Need assistance in purchasing Laptop

[miggs78]

Well yea.. with a laptop I just think it is a very good idea to spend the few extra bucks and buy the extended warranty..
Software troubleshooting is not an issue, we all have our experiences from the desktops and this forum is there too :p..

Thanks for your comments on dell's support, although you've made me back to having second thoughts.. I thought a laptop manufacturer would be almost the same as like Asus and Gigabyte, they both have quality boards, but Gigabyte's support wins hands down..

I am also looking at lenovo, I've been reading on different sources that lenovo makes very good laptops. But my friend does dell service, so he said he could get me a 10% off.. which is sweet.

Hmm... Dell.. Lenovo, Acer.. Asus.. Toshiba.. lol!

[MrDiaz]

The Vaio F series are simply stunning! (I own the older model and these are great man)

CTO | Customize

[Thund3rball]

Lenovo do make solid machines but you will pay for it. And extra warranty sure is a savior when you need it. My suggestions were trying to stay within your budget but you can always spend more if you want.

[miggs78]

Yea I understand, staying with the budget this time is my plan, I'm trying not to go above $900 for sure.
Lenovo I have to agree does come with a price tag plus the warranty does get expensive..

Hey Diaz the link you listed is the Sony's US site, not Canadian.
Thanks Thunderball, I might wait few weeks though, my next course doesn't start till May, it's good to have a laptop to study anywhere you want, but I'm unsure what I'm doing next, if I'm to join a college full time on a diploma/certificate, the course will probably have a laptop available with a security deposit.

[YukonTrooper]

Lenovo | IdeaPad U450p Notebook Computer | 33892EU | B&H Photo

Tigerdirect.ca had this model on sale awhile ago, but these guys ship to Canada for a reasonable price. Plus, this price is cheaper than Tigerdirect's sale anyways.

Questions about the laptop? Fire away, as I just picked it up about a month ago during said sale. I don't have much bad to say about it.

[miggs78]

Yukon that's a nice laptop no doubt, but why that when you get a Dell with an i3 quad processor for about the same price?

[YukonTrooper]

Originally Posted by miggs78

Yukon that's a nice laptop no doubt, but why that when you get a Dell with an i3 quad processor for about the same price?

Well, there is no such thing as an i3 quad-core processor. Perhaps you meant dual-core? The i3 and i5 mobile processors are dual-core (i5 features Turbo boost while i3 does not). The only quad-core for mobile use from the Core family is the i7 mobile.

At any rate, the main reason I didn't go for an i3, i5, or i7 mobile is that I don't need the power they provide and the ULV (ultra-low voltage) models aren't available at this time. The Core2Duo ULV's processors are plenty powerful for what I need (school, web, multimedia).

After looking past specifications, I started to research what would really matter for me, which is the user experience the laptop provides. Firstly, I wanted something thin and light that was easily portable for school. The U450P, part of Lenovo's thin-and-light line of notebooks, provides that for me. The Dell Inspiron 14 and Studio 14, while both under 5lbs, are both a bit bulkier than the Lenovo. Secondly, I wanted a good keyboard and touchpad. The U450P once again shines in this area. The keyboard quality is what you'd expect from a Lenovo notebook: tactile with minimal flex and good key travel. The touchpad is large, supports gestures, has a great scroll feature, and sports two separate buttons. Finally, I wanted solid build quality and a good design with minimal gloss finish to keep fingerprints from molesting my laptop. The U450P is sturdy and you can tell that it is well built all-round. The design is very classy with a textured diamond pattern that doesn't attract fingerprints. Dell's Midnight Black color option is a glossy fingerprint magnet, and while you can choose other less glossy finishes, the options are slim, unless you go for the Studio and pick a design. Hot pink or lime green? No thanks.

To sum it up, Lenovo's notebook quality is generally higher than the competition and the U450P fitted my needs perfectly. The Sony VAIO lineup is nice, but I didn't want to pay $2000 for a brand name.

[technix]

Does anyone like the MSI GX640? I like the Sony Vaio F series that was previously mentioned but read mixed reviews on it. Mostly on a notebook review forum.

I like these two laptops but the only thing that is missing is a LED backlit screen. Do you think it's something to be really missed or an acceptable omission? I thought the quality of screen is a bit higher when you have a LED backlight screen but I'd like to hear/read opinions. Are you happy with standard CCFL LCD screens?

My preference for make or brand include these, in no preferential order:
Asus, MSI, Toshiba and Sony. I am not sure why HP is so criticized or if their models are as bad as people say, but the DV6 and DV7 models don't seem too bad. I don't like the 'chrome silver' around the ports and the optical drive has a strange shape on one corner but they do seem to get bad reviews or opinions are usually negative.

The only other make I might consider is Lenovo and possibly Dell, as I think it's good to configure them yourself. The problem with these, though, is you can't inspect them in person in most cases and they always seem really expensive. There's sometimes coupons for the Lenovo but for some buyers (like myself), they might not be prepared to buy at the times the coupons are available. They often expire early since they're not only eligible for a short period of time.

I'd like a i5/i7 cpu (prefer virtualization option) and maybe a discrete GPU. I also would like eSATA for my larger capacity drives I'll have in an enclosure and since I'll want to upgrade with a SSD eventually.

Any good choices of a laptop in $1K price point or advice/recommendations when considering?

[miggs78]

Thanks for the explanation Yukon, that's why I want a lenovo, quality+build quality = superb, and their support I heard is also top notch.

As for the i3 processors, I got mistaken somehow with all the advertising going on thinking it is a quad core. That was also what I was just about the ask, looking at dell's website and the new i3 inspiron laptops are almost $200 more with the exact same specs as the other older processors.

For me I will be taking it to school, I am currently studying networking, so.. use of virtual lab software is vital, I could run it on my e8400 without hickup only when you add more and more items (network becomes larger) the memory usage becomes more, I have 4gb on my desktop, and the RAM often gets used to about 1gb to 1.5gb.. As long as I can multi task without the machine slowing down, I'm happy the save the money and go for the cheaper models.

[zmiles]

I did put this in another thread. Perhaps it should be a new thread. Anyways, it offers some factual credible info on reliability of the various brands.
Reliability and Service: Technology's Most (and Least) Reliable Brands - PCWorld
Note that Acer and gateway are in top quartile.
Have a look at Canada Computers. In my experience they offer the best prices.
Canada Computers - Buy 15.4" Notebooks in Canada
The Acer I-3 is there. I just convinced a fgriend to but the gateway (owned by Acer) 15.6" I-3 from Future shop at $599. He loves it....and the I-3 technology should be good for at least a few years.
I also bought the Gateway EC14D01H at an introductory price of $499 at Best Buy. It's a beautifully mobile 11.6" with a CULV 4100. Plays HD beautifully and one of the few (only?) notebooks that come with a DVD drive. Gateway appears to be the guinea pig brand for Acer to determine consumer needs.....usually special features at great intro prices....and then disappears.
I bought my wife a Lenovo G550 at Canada computers. Good price at $539 still available. Solid built machine. Lenovo makes IBM thinkpads which are known for their reliability.
My two cents.......good luck and tell us which you finally go with with.