<p>laptop question(s). I've started looking around at laptops and I have a pretty good idea of what's out there, also considering my dad and brother both work with computers and whatnot. My brother and a friend have advised to stay away from certain brands, my dad is pushing Dell (because it's cheap, though I just never really liked them), everyone's saying different things, etc. So I was wondering what everyone's opinions are on the best laptop (NOT Apple) to get; most reliable, fastest (2.0ghz+), reasonable harddrive (60+gb), good memory (512mb+), and decent price (very tops is $1300-1400). Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Also -if you don't mind my asking on this thread from those of you currently in college: are laptop thefts common? I'm wondering if we want to get a good , but not great, one for that reason.</p>
<p>I got my laptop for college last Christmas (waaay early!). It's an HP Pavillion zv6000 - designed to be a 'desktop replacement' - aka, it's big for a laptop. However, I like it because it has substance to it; i'm not planning on taking it to classes with me anyway. I just wanted something I could put on the bed, or take outside if I wanted to. I am EXTREMELY happy with it so far - very fast, very nice widescreen, and oodles of memory left (90%), even after I loaded all my crap onto it!</p>
<p>what's wrong with Apple?</p>
<p>my family is one of those crazy apple ones. my friends say my basement is like a shrine to it, cause it has my parents computers with the big cinema displays and the laptop. and my dads licence plate is macosx. mon dieu.</p>
<p>but what's wrong with apple??? the operating makes more sense, there're less viruses, the computers are better for art & photo editing and gaming. it doesn't freeze like pcs do. etc.</p>
<p>nothing wrong with Apple, I just personally would rather have a PC.</p>
<p>I like Dell and I can't stand HP. I've had two HP computers in the past and they were always giving me trouble. It was always freezing on me and crashing. Then I got a Dell and it's great. I've never had any problems at all.</p>
<p>Get a Dell, they're not too expensive and very reliable. However, only get a Dell Lattitude - the above does not stand for Inspiron notebooks, they have lots of problems, break easily, and costumer service with them is actually worse than with Lattitudes.</p>
<p>what about the Dell XPS models? The M140 looked interesting..</p>
<p>I have a Toshiba A65. DO NOT GET ONE. It has overheating issues so does the A75. I've heard the other Toshiba's are okay, though. But more expensive. But I think I'll get either a Sony or Gateway for college. Probably the Sony where you can pick the color...I forget the name. Dell seems good, though. And they just bought Alienware, which has excellent computers. But that's if you're into gaming/graphics work. If not, there's no point in getting Alienware pcs...</p>
<p>Lenovo computers are pretty good too.</p>
<p>As for laptop thefts, it depends on where you go to school - we have an honor system here so no one steals anything, I just leave my laptop around and know it will still be there when I come back.</p>
<p>How does the honor system help anything?</p>
<p>If you go the dell route, Go to <a href="http://www.gotapex.com%5B/url%5D">www.gotapex.com</a> and check there for discount coupons. 2 weeks ago they had a nice $450 off $1499+ coupon that worked on dells site (yes they are legitimate coupons). Almost bought a laptop with it, but they droped the graphics card i wanted (7800gtx go) from their new E1705 line.</p>
<p>For PCs, I like IBM thinkpads or HP. I've had really bad luck with Dell. Don't get a gateway- they are some of the crappiest computers I've ever seen. I'd advise against sony too- they're a bit expensive though they have a good product.</p>
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How does the honor system help anything?
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<p>If you steal it and then get caught, you usually get kicked out.</p>
<p>Ooh okay, I get it now.</p>
<p>we have hp computers at school for virtual high school. i strongly dislike them, maybe because they're pcs or maybe because they're hps, but they always freeze, esp when i open something in acrobat and it drives me nuts because force quitting is a really awkward procedure. but compared to the old pcs we had last year, the speed is better on the hps (when they're actually working, that is)</p>
<p>Heh, my school has virtual high school, too. I wonder if it's the same one...</p>
<p>For laptops, I would suggest a Dell and getting Linux on it. Linux, I feel, is just as good as Apple when it comes to viruses, plus I like it's feel better. When it comes to desktops, I just build a PC and choose between Linux and XP Pro.</p>
<p>Okay, I hope the OP doesn't mind me asking my own question about laptops, but is the Apple Macbook better than the powerbook? And if I am getting a powerbook, is the 17" too bulky?</p>
<p>AND...Does anyone have a macbook and can tell me if they like it and what is good about it?</p>
<p>I'll be switching from PC to Mac. Does that take a lot of getting used to?</p>
<p>The Apple Macbook IS the new Powerbook. They switched processors so they changed the name since the power in POWERbook referrs to the type of CPU it uses the Power PC proccessor. The Macbook is much faster than the powerbook however there aren't too many applications that are intel native so I am not sure if you'll have any problems finding the applications you need for school.</p>