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Need a new Laptop

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  • TX69

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    Dec 23, 2012
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    I had posted some time ago about looking for a new laptop. My POS tToshiba has broken even further so I am now on an excellerated search for a laptop.

    I am going away from Toshibas as this is the second POS that has literally blown up. So now I aam looking at Dell and a few others. I really like the 17.3 screen sie but I am only seeing Toshiba as the one with the most options for that size in my prince point so I think I'll have to go back to 15.6.

    Specs that I need are:

    $1000-$1200 tops

    NO TOSHIBA SATELLITE
    ABSOLUTELY NO MACS

    Must be new in the box (NIB) with warranty
    15.6 screen but would love to stay with 17.3
    Intel Chipset
    16GB capable RAM or more
    HD doesn't matter
    DVD RW (BluRay if possible)
    4 USB's
    Decent enough Video accelerator (would like to play games if possible)
    Optional better 9/12 cell battery capable


    Any tips or places to buy would be nice
    Lynx Defense
     
    Last edited:

    jtw2

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    Have a look at some of the HP options. I really liked the ones they gave me when I worked for them. I'm more of a MAC guy myself.
     

    TX69

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    Have a look at some of the HP options. I really liked the ones they gave me when I worked for them. I'm more of a MAC guy myself.

    This is where I am trying to whittle down my options as there are so many mfgs now. Many moons ago I had HP's at work but they were never that good or reliable.
     

    GlockOwner

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    I said this on your previous post a while back, but i'll say it again as a reminder. I have an HP, and wish I would have went elsewhere. My first HP had a major issue to where it would suddenly and inexplicably freeze up and become a "static" like screen (see pic below). I sent it in to HP multiple times only to have them tell me that if I sent it in again, and they still couldn't replicate the issue, they would close the case and nothing would be done. It happened SO frequently that I can seriously suspect them of not even trying to fix it. I finally, after a month and half of back and forth, got them to send a tech out to my house to witness it happen first hand. After that, they sent me an upgraded replacement. This one doesn't have the crash/static screen issue, but the HDMI output only works half the time and the graphics card seems to get overloaded from time to time, and the computer will crash (no static screen). I don't play games on the computer other than a few flash games from time to time, so it's not like im really stress testing the graphics card...it's just crappy. Both were the HP Pavilion dv6 with BeatsAudio.

    2012-08-23150930_zpsa90e3bb4.jpg
     

    scgstuff

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    I have always liked Dells. I have a Precision M6300 I have had for years and it still runs like a champ. My new work laptop is a Precision M4800 (15" instead of 17") loaded and have I just had the CPU fan go out and the CPU overheat. Will be getting a new motherboard, CPU, heatsink and fan today. Great service if you do have a problem. The Precision's are expensive, though. Got my wife the Studio 17 several years ago and that is still going strong. Bought the kids a Toshiba and it died pretty quickly. Have also had problems with my HP.

    Just went to Dell's site to look at the Precision prices again, and it seems they are on sale right now.

    $1249 for the M4800 with
    15.6"
    Win 7 Pro
    8GB RAM
    500GB SSD Hybrid Hard Drive
    AMD FirePro M5100 w/2GB Video Card
    Wireless
    3 Year Hardware support with next business day Onsite Service (which is who I am waiting for now)

    I know that is a little more than you were looking at spending, but I think the warranty is great and well worth it.
     

    TX69

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    I have always liked Dells. I have a Precision M6300 I have had for years and it still runs like a champ. My new work laptop is a Precision M4800 (15" instead of 17") loaded and have I just had the CPU fan go out and the CPU overheat. Will be getting a new motherboard, CPU, heatsink and fan today. Great service if you do have a problem. The Precision's are expensive, though. Got my wife the Studio 17 several years ago and that is still going strong. Bought the kids a Toshiba and it died pretty quickly. Have also had problems with my HP.

    Just went to Dell's site to look at the Precision prices again, and it seems they are on sale right now.

    $1249 for the M4800 with
    15.6"
    Win 7 Pro
    8GB RAM
    500GB SSD Hybrid Hard Drive
    AMD FirePro M5100 w/2GB Video Card
    Wireless
    3 Year Hardware support with next business day Onsite Service (which is who I am waiting for now)

    I know that is a little more than you were looking at spending, but I think the warranty is great and well worth it.

    How old is/was the PC that the fan/chipset died? What warranty and support did you buy/get from Dell?
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
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    I saw you had a Toshiba, but I have one that is now 8 years old, and still kicking. One thing I attribute it to is using an external hard drive to store pics, music and videos on. The laptop's HD is just over half full, which seems to make it run much faster. I had never bought a Toshiba before this one, and only bought it due to a good price. But after this one, I would likely buy another.
     

    IXLR8

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    I recommend and own many Dell laptops. The build quality of HP computers is very poor right now, but the prices make them attractive. I do not know what type of work you will need to do on it, so it is difficult to make a suggestion. For internet surfing I have left my laptop for an ASUS Infinity tablet, and keyboard. The ASUS has a 14 hour battery life when attached to the keyboard which also has a battery. The screen is only 12" but 1920x1200 resolution. Woot had the tablet and keyboard for $300.00 a few weeks ago.
    The Dell Inspiron laptops are more consumer oriented rather than business Precision laptops. That means they have the latest technology vs business which values long term common hardware platforms. There are a lot of bargains to be had on techbargains.com, and they change daily. 15" laptops are the new 17" laptops, since everything seems to be shrinking.
     

    TX69

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    I saw you had a Toshiba, but I have one that is now 8 years old, and still kicking. One thing I attribute it to is using an external hard drive to store pics, music and videos on. The laptop's HD is just over half full, which seems to make it run much faster. I had never bought a Toshiba before this one, and only bought it due to a good price. But after this one, I would likely buy another.

    I have a 9-10 year old Toshiba running XP and it is still alive despite the plug at the motherboard dying years ago. I fixed that by wiring it in. Toshibas have sucked for five years now and I am never sinking another penny into their dogshit Satellite line anymore.
     

    shortround

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    Going on three years with an Acer Aspire I bought at Costco. Intel Pentium processor, Windows 7. Never let me down with over eight hours of use per day x 365.

    Only "crash" was Firefox, and it fixed itself.
     

    scgstuff

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    How old is/was the PC that the fan/chipset died? What warranty and support did you buy/get from Dell?

    It was new (less than 2 months old) when the fan died. It was the fan that crapped out, and they decided to replace anything that might have overheated and malfunctioned instead of just replacing the fan. I understand that things fail sometimes. A company that stands behind and fixes it is a company I can stand behind.
     

    JColumbus

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    Dang! 1200 and no Mac!? Every time I see an, "I need a new computer", thread, it's a PC user. I don't mean to be a non productive poster in this thread, but I'm curious as to why you wouldn't want a mac. Any time someone dogs Macs, there's no experience to back it. It's always, "my friend, cousin, dad", or whatever. Everyone I know who's made the switch, HATES PC's. Not that all PC's suck. Sorry, I'm just curious. You seemed pretty passionate about NO MAC. Did your friends Mac shoot your PC?

    Anyway, I hope you find a good one.
     

    breakingcontact

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    Dang! 1200 and no Mac!? Every time I see an, "I need a new computer", thread, it's a PC user. I don't mean to be a non productive poster in this thread, but I'm curious as to why you wouldn't want a mac. Any time someone dogs Macs, there's no experience to back it. It's always, "my friend, cousin, dad", or whatever. Everyone I know who's made the switch, HATES PC's. Not that all PC's suck. Sorry, I'm just curious. You seemed pretty passionate about NO MAC. Did your friends Mac shoot your PC?

    Anyway, I hope you find a good one.

    Macs...last a LONG time. Apple puts huge emphasis on hardware whereas PC/Android is about cheap hardware and way more software centered.
     

    AcidFlashGordon

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    I've had 2 ToSHITba laptops and both were in the POS category. I will NEVER consider another ToSHITba as long as I live, even if they were the only choice left. I've had very good performance out of my Lenovo IdeaPad....once I got used to using Windoze 8, that is :(. The IdeaPad can also be used with touchscreen commands as well as using the keyboard. My desktop is also a Lenovo and it has performed flawlessly for the 2½ years I've owned it. It has Windoze 7 Home Premium on it but that doesn't seem to slow it down any. Plus, Lenovo seems to be in the "not expensive" category when it comes to price.
     
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