Which laptop?

[4WOFURY]

I was in the market for a new computer a little while back, but wanted one with a warranty, etc. I wanted a great all-around performer (school/games/entertainment (movies/interwebs)/etc.).

So, I bought this computer from BestBuy 3.5 months ago ( http://www.asus.com/products.a...enu=1 ). Well, a little over a week ago, it blue screened and wouldn't boot up after several tries. I took it down there and they shipped it to the geek squad repair place, and shipped it back saying they didn't have the parts to fix it, that I could put what I spent on it on store credit and buy a new computer.

I'm looking at two options

1) http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...19873 Basically the same computer as I had, with different looks but almost the same everything else.

Specs: 15.6" widescreen 1366x768 resolution, 2.24ghz processor (overclocks at the touch of a button to 2.4ghz), 320GB HD, 4GB ram, nvidia 9800 GS gfx card

Differences: Old computers HD was a 200GB that spun at 7200rpm, looksPros: Better graphics card than choice 2, better looks imoCons: Less HD than choice 2, less RAM than choice 2

2) http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...49114 Hewlett Packard 17"

Specs: 17" Widescreen 1440x900 resolution, 2.4ghz processor, 500GB HD, 6GB ram, nvidia 9600 GT gfx card

Pros: Bigger screen, 6GB ram, 120GB more HDCons: Worse graphics card

Which is the better choice of the two?
Modified by 4WOFURY at 3:45 PM 1/8/2009

[LeroyBrown]

buy a mac. i love mine

[marlin29311]

Mac is a waste of time.

Of the two, I vote neither. Computer #1 is the same as the one that died - why would you get another?

HP has garbage customer service.

I would look at the Dell options that they have in Best Buy, or the Sony ones as well (more preference to Dell though).

[4WOFURY]

The computer had Vista on it, and I was told that was a factor or reason for the BSOD.

The new one has a few different specs, such as the larger HD that spins slower.

I've never been a big fan of Dell.. My cousin has a Dell, and has had horrible problems with it.

I like Sony, but they are overpriced imo. Worse specs for more money, and while I do like Sony, I don't have/want to spend the extra money for a name.

[LeroyBrown]

do some research bro. pc is a joke especially the new windows vista. once i bought my mac i fell in love you dont have to worry about viruses ever because macs dont get them. and they gave me a free i pod touch with my purchase.

[Rex]

Look on slickdeals.net and be ready to pounce.

Also, check Dell's refurb section.

[4WOFURY]

The price goes to store credit, so I have to buy from Bestbuy. As far as Macs, I can't say I'm a huge fan. That, and they cost a bit more than PCs.

[nnorton44]

The 9800m GS is about 50% more powerful, since it has twice the bus with (128 vs 256) and twice the shader processors (32 vs 64).

If you want gaming as a primary thing in life, the 9800GS would be the way to go, if it's not that important but casual, the 9600 is a very good card and the HP has better specs, more cache, hard drive, etc.

[Rex]

The price goes to store credit, so I have to buy from Bestbuy. As far as Macs, I can't say I'm a huge fan. That, and they cost a bit more than PCs.

Do you have store credit or a Gift Card? I'm only asking b/c you can usually ebay the GC's for nearly the value on the cards ... loose 3-5% on the GC's so you can save 15% on the laptop??

[slipnfall]

/thread

OK I'm kidding a bit, but seriously, nothing else compares in build quality and reliability. HP's customer service (including warranty) is ranked lowest in the industry. I'm obviously biased (and brand loyal FWIW), but you have to look past retail-box spec's alone.

::edit:: fat finger typo ::edit::

[MinisterofDOOM]

Thinkpads are TOUGH machines. They look and feel tough, too. The screens are solid with tight, smooth hinges (no floppy screen). Their keyboards are usually top-notch, too.

[marlin29311]

I would have recommended Lenovo from the start, but best buy doesn't stock them...best laptop in the industry. Just bought a new T500 myself - the machine is a wondermachine.

Vista isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be, and I find it odd that Vista caused your old computer to go boom. I'm running Vista Ultimate with 0 problems. If it bothers/worries you that much, you can always get the XP downgrade licence.

What will you be doing with the laptop? You noted that you want to kind of do everything, but I'm trying to figure out if you are going to be doing some more intense gaming that would require a better (discrete) video card - if you're not, you can save a bit by sticking with the Intel onboard GFX chip.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Vista has gotten a lot better, but I still would avoid it I think. A friend of mine has two PCs, one running Vista and one running XP. The Vista machine crashes A LOT. I mean a whole lot. Far and away more than I'd tolerate. Everything needs patches or hotfixes to be stable on Vista. DX10 is Vista's only upside, and it's not worth the instability as far as I'm concerned.

[marlin29311]

I find it odd that everyone has a different Vista experience - Vista on my T500 is amazing and I've had 0 problems (no crashes, no hangs, no anything) and my g/f's HP with vista sounds like it's going to blow up. WTF Microsoft?

[Beancooker]

I will say a few things. Of the two you want, go with the HP, but you're much better off getting a Dell or Lenovo.

Vista runs really well, as long as EVERYTHING is compatible. I have run Vista on 3 machines, and had no problems. I installed a Sharepoint, but clicked the download for the XP, and ran it. That crashed it. Couldn't uninstall, and had to reformat. Other than that, I have never had a problem with Vista.

Macs are garbage. If you are used to using a PC, you will never get used to a Mac. If you have never used any type of computer ever, Macs are probably cool. But you don't have right click, which is bulls**t. The worst part, is if you don't like say the processor, video card, sound card, etc... you can't take out hardware and install new. No upgrades.

And Macs do get viruses. You're a fool if you believe otherwise. But the fact that 95% of all viruses are designed for PCs and not Macs make it seem like they don't get them. You're still vulnerable. I can send you one if you don't believe me.

[4WOFURY]

As far as why it crashed, the geek squad guy didn't seem to really know. Said it could have been anything.. ah well.

As far as Macs and viruses, ^ what Beancooker said lol. I also find it funny that my brother has a Mac laptop which blows this computer out of the water (this computer is a desktop which is about 5 or so years old. PDAs have better specs on them), but he uses this computer a lot more than his Mac.

Anyway, I've decided against the Asus. I'll look at some Dells, but I'm not too fond of them due to problems people I know have had with them. That's been a year or two in the past though..

[nnorton44]

Gotta remember the new Macs are running on Intel hardware

[LeroyBrown]

what the hell happened to my posts? i was waiting beancooker for the info.

[Beancooker]

I split the thread. It's now here, since we were hijacking the hell out of this thread.

zerothread/396609

[BoostFab]

Gotta remember the new Macs are running on Intel hardware

if i were to buy a brand spanking new laptop; i will get a mac book pro.

i suggest looking into IBM/lenovo laptop, if you are the windows camp.

[coupey]

i used to have a HP and I thought it was really cool and then I bought my new macbook and realized how bad vista really is...i say go with a mac

[240TT]

^ i agree macs ftw. definitely save up and just get a mac. don't have to worry about virus's nearly as much. so much faster than my pc to. there really not that hard to work either, you get used to it fairly quick. i love my mac book pro, wouldnt get anything else.

btw your first choice of computers was probably one of the worst out there.

[BoostFab]

^ btw your first choice of computers was probably one of the worst out there.

i disagree with you on that. ASUS makes the best motherboard out there for PC, their laptops are outstanding... you probably confused with ACER; which is the worst laptop out there.

ASUS > ACERASUS > DellASUS > HP

get the fact right.

[Beancooker]

Agreed, ASUS makes some true quality products.

As far as the whole "buy a Mac"... Read the Leroy, Bean and MoD" thread... I wouldn't use a Mac if it was free...

[240TT]

yes your right, i always get the two mixed up. and thats a shame, i absolutely love mine. i guess its more of a personal preference when it comes to macs. everyone i know has been using apple computers so im familiar and used to it. for me, using pc now is like you trying to use a mac(if you dont understand how to use them) Theres also alienware to. i know they've been around for a while. not to sure how good there are though but im sure someone here knows.

[PoorManQ45]

I'd recommend a Dell Latitude E6500.

Don't compare this to any other dell experiences. This is a business laptop for big kids, not a home user laptop for whiney bltchs

[szh]

I'd recommend a Dell Latitude E6500.

Yes, agreed. We have some E6400 and E6500's at work. This is the Dell replacement product line for their older D series (I am typing this on a Latitude D820 for example) and they are very nice indeed.

Z

[PoorManQ45]

I'm typing on a D620

The big thing that I dislike about the E series is that the docking stations are a USB device. This is easier to use, but has a few flaws compared to the direct system bus connection of the D series.

The connection speed is much slower. This limits the bandwidth available to the full docking stations. Video performance from the full dock with an addin card takes a hard hit. Resolution of the APR dock is limited to ~1680x1050, higher then that and issues may occur.

Also, if you have something plugged into the dock, depending on driver stability, if you unplug the dock without first removing the extra device you can cause system stability issues.

Just some notes....

Edit: Also, the design of these uses a antenna connection combo board the is about 1.5"x1.5" and connects the leads for the wifi, bluetooth, and lcd! This has caused some interference problems

Dell relies on the Connections management software a little too much. This software is required. Also, due to it's nature and the way it works simply updating it causes issues. The best thing to do is to uninstall it and then install the update. A hassle for support and end users.