I am in the market for a laptop..but don't know alot about which ones are the best for the value.

I don't need some crazy gaming system. Something with 512 ram minimum, and 60 gig of space....but more is always better in both areas if the price is decent.

What else should I be looking for in a laptop? I just want something quick, and reliable, thats not going to break the bank.

Thanks in advance guys.

Something with a Turion or Sempron processor around the 3000+ mark. Probably get it for around $800-$1000.

Again, stick with the name brands. HP/Compaq, Toshiba, IBM, Dell, etc... Support is more important than anything.

No Toshiba's....Compaq's work ok. I have a Sony right now and it is nice, but wasn't cheap. Hp/Compaq would be what I would go for. Even Gateways arn't that bad at all.

I'm using Toshiba P4 3.02,512ram and 40gig, 15.4ws with my DsmLink and it works awsome..

Yeah, Nate. If you had a bad experience with Toshiba I'd bet it was a one-off. I've heard WAY more complaints about Gateway...

Give it sometime, I work at best buy and most if not all of the ML and KL LIKE THIS Have come back defective or in need of repair.
Sometimes they don't even bother fixing them, they just exchange them.

I think Toshiba used to be one of the best names in the laptop business, but in the last year or two have just been living off their name, shoving new technology into a old case design.


I’ve had three different laptops in ~ 3 years and the Toshiba was by far the worst.
If it was a 2.8 or smaller processor it may have stood a better chance.

Mine would overheat and shutdown randomly (even when on a ventilated platform) causing me to lose work, and loose my temper. When I emailed Toshiba they just said to use a cooling plate! Well who wants to lug that sucker around and the laptop is heavy enough as is.

My other mistake with a buying the first 2 laptops was not getting the Centrino Chip. My two prior were P4 2.8 Compaq (power supply plug came unsoldered to the motherboard) and P4 3.06 Toshiba (multiple problems, keyboard malfunction last nail in the coffin). The seems to be too much power rammed into these cases, the battery life sucked and I pretty much had big, stylish hair dryers. Not to mention they both were quite heavy.

I'm a student and take mine to school everyday, and I've learn that bigger isn't always better for mobility. THIS is the current one I have now, and other than the price tag I have no complaints so far.


I think laptops by nature are way more susceptible to break down issues than any home PC. Chose if you really just want one, or need one. Back up your files often, to be safe and treat it better than your winter beater, which it is probably worth more than. **end rant**

Hmm how about the Toshiba Qosmio F20 laptops? i plan on getting one of them soon.... are they as abd as other toshibas?
also any one user the Acer ferrari laptops?
I have narrowed my choice down to the ferrari and qosmio......
..

I have the Qosmio. It's not a laptop, it's a desktop replacement. You could seriously hurt somebody with that thing, it's that big and heavy. On the bright side, the screen is great and it has a TV tuner and 2 HD's for raid1 if you've concerned about protecting your data. If you were considering a used one, I'd pick up an IBM T23. I say used because I'm not too sure about the new Lenovo crap until it proves itself, but the IBMs were solid in my experience. Sony makes some beauty's, but only if you use their factory load. Finding drivers is a nightmare.

I have a friend who does tech support for Toshibas laptops. He has nothing but bad things to say about pretty much all of them. The Portege R100 is one of the very fea that he says are good machines and they rarely get calls on.

Lucky me, work gave me an R100. No record breaker on performance, but it's tiny, 2.5 pounds, and runs 6 hours on the batteries.

FWIW, we stopped using Toshiba here at work because almost every unit failed for one reason or another.

Now everything is Dell, and so far so good.

Personally I use a Gateway, and there have been no problems.

I'm typing this on my Toshiba M50 YK4 and lob it!

What do you guys think of dells? I've been leaning towards them latly.

Dell makes a good machine; quality components.
Our office uses them exclusively, and their XPS units are really cool.

As for myself, I have an LG that I bought last year, and it's been really great so far....nice and light and great battery life.

Hey Jeph I have an Acer Aspire, its decent for a cheap laptop. Go talk to Dean over at the shop I used to work at, thats where I got mine.

Dell's are sweet, Toshiba are junk, compaq's seem alot better as well as the HP's these days.

I am using an IBM(P-M) and it is the best machine i have seen around.

I have also a Dell(P-4) that I am not too impressed with. It has not failed but has a desktop processor which is **** and also the manufacturing quality is not nearly as good as the IBM.

-I have seen a friend with a Toshiba(P-4) and it has SERIOUSSSSS overheating issues. not impressive at all. he actually owns two both with the same problem. a major design flaw.

-I have also seen an ASUS(P-M) one that was nice, they look good with their steel finish.

-Sonys are overpriced for all I care. And my IBM is an order of magnitude better in terms of fit and finish than my friend's Viao(P-M). too much cheap plastic.


I also suggest the $900 compaq one that comes with AMD 64bit processor. Soon enough the 64bit processor would become thing of the day.
a fairly good machine. with a shiney screen.

FS has a Compaq with 1GB RAM, Turion 64, 14" screen for $1200 on sale sometimes.

My desktop replacement HP Pavillion dv8120

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...amp;catid=22496&logon=&langid=EN

Why I bought it: well priced 17" laptop, 17" shiny screen, numeric pad (keyboard layout feels like desktop), two harddrives, 128mb dedicated 3d video, dvd writer with lightscribe, AND Altec Lansing speakers builit in (very good for a laptop speaker set). - Can play games decently.

Don't like: only 512mb ram (upgradable)