Help decide on new laptop.

MHannon · #1 01/01/2008, 09:07 PM

Well..... I need a new laptop and need help picking which one. Currently I have an IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad R52. This was my first laptop and I love it. It is indestructible, it has been dropped a couple times with no ill effects. My only major issue is I have a lot of music, Pushing 86 gigs. And about 2,000 photos. I love graphic design/photography and photoshop, so I am always snapping away. I am also big into the flight simulators, I have Microsoft flight sim 2002, X, and another one. All of this plus photoshop CS2 takes up a lot of room, and would be impossible to keep on my laptop, so I have a 300Gig external hard drive. This works very well, but I am in college and take my laptop everywhere I go, and I hate being tethered to the external drive. So, The next laptop needs a lot of memory, hopefully fast, and an extra large screen would be nice.
I have looked at some HPs and Compaqs but really didnt like the way they felt. They just felt flimsy and not as sturdy as my IBM. I like the Sony VIAOs. The only other one I have seriously looked at is the Panasonic ToughBook, These are definitely sturdy! and way overkill for my needs. I have no experience with Apple, but everyone I know who has one loves it. Where as, everyone I know with a new laptop that has VISTA, HATES it. So I guess since I still have my Windows XP boot disk, If I get a computer with VISTA, I can just wipe it and load XP onto it.
Can anyone recommend a good laptop for my needs?

israelnajar · #2 01/01/2008, 09:29 PM

I have a toughbook CF-30 and I really like it. It was a lot faster than I originally thought it would be. It is very sturdy, I have dropped it numerous times onto concrete.

There are a few drawbacks to it though. The built in mouse tracker takes some getting used to as it is not very sensitive at all. The screen is very small compared to other notebooks. It is kinda heavy if you are used to lighter machines, it weighs nearly 8.5 pounds. And the major drawback is the price, they are very expensive.

Numerous good things as well. Built in blue tooth, the screen brightness is excellent and is viewable still in direct sunlight while on battery. Also the battery life is excellent, as mine averages 8 hours, and that is with my built in wireless always on. Another note, it has a serial port were as most other notebooks do not, this is very important to me as I use it a lot for work. And it comes with Windows XP.

MHannon · #3 01/01/2008, 09:33 PM

Like I said, I really love my IBM, so I would not mind getting a newer beefed up version.

I like this one
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...33FDA517A5C756

And they also offer a tablet
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...67E79E0E7C9A2D

Now, the website shows just the basic package. I would customize it and add more memory and a bigger hard drive.

MHannon · #4 01/01/2008, 09:53 PM

Yeah, I think the toughbook is a little out of my league. I dont think I would really get one.

mr9iron · #5 01/01/2008, 10:09 PM

We just got a new Dell Inspiron 1521 with Vista and love it. You can upgrade to 250gb hard drive and get 4 gigs of ram as well. I think that would suit your needs.

xxpipedreamxx · #6 01/02/2008, 12:31 AM

I just got the Dell Inspiron 1420 with Vista home premium. It has a 250 gig hard drive. I love it so far although Vista takes some getting used to

dkh0331 · #7 01/02/2008, 08:14 AM

With the previous company I worked for, the Lenovo tablet was our convertible tablet of choice to sell to physicians. Inking and hand writing recognition have come a long way and if these functions are important to you, take a hard long look at the tablet.

der_wille_zur_macht · #8 01/02/2008, 08:32 AM

Tablets add a lot of extra junk for people who don't really need it, so I wouldn't recommend one unless someone was considering it anyways.

I've always had Dell laptops for work, and they're generally OK. I beat the crap out of them and they tend to handle it well. Definitely better than some other laptops I've owned for personal use, but my sample sizes for those other brands are too small to really mention them.

The vast majority of my family members own and use Apple laptops, and they all like them. I currently have a Mac as my primary home computer (it's a Mini) and, of course, I love it. At the very least, go to an Apple store and play with one for an hour or two.

oz · #9 01/02/2008, 08:48 AM

MHannon · #10 01/02/2008, 07:42 PM

Can you guys share your experiences with the Apple MacBook Pro. Im not sure if they are worth the price. The 17" starts at $2,799. Thats without upgrades. I can get a fully pimped out IBM for $2,112.

bpoore89 · #11 01/02/2008, 09:29 PM

My dad has the Apple MacBook Pro widescreen and is always complaining that he cant get the darn thing to work. And yes he knows what he's doing he's the Director of IT. Its not so much that it doesnt work, its mostly that after working with windows for years its hard to navigate around Mac's. Other than that they are very reliable and all around good computers

der_wille_zur_macht · #12 01/03/2008, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bpoore89
My dad has the Apple MacBook Pro widescreen and is always complaining that he cant get the darn thing to work. And yes he knows what he's doing he's the Director of IT. Its not so much that it doesnt work, its mostly that after working with windows for years its hard to navigate around Mac's. Other than that they are very reliable and all around good computers

So the takeaway lesson here is that this example was a problem with the user, not the computer.