Decent Laptop

[Loki047]

Im looking for a decent laptop for school, mostly because space is limited and probably because i will not be able to work in my dorm. I was looking at the Compaq Presario 3045us, in past i know there were problems with Compaq stuff, is that still the case? Im looking to spend around 1500 and i really liked the big Screen (16in) I really dont need great graphics, because i really hope to be studying more than playing video games. I sorta need a big screen for the CAD ill most likely be doing. If this notebook is a huge mistake and COmpaq is still bad even after HP let me know. If you have suggestions for around my price i would love it.. THanks!

Edit* I wanted to add this link in
http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-1027-404-21157202.html?tag=byline

[DoM-aL]

http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11207346&m=488&cat=494&scat=495

[Loki047]

oh and it comes with XP Home. I personally use XP Pro and my school wants me to use it too, Would there be a problem installing Pro? I dont know anything about notebooks really other than what information is easily transferred over from desktops which i havent been on top of in about two years.. Oh and by the way, even though im a new member i used to read the forums ALOT and i even joined the folding thing about a year and half ago just to help the cause and you guyse out. 224 and still counting!

[Loki047]

Are toshibas really more reliable than compaqs?

[DoM-aL]

The upgrade from home to pro would be simple. Just an easy upgrade. I've done it on 2 of my new laptops and they've worked fine. I really cant tell you about reliability between compaqs and toshiba laptops, but my cousin bought a laptop last summer. He bought a p4 1.6 Toshiba. Seems to be working fine for him now. He previously had a few problems with some hp laptops.

[Loki047]

Oh ok thanks, what laptops are you running? DO you like em?

[Loki047]

Oh and for laptops AMD or P4? Or even centrino, but all i see that is a lower clock speed, so it saves more batter, but thats my oversimplified version.

[DoM-aL]

I'm running a p3 700 Mhz Hp Laptop which i love and a p4 2.4 ghz HP laptop which i hate. Stay away from the newer hp models they have horrible battery life and their performance is crap.

[Loki047]

Cool thanks DOM-AL

[Aranyic]

The centrinos will outpreform a p4 easily. I've seen some reviews which show the 1.6 equal to the 2.4 ghz p4 on most benchmarks.

I'll see if I can hunt down some of them.

[Loki047]

OH wow, well that changes things.. Well how about i change this thread a little bit then... WHat laptop would people recommend? Im going into mechanical engineering next fall and will most likely have to cad some stuff.

I would prefer it to have a 16in screen, and thats pretty much all my stuff, and if it doesnt have a 16in but is really amazing, then that will work. Oh and i only have 1500 :)

[dNA3D]

mr. FU, a former Icrontic resident now has a Powerbook G4 17" and he's loving every single bit of it. He claims it to be a rather effective chick magnet, though I struggle to believe his assertion that it really is. Its really an overkill though. The 13/15" will do great as a dormroom computer.

Aranyic: Check your PM-box

[DoM-aL]

Originally posted by dNA3D
mr. FU, a former Icrontic resident now has a Powerbook G4 17" and he's loving every single bit of it. He claims it to be a rather effective chick magnet, though I struggle to believe his assertion that it really is. Its really an overkill though. The 13/15" will do great as a dormroom computer.

Aranyic: Check your PM-box

None of the Powerbooks are near $1500 and the powerbooks come in 12/15/17. They are ok machines. I've used one before but I never really got into the osX part of the machine. Stick with windows.

[Loki047]

Yeah but i find it easier to read, ive worked on all ranges of laptops but i found the 16in were the easest to read, i would love that 17 Power book, but i simply dont have the $cash$

[Matt]

Originally posted by Loki047
i would love that 17 Power book, but i simply dont have the $cash$
wouldnt we all

[Geeky1]

before you buy anything, go to www.powernotebooks.com

Mine's excellent...

[Enverex]

Just make sure you dont buy a "Sager" or an "Alienware", unless you like hauling bricks around that is, top end performance, but Jesus, you pay for it, you cant walk far with it, though it could be useful for army training or keeping in shape :(

NS

[Aranyic]

I'm really looking at one of the centrino based notebooks from powernotebooks.

1.5ghz, 15" display, 512 ram, 40gig hd for $1,700

[Loki047]

TOshiba has a P4 2.5, 512, 60gig for 1800, i mean i dont care about weight, this is a desktop replacement, and im a 215 lbs carrying 10lbs isnt going to be a big ordeal.

[Matt]

Originally posted by Aranyic
I'm really looking at one of the centrino based notebooks from powernotebooks.

1.5ghz, 15" display, 512 ram, 40gig hd for $1,700

isnt there a problem with centrino's locking up on a network or something?

[Loki047]

Does Toshibas make decent laptops? Cause compaq sucks... at least they used to...

[Matt]

Originally posted by Loki047
Does Toshibas make decent laptops? Cause compaq sucks... at least they used to...
Compaq still make's crap computers.

[Aranyic]

I've never had any problems using thier laptops, never used any for long periods of time though..

[Enverex]

Slightly OT:

My mate was bragging for ages about how he was going to buy an Alienware and stuff and him and his mates were trying to justify the extra £500 for a green case (their response was "oh, well they performance test it for weeks") anyway, he comes in the next day and is like, ha, I got my new computer...

Me: Yeah, and?
Him: I got a Compaq, From PC World
Me: HhahhahahHHahahahahahahHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHA
/me dies
and I believe I actually pissed myself right there and then.

< /ot >

:p
NS

[Loki047]

So does the Toshiba seem alright? Anyone have any problems with that setup? Satellite 1955-S805 Notebook thats what im getting, and my girlfiend wants the Satellite 5205-S505 Notebook

Please let me know what you guys think. Thanks DoM-aL for putting me onto the Toshiba :)

Mine
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=300035&pfp=BROWSE

My Girlfriends
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=300037&pfp=BROWSE

[Geeky1]

I spent 2 years around tohsiba laptops as part of a laptop program @ high school. IMO, they're crap. They're almost as bad as Compaq. It may be that they recommended the cheaper models, but they were poorly made, slow, used cheap components, and were constantly having problems. I'm just glad I didn't buy one... I'd seriously look @ powernotebooks first... Sager, Alienware, and Voodoo, (along with a whole bunch of other companies) buy their notebooks from Clevo, and I've been very impressed with mine. It runs a tad hot, but the screen is incredible, the speakers are some of the best I've heard on a laptop, and it's stood up to me for nearly a year now, so it can't be all that bad :D

[Loki047]

I just have issues buying onlines, espeically when i cant mess around with the Laptops, but mostly for my GF she is jsut starting to realize what features she likes, and what she likes and where she likes it... Please dont take that out of context. Im afraid of ordering a laptop online because of the variables involved.

[Aranyic]

Geeky what screen size did you get on your notebook/how is the keyboard size?

[Geeky1]

Loki... I see. In your case then, you may be better off going to a retail store. I'd take a look at Sony in that case, as I've been impressed by their notebooks in the past.

Aryanic, mine's a np5620, which is a few models behind the 5670 or whatever it is they have now... it's the same chassis tho. It's a 15" UXGA, and the keyboard is almost the width of the notebook- the keyboard itself is almost exactly 12" wide. I haven't had any problems with the size of the keys or the spacing or anything like that...

[Loki047]

So you like the sager powerbook stuff? Im actually really looking at them but they seem extremely cheap, which bothers me, only because im paranoid like that... Is it possible to set up a vote.. TOshiba versus POwerbook, cause those power books look sweet. Alienware is just too expensive

[DoM-aL]

My cousin had an issue installing SP1 on his toshiba. Everytime he installed he lost sound. He tried reinstalling sound drivers but itt didnt work so he is still on xp home sp 0 :/. I dont like the way his keyboard is made but o well. I like the way hp's setup their keyboards but o well. If anything take this advice from me... When you buy a laptop make sure its quality because you're basicly stuck with it. Make sure everything about the laptop fits you. Don't cheap out on the laptop. Look into everything and research other forums to see if anyone else had any problems with their laptops dying out on them.

[Enisada]

I've been having some good results with Asus's line oif notebooks also some good results with Toshiba. I think you should go with a labtop with a Radeon 9600 Mobility. Cause you never know when you are going to want to play a few games on the side. And with the fastest mobility chip on the market then you can't go wrong.

[Geeky1]

Loki, yea, I've been very happy with the Sager I have, and we bought my mom a PowerPro from Powernotebooks too, and she's happy with it. The PowerPros are OEM ASUS units by the way, so they're very good as well. I had a hard time believing what they claimed when I was in the market for a notebook last time as well ($1000 less for this thing than a Dell, and it's faster? c'mon guys, gimme a break...) but I looked them up on resellerratings, I read about the sager units in laptop magazines, and I decided to buy one. It's one of the best, if not the best, notebooks I've ever used. My only complaints about it would be it's weight (~10lbs), it's battery life (1.5-2hrs per battery @ most) and that it runs a bit hot, although all 3 of those are to be expected since it uses a desktop cpu. Overall tho, I'm very happy with it. I recently got it to run the ATi Catalyst 3.4 drivers as well, and that put some fire back into it- it now does ~5300 in 3dmark 2001se, which isn't bad for a radeon 7500m... :D

[Loki047]

Has there been any problems with their warranty and tech support stuff, I mean i can usually figure out most software issues and hardware conflicts and such. But when something fails are they on the ball?

[Enverex]

I had fast responses with their tech team and they were human responses, not corportate garbage or automated.

NS

[Geeky1]

none whatsoever. I had to rma the primary battery because it was acting up... I called them up, got a real live human being (that understood english, no less!) I got an RMA number within 5 minutes on the phone, sent the battery off, and got a replacement a few days later with a note saying that they tested the old one, found nothing wrong, but replaced it anyhow.

Powernotebooks also has easily the best tech support of any company I've ever dealt with, in person or online. I have no qualms recommending Sager or Powernotebooks to anyone and everyone...

[Geeky1]

oh, one thing I should mention tho, is that the finish on the plastic isn't as durable as I'd like... after using mine for a year, it's starting to wear off in the area on either side where my arms usually are... not a big deal for me, but if you're really anal about aesthetics, it may bug you...

Here's a pic of what I mean...

[Loki047]

Hey if your biggest gripe is the longevity of their paint job, then thats a good sign :) Well looks like that toshiba is for my girlfriend :) Is there anyone in the Chicago Land Area that would let me mess with their laptop? We can do it over lunch (my treat) or something

[Loki047]

Oh Geek, can you take some more pictures? I would really like to see some hi res shots, cause the ones on the website arent that great. Thanks!

[Massive_gas]

IBM laptops are good

[Loki047]

But IBM are too expensive, dont offer enough toys

[Massive_gas]

Originally posted by Loki047
But IBM are too expensive, dont offer enough toys

?!?!?!??! expensive?!?!?!? :eek:

[Enisada]

No, Alienware and Voodoo are some expensive labtops...but they sure do look yummy...

[Loki047]

Compared to other stuff you guys really think that IBM is competition?

[Loki047]

I mean for the same price they do not have the ATI video with 128, they have hald the ram, and a smaller screen, while power books offers all that

[Geeky1]

More pictures loki? Hope ya got broadband, coz I maxed out my 1.5MP digital camera... :D

Bottom... it's got a copper heatsink with 2 ~45mm blowers, plus a really small fan for cooling some kind of power circuitry or something... speaking of power, it's got a 20v/6a power brick... :eek:

The cd-rw/dvd is in the bay across from the heatsink, which is not exactly modular (u have to unscrew 1 screw to remove the drive), with a secondary battery in the bay in front of it, next to the primary battery... the hdd is below the modular bay where the 2nd battery is in this pic...

[Geeky1]

Heatsink side

[Geeky1]

front... note the cracked "audio dj" lcd- I dunno how this happened, coz I've never dropped it, but it's not exactly a big deal... who plays cds when the computer is off anyhow? :rolleyes:

[Geeky1]

drive side

[Loki047]

oh wow these are nice.. Infact im watching u post them... Watch as u go... Very nice!

[Geeky1]

backside... line in, line out, optical out, firewire, 2 usb, 2 more usb, modem/lan, VGA, parallel, PS2

[Geeky1]

open... note 1600x1200 15" screen :D

[Massive_gas]

^^^ hey, that's my post :)

[Geeky1]

someone asked about the keyboard...

[Enisada]

Thats a sweet looking setup you got there...

[Geeky1]

And finally, I said it got a bit hot... well, here's how I take care of that little issue...

[Loki047]

Is that really necessary to disappate the heat?

[Loki047]

THanks for all the pictures!!! Definitly helps the process

[Geeky1]

thanks for the compliments guys... I don't think it's too bad (for a P4 that is... :D ) but the price surprised me... I bought that thing last June (it's a year old this week in fact) and it was about $3400, but that included:
2.4GHz P4 512k/400MHz
512MB (2x 256MB) PC2100 DDR SODIMMs
15" UXGA 1600x1200 LCD
ATi Radeon 7500m 64MB
40GB Toshiba 4200rpm hdd
8/4/8/24/8 CD-RW/DVD

WinXP Pro
Office XP Pro

2 extra batteries
extra ac adapter
300w TrippLite DC-AC inverter
2 cases (1 standard, 1 optional)
a bunch of free software including staroffice
a 3 year extended warranty
2 day shipping


A similar Dell system would've been slower (2.0GHz P4-M), $500-$1000 more, and wouldn't have had all the extras...

I'm happy with it... and since I got it to run the Catalyst 3.4s, it's now doing a very respectable 5300 in 3dmark2001se... it runs Black & White @ 1600x1200/32-bit, max. detail without a problem...

[LIN]

originally posted by DoM-aL:

My cousin had an issue installing SP1 on his toshiba. Everytime he installed he lost sound. He tried reinstalling sound drivers but itt didnt work so he is still on xp home sp 0 :/.

He did uninstall the original sound drivers prior to SP1 install, I take it?


Nice deal on the 45mm fans, Geeky1! Laptops get heated rather quickly.


Toshiba here, BTW, Loki047.


LIN

[Geeky1]

Loki, no that fan isn't necessary, but it gets lukewarm to the touch without it, and I don't like typing on a lukewarm surface... :D Besides, I run F@H on it, and under full load, without some kind of aux. cooling, the exhaust air is 140*F+, which makes me nervous... altho I should note that it gets that hot when gaming and stuff too, and I've never had stability problems, even without that fan... I'm just paranoid... :D

[Geeky1]

oh, I've also left it on accidentally in it's bag for 2hrs before, and it's totally unharmed... it got damn hot in there, but the laptop itself was totally unaffected, probably partially due to the clock-throttling on the p4...

[Loki047]

Oh thats cool! Well i really havent seen anything that compares to the price or whats offered! So unless something completely changes my mind i will hopefully be the owner of a 16in Sager! Looks like those Sparco Roadster seats will just have to wait!

[Loki047]

I think my GF will go with the TOshiba because she can touch it a feel it, im willing to take a leap of faith!

[Geeky1]

Aww man... we talked you into the Sager huh? Now what am I gonna do? You'll have a better laptop than me. I'm jealous already. ;) :D

[Loki047]

It just seems to good to be true, but after looking on their positive ebay rating... Its hard to ignore it

[Geeky1]

Oh that reminds me... I e-mailed these guys about 5 times before I ordered from them... the LONGEST I waited was 2 days... 2-4 HOURS was more like the normal turnaround time, and I asked some really annoying, in-depth questions that salespeople tend to hate- like what kind of thermal compound Sager uses on their notebooks, and whether a BIOS flash is planned to upgrade the 5620 to support 533 bus CPUs, and I always got courteous answers where they at least tried to answer my questions, or admitted that they didn't know for sure...

[Enverex]

I have the same laptop as Geeky1, and they are built well. I dropped mine from 6 foot onto a solid contrete floor...... it made a minor crack on the corner and thats it, no other damage at all (remember this Laptop is 10lbs).

The top is getting a bit worn (from all the stuff in my bag) but other than that its faultless.

Oh, and dont worry about it overheating, if it reaches a critical level it will just turn itself off. It wont melt or burst into flames or anything like that.

NS

[Loki047]

Alright well it looks like my decisions made :) Do you guys have any negatives about the laptops? The weight issue doesnt bother me. But what else is there?

[Geeky1]

just battery life (~1hr doing games, ~2hrs doing word processing per battery)

[Loki047]

is that for two batteries or for one? ANd does having two batteries double ur life, asuuming they are equal. ? THanks for answering all my questions Geeky

[Geeky1]

No problem. Thats for one battery. Having two batteries essentially doubles the life, yes. The modular batteries are 3400mah and the internal battery is 4000. I may be wrong, but I don't think they offer a modular battery for the 16" and 15.7" models, and I believe that the internal battery is screwed in, but I may be wrong about that. You may want to e-mail them and ask them about that if battery life is a concern...

However, they do offer a dc-ac inverter for like $50 extra, and I just carry an ac adapter with me and plug it in as much as possible anyhow...

[Loki047]

Ohh now im getting excited.. Yeah ill email them for the rest of my specific question.. THanks for turning my on to Powernotbooks.com

[Loki047]

Geeky what kind of cars are you into?

***Moderator gets upset and steps in***

What??? You completely lost it?
There is a Off Topic Forum for this kind of stuff. Use it. This is not an AOL Chat room.

Let's use our heads folks and keep the subject on topic.

***Moderator resists urge to kill and steps back***

[Loki047]

Would it be alright to post a new thread about my decision to get some more opinions about the laptop?

[Cool Canuck]

Originally posted by Loki047
Would it be alright to post a new thread about my decision to get some more opinions about the laptop?
Why? What is wrong with this thread?

[Enverex]

Originally posted by Cool Canuck

Why? What is wrong with this thread?

they filled it with shit, TBH.

Its been removed now, but the amount that drifted off topic was way out of line, dont do it again.

NS

[Loki047]

Yeah it shifted off topic, but thats what conversations do, and it went back. Please Relax...