, to the point that it actually seemed like it would be a pain to deal with. I will definitely look into getting a Lenovo.

Well, I went against my better judgement and bought an HP DV3t. It is not as well constructed or light as the Lenovo X200, but I couldn't pass up this deal. HP has a coupon for $400 off any laptop that is over $1200. I customized the HPDV3t with the following:

-Intel P7450 2.13GHz
-4GB RAM
-320 GB Hard Drive
-Two batteries (6-cell and 9-cell)
-Blue-Ray player
-Upgraded display
-Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth

The whole thing came to $890, tax included, which is really a hell of a deal. If anybody is interested, the coupon code is NB4578 and it expires tomorrow, May 23rd. At 4.7 lbs, it is definitely heavier than I would have liked, but it is tough to find a 13" laptop with that much power for that price.

That seems like a pretty sick deal. :jealous:

Don't be- I checked back two days after placing the order, and they had added the option of a backlit keyboard for an extra $25. I called up and tried to add it to my current order, but they told me that I would have to return the one I ordered, but that I could order a new one with the same specs plus the backlit keyboard. Well, since the coupon I had used expired, the CSR entered some HP coupon that she had, and with instant discounts, I ended up getting the new one for $50 less than I paid for the previous one, and with a backlit keyboard! (On the second order, the CSR used a $300 coupon, and for some reason they allowed that to be combined with an instant rebate of $150. When I entered the $400 coupon previously, it replaced the $150 instant rebate.).

To make a long story short, if you want this or any other custom-built PC, don't be afraid to call the company and negotiate a deal. They have new coupons all the time, and the CSR's always have coupon codes they can enter. You just have to build out the computer with the specs you want, call up and tell the CSR that you are ready to purchase the computer, but you know a guy who got it for $X, and you want the same deal. At worst they will say no, and counter with a different price that you may or may not want to accept.

Haha... well glad that turned out well for you.
I just bought a Macbook Pro last year though so I'm very happy with my laptop. I'm probably an Apple whore and overpaid for my macbook pro but who cares I love it to death. The ability to run Windows XP through VM Fusion simultaneously in a window of Leopard allows me to use MSWord...etc.

Yeah, the Macbook Pro is definitely a nice computer. I would have probably opted for a Macbook too, but I already have an iMac, so I was just looking for something that was fairly inexpensive that I could use at school.