What is the BEST Laptop currently available?

[Fermunda]

Hey all, a little input would be appreciated. I'm just getting into laptops, and thinking about getting rid of my fully loaded desktop in search of a laptop that will get me as close as possible to my desktop. So I'm looking for your opinions of what the "Biggest, Baddest " laptop available is.

I'm currently runnin a
T-bird 800 @ 945'ish
512ram
55g's worth of hd
DVD, CDRW ...blah blah...the works.

Thanks!

 

[Pardus]

This really depends on how much you can afford to spend. Sony, Toshiba, Compaq are good models when I think of laptops.

From your wants of 512megs of ram, 55gig hd, dvd and cdrw.. plan to spend at least $4000 for that setup.

 

[hausdave]

Toshiba is tops for durability.....Compaq has some good values right now. I also am a big fan of Dell laptops (only laptops)

 

[Fermunda]

Well, money's not an issue right now (yeah right) I'm just fact finding right now....I'll have to go w/less ram and hd space, the concern is performance. I would just like it fast and able to multitask well. Also the ability of using games (flight sim's primarly) is a great concern, as this will also be used as a simulator station when i'm on the go.

 

[aircooled]

IBM Thinkpad

 

[CyrusTCH]

Toshiba 2805
one of them comes with GeforeGo with 16MB for your gaming purpose

 

[Argo]

I have thinkpad T20. It's pretty fast, however, no laptop will ever be close to the speed of the desktop. First of all, laptops have POS 4200rpm hds. This has HUGE impact on performance.

 

[KpocAlypse]

IBM Thinkpad has my vote overall, but Toshibia is a close second. MY question to you is this, How much of an object is $$$?
Getting all of your desktop into a lap is gonna be a prob. I know the Toshiba Sat. Pro 4600 would fit the bill quite nicely,except for the HD space, good luck getting over 20-30 gig. BUT the graphics chip isn't the new gforce, so you gaming performance isn't gonna be up to par. If you looking for games, wait till we see some Nivida chips start appearing.

Toshiba 4600

 

[shawnmos]

I would have to say Toshiba, but IBM and Compaq laptops are nice too.

 

[corkyg]

That also depends on what you want out of it . . . a full desktop replacement or a lean and mean travel machine. All brands have both genres.

The only one I could get with everything I wanted was a Gateway 9300cx . . . starting with an awesome 15.6-inch TFT display.

It has not been a disappointment . . . it has served perfectly now for 6 months . . . never crashed or locked up with either 98SE or ME.

It has Firewire, USB, LS-120, 20 GB drive, 256 MB, LAN, SCSI, and a DVD. What else is there?

 

[corkyg]

That also depends on what you want out of it . . . a full desktop replacement or a lean and mean travel machine. All brands have both genres.

The only one I could get with everything I wanted was a Gateway 9300cx . . . starting with an awesome 15.6-inch TFT display.

It has not been a disappointment . . . it has served perfectly now for 6 months . . . never crashed or locked up with either 98SE or ME.

It has P-3 Moble 750 MHz, Firewire, USB, LS-120, 20 GB drive, 256 MB, LAN, SCSI, and a DVD. What else is there?

 

[Zan186]

Dell Inspiron 8000 is hands down the best bang for the buck for what you are looking for. This notebook is faster than any other out at this time. It uses a desktop chipset, which aids in performance. The Ultra 15" is awesome, even the 15" SVGA is awesome. Video Card with 32 megs does everything, dvd, video, gaming etc! The reviews on this notebook, call it a desktop replacement, I bought one am a very happy with my choice. Only mistake I made was going with a 10 gig hard drive instead of the 32 meg which runs at 5400 rpm instead of the 4200rpm that most notebook drives run at. It has just about everything you would ever want in a notebook! Even can run multiple displays with it, which for gaming and buisness uses are great. Only knock on this notebook is the construction is rather weak. Let's just say I wouldnt park a car on it!
We all know that notebook computers are delicate pieces of equipment, so we dont expect them to survive major trauma. You drop a toshiba or IBM 3 feet on the sidewalk it is gonna break. The Inspirion is even more delicate, but durable enough for everyday use. To be honest I dont think the outer casing on any notebook provide too much protection. The Dell however does creak a bit when you pick it up. But for what you are looking for, I would say the Dell 8000 is the way to go. You want performance in a small package that is portable and affordable. Yes IBM and Toshiba are also very good and Toshiba might close the speed gap a bit with a Gefore video card, but then again the Radeon is coming to Dell from ATI. IBM are nice but way expensive for what you get! Compaq and Gateway are decent but I would go Dell over them any day. Sony well they are just like IBM, pay a ton for nothing more than a name!

 

[j@cko]

definitely IBM Thinkpad...

 

[chaevans]

The Dells I've used are good and inexpensive but tons of small plastic pieces tend to fall off eventually. If you are not going to tote it around much then they should be good. IBMs are solid. They must use Corinthian plastic or something because nothing falls off these babies. Downside? - Heavy, very heavy. Toshiba's seem to be indestructible too. Dropped one from 3 feet onto hard concrete at Heathrow right before a presentation and no issues. They look good too. Sony superslims look the best but I've never used one. Incredibly light and thin but I've heard a lot of issues with heat dissipation cause issues.

 

[calubarn]

Just bought a dell 8000 tonight. Thanks for the post on the hard drive size. I went with 10 gb drive originally but if it is not 5400, then I will go with the 32 gb as well. I will post when I get the system how the FULL EXPERIENCE went. Never shopped Dell before.

 

[Quickfingerz]

The biggest lagger in laptops is the hard drive. If you get the laptop with the fastest possible hard drive then it's cool.

 

[luv2chill]

I'm also a very happy Dell Inspiron 8000 user. The battery life isn't the greatest but that's to be expect for all the capabilities this thing has. I like having the fixed DVD drive. This means I can have two batteries, battery & floppy, or battery & CDRW installed at the same time. I opted for the 14" screen, but it's still gorgeous. It's also got more ports than you'll ever need. Firewire, 2 USB, S-Video (and composite), even S/PDIF out, plus all the usual ports. I also appreciate the built-in 56K modem and 10/100 Ethernet. Saves my precious PCMCIA slots for other stuff.

Plus Dell support is great. Three year, next-day on-site warranty. Can't beat that.

l2c

 

[Shockwave]

I am thinking of getting the Dell 8000 as well. My biggest concern is gaming, so thats where I am focusing. It looks like the Dell is the only one that has a 32 meg card, the ATI M-4. So, my question is how good is this? Can anyone provide some benchmarks using ATI's video card? Like fps in Q3, etc. The only reason i am looking at the Dell is due to the video card, because almost everybody else uses a 8 mge, 16 if your lucky, usually S3 chipset. So, opinions? Is the Dell 8000 with a 16 meg ATI M4 gonna let me play Q3 at say 800x600, or should I go with the 32 meg?
Thoughts / benchmarks would be most appreciated!!

 

[thegreatjeff]

I think Dell is the best computer maker.

 

[Fermunda]

Thanks for all your input guys/gals I appreciate it! I'll read thru all the reply's and post any q's for ya.

What about the sony Vaio w/the swapable drives? Seems like a nice option??

Thanks

 

[jblaschke]

another vote for IBM Thinkpad

 

[borealiss]

tibook.

 

[CoolTech]

www.apple.com/powerbook

new G4 notebook, hands down

 

[Pardus]

oh yea..thinkpad and dell those are good too

 

[jhouston]

I would wait on the Geforce 2 Go mobile solution for laptops. It looks like gamers will finally have a reason to buy a laptop when manufacturers start shipping these babies. I believe Toshiba is getting ready to ship a Satellite model with this new mobile graphics processor. The Geforce 2 Go is going to give ATI a real test.