Depends what you need it for, power, storage, is weight an issue, need a big monitor?
Personally I like the Dell XPS Studo 13" its a powerful machine but overkill unless you want lots of power and use high demand apps. You can get a lot cheaper.
Having stripped down a few laptops I would say Sony are good but expensive, at the cheaper end Acer, Asus, Fujitsu and Toshiba are all pretty good. Dell are well known but can be a devil to find drivers for if you change OS.
I've killed two Vaios within 6/9 months of ownership, won't touch them now. Currently loving my Toshiba Portege. For me the size is more important than power. It sustains a lot of use and doesn't grumble.
I have an Acer and a HP/Compaq laptop - take a look at HP as the one I have is much better than the Acer.......
juts bought a Lenovo netbook - lovely piece of kit for £200. does everything a Windows laptop will do - the only downside that I can see is screen size if you have large spreadsheets etc. otherwise great for travelling
Agree on lenovo, my work one (T60) is pretty robust.
I have a Samsung netbook at home which so far I'm impressed with in terms of build quality etc
Hubby has an Acer and I'm not keen on it. The mouse buttons are clicky and the screen's so shiny you can only see a reflection of your face (thanks but I have a mirror...).
I'd have voted for a Viao based on previous experience, but work have a few currently in circulation and they don't stack up to the Lenovo (plus this particular model has an issue with the fan being noisy)
Oh, and stay away from Vista. Windows 7 is a vast improvement.
But she's right, the screen is terrible. A lot of companies advertise their machines with ultra bright screens (or something similar) which means they're very shiny and reflect everything. It makes it impossible to use in bright sunlight or if you're sitting with your back to a window.
Yeah, my work one (fujitsu) has a screen like that. Not ideal.
Lenovo - never heard of it, will keep an eye out for it.
You reckon windows 7 is OK? I'm a die-hard XP user at the moment, but I can see I'm going to get forced to move on. I expect my beloved DOS games will no longer run....
"Lenovo - never heard of it, will keep an eye out for it."
they used to be IBM.........or should I say the PC side of IBM. when IBM pulled out of this sector, they sold the business off to Lenovo - back in 04/05 I think......
and W7 is good Mike - it's what Vista should have been. I'm a diehard XP user but have trialled W7 in beta format and it's good. I'll switch my business PC's to it in due course when all the relevant hardware and software is compatible
I recently tried to get Ubuntu onto the W7 PC in a dual boot version - seems to install OK but when you ask it to boot into Ubuntu it just hangs. tried it any number of times, different install versions - nope - all the same. it's not as foolproof as Linux nerds make out and it's positively shite at some things when I have used it
Comments
Personally I like the Dell XPS Studo 13" its a powerful machine but overkill unless you want lots of power and use high demand apps. You can get a lot cheaper.
Do they seem mechanically robust?
I had a dell laptop at work a couple of years ago, and the hinge of the lid broke
I've killed two Vaios within 6/9 months of ownership, won't touch them now. Currently loving my Toshiba Portege. For me the size is more important than power. It sustains a lot of use and doesn't grumble.
Dave, in this instance I mean small not large!
My laptop is very small and light but robust.
juts bought a Lenovo netbook - lovely piece of kit for £200. does everything a Windows laptop will do - the only downside that I can see is screen size if you have large spreadsheets etc. otherwise great for travelling
I have a Lenovo and it is rock. Never had anything go wrong and it gets used a lot. I've had it about 5 years.
I used to use a Toshiba at work and it was also great.
I did have a HP and it did not last long at all.
I'm looking for a note pad at the mo (cos Mr Shimms keeps on hogging the laptop) I'm looking at the Toshibas.
Agree on lenovo, my work one (T60) is pretty robust.
I have a Samsung netbook at home which so far I'm impressed with in terms of build quality etc
Hubby has an Acer and I'm not keen on it. The mouse buttons are clicky and the screen's so shiny you can only see a reflection of your face (thanks but I have a mirror...).
I'd have voted for a Viao based on previous experience, but work have a few currently in circulation and they don't stack up to the Lenovo (plus this particular model has an issue with the fan being noisy)
Oh, and stay away from Vista. Windows 7 is a vast improvement.
The mouse buttons aren't clicky
But she's right, the screen is terrible. A lot of companies advertise their machines with ultra bright screens (or something similar) which means they're very shiny and reflect everything. It makes it impossible to use in bright sunlight or if you're sitting with your back to a window.
Yeah, my work one (fujitsu) has a screen like that. Not ideal.
Lenovo - never heard of it, will keep an eye out for it.
You reckon windows 7 is OK? I'm a die-hard XP user at the moment, but I can see I'm going to get forced to move on. I expect my beloved DOS games will no longer run....
they used to be IBM.........or should I say the PC side of IBM. when IBM pulled out of this sector, they sold the business off to Lenovo - back in 04/05 I think......
and W7 is good Mike - it's what Vista should have been. I'm a diehard XP user but have trialled W7 in beta format and it's good. I'll switch my business PC's to it in due course when all the relevant hardware and software is compatible
I recently tried to get Ubuntu onto the W7 PC in a dual boot version - seems to install OK but when you ask it to boot into Ubuntu it just hangs. tried it any number of times, different install versions - nope - all the same. it's not as foolproof as Linux nerds make out and it's positively shite at some things when I have used it