New Laptops - Advice Please?

[Asrai]

Extremely off topic I know.

I think in about two months I'll finally be able to buy a new laptop. Since none of my friends know their USB from their CPU they're not going to be much help here, and it's difficult to get customer service here in truly fluent English so I'm thinking that buying online is probably my best bet.

I've been drooling over some of the fancy Alienware computers running around $3000 with the all the bells and whistles, but do I really need all that?

I want a computer thats fast, will easily handle games new and old (though I probably won't ever be playing something like WoW or any other online games), and won't be outdated a week after I've bought it. Also I want some major storage space.

Since I know there are so many smart, tech savvy people 'round these parts, I was hoping you guys could offer me a little advice. Any brands to especially check out? How about brands to avoid? I think the upper limit of my budget is going to be around $1,600, I'd definitely prefer to get something that meets my needs for less.

I bought my current Dell back in early 2003. I think if I would've released my death grip on it long enough to get some issues fixed while it was still under warranty I wouldn't have nearly the number of problems that I have with it now, but in all it's stood up to a lot of abuse so I can't really complain.

Thanks!

[JonWW]

Well I've bought a Sony Vaio many years back, and I'm still using it currently as we speak even... lol While they make a great product, one thing to keep in mind is they don't update their drivers that well. Sony's stand is that if you can run everything that came with the computer and Microsoft products they are not concerned about updates. Any other software is 3rd party software... I was even told that Star Wars Online was 3rd party software and received no updated graphics driver even though Sony was getting a monthly check from me for that game...

[Proxas]

just make sure it has dedicated video and lots of ram.

[Chief]

If you can afford alienware i say go for it.

otherwise, check out the XPS laptops from dell. i just looked and they're having a deal on the m1530 one here:
http://www.dell.com/xpsevent

get as much ram as you can, higher end processor with fastest motherboard available, highest Res screen, the fastest HD and best video card and you should be pretty much set!
personally i'd definitely go with a 7200 rpm hard drive and the Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N card.

a lot of people hate dell but if you're a pretty savvy user you shouldn't have many problems, and their support is a lot better than it used to be!

[Broomie]

Get a Macbook! They're so reliable and fast and I know it's just Apple marketing when I say this but they really do work so well. Ever since I got my Mac I've had no problems, rarely experience crashes or sudden slowdowns and the compatibility between external devices is just so fluent.

And with Boot Camp you can run Windows XP and play all the classic games without any problems. Works just like a PC but even Windows XP runs a lot better under a Mac. If you've got that much money to spend go for it. Best decision I ever made! And I may have said I had problems running the old classics on my Mac but that's because I didn't have a copy of XP handy so I had to use emulation which isn't the best way to run it. But my cousin's Mac uses Windows XP via boot camp and Windows games work so well on it!

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/s ... co=MTIyMTM

There's a reason Apple users persuade others to switch over to Mac and once you get used to the interface you'll be doing the same. I've probably converted most of my Uni friends to Macs after just telling them about it!

But if you are strictly a PC man, Dells, Sony's and HP's are the best brands to get. Avoid Fujitsu and Acer if you can, not saying they're bad at all but I work as a salesperson at a electronics store and believe me we get those back more often than the former brands. Yet if you want to take some great advice, it's all about the Macbooks! And if you want to spend a bit more you can get the MacBook Pro's which are simply awesome.

[Alliance]

Do what Broomie suggested, but install it on PC hardware via the OSX86 project. You'll turn more heads that way, and save a bunch of cash.

[Asrai]

And with Boot Camp you can run Windows XP and play all the classic games without any problems. Works just like a PC but even Windows XP runs a lot better under a Mac. If you've got that much money to spend go for it.

How involved a process is it to get a Mac up and running with XP? Is it something I can do myself in an hour, or will it be an entire afternoon of banging my head against the wall while I teach myself how to use a Mac and run dual OSes on a computer all in one go? And how much of the computer's resources will be taken up by it?

Sadly, I don't have that much money to spend, just enough to get a decent system that will hopefully last me at least another 5 years. My budget is tight, but I have enough money coming in for now that I can invest in a good computer. But I also need to save up a small fortune in the next year, so I really can't invest too much into a computer.

But if you are strictly a PC man...

Woman thank you very much.

Thanks for the advice and the info everyone. I really appreciate it. You've all given me a lot more to think about.

[Broomie]

And with Boot Camp you can run Windows XP and play all the classic games without any problems. Works just like a PC but even Windows XP runs a lot better under a Mac. If you've got that much money to spend go for it.

How involved a process is it to get a Mac up and running with XP? Is it something I can do myself in an hour, or will it be an entire afternoon of banging my head against the wall while I teach myself how to use a Mac and run dual OSes on a computer all in one go? And how much of the computer's resources will be taken up by it?

Sadly, I don't have that much money to spend, just enough to get a decent system that will hopefully last me at least another 5 years. My budget is tight, but I have enough money coming in for now that I can invest in a good computer. But I also need to save up a small fortune in the next year, so I really can't invest too much into a computer.

It doesn't take long at all, the software that comes with it does the rest for you. All you have to do is place the XP/Vista CD into the drive and it's just a series of prompts which are quite simple to understand. With this setup though you can only run either Mac or Windows upon boot, you can't run them at the same time unless you buy a different program. If you wanted to run XP you hold down a button and choose it when you boot your computer up. If you want to use OSX you just let your computer boot up as normal. But that way it will rarely use any resources as they'll be running independently and not together so you needn't worry about any memory issues or crashes even though you wouldn't really get that anyway if you were to run them together. The point is though, it's an easy setup and runs effectively.

And the MacBook Pro is a bit pricey but the Macbook's are just about right I would say. And if you want to play the classics you can still download Dosbox and ScummVM for Mac OSX anyway so you won't need to run XP unless you want to run current gen games and the remakes by AGDI and IA.

But if you are strictly a PC man...

Woman thank you very much.

I knew that! My W and O key decided not to work at that very moment. :P

Thanks for the advice and the info everyone. I really appreciate it. You've all given me a lot more to think about. [/quote]

[Chief]

If you don't have that much to spend then IMO stick with a dell (xps or studio) or something similar because if you get a mac, you will also have to buy windows on top of that which is kind of expensive.

And with Boot Camp you can run Windows XP and play all the classic games without any problems. Works just like a PC but even Windows XP runs a lot better under a Mac. If you've got that much money to spend go for it.

How involved a process is it to get a Mac up and running with XP? Is it something I can do myself in an hour, or will it be an entire afternoon of banging my head against the wall while I teach myself how to use a Mac and run dual OSes on a computer all in one go? And how much of the computer's resources will be taken up by it?

Sadly, I don't have that much money to spend, just enough to get a decent system that will hopefully last me at least another 5 years. My budget is tight, but I have enough money coming in for now that I can invest in a good computer. But I also need to save up a small fortune in the next year, so I really can't invest too much into a computer.

But if you are strictly a PC man...

Woman thank you very much.

Thanks for the advice and the info everyone. I really appreciate it. You've all given me a lot more to think about.

[Alliance]

Buy?

*evil laughter*

[darkgamorck]

I just upgraded off a Macbook Pro into this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 1587727985

This is by the best gaming laptop for the least amount of money I've ever seen. The reviews for this thing are across the board stellar. I've had mine for three weeks now and I'm still 100% impressed. Even the user reviews are typically quite good. 4 gigs of RAM, 2.26 ghz dual core, 200 gigs of HD space, 64 bit Vista, Nvidia 9800M GTS Video, 17" screen. It just doesn't get any better than this at this price point.

[Asrai]

Buy?

*evil laughter*

Hey, if you know where to get a computer that was magically unharmed when it fell off the back of a truck, I'm all ears. ... Errr.... Eyes I suppose.

[Chief]

Wow that looks killer! does it feel pretty fast for you? how do games run on it?

I just upgraded off a Macbook Pro into this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 1587727985

This is by the best gaming laptop for the least amount of money I've ever seen. The reviews for this thing are across the board stellar. I've had mine for three weeks now and I'm still 100% impressed. Even the user reviews are typically quite good. 4 gigs of RAM, 2.26 ghz dual core, 200 gigs of HD space, 64 bit Vista, Nvidia 9800M GTS Video, 17" screen. It just doesn't get any better than this at this price point.

[Asrai]

Wow... somehow I missed that post. That does look like a pretty decent system for the price. But Gateway? Perhaps it's just that my impression of that company was formed back in the late 90s, but it wasn't very favorable. The family that I babysat for had a shiny new Gatway computer that would inexplicably restart itself at random intervals. I'd be in the middle of typing a school paper when the hunk of crap would shut down. Good thing I had already learned, "Save early, save often." by that time.

[Broomie]

Well, for a similar price but from a more respectable brand (actually one of the best) is this Sony Laptop.

We have the same laptop at my work (I'm a Sales Representative for an electronics store similar to Best Buy in the computer department) and this is a really nice laptop. Albeit a big chunky but it packs a massive 400GB HDD and even has a built in Blu Ray player so you can also use it to watch high definition movies and when games start getting released on Blu Ray discs on the PC you'll be able to read them which is a great benefit if you ever want to play true next gen games without the need of changing the DVD 3 times to advance further. And a dedicated graphic card just adds to the experience so it's an all round awesome gaming computer from one of the best laptop manufactuers around. Sony screens are beyond the best and especially when viewing HD content it will brings out the clarity and quality needed. Don't be fooled by the 3GB of RAM in comparison to the Gateway which has 4GB as the Sony can be upgraded to 4GB whenever you want which is a fairly simple task but I'm sure if you know someone computer savvy they can give you a hand with it. It's not the most portable of laptops but it's very powerful and has a fantastic 17" screen. My friend bought this laptop and hasn't had one problem with it.

So, if you're looking to spend around that amount I would go for the Sony without question. And it has a $200 saving too so get it whilst stocks last! I think Best Buy might offer me a job after that! On a similar note Best Buy are expanding to the UK so I wouldn't completely rule that possibility out, but than again I don't want to be stuck at an electronics store my whole life.

[Gronagor]

Heh. You know. Most laptops today will do... just make sure to get enough RAM, like was said a few times.
That's the most important thing on a laptop. After that everything is simply extras.

I installed extra RAM on 4 newish laptops just a few months ago...
how can these computer distributers be so evil and sell computers with only 500mb of RAM?!?! New computers?!?!
Are they crazy?!!! *sigh*

[Asrai]

Oooh, that does look nice.

Ok, one more question. If I buy a computer from a store here (in Taiwan), I already know that it's no trouble to get Windows set up in English, but if something goes wrong later, will getting it serviced in the US be a problem? Since computers sold here are built for Chinese speakers, will basic things that a computer tech might need to read like the BIOS or something be in Chinese?

[Broomie]

Do you mean you're going to buy it in Taiwan but return to the US with it? If not, the laptop would most likely be sent to a factory in Taiwan or China where it will be serviced. If you goto the US you should still get the same service but you may have to pay for P&P as it would most likely have to go back to Taiwan for repair. So, as long as you're in the 1 year warranty it shouldn't be a problem.

If it's out of warranty and you take it to a repair shop in the USA it should still be fine as they can download a firmware update to change the language but it all depends on the make and model but again it should be fine in other countries. You could even download the firmware yourself and change the language but I've never tried it myself so I wouldn't know the process involved. Either way though, that should be okay.

[Asrai]

That's right. I'll either be buying online and having it shipped to my family who will ship it here, or figuring out what I want online, so I can try to find it here and compare prices. But either way, I only intend to stay in this country for another year, while I'm hoping to get a computer that will easily last me several years. So I want to be sure that it won't be a huge hassle to get the computer serviced if I need to after I go home with it. I definitely don't like the idea of having to ship my computer all the way to the other side of the planet to get it fixed. So I guess it really just comes down to whether I can find a computerhere , with all the nice specs I've decided on, significantly cheaper than anything I'm finding online with the same specs.

Thanks for all your help everyone, and especially Broomie. With all the sage advice, and some major time spent searching, I've at least decided which features I'm willing to compromise on for price, and what I'm willing to pay more for. I'll let you guys know what I finally wind up buying.