<p>Is this true?</p>
<p>i have a dell laptop and i have yet to see evidence of it's suckage. i think the only thing that might bother me about it is that it's a bit heavier than i'd like. what concerns you about them?</p>
<p>I have a Dell laptop. It is extremely heavy and for the processor (2.4 GHz P4) is extraordinarily slow. </p>
<p>I am buying my Powerbook G4 for college and never looking back at PC's again.</p>
<p>I haven't had any trouble with my dell inspiron 8600 and it's not that heavy.</p>
<p>I left my Dell in the dust and never looked back. No problems and so nice and fast.</p>
<p>My Dell is pretty heavy, however never had any preformance problems with it.</p>
<p>IBMs have to be the best made laptops out there, with Apple not far behind. Dells aren't the best with build quality, but they are decent laptop at good prices.</p>
<p>IBM and Apple make the absolute best but you pay for it.</p>
<p>Some dell systems arent so bad, but if you are trying to save money...buy a desktop or a refurbished laptop from a good manufacturer.</p>
<p>Keep this in mind, although my knowledge may be outdater on this matter..</p>
<p>If you don't have your laptop plugged directly into an outlet, it will only consume the amount of electricity it needs to run, so your 2.4 GHz laptop is rarely running at 2.4 GHz. </p>
<p>I would like to get a laptop, but I would need to spend like, less than one hundred right now.</p>
<p>i heard that there could be problems that slow down the computer. and that they are quite heavy. do IBMs cost a lot more?</p>
<p>The Dell Home lineup is relatively average. Their Inspiron notebook build quality is mostly plastic, and kind of flimsy.</p>
<p>But Dell's Business Latitude lineup is quite well made, definitely close to or right up against the coveted IBM quality benchmark at a considerably reduced price.</p>
<p>However, since we are students and IBM offers a student discount, the pricing isn't all that far apart.</p>
<p>Their Inspiron notebook build quality is mostly plastic</p>
<p>Well, how many laptops can you think of that aren't mostly plastic?
:rolleyes:
Being plastic has nothing to do with build quality.</p>
<p>If you look for deals on Dells from web site like gotapex.com, IBMs student discounts don't even come close. Take a look at brands like Twinhead, Sager or Chem-USA. The company that makes Sager also makes Alienware and VoodooPC laptops, Twinhead is an OEM manufacturer and builds laptops for Sharp, HP, Winbook, and Sony. Chem-USA is made by Compal, who makes Dells, Sharp and Asus laptops. I can't remember the company that makes IBM off the top of my head. IBM sold the brand to them and IBM supplies support services. They are the largest supplier of budget laptops in China, so it will be worth watching what happens in the next few years.</p>
<p>It is interesting to read IAmTheEvilests post, considering that Dell Latitudes were made by Quanta and the Inspirons were made by Compal, Dell recently reversed the contracts for the two - Compal will be making the Latitudes and Quanta will be making Inspirons.</p>
<p>If you're looking for a tough laptop that will take the abuse of a college student, check out the prices on the Twinheads (Panasonic Toughbooks) on the Sams Club web site. You won't be gaming and they use the Intel P4 chip so battery life won't be the greatest, but the prices are pretty nice.</p>
<p>"Well, how many laptops can you think of that aren't mostly plastic?</p>
<p>Being plastic has nothing to do with build quality."</p>
<p>I can think of the 2 manufacturers I would suggest...IBM or Apple</p>
<p>G4 Powerbooks are either titanium or aluminum and IBM makes their laptop shells out of a black coated titanium composite these days.</p>
<p>Just to be clear, IBM is not a manufacturer.</p>
<p>I'll be using a Dell next year, because that's what my school provides for all students. If I run into problems, that's fine, because it's free (or well-hidden in the fees) and the school takes care of any/all problems and replaces it after 2 years. I've used one before, and it seems pretty high quality to me, as long as you don't load it down with crap.</p>
<p>Just to be clear IBM WAS A MANUFACTURER. Now its owned by Lenova who makes the computers.</p>
<p>The only thing I know about Dell is that, if you contact customer service and they tell you to open up your computer, DON'T. It voids the warranty. Tricky bastards, no? :(</p>
<p>Bought a Dell a few years ago. Nothing but problems. Worst customer service EVER! Returned it, bought an Apple Powerbook, and I have to say IT IS ABSOLUTELY THE BEST COMPUTER I HAVE EVER OWNED. I will never ever swtich back to Windows, even if I were offered a million bucks!</p>