Laptop / Notebook shopping...

[Sonnie]

I'm looking for a new notebook that will run cooler than this HP which has an AMD Turion. My fan runs 24/7 and the bottom gets seriously hot... not to mention little minor bugs all the time.

I must have a 17" screen plus a full size keyboard (with number pad)... no exceptions.

One I've looked at is the Toshiba Satellite P100-ST1071 (It appears to be a full keyboard):

• CPU: Intel® Core™ Duo T2050 (1.60GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
• Operating System: Genuine Windows® XP Professional
• Memory: 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz SDRAM (512MBx2)
• LCD: 17" Widescreen XGA+ TruBrite™ display (1440x900)
• Graphics Controller: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 8MB-128MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory
• HDD: 60GB HDD (5400rpm, Serial-ATA)
• Optical Media: CD-RW/DVD-ROM Multifunction drive
• Mini-PCI/WiFi: Intel® PRO/Wireless LAN 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g)
• Battery: Li-Ion Battery (6-Cell, 4000mAh)
• $960 (from Toshiba's website)

I know nothing about Toshiba and I'm not sure how this compares... still looking.

Gateways have full keyboards but they are couple hundred dollars more.

A Dell is what I had previously and it was great, except for the keyboard.

I'll post more if I can find any... if you know of any, please share.

Thanks!

[Sonnie]

Another HP but with a much cooler running processor... dv9000t

• Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2250 (1.73 GHz)
• Display: 17.0" WXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1440x900)
• Graphics Card: 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600
• Memory: 1024MB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• Hard Drive: 100GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
• CD/DVD Drive: LightScribe DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer
• Networking: Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
• $1145 (from HP Shopping)

Seems like a lot more computer for couple hundred dollars more... most particular the graphics card. But I'm a little reluctant of HP... maybe this one wouldn't have the bugs?

[Otto]

Hi Sonnie,

Well, I don't really have a recommendation for a particular system, but I have some general comments. I have had two Toshiba Satellites, and they have both had difficult to find problems that drove me nuts! The first one had a bad keyboard, which I replaced. I took a while to determine it was the keyboard, but it did get fixed. The hard drive also died (IIRC, that was an IBM Someting-Star). I've had this machine since ~2000 and it's still "working" as a web browser in my family room ("working" very slowly).

I have another Satellite that has a bad hard drive (it's a Toshiba drive as well). It's been randomly hanging and crashing for about a year. Now it won't boot at all. I think it's the hard drive because if I tell it to boot from the CD ROM when there is no CD in there, I get the same behavior. Also, it is able to boot from a USB key. The drive is making sounds that are also indicative of a bad drive. Anyway, I didn't really suspect the drive for the failure, as I thought of it more as a Windows failure -- until I reinstalled Windows. It's been driving us nuts for a while, and hope a new drive will be the final answer. It also runs the fan all the time, at varying speeds. And it gets hot. The fan is annoying. The fans are on the bottom, so if you put it on your lap (laptop?) it will eventually overheat and shut down (without warning). I also thought that the volume knob was a step backwards in design when compared to my previous model of Satellite -- not a good sign when they are unable to leverage previous technology. There were a couple other little things like that as well that I thought were better on the old one.

I guess in both my professional and personal capacity I would be considered a "computer guy". But I'm not into it like some of the gamers at work. Those are the guys that I talk to when I'm shopping. In most cases, they'll just recommend to "buy a Dell" if you don't want to talk about gaming machines all day long. I'm pretty sure that's the way I'm going from now on, unless I need something that's specialized for whatever reason, like HTPC (actually, even then, I "bought a Dell", though I'm not sure I'd consider mine a true HTPC). The company I work for is a Dell vendor -- they buy our product. We are vendors to other PC OEMS around the world as well. The process to qualify our product with Dell is rigorous and serious -- there are weeks and weeks of testing. On the other hand, some companies will take whatever we say is good, and don't have a formal test process with us. We can't ship junk to Dell, because they just won't allow it. And Dell won't allow it from their other vendors either. I believe Dell has their problems just like any other company, but I also believe they're going to make a solid product.

Good luck and have fun!

[Sonnie]

I think HP's have been relatively good, but the AMD Turion 64 is simply not the right processor for a laptop. The little bugs I have are not common. My sister use to work for HP and she's had several, never the minor bugs I've had. None the less, they are part of the reason for me wanting to upgrade. But the main reason is the processor.

I would love to have a Dell again... I know they are solid, but I also need that full size keyboard with the number pad. I have a brand new Dell I-9400 sitting here on my coffee table that I'm fixing up for a friend of mine (his wife is getting it for him for x-mas). I really like it, but using it also reminded me of how much I enjoy having my full keyboard.

I know one other fellow who has had a couple of Toshiba's and raves about them. The last thing I need though it a laptop that is gonna give me troubles.

[Otto]

Yeah, they all have their ups and downs, I know. I was out Googling these, like I'm sure you have already done, and that number pad thing is hard to find!

[Sonnie]

Actually that HP seems to have several great reviews on it. I found a coupon to get another 100 bucks off as well.

[Adz]

I'm looking for a laptop as well. Focusing on the Dell which has some good values before year-end.

[khellandros66]

Sonnie do yourself a HUUUGE favor ans get a Apple iBOOK

Trust me you'll never look at a PC w/o going eeeewwww Windows again..LOL

~Bob

[Sonnie]

khellandros66 wrote:

Sonnie do yourself a HUUUGE favor ans get a Apple iBOOK

Trust me you'll never look at a PC w/o going eeeewwww Windows again..LOL

lol... I'm not sure how that would be a huge favor. It would be a nightmare actually. First off I don't have $2500-$3000 to spend on a laptop (17"). Secondly, their keyboard lacks a number pad. Next, I have a lot of stuff that just plain won't work with Mac... I would lose it all. Trust me, I'll never look at a Mac. Had I started out with it, it would be different, but I'm not interested in converting over at this point and time.

I'm heavily favoring the HP still... with the Intel processor and full keyboard I think it will be about as close as I'm gonna find to what I'm looking for.

[Andrew Pratt]

Never say never Sonnie you might surprise yourself one day and wake up an Apple man You might consider looking at Asus notebooks. They make some of Apple's products and offer much nicer looks and build quality over the HP's, Dell's and Gateway's etc. I picked up the W3J this past spring and really like it.

[Sonnie]

True... I know better than to say never... I've eaten those words way too often.

I'll take a look at the Asus notebooks.

[Sonnie]

I've about decided to step on up and get a really sho-nuff laptop. I found this one that looks really sweet. A little more than I wanted to spend though, however, I shouldn't need another one for a while.

Fujitsu N6420

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5500 (1.66 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB)
Display: 17" Color-Enhanced Crystal View wide XGA+ 1440 x 900
Operating System: XP Professional
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 with 256 MB HyperMemory
Memory: 2 GB DDR2 667 MHz memory (Dual Channel; 2 x 1 GB)
Hard Drive: 200 GB (5400 rpm) hard drive (100 GB x 2)
Optical Drive: Dual-Layer Multi-Format DVD Writer
17" Targus Case
$1682

[Otto]

That looks like a nice machine, Sonnie. You're right -- you shouldn't need a new one for a while.

I'm reinstalling Windows on a new HDD in mine right now. Hoping it comes back to life...

[Andrew Pratt]

Looks nice Sonnie. You might want to read though some of the posts here and see if there's any pro's con's to that model.

Also any thought on waiting till January and getting Vista pre-installed

[Sonnie]

Yeah... I'm a member at that forum and http://forum.notebookreview.com/ both have a lot of info on Fujitsu, neither has much on the N6420 since it was just released.

I may wait... depends on my mood, so to speak. I'm wondering will the prices go up then... and right now I can get 10% off. Although generally they always have some sort of discount going on.

[khellandros66]

Sonnie are you gonna be using this mobile or semi???

Make sure you buy a spare 12 cell battery for use on long periods w/o AC

Most 17in laptops last only 2-3 hours on a 9 cell and some only come with a 6 cell...

Apple is still the bread winner, you can do it with Virtual PC, run all you Windows stuff on it, not worry about buying the following along with avg costs to supplement them on a PC

No Need for AntiVirus: avg $55
No need for Antispyware: avg $35
No Need for Firewalls: avg $45
No need for MS Office, you can use Apple Works or Open Office for MAC : avg MS Office $275
CD/DVD Burning Software built in with iLIFE 06 avg $50
Hardware Compatibility (you now have three OS Options... OS X, VPC XP, and Linux)
Compatible with HDFS, NTFS, and FAT32 file formats
Longer battery life then PCs due to the advanced sleep modes and power conservation: avg $200 for extra PC battery
Quieter and cooler
No glare or glossy screen (alot of PC manufacturers are using glossy screens which suck in lit areas)
Can be used across multiple forms of Domains and Networks

Etc..... I can go if you want but this is off the top of my head, and I have to say that as a trained IT Networking speciaiist a PC IMO is a PITA...

These are all the reasons why I suggest you go Apple

~Bob

[Dougie085]

Not to mention if you really like windows you can install it and dual boot or just use it as your primary OS. Apples build quality is a lot better then almost anything I've seen. Almost every PC notebook I've picked up feels cheap and flimsy to me.

[Sonnie]

This is a desktop replacement so to speak... very little travel. I keep mine plugged up nearly constantly when using. I only have a laptop because it is much easier to use while sitting in my recliner. It is literally used as a true laptop.

I've had a Dell and I have this HP... I can tell you for sure that neither are flimsy. They are both very well built machines. Reviews of the Fujitsu say that it has the best screen of any notebook on the market and is very well built. I don't see a problem with the build quality at all.

None of those issues are really an issue for me... in other words, there's really no benefit IMO, not for $600-700 more dollars especially.

[Adz]

That is a sweet looking machine Sonnie. I'm still looking at the Dell. I have a Dell desktop and one thing I hate about them is the customer service and having to go through their call centers for help - what a royal pain that is.

But I have some good news to report - a buddy of mine was telling me last night that the screen on his Dell notebook died (that's not the good news). He troubleshooted with Dell customer service and they figured out it was burnt out. While his warranty had already expired, Dell is sending him a screen replacement for free.

[Sonnie]

Dell machines are generally pretty good machines and only once in about 10 years of owning 10-12 fo their computers have I had to contact support. That one time was pretty painless and they went beyond the call.

I think the key with Dell is you seldom need support, if you do it may be painful, as you suggest.

[Bruce]

Sonnie,

Have you looked at the IBM series (now Lenovo) ?

I will say Apples's quality is top notch (I worked there for 10 years), and the latest offerings with options to run OS X, Linux, and Windows XP all on the same machine is rather seductive, but they always get premium prices.