<p>So I'm going to attend UCSB next fall and I want to buy a good notebook. I'm thinking Toshiba or Sony but I have no clue. Anyone got any ideas to help me choose a good one?</p>
<p>It totally depends what you plan to do with it. I recommend buying a very cheap one, without all the extra frills.</p>
<p>There will always be real good deals any time of the year. Unfortunately I do not keep up with that stuff. I would check the deals they have at Gateway, Dell, HP, and so on. Compare features and learn what the features really mean. Always a good idea to read user reviews if available (especially if there is more than one or two reviews as they could easily be biased reviews).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnet.com%5B/url%5D">www.cnet.com</a> is pretty good for reviews on electronic type of equipment, and I'm sure they review laptops too.</p>
<p>I've been tracking prices and new notebook releases for over a year. The primary website I use is notebookreview.com.</p>
<p>^and what did you discover?</p>
<p>I'd avoid HP... I've heard of a lot of problems with their notebooks.</p>
<p>Some of Toshiba's Satellites (A70 and A75) are known for problems with static electricity and overheating. If I need to turn my Satellite on, I have to prop up both sides on books so it won't overheat within an hour. It started crashing about 3 months after I purchased it. I definitely don't recommend them... The other Toshiba computers don't seem to have as many problems.</p>
<p>Your best bet would be to check with the tech support center at your school as they sometimes recommend what type of machine has the least amount of problems with the school's infrastructure.</p>
<p>Are you on a wireless campus.</p>
<p>Does school require a specific operating system to acess e-mail or its network</p>
<p>Should you have a problem with you PC could you get service on campus or a loaner. Some schools have authorized service centers on campus.</p>
<p>i'd go with maybe Dell or IBM (pricy but good)</p>
<p>Stay away from ~ HP, Compaq, Gateway</p>
<p>I'd like to add fujitsu to the mix =). very good quality, and they have a tradein program where you can trade an old fuj for a new one.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Any of you guys want to give the OP some reasons to stay away from company x? I mean I know I say things like that too, but I am kind of curious about why some of you are staying away from company x.</p>
<p>Consider some lesser known Taiwanese brands like Asus which sells some very nice notebooks. Im looking at a Asus 7V7 right now which is very thin, pretty light yet has a 15in screen. The quality is good as well. Dont know why some people think these brands suck when Apple, Dell, HP, Gateway, IBM only rebrand the laptops they order from these Taiwanese companies and sell them with their own support. Most have similar chassis only the shell is different.</p>
<p>Otherwise IBM is a good bet. A Panasonic Toughbook may also be of interest.</p>
<p>HP and Compaq have had reliability and consistency issues for a long time now. Gateway is in the same boat. Their primary audience is the home user who wants email, internet, and word processing and will load a computer so full of junk that it will be brought to its knees regardless of specs...and then go buy a new one. Dell's home line has similar issues of reliability as well.</p>
<p>On the other hand, companies more focused on the business side of computing, for example IBM and Dell's office line, have great reliability. Typically, a business user won't download random programs all over the place - the longevity of the hardware becomes more important here.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>The HP notebooks aren't that bad, there are a few that are rated extremely well such as the zd8000, dv4000, and the dv1000
If you want to do multimedia, DO NOT get IBM as they are made for business purposes.
If you are looking for multimedia try the HP zd8000, Dell XPS M170, Toshiba Qosmio, Dell Inspiron E1705
For good all around, ANY Apple, HP dv4000, Dell Inspiron 6000</p>
<p>However DO NOT get a laptop until the summer and then while you are at it, PCMagazine releases a back to school issue in the summer as well as a laptop issue. Pick those up and it tells you the best laptops for every type of person there could be...</p>
<p>I repeat, DO NOT purchase a notebook until the SUMMER</p>
<p>or, you can always go to your local computer shop and have them build you exactly what you want, with real people to talk to about features and such.</p>
<p>I'm coming out of left field and recommending the Compaq Presario v2000 series. My sister and I each have one, and both adore them. My sister has had her's for around 6 months. I liked her's enough that when Best Buy put a one on sale in early December, I bought my own. We only use them for surfing the internet, writing papers and watching DVDs, so I can't say how they perform doing heavy multimedia stuff (I use photoshop and stuff alot, but have a Mac for that purpose). We haven't had any problems with them.</p>
<p>Only get the v2000 if you can't afford anything else... It's good for the money and that's about it... Lackluster performance</p>
<p>"However DO NOT get a laptop until the summer and then while you are at it, PCMagazine releases a back to school issue in the summer as well as a laptop issue. Pick those up and it tells you the best laptops for every type of person there could be...</p>
<p>I repeat, DO NOT purchase a notebook until the SUMMER"</p>
<p>lol. that's your reason?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hardforum.com%5B/url%5D">www.hardforum.com</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
or, you can always go to your local computer shop and have them build you exactly what you want, with real people to talk to about features and such.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Customizing laptops isn't the same as a desktop. It's impossible to build one from scratch, you pretty much have to buy from a company.</p>