Your pick on a laptop

[mr.e]

I'm about to buy a notebook in the next week. My budget is 1300 usd ..at the moment i'm pretty sure the macbook white is my best bet what do you think?

if you had a choice which laptop to buy from this list which one would you choose. Consider that it will be used for a little studio work but mostly just for fun stuff.

[AlexHall74]

I just bought a Dell Inspiron 9400, dual core Intel 1830, 2 GB RAM, XP SP2 Home, wireless card, 7200 RPM 80 GB HD, yadda, yadda... for about $1000.

It's fucking awesome.

I use it with a Western Digital 250 GB 7200 RPM firewire drive,
my Mackie onyx Satellite,
and a M-Audio MidiSport UNO

+ my synth, monitors, mics, guitars, etc

and I fucking LOVE it.

Check out the Dell outlet for great deals.

[mr.e]

holy crap those are some crazy specs for 1k !!! I can't believe it..where did you buy it? and I didn't know laptops came with 7200rpm hd's thats nuts

[Timo]

My first port of call would probably be the Dell's, too. As with any laptop, look for any potential issues regards ground-loops with external soundcards, though.

The Sony... fantastic screen, but you would probably have to upgrade some of the internal components (HD, etc.) as the stuff they put in there was not high-end when I looked at them (4200rpm HDs, etc.). They seemed well-overpriced for what they were when I was researching laptops a year or two back. Of course they could have changed since then, with later models.

However, after experiencing an out-of-warranty defect with a Sony camcorder, and seeing Sony's extortionate repair fees, I'd find it hard to recommend them. Furthermore, their customer support is shit, and their email support completely non-existent.

[AlexHall74]

holy crap those are some crazy specs for 1k !!! I can't believe it..where did you buy it? and I didn't know laptops came with 7200rpm hd's thats nuts


Here's the link mate:

http://www.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/inspn?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

The Dell Outlet kicks ass.

Mine was categorized as "Refurbished" but was never owned or opened by anyone else.

It's basically a means for Dell to clear out excess inventory.

Check the model you are interested in daily, I checked mine hourly once I had the money to buy because the inventory is in and out, like waves on the beach.

Sort by HD type and OS and you'll usually find a 7200 RPM drive with 2 GB of RAM once every day or so.

It's worth it in my book.

Please note that you should buy with 2 GB of RAM because if you buy with 1 GB you get 2x 512 MB sticks and then have to buy 2x 1 GB sticks if you wantg 2 GB later...

;)

[Hollowcell]

I think those Dells are pretty sweet as well actually. I know a few people that have them (the exact one you're looking at) and work should be buying one of the bigger Dells this coming school year. The only thing I don't like is the shinny screens, but I hear you can get a cover for them though.

[mr.e]

Here's the link mate:

http://www.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/inspn?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

The Dell Outlet kicks ass.

Mine was categorized as "Refurbished" but was never owned or opened by anyone else.

It's basically a means for Dell to clear out excess inventory.

Check the model you are interested in daily, I checked mine hourly once I had the money to buy because the inventory is in and out, like waves on the beach.

Sort by HD type and OS and you'll usually find a 7200 RPM drive with 2 GB of RAM once every day or so.

It's worth it in my book.

Please note that you should buy with 2 GB of RAM because if you buy with 1 GB you get 2x 512 MB sticks and then have to buy 2x 1 GB sticks if you wantg 2 GB later...

;)

thanks man ..great find! I think im gonna buy a Inspiron 6400 / E1505 Intel Core 2 Duo - 2000 100 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM) 2gb ram
Certified Refurbished

[F5D]

I would buy a mac anyway but I don't like the color of the white macbook. Old iBooks looked better imo. The keyboard of the macbook is also a little weird and macbook doesn't look as nice as iBook or macbook pro. The black macbook looks better imo. I compared them side by side and I don't like the color of the new macbook. It's not white inside. I guess they changed the color to a little darker one that dirt cannot be seen so easily. The first macbooks suffered from discoloration. I guess people had dirty hands and their macbooks got dirty too. Also the macbooks seem to have too much quality problems. I would choose a 15" macbook pro. It looks good, has a good display and the keyboard is better. If only they did a 13" version of it too and a low power version to avoid heat.

[AlexHall74]

No problem Bro; you'll really enjoy that laptop.

I love mine.

I am finally mobile, with better sound quality than before due to the stronger system...

-Alex

[DJ K3LanSlayer]

My job buys me HP (business class) Laptops... lots of power no extras and very stable with XP Pro. The less junk on any pc the better - just the applications you need.

My wife uses is a Dell and if I were buying my own laptops I'd probably go for a Dell... the customer service is much better than HP even if it's not needed that often you like to know it's there.

[AlexHall74]

Welcome DJ K3ylan Slayer!

Nice to have you on the board.

I have had good luck with HP laptops too (former corporate issues).

The only laptops I've had bad luck with (of Toshiba, Dell, HO, or Compaq) are the Compaqs...

...they suck!

;)

At least they did 3 years ago...

[jasedee]

Whatever you do, DONT BUY A BLACK MACBOOK!!!!

I bought one 6 weeks ago, and am having HUGE issues with it. RANDOM FUCKING SHUTDOWNS.

Im travelling the fucking world and needed a laptop for business purposes (OK, I admit it, im downloading porn too...) and this Macbook is a piece of shit.

Do a search on "Macbook Random shutdown" or RSS as it is being called. This shit is appaling. Apple phone support are fucking useless, and I have to take the laptop to a service centre to see if they "might" be able to fix it on the spot. Seeing as I am never in one town longer than a couple days, and on those days I am working, this is proving to be very difficult.

As soon as I can I am taking this piece of shit back and swapping for a Macbook Pro. Shoulda fucking done that in the first place...

[/Rant]

[mr.e]

I bought a very bad toshiba notebook that i'm currently using now..the screen is totally f**ked cause its got all sorts of colored lines going verticle all over the screen...its horrible..and it also shuts down if I leave the cpu level option on max. this stuff started happening after the 1 year warranty

[F5D]

Whatever you do, DONT BUY A BLACK MACBOOK!!!!

I bought one 6 weeks ago, and am having HUGE issues with it. RANDOM FUCKING SHUTDOWNS.
[/Rant]
I guess the color doesn't matter much. Imo nobody should buy a macbook because of their quality problems (altough the black one looks alot better than the new "white/yellow/brown"). Sad to hear that it happened to you. :(

Why can't notebook computer manufacturers build computers which would last longer?! It seems that no matter what you buy these days, it will break down after 2-3 years. Maybe it's the heat which will eventually break down some parts. Everybody puts too powerful cpu's to notebooks. If the processor temp is 50-80 degrees (celsius) and everything is packed in a very small space, it's not a surprise that things start to happen. It should be 30 degrees max!

Who would buy a synth if it lasts only 2-3 years? I want my synths to last at least 40 years!