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#2902826 - 11/17/09 07:03 PM looking to purchase laptop for wife  
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Joe Offline
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My wife's Lenovo Thinkpad is showing it's 7- or 8-year age, and it's time to get her a new laptop. I think the current system has a 600 MHz Celeron and 512MB or RAM, with Windows XP.

She wants an eraser nub mouse if possible. I looked at a new Thinkpad compared to the system speced below and it looks like that mouse basically costs and extra $100, which isn't worth it. The computer is only for productivity (i.e. no gameing). Here's the system I'm thinking about:

CPU: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T6600 (2.20GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
RAM: 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
Video: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD
Screen: Bright, glossy widescreen 15.6" WLED display (1366x768)
HDD: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Optical: 8X CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Wi-Fi: Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card
Network: Integrated 10/100 Network Card
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Price is $544 plus tax and shipping. An additional 2GB of memory, if I should get it, can be purchased from Newegg for $43.

Is this system good enough? Can it run aero acceptably?
Does anyone know of a comparable system with an eraser nub mouse?

Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#2902890 - 11/17/09 08:49 PM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: Joe]  
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Raw Kryptonite Offline
Beat the Kobayashi Maru
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My netbook can run Vista with aero appearance like a champ. 1.66 GHz Atom and 2 GB memory. I'm sure that set up will run very well, certainly with Win7.
My wife got a Dell (through work) with the nub, but I really wouldn't recommend it. I've never had a Dell that I was impressed with (I've never had a higher end model though).
That price looks pretty good too.


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#2903022 - 11/17/09 11:59 PM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: Raw Kryptonite]  
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pauldun170 Offline
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#2903083 - 11/18/09 02:02 AM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: pauldun170]  
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I got my wife a little Aspire one, just enough for her to do what she wants, and small small... fits in a nice handbag she picked out. Not going to impress anybody with specs, but definately good enough for running MS Office applications, using internet/e-mail, listening to her radio over the internet, things like that. If she plays any games, they are really simple arcade-style games like that, really not much for gaming. She used it for going back to Russia on several trips to finish up her college degree there, and for her, getting that small one was just the ticket.

Ripcord


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#2903119 - 11/18/09 02:46 AM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: Ripcord]  
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dashavingo Offline
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Buy a Lenovo or a Sony. Guys at several laptop repair shops recommended these brands.

DO NOT BUY ANYTHING MADE BY HP (they've retained that old Compaq feeling).

I just had my HP dv9000 vid card melt through my motherboard a convenient three months after warranty. Insult to injury: this is a known problem that has affected literally thousands of laptops. HP refuses to recognize their design error and thus, no recall.

So I'm now out $500 dollars to buy one of the motherboards with the known problem repaired, because these scumbags can't be bothered to admit their mistake.

Carly Fiorina did more damage to that company.... It's Compaq, not HP.

#2903303 - 11/18/09 10:21 AM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: dashavingo]  
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Joe, I don't know where you specced out that system, but I can assure you it's not the mouse stub that costs extra with Lenovo - it's the service.

I do SERIOUSLY recommend NOT buying any laptop from a build shop if you want to reliable work on it.

Friend of mine did just that for his daughter. I looked up a Lenovo for him, standard run of the mill with 15.4" widescreen and the works, plus three years warranty on-site.

Instead he decided to go with a DiTech (large PC-building chain store here) bought a glossy 17" monster for less than the IBM.

But, it turns out she really needs that laptop for school. And what happens? It overheats, keeps crashing, eventually takes the Win Install down and the HD is dead. DiTech takes 6! weeks to fix it, and it still keeps crashing. Another four weeks later, they finally exchange it for a new model.

I eventually gave her my old desktop system so she could at least get some work done meanwhile.


Compare to Lenovo, which we use here at work: Have a problem, send it in, get it back within a week. Or exchange a part yourself (HD for example).

Acer Service has been a serious let down here in Europe, Sony too (both manatged 6+ weeks on simple repairs). I think Dell has it's stuff sorted, IBM, HP I have no personal experience with.

Apple seems pretty good (and runs Windows just fine) but that is way above your required price level. Apple and IBM are the only two laptops I allow at the company network.

Of course these things might stand different in the USA, but the moral of the story is: If you need a productive laptop, you want a company that can replace/repair it within a week. Contrary to our gaming and working rigs, you can't fix a laptop yourself. The extra you pay for a brand name and extended warranty is usually well worth it, at the latest when she has a deadline to meet with a project and the system craps out.

And also generally speaking, IBMs simple do not go kaput for no reason, while I've seen Acers and Asus overhead, break their fans or their keyboards.

#2903434 - 11/18/09 03:20 PM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: RSColonel_131st]  
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Originally Posted By: RSColonel_131st
Joe, I don't know where you specced out that system, but I can assure you it's not the mouse stub that costs extra with Lenovo - it's the service.
Fair point. I went to the Lenovo website and specced something almost identical to the above - it cost $640 instead of $540. I wasn't implying that the physical mouse nub costs $100, just that that's what it would cost us to get it.

In general I don't like how her Lenovo works now, even when it is working properly. There are all sorts of proprietary switches and buttons that require a whole bunch of Lenovo software, and I think this bloats the system. Often my wife has to reboot to turn on the wireless, even if she puts the switch in the ON position and refreshes the network list. When the computer comes out of standby it is often in a non-native screen resolution. Etc., etc.

On my Dell laptop, if I turn the wireless ON, it's ON. If I wake it up, the resolution is correct. So I am a little skeptical of Lenovo products based on personal experience. I can see that they are designed for business applications, which is good for customer support. I'm not sure that's what we want in this case, however.

#2903442 - 11/18/09 03:25 PM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: Joe]  
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Lifer
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Vienna, 2nd rock left.
I know you didn't think the mouse stub costs extra, just making a point that Lenovo prices are value for money from a service POV.

Guess it depends on type and localization, but we run our Lenovos with little to no Lenovo crap. For example the connection manager is more trouble than it's worth, so wireless is managed by normal windows.

I think Dell might be a good compromise in your case, but I don't know anyone doing mouse stubs other than Lenovo.

BTW, I've never had a Fujitsu Siemens Laptop, but I've used a desktop of theirs as personal system. They are the only brand name which does NOT pack bloatware onto their preinstalled windows (really, NOTHING except a pure XP and Driver install), and their service is great. Maybe worth to check their notebook lineup.

#2903474 - 11/18/09 04:00 PM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: RSColonel_131st]  
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Raw Kryptonite Offline
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The first thing you should do with any system you buy like this (IMO) is to format the hd and reinstall the OS and drivers. All the crap they put on there now and with the mass imaging it just never works as well as doing it yourself.


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#2904181 - 11/19/09 04:37 PM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: dashavingo]  
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I'm still milking my Pavillion 9207us with the 7600Go in it.
The design absolutely stinks. Luckily I didn't run it for too many weeks until I noticed that it ran really hot. Went to go monitor the temps and was pretty shocked that this made it into production.
Ever since then I always run it slightly elevated so there is at least a little airflow going through the miniscule ineffective fans.

Runs a LOT cooler under Windows 7.

#2904195 - 11/19/09 04:53 PM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: pauldun170]  
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speedbump Offline
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I've worked on a few laptops and the only ones worth working on are Dell or HP. IBM Thinkpads are the worst as far as getting the blasted things apart. Not sure if that carried over to Lenova or not.

#2904220 - 11/19/09 05:32 PM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: speedbump]  
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roan Offline
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I've read online of many problems with HP, had to fix afew Pavillions for friends.

some other website recommended Asus over the common brands, when it comes to laptops.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/11/17/reliability.study.has.apple.4th.place/

you must choose, but choose wisely

Last edited by Spede; 11/19/09 05:47 PM.

“Wise men speak when they have something to say, fools speak because they have to say something”
#2904264 - 11/19/09 06:40 PM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: roan]  
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My netbook is an Asus (1000HE) and I've been incredibly impressed with it. Upgraded memory and the hard drive, very accessible. Like I said, it runs Vista just fine. The next portable I buy will be an Asus, and one of their integrated pc/monitors for the kids before long.

When buying a laptop, everyone should get a laptop desk like this:



Keeps a flat, hard surface underneath for airflow. Setting the laptop/netbook down on the bed or a pillow is just going to kill it. I got one just like that but without the wrist pads at Borders. Also gives you room for a mousepad (more so with a netbook, but my wife uses one too with her laptop).



·Steam: Raw Kryptonite ·MWO & Elite Dangerous: Defcon Won ·Meager youtube channel
·Intel i5-9600K ·EVGA GTX1070 FTW 8GB ·EVGA CLC 120 Cooler
·16 GB Patriot Memory VIPER 4 3000MHz ·GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS PRO WiFi Mobo
· CORSAIR CARBIDE AIR 540 case ·BenQ BL3200PT monitor
#2904466 - 11/20/09 12:15 AM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: pauldun170]  
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dashavingo Offline
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Good news Pauldun. Probably worth your while buying one of those cooling lap pads...

BOY THIS TICKED ME OFF. I see Compaq is alive and well. And dear Carly Fiorina (former CEO) simply GUTTED a great company (the HP side).

#2904468 - 11/20/09 12:17 AM Re: looking to purchase laptop for wife [Re: dashavingo]  
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dashavingo Offline
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Raw Kryptonite:

Totally agree with your advice--- but the reason I'm shelling out $500 to HP is for a known design flaw affecting THOUSANDS of models. HP doesn't have the ethics for a recall, so I'm joining the class action suit (you know, so the trial lawyers can also get rich).

And I'm with you: hard to go wrong with anything ASUS makes!

d.


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