<p>I'm a gamer and CS major headed to college, and I currently have a desktop/flat panel setup at home that I'm happy with, but I feel like having a laptop could be very useful if I need write code not in my room for numerous reasons. Do you think it would make sense for me to get a cheap laptop, maybe an ibook, and bring my desktop so that I can still game?</p>
<p>What about tablet computers? I think Toshiba has some great ones that look sleak and are light to carry. But, are they worth it?</p>
<p>e. I just read through this incredibly long thread and now realize that my question has already been answered.</p>
<p>Hehe. I know they're not worth it for me, but that's because I can't imagine actually writing code. Drives me insane...</p>
<p>krazy cow
if u want cheap laptops tht can game too go for dell inpiron line. they replaced the ATI radeon 9700 in thier insp 9100 with ATI X300 in 9300 which severely affected the 9300 potential as a gaming laptop. XPS is juss too expensive for its own god. try looking for an old 9100/9200. u wud get it cheap. and since the line is discontinued u will only get it on ebay. try to get one with a warranty. my inspiron plays half life2(high settings) and doom(hihg settings) ,not ultra,. sure its heavy and battery life is ponly 1.44 hours.but its sure beats a desktop and also if u buy a seperate battery for $30 on ebay u can double ur battery time. also buy an external usb HDD instead of trying to upgrade ur laoptops hdd. tht way u can still have ur data and work on it with other computers if ur laptops stops working.</p>
<p>Too bad there arent any decent manufacturers making laptops with the mobile athlon-64 chips...oh well.</p>
<p>The centrino system (specifically the P4m) is probobly intel's best product right now--considering there are many people out there who want p4m desktops rather than P4--so its a good time for laptops.</p>
<p>Apples will soon be using all IBM chips (when they completely phase out the G4s). They chose the IBM PPC970 chips as the G5 line but they are nowhere near small enough or efficient enough for laptop use yet.</p>
<p>I've had a Toshiba before and I wasn't happy with the costumer service. They refused to fix my computer even though I had the warranty. I switched to HP and I'm glad I did.</p>
<p>Lets say you have 2K to spend on a laptop and you wanted a dell. would you go with inspiron which seems to be more bang for the buck or a latitude which seems to be higher quality?</p>
<p>If I wanted to spend $2000 on a Dell, I would definitely go with the Latitude line. If you're willing to get something bigger, the D810 has a very powerful ATI X600 video card.</p>
<p>But remember, you should also take a look at the Lenovo Thinkpad T-series and at the HP NC series.</p>
<p>Its still IBM, as long as they are branded IBM, they are IBM (lenovo has been making them for years, now they are just going to start to step away from IBM).</p>
<p>For 2000 though, I would definately look away from dell. if it was 700-1000 or something then it would probobly be dell or lightly used (refurbished/lease return) but when you have the money, you might as well put it in the right place (the T series is awesome).</p>
<p>Lenovo hasn't made all of the Thinkpad products, its competitor Great Wall has also made some of the Thinkpads.</p>
<p>It definitely appears that Lenovo is trying to strip as much IBM as possible off of their website. Some parts of their website still pointed to IBM yesterday, but a lot of it has changed over. Go to <a href="http://www.lenovo.com/think/us/en%5B/url%5D">http://www.lenovo.com/think/us/en</a> and you will see what used to be IBM's site. Except whereever it said IBM, it now just says "Thinkpad."</p>
<p>I am betting that the IBM branding isn't going to last for very much longer, even though Lenovo is suppose be able to use the name for a while. Even the Access IBM is going to be changed to "ThinkVantage." In this time of confusion, I bet that the executives at HP, Dell, and Acer are clamping their hands with joy.</p>
<p>On a unrelated note, did you see the awful "future" products that Lenovo has posted on their site. Lets hope those products never meet the "Think" brand.</p>
<p>Is it possible to buy from dell's small business/education website? I want to purchase a latitude, but the home/entertainment website only has inspirons.</p>
<p>When you buy from the small business site, just enter your name for the company name.</p>
<p>i just wrote self employed</p>
<p>If you want to game I say you stick with the desktop since Laptops arent really built for gaming, unless you spend a lot. But even if you do, in a few years you'd have to buy another laptop because the specs will not be up to date with the games.</p>
<p>Okay, I did not have time to look at the previous 8 pgs of posts because I'm in the middle of studying for the AP Euro test, but I was just wondering about Apple notebooks, how are they overall? Ups downs? Don't be shy!</p>
<p>apple makes good laptops</p>
<p>the thing is to check with your college and your department to make sure they dont require any software that is pc-only</p>
<p>I just got a powerbook last weekend and I LOVE it. It is so great. I love how the iLife programs all work together so well. My address book is used by the mail program, iCal, and a bunch of other stuff. All the programs are just so cooperative.</p>
<p>I'm thinking of getting a Dell Lattitude D510 or D610.</p>
<p>What do y'all think? Good considering I want to spend under $1,500? Is the D610 worth the extra money (it's not much more expensive...)?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>dell makes pretty solid laptops</p>
<p>i had the inspiron version which is the 600m and it lasted me all 4 years in college</p>
<p>but then i found a dell desktop system and a 50% coupon...good byeeee laptop!!!</p>
<p>but since the latitude should be even more solid, i say its a great choice</p>
<p>If you get a Dell, <a href="http://www.gotapex.com%5B/url%5D">www.gotapex.com</a> before you buy.</p>