Who makes the best laptops?

[RandomFool]

I'm looking into buying a new laptop. I want to get something that can do some limited gaming, nothing more than CS:S at a decent FPS really.

So my question is what company out there puts together a good laptop? All the Dells I've used feel cheap and tend to break. I've seen some decent Toshibas and I hear IBM(Lenovo) is good too. What's a good brand to buy?

 

[coolpurplefan]

I'd go to a store and check out the feel of the keyboard. I had a Toshiba a long time ago and I loved the feel of the keyboard.

 

[Old Hippie]

Lenovo FTW.

 

[Knavish]

Remember lots of laptop makers have a "home user" grade laptop and a business grade laptop. For example, the Dell Inspiron vs. Latitude. The Lenovo Thinkpad is more comparable to the Latitude. I got a latitude from my job, and it's sleeker and sturdier than Inspirons I've played with at the local mall's dell kiosk.

If I was in the market for a sturdy laptop, I'd get a Dell Latitude (630 or 830) or Thinkpad (T60 or T60p ... I guess they're probably up to 61 by now.) I'd also get a 3 year warranty. Unfortunately these are a bit more expensive than "home user" laptops and typically don't offer the highest end graphics chips, unless you get the really high end CAD laptops.

-Knavish

 

[JackBurton]

I've worked with just about every laptop from Dell, IBM, HP, Toshiba and Sony, and my favorite by FAR are the HP business model laptops. I love those things! The HP nc6910p is BAD! Not a gaming machine, but just an overall GREAT laptop.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

This is going to be about as easy as picking the best hard drive manufacturer. But for the sake of arguement, I bought a Toshiba laptop and have been very happy with it. 15" screen (smallest I could find), Solo processor, 1gb RAM. I wanted the weakest laptop I could find to have the best battery life, as it is a laptop just for college. I leave gaming up to my desktop machine.

I would base a laptop purchase on the availablity of drivers for the OS I planned on using--nothing sucks more than doing a reformat to find no drivers available--I hate using restore disks.

 

[Parasitic]

I think HP and Compaq have really come a long way.

 

[TheStu]

I have been impressed with the build quality of the Dell Latitudes that I have seen, and apparently Thinkpads are built like tanks. I have been less than impressed with the few Toshibas that I have seen, they all have seemed to have some sort of little problem that really messes up the overall usability of the machine. My MacBook has held up like a champ, especially considering the crap I put my stuff through. It has been dropped, tossed, hit, and put through all kinds of stuff.

Go for a business model if you want a durable machine, and I second the recommendation for the 3 year warranty

 

[soydios]

I'm writing this on a Lenovo X61t, and I love this thing. Lenovo did the ThinkPad name justice. The keyboard has great feel, no flex, the laptop has a very confidence-inspiring build, and what extra ThinkVantage software it comes with is genuinely useful. I should imagine that this would extend across all ThinkPads. Take a look at a T61p.

 

[zig3695]

Originally posted by: Knavish
Remember lots of laptop makers have a "home user" grade laptop and a business grade laptop. For example, the Dell Inspiron vs. Latitude. The Lenovo Thinkpad is more comparable to the Latitude. I got a latitude from my job, and it's sleeker and sturdier than Inspirons I've played with at the local mall's dell kiosk.

If I was in the market for a sturdy laptop, I'd get a Dell Latitude (630 or 830) or Thinkpad (T60 or T60p ... I guess they're probably up to 61 by now.) I'd also get a 3 year warranty. Unfortunately these are a bit more expensive than "home user" laptops and typically don't offer the highest end graphics chips, unless you get the really high end CAD laptops.

-Knavish

you know what though, i normally always stay away from the bottom-line stuff when i can, but i did get a good deal on my inspiron 1501 and i must say its a huge improvement over my ibmt40. its larger, but MUCH stronger built, more reliable and wifi works much much better. i really dont think people should shy away from the newer inspirons at all, they are excellent machines.

 

[fire400]

sagernotebooks.com, clearly.

if you want reliability, lenovo

crap: toshiba

 

[alimoalem]

ok he wants something that can GAME, NOT a BUSINESS laptop. the Dell Latitude 620/630 or 820/830 and the Thinkpad T60/61 are AMAZING laptops, but NOT for the OP.

i have an HP and it is NOT for gaming. i'm assuming he's going with a 14.1-15.4" laptop.

why hasn't ANYONE mentioned ASUS?

RandomFool, ASUS's laptops are for you. i don't have time to go to sagernotebooks.com but iirc, they have a hefty price premium.

go to newegg.com and get yourself an asus. any budget for better recommendations? you can get this for $1349:

2.00GHz Santa Rosa (newest C2D)
1GB DDR2 (1x1gb so you only need to buy a single stick to upgrade to 2gb)
160GB 5400rpm hdd
8600M GS GPU
DVD-RW
webcam, bluetooth, etc.

if you're willing to go with the older C2D CPUs, there's a lot of deals with X1700's/Go7700's

 

[Scouzer]

Asus sucks balls. I can't even get rid of my worthless old A8Js for any price...

 

[zig3695]

dell has their new laptops out!

 

[coolVariable]

Dell Latitudes.
Best bang for the buck.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: zig3695
dell has their new laptops out!

You are really over the moon about Dell Laptops But then again, I am coo-coo for MacBooks

 

[Genesis15]

Acer actually makes really good and affordable laptops.... I believe my friend bought a Acer laptop that had:

2GB DDR2-800
Geforce 7700 256MB
150gb 7200rpm hitachi
Core 2 duo (not sure the type/size, decent one)
Windows Vista Home


and it ran for like 6 hours gaming and could play Source and other games on high-highest no problems.. This was a 2,500$ laptop though. came iwht a 5-year warrenty though.

 

[PowerRanger]

Its kind of a hig and miss with Acer IMO. Yes, their laptops are nice for the price, however they're not really built well. And given the OP's views towards cheap feeling laptops...I wouldn't really recommend Acer (maybe unless it was their Ferrari lineup).

I've had experiences with Dells, Acers, and Sonys...and for me, the Dell Latitude (D620) was the winner in terms of build & performance. However the Latitude lineup only has Quadros for video cards, so you'll have to take that into consideration. But for starters you can just get custom drivers from laptopvideo2go I guess.

 

[Hellblast]

Had my Acer Travelmate 802LCI for three years now. Love it. It was expensive at the time, but Acer has a strong line-up of laptops for everbody's need. Sometimes a little tough to compare though, their website isn't the best to make decisions off of.
Acer does have things for everybody's need though, $700 Aspires and $2200 High-end Travelmates and Ferrari.

 

[zig3695]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: zig3695
dell has their new laptops out!

You are really over the moon about Dell Laptops But then again, I am coo-coo for MacBooks

hahaha ok ill chill out about them... really what excites me the most about the new inspirons are the uniform color. it looks like the paint department has be restocked that or a woman took over the design department.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: zig3695

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: zig3695
dell has their new laptops out!

You are really over the moon about Dell Laptops But then again, I am coo-coo for MacBooks

hahaha ok ill chill out about them... really what excites me the most about the new inspirons are the uniform color. it looks like the paint department has be restocked that or a woman took over the design department.

Just messin with you man, it was just interesting that a bunch of your latest posts were talking about the new inspirons, which I agree are a bit snazzier looking than their predeccesors, I still think that Apple has the best design, but it is all opinion anyway.

 

[zig3695]

im surprised you compare apple notebooks to inspirons. its like ferraris to volkswagons, no? if i had the money i would definitely buy something better then an inspiron, but i didnt and just happened to pick up a cheap dell. i wasnt expecting much, but as its turning out this machine is fantastic. much much MUCH better quality then i expected for a $600 dual core 2ghz 1gb 80gig vistahp and ati gfx laptop. 9-cell battery too! only a one year warranty, but its going to be hard for me to not get my moneys worth out of this... especially when most t40's and such are still $400 used off ebay (t40's imo are flimsy and weak, but nice otherwise)

 

[Oil]

Check out the Sager NP2090/Compal IFL90 (same laptop). Powernotebooks.com or xoticpc.com are good sites to check it out. A high quality 15.4" notebook that is capable of gaming with its DX10 GPU

 

[D1gger]

How about the Lenovo notebooks?

I have used the old IBM Thinkpads and loved them, but I have had no experience with the new models from Lenovo.

I was considering a Lenovo 3000 N100 for my son for a graduation gift, but I haven't heard anything about their new products.

 

[TheStu]

I have read that the 3000 series laptops were the budget line of machines, hence why they do not carry the thinkpad name. I am unsure if they are on the level of the thinkpad lines when it comes to build quality and whatnot.