recommned me a laptop

[dave.]

Need one for 15tr old son. Next level up from budget, say 350UKP, whats that, about 500 USD?

I know nothing about these things, I live on a Blackberry and desktop

[warbirdlover]

Daughter has a Dell and it's nice.

[eclark53520]

I have to recommend HP.

Fiancee bought an HP laptop, fantastic, great performance looks everything. Three months after the warranty is up, the motherboard fails. Here is why i recommend them, they sent me a pre-paid postage including box/packaging/etc, and free replacement of the board, free shipping back.

Even though it was out of warranty they still replaced everything for free.

Fantastic customer support from HP.

[lildudejds]

Once you go mac you never go back. I'd get last years white macbook for him. Never worry about viruses again.

[buykrux]

get him a machine that will last, not one that is going to have to be replaced in a year or two
Acers are cheap, we have one and its not bad, sluggish but no problems what so ever

Originally Posted by lildudejds

Once you go mac you never go back. I'd get last years white macbook for him. Never worry about viruses again.

+1
i have had nothing but problems with HP
i had a dv5000 17", 4 major hardware problems in 8 months, they sent me a dv9000 17 inch to replace the old one and that one had 3 major hardware problems in 14 months
i bought a macbook for school, never had a single issue other than discolouration of the white keyboard (old model, not the unibody) but apple sent me a 16 gig ipod nano to compensate
works for me
i was told by an apple rep to stay away from the aluminum bodys because they are easily dentable and if that happens, 9 out of 10 times they damage hardware inside the case because of how tight the fit is
its slowly becoming a mac world believe it or no
Mac > PC

Originally Posted by eclark53520

I have to recommend HP.

Fiancee bought an HP laptop, fantastic, great performance looks everything. Three months after the warranty is up, the motherboard fails. Here is why i recommend them, they sent me a pre-paid postage including box/packaging/etc, and free replacement of the board, free shipping back.

Even though it was out of warranty they still replaced everything for free.

Fantastic customer support from HP.

so first off your recommending a computer that failed miserably like both of mine, which both had the motherboards replaced...
i had 2 hard drivers replaced, 2 mother boards, sound board, video card and my quick launch buttons
i was sent 7 of those boxes, 2 of the times they fixed the wrong problem
they figured that since the screen didnt work it was the hard drives, and send me back with 1 HD instead of 2, and send me with 1 working HD and one that didnt...
the second machine had a issue within the last 2 weeks of warranty, they fixed it, sent it back to me and about 60 days later i had a video card problem and HP refused to warranty it because i didnt buy the extended warranty...on the computer they sent me for free with no paperwork...
they couldnt give me a straight answer on where i would get the extended warranty from since i didnt technically purchase the laptop and the 8 weeks it was not in my possession
5 calls later, and 2 supervisors later the lady told me it WAS under warranty. HP has a policy stating the warranty is extended by 90 days after any repair, which several employees "forgot" about
so i guess if you dont mind not having a computer for 2-3 weeks at a time then yes HP is good, and if you dont mind spending countless hours on the phone with people who dont speak english than yes go with HP, also if you like to recieve your laptop in worse condition that before then yes its for you

i paid WAY more than what i did for my mac for this HP
sure a mac is expensive but apple takes care of you 100%
they gave me 16gig ipod because i called them and told them i had gotten my keyboard replaced twice and was wondering if i could get a black one put in instead to stop the discoloration!
i have had 4 put in, all free and it takes only about 25 minutes
its like having a new computer each time!

[FATC1TY]

So your bashing him for saying go with a company that HE had good customer service from, despite having a problem with the product. Yet, you come back with the retort that you've had 4 keyboards put it your mac, but that it's okay because it only too 25 minutes each time, or that the keyboard is crap, they dent easy, and then suggest Mac over HP/Etc.....

Do you see the craziness? If you suggest Mac, then awesome.. they make good computers, but are still expensive and limited in certain hardware/software connectivity to some things. I like them, and SWMBO has the newest Mac, and likes it.

dave,

Just go with what will fit his needs, be it a Mac or PC. Both will get the job done fine. PC is probably better for school in running Excel/Word/PP, IMO, and the Mac for graphics and playing with photos/music and such. We have a Mac, and had to buy the extra program to convert and use the Excel and stuff on, so it was kind irritating, and they don't really cross over that well.

[buykrux]

Originally Posted by FATC1TY

So your bashing him for saying go with a company that HE had good customer service from, despite having a problem with the product. Yet, you come back with the retort that you've had 4 keyboards put it your mac, but that it's okay because it only too 25 minutes each time, or that the keyboard is crap, they dent easy, and then suggest Mac over HP/Etc.....

Do you see the craziness? If you suggest Mac, then awesome.. they make good computers, but are still expensive and limited in certain hardware/software connectivity to some things. I like them, and SWMBO has the newest Mac, and likes it.

dave,

Just go with what will fit his needs, be it a Mac or PC. Both will get the job done fine. PC is probably better for school in running Excel/Word/PP, IMO, and the Mac for graphics and playing with photos/music and such. We have a Mac, and had to buy the extra program to convert and use the Excel and stuff on, so it was kind irritating, and they don't really cross over that well.

the difference is, 7 MAJOR HARDWARE PROBLEMS, and HP replaced the wrong thing twice...not only that but multiple reps refused to take it in for repair, it wasnt until i talked to the head supervisor of the call center that i was informed it was available for repair, otherwise it was 299$ to have them look at it...
i had poor customer service and a poor quality product, actually 2 of them
for the price you will pay for an HP, i think you can get a higher quality product the HP for that same price
also, i use mine strickly for school and i have never had any crossover problem in terms of microsoft office programs, i run office mac. and iWorks
iWorks reads almost any format, and you can save your files in offices' .docx, .pptx etc.
fat, what are the hardware/software things you cant get on your mac?
i havent had any problem with any sort of hardware or software other than microsoft access since it isnt made for mac
alot of companies are starting to release mac versions of their software
also, do you want to deal with the headaches of vista or microsoft 7? although im sure microsoft 7 is a step up from vista, i cant see them taking 2 steps backwards

[lildudejds]

I have the aluminum macbook. It's sexy as ever and the hardware inside is top notch. The NVIDIA graphics chip is awesome.

But yes, they are more expensive, but well worth it. It's hard to explain until you use it...but everything just works. For example, most PCs need some kind of driver or software to work with printers, but with my mac, I just plug in the printer and it works.

Also, if he really wants to run windows(although once you get used to Leopard you'll never want to use it again), benchmarks have PROVEN that mac hardware can run windows faster than most PCs can. Everything you need to run windows on a mac is already on the mac when you buy it.

In conclusion MAC>PC. Look around and see what you can find.

[xamilo]

If you are willing to spend the money, a Macbook is the only way to go.

If you are short on budget, Dell or Toshiba will work great. Avoid HP/Compaq which in the experience I've had (not mine, I'm Mac user , but people close to me), their machines tend to malfunction, specially in the "electric" part.

[MIKE1218]

Originally Posted by lildudejds

I have the aluminum macbook. It's sexy as ever and the hardware inside is top notch. The NVIDIA graphics chip is awesome.

But yes, they are more expensive, but well worth it. It's hard to explain until you use it...but everything just works. For example, most PCs need some kind of driver or software to work with printers, but with my mac, I just plug in the printer and it works.

Also, if he really wants to run windows(although once you get used to Leopard you'll never want to use it again), benchmarks have PROVEN that mac hardware can run windows faster than most PCs can. Everything you need to run windows on a mac is already on the mac when you buy it.

In conclusion MAC>PC. Look around and see what you can find.

because macs have good hardware... not all pcs do.

acer has been good to me. friends have dells, stay very far away. i know a guy w/ a toshiba, no comments good or bad. know lots of people with hp, no serious problems but personally i don't like how easy the wireless button is to press accidentally (it's right above the keyboard and very sensitive). maybe that's only on a certain model though, i don't know if they all are like that.

[Augster]

Compaq was terrible. Then they got bought out by HP, thereby making HP terrible.

I have a 17" HP laptop. Now, it's 5 years old, so that's a plus I guess. I had to replace the screen already on it. The battery only gives about 20 minutes, so it's useless unless it's plugged in.

My Toshiba is almost 10 years old and I bought it used. It came with ME on it for God's sake. It is still plugging along. It has been dropped multiple times but keeps on ticking.


If you have the money, and you want Winblows of some sort, I'd recommend getting a Toshiba. The Toshiba Toughbooks are the only laptop they issue to the outside guys at work.

For budget computing though, check out Newegg.com and see what the reviewers there say is the best laptop dollar for dollar. Just reading reviews gives a pretty good indication of what to expect from it.

[eclark53520]

OMG MACBOOKS!!!!

[slickpitt]

Originally Posted by eclark53520

I have to recommend HP.

Fiancee bought an HP laptop, fantastic, great performance looks everything. Three months after the warranty is up, the motherboard fails. Here is why i recommend them, they sent me a pre-paid postage including box/packaging/etc, and free replacement of the board, free shipping back.

Even though it was out of warranty they still replaced everything for free.

Fantastic customer support from HP.

FU man! If I catch any of you bastards buying HP shit Imma bust my 9-iron over your head!



(they are the sumbitches that just laid me off)

[Slingblade61]

Originally Posted by slickpitt

FU man! If I catch any of you bastards buying HP shit Imma bust my 9-iron over your head!



(they are the sumbitches that just laid me off)

I have an HP that I bought last year. (hopefully before you got the boot) I like it very much.

[SCGolfer]

I agree with FAT just grab what is in your budget that fits what he needs. I have a 5 year old HP that runs circles around my wifes new Dell. But she got so much stuff on the thing it can hardly even run. Just depends in what you need or have to have.

Jason