It's a PC for Rachel, now which one?

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Forum members,

Well my daughter has decided to stay with PCs, so now the question is which one. It must be a laptop. We are currently looking at HP dv9500t. Here are the specs we think are important:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.00 GHz w/4 MB L2 cache)
2 GB RAM
200 GB 7200 RPM disk

What are the alternatives? Anyone had any experience with Toshiba P205? It is cheaper and well reviewed.

Cheers,

Bob

[tfry]

Check out Dell :) I have both PC and Mac and If you have to do a PC
I have decided Dell is the way to go.

Great pricing, get product and if there is a problem of some sort, great help:)

[baderms]

I bought my daughter a Toshiba for college as I've allways had good luck with them. HP is good also, though more expensive. We have a lot of Dell's at work, and a lot of issues with them also, both desktop as well as laptops.

[GaryK]

I just ordered my daughter a Dell. I have talked with a couple of people and they swear by them (at least for laptops.. nobody I talked to was using a desktop of any brand). I was surprised at the pricing (less than I had thought they were) and managed to get a discount through work on top.
If you are a NAPP member I do believe there is a discount of sorts through them.

[Chuck S.]

I have an HP laptop at home (L2000, AMD Turion 64 chip) and a Dell Latitude 820 at work. The Dell machine appears to be more rugged and has endured a lot of air miles in the last year. If I were buying again for myself, I'd probably go Dell.

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Everyone,

I have to break now, but I will be following this thread later on today and into tomorrow when the Australians chime in. I will certainly look into Dell. I have an HP laptop that has given me good service for years now. It is a zd7020us purchased in January of 2004.

Thank you,

Bob

[websi]

Bob:

I wanted to add my experience and maybe it will give some ideas for you.

I just received by new laptop in May. . . It's an HP v9500t, Intel Core 2 duo T7500 (2.2Ghz), 2GB DDR2 Memory, 160GB 5400RPM, and 17" screen, etc. It is working super! It did come with Vista and so far no problem with PSE5.

My desk top is an HP Pentium 2.8, 2GB Ram and running windows xp. No problems with it. (but PSE 5 does come up SO much faster on the laptop).

My husband and I were believers in Dell for many, many years. . . then we started having problems. My husband changed over to HP and now we wouldn't use anything else. We are now with 5 HP's.

A close friend of ours bought a new Dell (desktop) in January and has had nothing but problems. Even to the extent that the Hard drive crashed, crashed an external hard drive and Dell couldn't (wouldn't) help in the recovery of data. They would just replace the internal hard drive since they had warranty.

They sent one of the drives out to a 'recovery place' and they couldn't even begin to recover any data. She did have most backed up (the external drive - that fried and some CD/DVD). They replaced her hard drive 3 times and instead of calling in for a fourth - finally they went out and bought a new Sony. Dell called to check how their 'service' was - and after discussion, finally did return their money. I've heard other stories (I'm only cleared for rumors on those) from friends who haven't been as excited about Dell.

I believe it is all in what Brand you've been exposed to - and everyone has a story to tell. But if you were looking at the HP v9500t - from personal experience, it is a fine machine. Oh! I got it from Costco and they have (my experience) a super help desk that comes with the purchase. You can price it out on line. Thanks for listening Bob - you're doing great to research this 'project' for Rachel!

[cats4jan]

I believe it is all in what Brand you've been exposed to - and everyone has a story to tell

That says it all.

I'm on my third Dell - and have had no hardware problems. Their customer service is outsourced and having difficulty understanding their people is my main source of frustration, but my son says I know more than them now anyway - and to do my research and fix my own problems - so the outsourcing isn't an issue anymore.

I've had a couple of Gateways - and they were fine, too. But my Gateway experience is from a long time ago. (Is Gateway still in business?)

When I get my next computer, my main thought process will be about how much say I have in what is loaded onto my computer. My main peeve is the "craplets" (a term coined by a fellow in some column I read) - they load onto my machine.

In the future, I want to dictate exactly which items are loaded onto my machine. I will be searching for a company that will let me dictate what goes on my machine - and if I have to buy locally, to get my way - I will do that.

I am surprised at the swing toward laptops. Unless portabillity is a big priority - I think a laptop has too many shortcomings for me.

I want a full sized keyboard, mouse, 22" monitor, numerous port, etc.

I know laptops are really loaded now, but still - they are meant for portability and have built-in shortcomings I don't want to put up with.

And yes, I know I can add a full sized keyboard and mouse to my laptop for use at home - but I don't want the hassle.

[winwintoo]

Why not go with a MacBook - it will hold it's value long after any PC has bit the dust.

With BootCamp, Windows seems to run better than it did on any PC I've ever used.

And a MacBook is probably less money than a well-equipped PC.

But what do I know :D

Margaret

[cats4jan]

Margaret - I think the problem with us Windows people is the fear of the unknown.

I have nothing against purchasing Mac - but I would first do a search to see which of my favorite software packages are available for Mac - so I wouldn't have to run a duo-operating system.

I have enough grief fixing the problems with Windows glitches - I can only imagine trying to run that software tha allows me to do windows and mac based and trying to fix those glitches.

My poor brain.

[Byron Gale]

I wore out the keyboard on my Dell laptop from work... three times.

Don't know whether it was a problem with that generation, or just me. They finally gave me a IBM ThinkPad and I have had zero trouble for a couple of years, now.

My home Toshiba laptop is a real champ, too - with the only trouble being the cooling fans which were replaced under warranty when they started sounding a bit eccentric.

[winwintoo]

If you use BootCamp you can install Windows and always use it as a Windows machine - you can go for years and never see the Mac side unless you want to.

The reason I recommend the MacBook (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=2F15A1DE&node=home/macbook/macbook) is that it's a beautiful machine and Macs hold their value way beyond the life expectancy of any PC.

And you have the best of both worlds - if you ever want to try the Mac side, it's right there.

I have a 6 year old iBook that's still a very good computer and will see someone through school. In the same 6 years, my son is on his third PC laptop, not to mention the assorted desktop machines his family has gone through.

Can you tell I love my Macs? :D:D

Margaret

[gcherry]

I'm going to have to agree with the votes against Dell. I bought a Dell laptop several years ago and the hard drive failed just over a year later. Dell's "customer service" (and I use that term loosely) was no help and, in fact, took more than two weeks to send a replacement drive (which I had to pay for) even though I paid for overnight shipping.

By the way, I suspect excess heat contributed to the demise of the hard drive. I now use a chill pad with both of my laptops to dissipate the heat. It's a cheap way to protect your investment and I highly recommend that you use one with any laptop.

Go with the HP ... you be glad you did.

[lindaf]

I also was checking into a new one but didnt know what to get. My 3 daughters have Dell, 1 laptop and 2 desktops. So far so good. I am on my 2nd HP. Very good computer and always a recommended pick from anyone i ask at any computer store. I do have to say though that I personally think Dell is overpriced compared to HP. I ordered a Gateway for an extra laptop in the house that my husband just putzes with and i couldnt love a computer more than i do this one. Its so fast and the screen is so vivid & bright without being glarry & overblown. Its just beautiful (as laptops go). I asked 2 different people who work at best buy in the geek squad dept. at 2 different best buys & all 4 of them told me the samething. I asked what brand seems to be the best and do you work on the least & they all said HP. Then i told them i just bought a Gateway and asked what they thought of them. THey said if i asked them that question 2 years ago they would have said not a very good choice but now there very good ( 2 said they liked them better than Dell) but what no one knows is that pretty much part to part there NOW all pretty much the same because all the name brands are NOW bought from the same company. THe only difference from brand to brand is the options that come on the computer. For example, HP may come with there own internal hard drive built in the system or Gateway may come with a better CD maker. But all in all there all the same now. SO my recommendation from all my research is get the largest hard drive & most RAM for your money no matter who makes it. P.S. Another wonderful plug for Gateway is there customer service is unbelieveably fantastic. They have won many awards & one of them is for there customer service. THey keep all there workers in the USA. I hope this helps anyone looking for a computer.

[winwintoo]

I always wonder if the staff at BestBuy is just recommending the product that has the best salesperson incentive at the time. :D:D

Sort of like when the school kids are told that they can win a new bike if they sell 200 cases of chocolate bars.

Margaret

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks again for all of the good information. I plan to make my decision, in coordination with Rachel, and then, and only then, shop for price. I will not depend on the sales talk of store employees, but just "bark out" my specs and have them assemble the machine we want.

Cheers,

Bob

[lindaf]

The people at the best buy where i live dont work on commission so they dont care what brand computer you buy. They get there $8.00 an hour regardless.

[pixlbandit]

Robert,
If you are buying a Dell for your daughter (still in school?), you might want to go through the student store or other educational site. Educational prices are substantially better than regular prices.

Vicki

[winwintoo]

I just can't resist :twisted:

http://images.apple.com/backtoschool/images/indexstudy.jpg

Margaret

[rtronick]

If you buy a Windows notebook, make sure it includes the "recovery discs". Most manufacturers are not including the operating system or applications and drivers discs. They install them on a hidden partition with in the hard drive. If you have to replace the hard drive after the warranty, you'll have to BUY an operating system to install on the new drive. Then comes the hassle of searching the manufacturers website looking for the correct drivers for your sound card, video card, ect.

As for brand, I use a Dell E1705 Laptop and a MacMini. Just had to replace the hard drive on the Mac. The Dell has been solid for 2 years. I would never buy a laptop without an extended warranty. Small space with things that create a lot of heat.

Just my 2 cents...

Randy T