I always am impressed by the volume of information that this website provides me, so I was wondering if anyone has a suggestion on a decent laptop in the $1600 and under range. I will need a portable durable printer to go with it. Payment option doesnt matter. I know Dell is an ok option, but I would welcome any other opinions on additional brands. Thanks.
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Suggestions on a laptop
- Thread starter cadmancan
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I recently purchased a Sony VAIO PCG-FXA63 laptop- got a great price on it at Sears, of all places. Had a price I couldn't pass up, and the unit came with a 1.6 GHz AMD processor, 20 GB HDD, floppy, CDRW/DVD unit. Have liked it so far. Got the A/C adapter, D/C to A/C inverter and a 3 year warranty for under $1600.
Works great for me.
The test continues...
Works great for me.
The test continues...
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What it is for is a series of golf tournaments and administrative duties. The laptop needs to be durable, because it will be used outside to track all the player's score, roster info and such. The screen needs to be karge enough not to cause eye fatigue. I would like to stay away from TFT if I could. It definately doesnt need to be a gamer's laptop. It isnt going to be used for high-end graphics. So the reason I ask is I need a reliable, sturdy midrange laptop. As far as horsepower is concerned it needs to be around 2 Gig and up. We all know about Dell, but something tells me that isnt my best bet. Thanks, options would be welcome.
Why stay away from TFT? It's reliable and gives a sharper image and wider viewing angle than LCD.
I've had a Sony VAIO FXA-47 1.0 GHz machine for a year, great performance and NO problems. Stay far, far away from Compaq and Gateway.
For the usage you describe, you don't need a 2 GHz system.
Newposter
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."
I've had a Sony VAIO FXA-47 1.0 GHz machine for a year, great performance and NO problems. Stay far, far away from Compaq and Gateway.
For the usage you describe, you don't need a 2 GHz system.
Newposter
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."
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I would never touch Compaq with a ten foot pole, but any particular reason why Gateway laptops are bad. I dont know of anyone who has one so I dont know much about them. As far as laptop screens are concerned, I heard TFT wasnt very good. Guess I was misinformed. I think I read about it in MaximumPC. The issue was longevity.
My 2 cents...Dell laptops are very dependable. We are a total dell shop and have approximately 300 laptops floating around. The tech support is pretty good, like all other manufacturers you get your bad techs too....I've tended to not refer people to Gateway as we have been seeing too many of the shops closing and rumors they may be going away...and yes, I would stay away from the compaq's as well. My husband recently purchased an HP laptop, pavillion i think, and is happy with it...But i'm still a dell person at heart....
pcheather@yahoo.com
pcheather@yahoo.com
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just wondering why it needs to be 2 Ghz if it won't be doing anything more than simple tallying of scores etc?
imho you could probably get by with a p3 800 with 256MB RAM and a 20 GB hdd.. this from dell would be about 750 + whatever warranty you want. They can be had off ebay much cheaper, but with a higher risk of course.
when I was shopping for laptops, I was looking for something to manage functions in my car (such as monitoring temperatures, editing air/fuel tables, changing what temps the fans come on, etc), so it had to be durable, as it constantly goes from front seat to back seat to under the seat etc. I knew I didn't need a 3 GHZ monster, but the software I used to monitor required at least a 166. I opted for a dell latitude p3 500. I was pleased with the performance, and durability. I've had it over a year now, and its running like it did when I got it.. definitely not bad for 600$ at the time
check out dell's "refurbished" section, I was just looking around and saw a 2.4 Ghz Pent 4 Inspiron laptop with a 14" screen, 20 GB hdd, 256 MB RAM, modem, network card, and xp home for 850$
Dell is one company that will stick around a while, gateway seems to be sinking, you don't even see ads on tv for them anymore. Compaq.. not sure, havent worked with them much, I do adminster a lot of desktops from them from p2 350's to p4 2.26's and they are alright. Customer Support is adequate, not fabulous, not abyssmal (ie offbrand)
Nick
Computer Support, no not just hardware.. I support everything
imho you could probably get by with a p3 800 with 256MB RAM and a 20 GB hdd.. this from dell would be about 750 + whatever warranty you want. They can be had off ebay much cheaper, but with a higher risk of course.
when I was shopping for laptops, I was looking for something to manage functions in my car (such as monitoring temperatures, editing air/fuel tables, changing what temps the fans come on, etc), so it had to be durable, as it constantly goes from front seat to back seat to under the seat etc. I knew I didn't need a 3 GHZ monster, but the software I used to monitor required at least a 166. I opted for a dell latitude p3 500. I was pleased with the performance, and durability. I've had it over a year now, and its running like it did when I got it.. definitely not bad for 600$ at the time
check out dell's "refurbished" section, I was just looking around and saw a 2.4 Ghz Pent 4 Inspiron laptop with a 14" screen, 20 GB hdd, 256 MB RAM, modem, network card, and xp home for 850$
Dell is one company that will stick around a while, gateway seems to be sinking, you don't even see ads on tv for them anymore. Compaq.. not sure, havent worked with them much, I do adminster a lot of desktops from them from p2 350's to p4 2.26's and they are alright. Customer Support is adequate, not fabulous, not abyssmal (ie offbrand)
Nick
Computer Support, no not just hardware.. I support everything
I'm with LadyH! I've had Toshiba (ok), Compaq (2 thumbs down), HP (same as compaq), Acer (not too bad), Sony Vaio (pretty good) and Dell. I'll take a Dell anytime over anything else. Solid sytem, solid support. I turned my office into an all Dell shop 5 years ago - best thing I ever did! Had just one problem on a new machine - cd drive started acting up. Called Dell on a Thursday, had a replacement on Friday (their choice, not mine) AND they supplied the UPS call tag to pick up the old one!
Whatever you get, my advice is to buy all you can afford, regardless of what you need. When you try to go "cheap", you'll get "cheap"!
There's always a better way...
Whatever you get, my advice is to buy all you can afford, regardless of what you need. When you try to go "cheap", you'll get "cheap"!
There's always a better way...
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