The ::Curls:: is wanting a laptop for home use. I was thinking about getting one of the Asus Eee's, but I just saw this one this morning -
LINKIE
Comments?
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The ::Curls:: is wanting a laptop for home use. I was thinking about getting one of the Asus Eee's, but I just saw this one this morning -
LINKIE
Comments?
A laptop is a laptop... The bigger questions are who will service it and provide parts? Will the company be around in a couple of years?
The specs look decent. I'd recommend more memory for Vista. Anything you can do to minimize swapping to virtual memory will save you battery time.
Gateway as a company blows. I will never buy another computer from them after my one and only experience.
Funny this should come up as this morning I am attempting, again, to get Gateway to honor their warranty on a laptop that lasted less than 3 months. Go to ripoffreport.com or google "gateway customer service" and you'll find lots more.
3 out of 3 thumbs down. Gateway is out. Thanks guys.
This is why I refuse to ever buy gateway.
<Rant ON>
We ordered a refurbed computer from gateway for my brother. They billed our CC. A couple of days later we get a notice that the computer was not available. The day after that a NEW computer shows up at our house. I looked at the invoice and realized the assholes charged the full price of the new computer to my wifes CC on top of the other charge and opened a line of credit in her name without our authorization. (Of course this put the CC way over the limit) I went ballistic and spent 1.5 hours on the phone screaming at people until they reversed the charges, closed the line of credit and sent an RMA for the computer we did not order.
The really fucked up part is the next day the origional computer (the one they said was not available) showed up. The only saving grace was that they screwed up and refunded a lot more $$ than the second computer was so we only paid about half the cost of the refurbed unit.
This is why I will tell everyone I know for the rest of my life not to buy Gateway. And given what I do for a living, my opinion holds a lot of weight with the hardware purchasing descisions in the companies I work for.
I have already talked my previous employeer and my current empoyeer out of using gateway products.
<rant off>
This brings up a good topic - Mel and I were recently shopping for laptops as well. Here’s what we’re looking for:
- Wireless web surfing at home
- Moderate Excel and Powerpoint use*
- Light video editing (now that I have a camera for the car)
- Decent battery life so we can use it as a DVD player on trips
- I'd like to have one with a 10-key keypad, like some of the current HP models
We're looking to spend less than $600. Any recommendations in this price range?
* - We already own a copy of Office, so do not need the software bundled with the laptop
Do you need a real laptop or just a surfing/email computer? There's a huge gap in computing power/ram/hard drive space between a real laptop and netbook. If you need to do any real work or anything graphic intensive you probably need a full scale laptop. The Atom N270 processor in most of the netbooks aren't powerful enough to run stuff like HD video/photoshop etc.
I just bought a Dell Inspiron Netbook from the outlet (plus 15% coupon code) a few weeks ago. 12" display, 1.6 Atom processor, 1 GB ram, 80 GB harddrive for $340 incl tax and shipping. If would reccomend the Dell or there are some newer netbook models out there with LED backlight and 6+ hours of battery life (like the MSI Wind).
The 9-12" Netbooks have come a long way from the original EEE PC (was a POS 7" plastic toy) but I think they still have some big improvements in the future.
My daughter has a older version of that Gateway she got it X-Mas before last it has held up to the torment and constant use from a 13 year old girl.
She does everything Altian wants to do with a laptop plus more.
For the price we paid we figured we couldn't go wrong and so far we are correct!
I would prefer a real laptop. I'd also like something with a 15"+ screen.Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmosMpower
a "real laptop" to me implies < 15" screen and for DANG sure no 10 key on the side. This isn't 1985 with the keyboard that pops out with a curtly cable :)
I won't own another portable with a screen bigger than 13.3".
As with cars, weight kills. Those huge 15-17" laptops get terrible battery life, weigh a TON, get hot and are a pain to use portably (like in the car or on a plane).
I currently am using (and have been for a year or so now) a Dell XPS m1330 with the LED screen. Small, light, powerful, good battery life. I use it every day for developing software, so it's not a slouch. I bought it refurbed from Dell with a coupon. I had some issues, but XPS support rocked my socks off, sending a technician to the office and my house every time anything needed done. All XPS reps are Americans in America and speak real english.
The wife uses a Lenovo x61s (she's had it a bit over a year too). It's smaller (10") and doesn't have an optical drive and has poor XGA resolution (1024x768), but, get this, she can go 10+ hours between charges of the battery. Lenovo support has been great, replacing the battery (twice! once because we asked them to and once because she dropped the laptop and cracked the shell of the battery), hard drive (from the same drop that cracked the battery) and keyboard (from abuse by a then 2 year old). No questions asked, just overnighted a new part.
Not sure about 15+" screens but I bought my T61 Lenovo Thinkpad with a 2.0 Dual core processor, 2GB, 120GB HD for about $600 a while back. Check some bargain websites, there are always deals.Quote:
Originally Posted by altiain
www.fatwallet.com
www.slickdeals.net
www.bensbargains.net
www.gotapex.com (my cousin runs this one)
Add this one to the list -Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmosMpower
http://www.techbargains.com/
My favorite laptop is a Fujitsu ultra-portable. Unfortunately it is limited to 384Meg RAM and is just not up to the task of modern apps. I have had it since 2003 and its a great little machine. 10.5 Wide format screen. built in cd/dvd, external vid, 1gh low voltage proc. 7 hrs battery life. great to use as a terminal for remote work.
If it were just for me, I'd probably opt for something smaller as well, but my wife will be using this as a "portable desktop" more than anything else. As a teacher she inputs a lot of numerical data, and she (and I) both prefer using a 10-key for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by goofygrin
http://www.daydeal.com/files/images1...ruc_keypad.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by altiain
or... get a monitor and a full keyboard for when she's using it as a desktop on a desk.
As a traveling consultant I look pretty funny with a keyboard sticking out of my backpack as I walk into a building, but I won't type on a regular keyboard for long stretches unless I really have to.
Plus my keyboards already have my funk on them... and funk is good.
http://www.wineandrosesband.com/imag...tyles/funk.jpg
Thanks guys, but I don't want to buy another monitor and a keyboard. I want a laptop. For less than $600. It does not need to be capable of taking over the world. I am not a software developer, and I don’t really care if I don’t have the superzoomiest laptop on the planet. :wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by goofygrin
A 10 key would be nice, but it's not a deal breaker. If it is not physically connected to the laptop she will lose it or complain about having to keep up with it and neither of those outcomes will make me happy, so I’d prefer it.
She would prefer 15”+ screen.
I don't want to pay more than $600 for the whole package (and preferably a lot less than that).
Does anyone have any suggestions that fit these parameters?
I do, but you probably wouldn't like them. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by altiain
I don't know of anyone who puts a 10 key pad on a laptop.
compaq 17" laptops have the number pad. They are HUGE though.
What about this one? Any of you wiseguys have any input on this one?
It is going to be over $600 after tax?
Specs look decent to me. Could have a slightly faster processor but that will more than suffice for what you said you need to do with it. 3GB ram is nice and the hard drive is a good size. 6.6 pounds is quite a heffer though, if you travel much you will hate lugging this thing around after a while. Around the house and occasional travel should be ok.Quote:
Originally Posted by altiain
I bet you can find it cheaper than at Best Buy though. Look for a deal on the bargain websites and try and use Microsoft Live Search cash back if it qualifies. I think it's around 10% off right now.
I got no issues with it.
My last laptop was a Compaq and I was pleasantly surprised with how well it worked out. I used it for three years without an issue and sold it on craigslist in about an hour for $300.
Personally I'd want a 7200 RPM drive rather than a 5400 RPM. Other than that it looks OK
You may be surprised that this company actually makes at least 30% of the laptop of the world! Actually, more than 90% of the laptops are made in Taiwan by 2 or 3 companies! They have been designing and making them for all the name brand companies. Their business model is "out source their branding!". They are just getting into branding their own machines when they could not get any of the brand name company to interest in the sub $500 machines. The margin on this class of machine is less than paper thin.Quote:
Originally Posted by channelmaniac
I love my Toshiba... a bit big, but after 6 years its still running strong. was $500 at best buy on sale back then.... nowadays you can find a current version for about the same price.
Also, the roomate has an Asus 904 HA EEE, and he loves it. Ultra portable, keyboard is big enough, battery lasts forever (7 hours) and it came loaded with windows XP (boo on vista) for $320 shipped from New egg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220442
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218041998438
10 Key pad on the right
15.6"
Decent computer
$430
For general browsing/email, you won't feel that much of a difference in processing speed. I noticed slightly upgrading from a 1.6 ghz core 2 duo to a T5400 2.16 ghz core 2 duo, but negligible.
My bro just got me a Toshiba Satellite with the same spec as OP's Gateway, but I returned it and paid the difference to get a Lenovo Y530 (I had to get in store credit). I had to pay $599 in store, but I've seen this as low as $540 off some sites (w/ T5400 processor, not the T640), and with computers, prices will always drop.
Oh, I have to mention that this laptop is veryyyyy pretty; brush aluminum palm/frame inside and a Dolby Home Theater Sound w/ 4 Speakers and Subwoofer :D.
http://www.dealigg.com/story-Lenovo-IdeaPad-Y530-Laptop
brandonmpace, you don't get it, do you? We're not actually supposed to answer altiain's question, we're just suppose to keep giving him advice that he didn't ask for (i.e. "too heavy, big screen is bad, you can't have a 10 key, etc.). :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by brandonmpace
Well done Mr. pace... finally a direct/useful answer to a direct/specific question.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brandonmpace
Thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by Kestrel
Bought one of these today. So far so good and the screen is brilliant and as wide as my 2005 17" laptop, just not as tall because of the HD ratio. I decided to get with the times and start learning firefox while learning Vista. I have been looking at laptops a while, thanks brandonpace for the steer.Quote:
Originally Posted by brandonmpace
You're welcome. I work on people's computers all the time as well as build desktops for people so I keep up with prices.Quote:
Originally Posted by creek
Computer work is one of the few things I do for money right now. Currently looking for a job though :( My dad doesn't want to pay for my insurance anymore.
Great move going with firefox. I hope it works well for you