Currently have a 4gb ram, 2.20ghrtz 64 bit system running my beloved Windows 7 with word and outlook 2003.
Looking for something as big, perhaps a little lighter and certainly faster, that has a disc drive, and ports for my trackball.
I refuse to consider Dell.
Yes I know, Applehead, they are wonderful but no thanks.
Any recommendations?
Apple.
My nephew bought a pretty high-end Asus (gaming, etc) that he took to Afghanistan and back. Running just like the day he got it.
Absolutely. Buy a Macbook Pro.
If you value your personal time at anything above $0, you will come out ahead not being an unpaid tech - fixing Windows, not have to spend your valuable time running malware programs, virus programs, etc. One extra bonus is that other Windows users will quit asking you to fix their computers.
Of course, for anyone who simply must use initial cost as their only criteria and who values their personal time as $0, I suggest the cheapest Linux computer you can find. Or, try to boost your income.
If you are into a larger laptop, check out the Toshiba Qosmio line for higher end machines.
I would avoid Samsung.
Bought a Win7 i7 17” model.
It died one month after the warranty. Took it to a local repair shop who contacted Samsung to get a replacement motherboard. Samsung apparently didn’t make replacement motherboards.
So, I have an $800 door stop.
I can say, most of the mainstream stuff is all pretty decent (as far as laptops go)... and I'm talking about Lenovo, Dell, IBM, HP and Toshiba. It's hard to go wrong with any of them as long as you get at least their mid-range stuff and avoid the budget ones... those tend to fall apart pretty easily. I've never been a Sony fan because they are just not quite as physically durable as other mainstream stuff. They tend to get real loose hinges and parts start falling off of them, etc. Mind you, I'm talking about laptops that get heavy use in business applications. If I had to buy one for myself, it would be a higher-end Lenovo. Toshiba has a very good reputation, but they are definitely not what they used to be.
I might add that if you are looking for a desktop replacement that is also portable (why else would anyone want a laptop, right?), look into spending a couple hundred extra on a docking station so you can use desktop peripherals like keyboards, monitors, wired network connection, speakers, etc... When you want a laptop, you just pick it up and leave everything else behind, but when you are working at home, you have all the convenience of a desktop and all you have to do is drop it in the dock.
It's just my 2 cents, but it's backed with a lot of actual hands on with the stuff so take it for what it's worth
I have read many favorable comments by owners of Fujitsu computers, which seem to have a reputation for longevity. My own Lenovo is nearly three years old and has worked fine.
I have an Asus Transformer, used daily for the last 3 years, I was satisfied enough that I bought an Asus laptop. No problems so far.
Yeah, buy a Mac! Unless you are British and are accustomed to working on your cars and your computers to keep them running! Still have one Dell PC around, but it’s like trying to start an F1 race car.
Whatever you do, don’t buy an HP.
You’re right about Dell’s, at least their consumer models. However, the Dell business models are about the best bang for the buck in terms of build quality. I’ve bought a bunch of these for clients and have not had any problems. Best bet are the E5xxx and E6xxx series. The E6’s have built in 3-yr warranty. The E5’s you have to pay extra for the extra two years.
The best PCs are made by Panasonic, namely their ToughBook series, but you’ll pay for the quality. CF-53 is the model to look at:
http://www.provantage.com/panasonic-cf-53salzylm~7PSOB4CN.htm
We are a Toshiba family. We’ve had five or six. My daughter got one for high school graduation 8 years ago and despite being abused at college, beer spilled on it, dropped, kicked around, dog biting it, etc, it still runs! The others have been rock solid too.
I hate Dell, too. Passionately. Horrible people.
Suggestion: we always got Best Buy’s Black Tie insurance. They have been amazing. Even when my boy spilled a banana shake on his keyboard and fried the electronics, they just gave him a new machine without question. They have been terrific about everything and have been quite competent about repairs when certain members of the family dropped their machinery down the stairs (among many other misadventures and stupidnesses). With two teens in the house and a dog who has a taste for laptop screens, the $128 was well worth it.
Remember that if you hate Win 8, you can usually download and install 7.
Macs are gorgeous and I love them, but I agree they’re costly.
I’d have also said “no go” to Apple till I was given one as an early b’day present last week, am now a convert. So may be worth at least a little consideration.
OTHERWISE, my computer repairman always says Chinese-made is “crap.” Even after I reminded him that HE sold me my Chinese-made laptop. If I were looking now I’d go with Toshiba. Then find specs to meet your needs.
Lenovo outlet has been good to me. Bought a 17”/i5 laptop last year
I love my Asus RoG laptop. Very powerful desktop replacement.
what’s wrong with the Sony? That does not sound like a bad machine
Have you tried running CCClean and putting a thumbdrive Ramdisk?
You biggest issue seems only to be the 4G of ram. You’re not a real man unless you’ve got at least 8 gig of RAM
1) defrag
2) put a 4Gig thumbdrive and use ‘readyboost’
3) put in another 4 gig of RAM
4) Run CClean and clean up your files and registry
5) Run antivirus scan and MalwareBytes.
I bet it feels like a new machine. Your description of ‘tired’ makes me think it just needs some cleanup. Hardware either works or it doesnt
Got a Lenovo 510p in November ... it’s got an Nvidia graphics card and a 1920x1080 display that is just gorgeous. Very slick. Under $1000 from the company website. I’m lovin’ it.
With Dell ruled out, HP is a prime choice, with a wide range of models, configurations, and prices. I have a three year old large screen HP laptop that has never failed or faltered or otherwise given me cause to regret the purchase.
About 2-3 yrs ago when I got my present laptop, the store said Asus and Toshiba were the most reliable, based on statistics.
(They sold all brands)
I had a hard drive fail in an Asus netbook, but was replaced for around $100.
I *just* fired up my brand new HP laptop with Windows 7. (Installed the last program on it and my printer this morning.)
I stick with HP because I had the privilage of asking a computer repairman what he would chose.
I’ve got terabyte of memory, 12gigs RAM, and 64-bit operating system. She is speedy. I’m running AVG virus protection. (I am probably ad Adblock Plus this weekend)
It was $939 with taxes, shipping, the 2 year warranty, and microsoft Office (with powerpoint!) The actual computer was less than $600 before I added the other stuff.
To top it off, there was some confusion about my Microsoft Office registration key and the guy tossed me $75 worth of printer ink for my HP printer just to be nice. (Almost got a new printer out of the deal, but mine really is working fine, so I went for the ink.)
No Scandisk, no defrag, no memory hogging anti-virus software, no endless patches to the OS. I just wipe it down once a month or two with a damp rag and clean the display with lens cleaner. That's it for maintenance and it's as clean and shiny as the day I bought it.
They aren't the cheapest laptop out there but in terms of utility, it's the least expensive by far. Not much of a learning curve switching from Windows either and with that touchpad, no need for a mouse.