<p>I was looking around old laptop threads. There's a bunch and one thing I've noticed is that the Dell laptops and the new MacBooks seem to be the most popular. Just because they are popular doesn't make them the best though. So I'm curious how would you rank the following companies in terms of the laptops they have available and how well they run.</p>
<p>Dell
Apple
Gateway
HP/Compaq
Sony
Toshiba
Fujitsu
Asus
IBM/Lenovo (sp?)</p>
<p>Am I missing any other company? Hopefully not. Go ahead and rank them with 1 being the best and down from there.</p>
<p>Also I'm curious to know when are the Core 2 Duos coming out for laptops? Or have they already hit the laptop market?</p>
<p>Dell-I just got one for college and I love it so far!
Gateway-We have a desktop at home, it runs very well for being 3 1/2 years old.
Apple-Good, but very expensive.
Sony-I don't have a Sony laptop, but their other electronics are of good quality.
Toshiba-Same as Sony.
IBM-My sis has an IBM laptop, it was ok, but the first one had to be replaced after the first 2 years of college.
Asus-I've never heard of it, don't buy it.
Fujitsu-I'v never heard if it, don't buy it.</p>
<p>Core Duo is already out for Dell. You spend more on it than Core Solo, but I'm sure it's a good investment. I didn't want to spend more on getting Core Duo, so I got Core Solo. It's great too.</p>
<p>NEVER buy off brands. You don't know what you're getting and there's a chance campus tech support won't be able to help if something goes wrong. You'd have to send your laptop out to be fixed and that would not be cheap!</p>
<p>I've heard of Fuji stuff, but not Fujitsu. Is it the same brand? I've heard of Acer, but I don't know anything about it and would consider it an off brand. I just wouldn't trust something I know nothing about and can't find anyone who does. </p>
<p>I see I left HP and Compaq off the list.
HP- I's okay, I would have put it between Toshiba and IBM. My printer for college is HP. I hope it works well, but I haven't hooked it up yet.
Compaq- One word: Comcrap. I would have put it right above Asus(or Acer, whichever it is) because I KNOW Compaq makes junk!</p>
<p>I don't know if or when Core 2 Duo is or will be out. Sorry.</p>
<p>ASUS is an excellent company, so is Fujitsu.</p>
<p>Really, it depends on the model of the laptop rather than the company. I cant stand it when people compare high end Macbooks to a $400 Dell and claim Dell sucks and that its computers are slow.</p>
<p>Dell has a E1505 which is the cheapest computer you can get with a dedicated Graphics solution. It only gets cheaper with their great online coupons.</p>
<p>Most people on this site know nothing about computers, that is a fact.</p>
<p>PM me if you want real help.</p>
<p>Also realize that Small Business line of notebooks tend to have better build quality than the home lines.</p>
<p>IMO all companies are good. I have owned Gateway, plenty of Dells, etc and none of these computers have EVER given me hardware problems. Software problems are generated by the user mostly, not the company.</p>
<p>
[quote]
ASUS is an excellent company, so is Fujitsu.</p>
<p>Really, it depends on the model of the laptop rather than the company. I cant stand it when people compare high end Macbooks to a $400 Dell and claim Dell sucks and that its computers are slow.</p>
<p>Dell has a E1505 which is the cheapest computer you can get with a dedicated Graphics solution. It only gets cheaper with their great online coupons.</p>
<p>Most people on this site know nothing about computers, that is a fact.</p>
<p>PM me if you want real help.</p>
<p>Also realize that Small Business line of notebooks tend to have better build quality than the home lines.</p>
<p>IMO all companies are good. I have owned Gateway, plenty of Dells, etc and none of these computers have EVER given me hardware problems. Software problems are generated by the user mostly, not the company.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yea I've heard a lot of good things from the Dell E1505. In fact I ordered one for my friend who went to Syracuse for the summer. Didn't get to see it but he's been enjoying it and he comes back tomorrow so I guess I'll see what it's like.</p>
<p>Also aren't small business notebooks somewhat more expensive?</p>
<p>I personally never liked Compaq. That's just me though. I haven't had much experience with some of the other companies which is why I made this thread.</p>
<p>Actually if you don't mind would you be able to chip in on my other tablet PC thread. And do you know about Core 2 Duo and laptops? I've been waiting for them to come out on TabletPCs and laptops but I really don't know how much longer I want to wait.</p>
<p>red06: you ranked Lenovo ahead of Apple. I'm not saying that's possible since I haven't seen any of the laptops from Lenovo since IBM sold off their computer division. I'd be curious to know, why did you ranked it over Apple?</p>
<p>Dell goes to the bottom of my list. Crappy, cheap computers. </p>
<p>Dell 9
Apple 2
Gateway 6
HP/Compaq 3
Sony 4
Toshiba 5
Fujitsu 8
Asus 7
IBM/Lenovo 1</p>
<p>HP/ Compaq's small business systems are about the same build quality as the old IBMs. They're really nice, affordable computers. Apple has made a very competitive product, and before the asus lovers start engaging me about that, the casing is made by Asus. Gateway made a much better system about 4 years ago. now their laptops are heavier and bulkier than their competitiors...not a good thing in a laptop. Sony makes a good product with a lot of style. We have an original vaio from '99 that crapped out in 2005. Fujitsu and Asus are off brands. Asus used to do OEM work and decided to split off on their own- their available options aren't great and they're not really established. And, of course, dell, from whom I will never buy a computer and caution others to do the same. The build quality is terrible and their hard drive failure statistics are appalling. Considering all laptop hard drives come from like three manufacturers, and dell is the only one with consistently failing hard drives, they're doing something wrong.</p>
<p>Given a choice, I would buy an apple, sony, compaq small business, or a lenovo.</p>
<p>typically it produces hardware like motherboards or w/e, but their laptops are very nice. look at them on newegg.com and just read the reviews - nearly all 4's or 5's out of 5. compared to companies like dell i feel like asus doesnt load their computer with CRAP and uses more high quality parts.</p>
<p>I wouldn't recommend a Dell at all. I had to get one for school last year. After 3 months, the battery broke. It refused to charge, and they weren't very helpful in getting a replacement. Just yesterday, my screen went out, so I have to use a monitor before I get a new laptop.
IMO the best laptops are from Apple and IBM.</p>
<p>I had a compaq that was bought in like, I don't even know, back when laptops were "new and cool". At least 8 years ago. I didn't have antivirus stuff on it and it still ran like a dream despite being virus infested. After that I had a DELL for about 2 years and didn't like it too much. I got a brand new compaq 2 months ago and it seems to be holding up fine. HP is crap though, they die a year to the date after you buy them (this has happened).</p>