Laptop recommendations

[rockymtnhigh]

Ok, my work-purchased Fujitsu Lifebook (tablet pc) has seen better days. The trackpad is dead; the power plus works sometimes and sometimes doesn't (most of the time it works). And the thing is out of warranty. So, since I have some grant money to use, I am looking at getting a replacement. I have had to use the pen as the mouse for months now.

My tablet has been very nice; it weighs little (about 3 1/2 lbs.) and has a 12" form-factor. I really like this size, even if it does not have a huge amount of screen real estate. I use a lot of applications; multiple-browser windows; MS Office; SPSS 17; asksam databases; all at the same time, so I want a powerful machine. This is not a "netbook" that I am looking for (I have a 9" asus netbook, that really is just a toy).

I also know that I should wait 3 weeks until Windows 7 comes out, so I don't need to do an upgrade immediately, but I am curious what folks would recommend. I want power, but I still want it to be portable. My budget for this is $500 - $1000. I am not dumping $1500 or $2000 into a laptop.

Thoughts?

 

[vodad]

Try this one. Laptop/Tablet

HP Official Store — Buy an HP Pavilion tx2 and tx2z series notebook PC from HP

Just at $1,000 with tax and everything.

It's what I would have gotten had I not got this

HP - Pavilion Elite Desktop with AMD Phenom? II X4 Quad-Core Processor - e9120y

with a 23" monitor.

 

[mike123abc]

I got the last one from the Dell outlet store. They have a large selection.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I have been playing with the touch smarts at the local BB and they seem very cool. THe reviews though have been kind of mixed. In that they appear to be kind of slow and run hot. I used to have a HP years ago and it was a furnace.

But it is on the list of contenders. Thanks.

Anyone have experience with Samsung laptops, or the ASUS full-powered ones? We have two ASUS netbooks and they are pretty good for their purpose.

 

[vodad]

I had an HP 7-8 years ago and hated it, so I switched to something else, about 4 years ago I went down and bought another one. Loved it, now I have 2 laptops, 2desktops and a server all from HP and could not be happier. (Dell seems to have went downhill the last few years, had a bunch at work and always seem to have something going wrong with them, I went through 3 hard drives on one machine.)

As for the touchsmarts, I just find them to not quit be ready. If I want a computer with a 25" touch screen I would like the screen and the computer to be seperate not one unit, I like to be able to upgrade things.

I have been waiting for the multi-touch screens, before I buy another laptop. And I think come the first of the year I am going to get a new laptop.

Let us know what you decide on and how it works for you. I am looking for something in the same basic price range as you are.

 

[Foxbat]

Is this for work, then? You should check with your IT department to see if they can support Windows 7. There are extensions to Active Directory that are needed for full Windows 7 support. If you don't connect your notebook at work then it shouldn't be an issue.

Academia is certainly different than the business world: My company wouldn't never allow an employee to bring in their own PC and expect us to support it. Our IT department has a restricted list of standard desktop and notebook configurations. When you need a new computer, you're getting one of four possible units (Casual or Power; Desktop or Notebook).

The last "laptop" I had was a 17" HP nx9600 with a 3.0 GHz P4 processor. It had a battery run time of 90 minutes, maybe 2h15m if I used max power conservation mode. It was really more of a portable workstation than a laptop. It weighed a ton, too. Before that, I really liked my IBM Thinkpad R30. After IBM sold the desktop and laptop lines to Lenovo, we stopped buying them. If I bought anything today, it would be a MacBook. HP has a new line that is supposed to be engineered similar to the MacBook's milled spaceframe.

 

[navychop]

Sad to say, early on we had some problems with our ASUS laptop, but they seem to have been worked out. It's one sexy beast.

Dells have been ok, not my first choice.

Toshiba seems to be making some damned good machines.

Above all, avoid WinBook. Last I read, they had the highest return rate and lowest customer satisfaction.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Is this for work, then? You should check with your IT department to see if they can support Windows 7. There are extensions to Active Directory that are needed for full Windows 7 support. If you don't connect your notebook at work then it shouldn't be an issue.

Academia is certainly different than the business world: My company wouldn't never allow an employee to bring in their own PC and expect us to support it. Our IT department has a restricted list of standard desktop and notebook configurations. When you need a new computer, you're getting one of four possible units (Casual or Power; Desktop or Notebook).

The last "laptop" I had was a 17" HP nx9600 with a 3.0 GHz P4 processor. It had a battery run time of 90 minutes, maybe 2h15m if I used max power conservation mode. It was really more of a portable workstation than a laptop. It weighed a ton, too. Before that, I really liked my IBM Thinkpad R30. After IBM sold the desktop and laptop lines to Lenovo, we stopped buying them. If I bought anything today, it would be a MacBook. HP has a new line that is supposed to be engineered similar to the MacBook's milled spaceframe.

The one I am replacing is WORK owned, but I am replacing it with my own. And it won't be on the network other than through the VPN, and so that is not an issue. I have a crazy boss and there is no way she'll replace the laptop I have right now, so I am just using my grant money as a consultant and getting a new one. I use it pretty much exclusively at home and when I travel anyways.

I should have said "notebook" but did not want to confuse with "netbook." I still call them all laptops - since I use it on my lap.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Sad to say, early on we had some problems with our ASUS laptop, but they seem to have been worked out. It's one sexy beast.

Dells have been ok, not my first choice.

Toshiba seems to be making some damned good machines.

Above all, avoid WinBook. Last I read, they had the highest return rate and lowest customer satisfaction.

I need to get over to BB and check out the full-powered ASUS, and I have had success with Toshiba back in the day.

I would not go anywhere near a Winbook.

SO far I am looking at Asus, Samsung, Toshiba, HP. Macbook is out. Too expensive, AND I live in a WIndows world.

I am going to research this all over the next few weeks, as I decided I want a Win7 machine out of the box.

 

[Foxbat]

Since this is a home machine, the only concern I would have from an Work standpoint would be VPN compatibility. Even though 32-bit O/S is the norm today, I'd go 64-bit to future-proof your purchase. Windows 7 is supposed to have a nice XP Virtual Sandbox after release for backwards compatibility, but our VPN won't play in it.

My brother has good things to say about his Toshiba, but his new IT guy has switched them to Dell, so he may not have it much longer.

 

[HIFI]

Since this is a home machine, the only concern I would have from an Work standpoint would be VPN compatibility. Even though 32-bit O/S is the norm today, I'd go 64-bit to future-proof your purchase. Windows 7 is supposed to have a nice XP Virtual Sandbox after release for backwards compatibility, but our VPN won't play in it.

My brother has good things to say about his Toshiba, but his new IT guy has switched them to Dell, so he may not have it much longer.

My newest is a 64-bit dell and I love it!!!!

 

[Ilya]

Make sure it supports virtualization in hardware. The latest Windows Virtual PC (in Windows 7) won't work without it.

 

[itsfineforu]

welcome my friends

 

[itsfineforu]

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

 

[itsfineforu]

hiiiiiiiiii friends

 

[Ilya]

Hello!

 

[mike123abc]

One thing, my last laptop I got with a graphics card in it. It is a basic one, but still it performs far better than the integrated chipset that came with my other laptop. Yes that integrated one may run Aero, but anything else really strains it.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

One thing, my last laptop I got with a graphics card in it. It is a basic one, but still it performs far better than the integrated chipset that came with my other laptop. Yes that integrated one may run Aero, but anything else really strains it.

Good point. Thanks. I don't play games on it; but it is certainly a variable to consider.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Looking very closely at the new Win 7 version of the HP Touchsmart.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/TouchSmart-TX2-1370US-12-1-Inch-Black-Laptop/dp/B002Q0W8M0/ref=sr_ob_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256216948&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: HP TouchSmart TX2-1370US 12.1-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 3.5 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium): Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517G-pqivaL.@@AMEPARAM@@517G-pqivaL[/ame]


Any thoughts? The price is in my range, and ooh it looks like a fun machine to use.

 

[vodad]

I would go with something similar, now go out and buy it so you can tell me how it is. So I can get one the first of the year. I already spent my computer money this year.