Laptop Advice!

[Phre0nBurn]

Ok guys, It's about time for me to retire the old Vaio FS550 laptop...

I need something new... I need something RELIABLE...

I need a higher end system... Very nice screen is a MUST! I need a 17" screen. I do a lot of graphics work, so it's a pretty big deal to me.

The rest I am sure will be good, as most laptops these days come with 2 gigs of memory and 200+ gig HD

300+- gigs would be nice...
I can always add another 2 gigs of memory

But reliability, screen (some screens look WAY better than others. The screen on my sony has WXGA XBRITE technology, and even to todays standards, it kicks ass.)
HD capability screen would be even nicer...

But either way, let me hear what you guys use, or recommend...

I plan on financing, and I'd like to keep my payments under 80 a month

So this rules out a high end Dell XPS or anything like that...
Probably need to set a cap of about $2500 or so to stay within this limit

 

[nachoninja]

$200

 

[Drake]

You going Vista, XP, or MAC?


No need to go 4 gigs on anything that isnt 64 bit like Vista Ultimate. 32 bit OS cant use it all.

Are you going to keep a desktop? I cant imagine why you need 300 gigs on a laptop. Downloading 100 movies and not erasing any?

 

[sampunk]

Get the ram separately, you will find cheaper stuff from newegg or buy.com.

also get a small HD, download stuff on your desktop instead. I turned an old machine in to linux box for downloading only

 

[ebittner]

I have am amazing HP that I picked up back in July at a crazy sale that Bestbuy was having.
17in widescreen
2GB Ram
140GB Hard
Intel Duel Core both 1.50 Ghz

The only downfall of this laptop is that is has a highgloss screen which would make your graphics look amazing to you but others on a CTR or other screens look like crap.

My favorite part of the laptop that I have is that the battery lasts 5 hours because iy s pretty big but is sticks about 2 in below the bottom of the computer which holds it up in the air so there is always air under it which keeps things cool.

I also keep all of my data on an external firewire harddrive to keep mine from getting cluttered and slowing things down.

 

[Stanley]

what you need.... is a desktop.

 

[Jondoe0069]

I have am amazing HP that I picked up back in July at a crazy sale that Bestbuy was having.
17in widescreen
2GB Ram
140GB Hard
Intel Duel Core both 1.50 Ghz

The only downfall of this laptop is that is has a highgloss screen which would make your graphics look amazing to you but others on a CTR or other screens look like crap.

My favorite part of the laptop that I have is that the battery lasts 5 hours because iy s pretty big but is sticks about 2 in below the bottom of the computer which holds it up in the air so there is always air under it which keeps things cool.

I also keep all of my data on an external firewire harddrive to keep mine from getting cluttered and slowing things down.

I'm pretty sure this is the same system I have. I bought it at Costco for about 1200 bucks last year. Works like a charm. Full keyboard with the number pad and everything. The only thing is:

I use my desktop nonstop because it's more comfortable to sit in front of for hours on end. It's a 5 year old dell with 768MB of ram and it's only got a 55GB hard drive. I've never had a problem with it though.

I don't know about Dell laptops though- I work on a bunch of them at work and for the most part, they have a lot of problems. We have twice as many Toshibas and I see them needing repairs a lot less. If you do end up with a dell, make sure you have a clean copy of Windows (or Linux) to install over the bundle of shit they load on there.

Oh and when you get drunk and kick it off the bed when you're passed out, don't let tech support tell you it's going to be $450 to fix. Google the problem, buy a 30-40 dollar part and fix it yourself.

 

[Deliguy]

i know when your budget is 2.5k its kinda ridiculous to suggest a $900 laptop but i gotta show you my favorite laptop in the world (i own one, rob owns one, two of my best friends also and they'll all swear on it).

Newegg.com - Recertified: EVEREX XT5000T NoteBook AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50(1.60GHz) 17.0" Wide XGA+ 1GB DDR2 533 100GB 5400rpm Dual layer DVD Burner NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 <-recertified link for $700, i think they ran out of stock on the regular model.


It has great components and runs like a dream. The monitor is also the best I've ever used, puts the xps' to shame.
It has a dedicated swappable and upgradable video card.
Fast memory (it only comes with 1gb but for the price definitely easy to upgrade).
The wireless power and range is unmatched.
It supports TWO hard drives (comes with a 100gb sataII).

and it has the most comfortable keyboard layout I've ever used (full sized keys except for the shift key and the forward slash).

My only complaints are that the battery fucking sucks(battery itself is fine, the computer just draws a ton more power than it should). My dell and hp laptops lasts twice as long. Also it was really hard to find a case that fits it properly. Rob got an aluminum case and had to cut out the foam to fit it. My case fits it fine, but really snuggly so i have to put it in, in a certain way.

 

[Phre0nBurn]

Deliguy-
Thanks a ton brotha... I'll go google it and read up, and check it, and similar models by the maker out.
How long have you had that? Just curious... Reliability is a big thing for me. When I bought my VAIO laptop, it was great, but within 2 years the keyboard was broken, the clasps to keep the lid closed were broken, the cord broke, the charge port broke (had to gorilla tape the charger in the fucker), my burner quit working (write errors), it randomly shuts off, and if I have my battery in it, it won't turn on.

That being said, I still use it 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week on average.

To everyone else-

The reason I need to meet these specs is for a few reasons.
I travel. A LOT.
The storage is because not only do I need ALL of my graphics apps and files, as well as Video apps and video graphics (for my video projects), but I also need to run AllData on it. AllData, for those that don't know, is a program used by larger mechanic shops. It has every bit of information on earth for every single car ever made. The whole program, if all copied to the Hard Drive, takes up just under 80 gigs.

I need this program to use in the field, so the laptop has to go with me to job sites.

I've made it this far with a 60g HD and 512 mb ram in my laptop. Although I do have a 200 gig external drive, I can't take that to job sites with me, and its already 70% full.

I know the issue of things looking good on glossy screens and shitty on everything else, but I'm used to working with that, and it's a fair trade for me to enjoy what I'm looking at, and have nice good looking porn.


I also watch lots of movies on my computer. It's pretty much my partner in crime... Or a life partner. I'd get married to my computer. We do so much together.

And, In my spare time I do design for a few different clothing brands, so I need to be able to take my laptop to shops to knock out some negatives for screen printing, or to hook up to a plotter to cut vinyl.

I do many things with a laptop. Things a desktop just won't do for me.