Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I've been satisfied with my year old Dell 8300 and am now looking for a
laptop. Is Dell as good a choice as any for a Laptop or are there brands
that are, on average, better quality? Some of the ratings seem to suggest
Toshiba & IBM at the top (and IBM probably too $$$) Most of the ratings
I've seen pertain to performance but don't say much about durability, owner
satisfaction, rate of failures, etc. Probably looking for Pentium M with
Centrino Tech. What else should I be looking for. Not into gaming or
video, just a bit of photo editing, large databases, basic office programs
and internet. I'm not going to be hauling this thing around on a daily
basis, but want decent battery life when I do. Probably don't need much
horsepower but want something that will last a while (hung on to last
desktop for 7 years).

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Be careful with the low-end models from any company (such as the
Inspiron 1200 and 2200 and similar Latitudes), and get a 3-year warranty
with whatever you buy.



Erehwon wrote:
> I've been satisfied with my year old Dell 8300 and am now looking for a
> laptop. Is Dell as good a choice as any for a Laptop or are there brands
> that are, on average, better quality? Some of the ratings seem to suggest
> Toshiba & IBM at the top (and IBM probably too $$$) Most of the ratings
> I've seen pertain to performance but don't say much about durability, owner
> satisfaction, rate of failures, etc. Probably looking for Pentium M with
> Centrino Tech. What else should I be looking for. Not into gaming or
> video, just a bit of photo editing, large databases, basic office programs
> and internet. I'm not going to be hauling this thing around on a daily
> basis, but want decent battery life when I do. Probably don't need much
> horsepower but want something that will last a while (hung on to last
> desktop for 7 years).
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Edward J. Neth" wrote:
>
> Be careful with the low-end models from any company (such as the
> Inspiron 1200 and 2200 and similar Latitudes), and get a 3-year warranty
> with whatever you buy.
>
> <snip>

Not just a long warranty, but also the most comprehensive (e.g., Dell's
Gold Tech Support). If you can, order from Dell's Small Business Division,
as this will give you more support options than from their Home Division.

Yes, Administrator, this is a typical Dellbot Response!

Notan

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

>From the March 2005 Consumer Reports:


Most reliable laptops: 1.Apple,2. Toshiba, 3.Sony, 4.IBM,5. HP, 6.Dell,
7.Compaq, 8.Gateway

Best tech support, laptop: 1.Apple,2. IBM, 3. Toshiba,4. Dell,
5.Gateway, 6.HP,7.Compaq, 8.Sony

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<phoephus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1124314405.627349.81070@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> >From the March 2005 Consumer Reports:
>
>
> Most reliable laptops: 1.Apple,2. Toshiba, 3.Sony, 4.IBM,5. HP, 6.Dell,
> 7.Compaq, 8.Gateway
>
> Best tech support, laptop: 1.Apple,2. IBM, 3. Toshiba,4. Dell,
> 5.Gateway, 6.HP,7.Compaq, 8.Sony
>

Sony in number 3 shocks me. Their rep is terrible. HP makes me laugh.

Love to know their source.

Tom

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I'm going to have to go with Tom on this one.

I won't dispute the Apple claim, but Toshiba, hmmm, me thinks that they're
probably tied with IBM. Sony is definitely not a reliable laptop... HP,
yeah, ummm, is this laptops? desktops? iPaqs? servers?

-gg-

>> From the March 2005 Consumer Reports:
>>
> Most reliable laptops: 1.Apple,2. Toshiba, 3.Sony, 4.IBM,5. HP,
> 6.Dell, 7.Compaq, 8.Gateway
>
> Best tech support, laptop: 1.Apple,2. IBM, 3. Toshiba,4. Dell,
> 5.Gateway, 6.HP,7.Compaq, 8.Sony
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Ok, seriously, I've been shopping for laptops. What is the deal with HP? Are
they really bad? I bought an Inspiron (Dell) about 2.5 years back and the
display went bad recently. I friend of mine who services computers told me
that this was common with Inspirons. Is this true?

Thanks

"Gray Ghost" <grayghost@binarybrewery.comm> wrote in message
news:a1545e692731e8c77178f7ebc222@news.verizon.net...
> I'm going to have to go with Tom on this one.
>
> I won't dispute the Apple claim, but Toshiba, hmmm, me thinks that they're
> probably tied with IBM. Sony is definitely not a reliable laptop... HP,
> yeah, ummm, is this laptops? desktops? iPaqs? servers?
>
> -gg-
>
>>> From the March 2005 Consumer Reports:
>>>
>> Most reliable laptops: 1.Apple,2. Toshiba, 3.Sony, 4.IBM,5. HP,
>> 6.Dell, 7.Compaq, 8.Gateway
>>
>> Best tech support, laptop: 1.Apple,2. IBM, 3. Toshiba,4. Dell,
>> 5.Gateway, 6.HP,7.Compaq, 8.Sony
>>
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The very nature of laptops, regardless of their point of origin, precludes
longevity. A Dell is just as good a choice as any other. Be very careful
about purchasing warranties. Sure, they are handy if something does happen
to your laptop after the usual factory warranty expires, but the chances of
something costly happening to your laptop by the time you buy a new one are
small. Extended warranties are one of the biggest scams in consumer
electronics, audio/video gear and computers.


"Erehwon" <Dont@spam.me> wrote in message
news:-Oqdne8ZythO6Z7eRVn-qw@netnitco.net...
> I've been satisfied with my year old Dell 8300 and am now looking for a
> laptop. Is Dell as good a choice as any for a Laptop or are there brands
> that are, on average, better quality? Some of the ratings seem to suggest
> Toshiba & IBM at the top (and IBM probably too $$$) Most of the ratings
> I've seen pertain to performance but don't say much about durability,
> owner satisfaction, rate of failures, etc. Probably looking for Pentium M
> with Centrino Tech. What else should I be looking for. Not into gaming
> or video, just a bit of photo editing, large databases, basic office
> programs and internet. I'm not going to be hauling this thing around on a
> daily basis, but want decent battery life when I do. Probably don't need
> much horsepower but want something that will last a while (hung on to last
> desktop for 7 years).
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In article <1124314405.627349.81070@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
phoephus@hotmail.com says...
> >From the March 2005 Consumer Reports:
>
>
> Most reliable laptops: 1.Apple,2. Toshiba, 3.Sony, 4.IBM,5. HP, 6.Dell,
> 7.Compaq, 8.Gateway
>
> Best tech support, laptop: 1.Apple,2. IBM, 3. Toshiba,4. Dell,
> 5.Gateway, 6.HP,7.Compaq, 8.Sony

I have a few clients with Sony laptops, the ones with the 12" LCD screen
and they have had no faults with the units in more than 2 years. At this
age, they are slow.

I've also installed about 80 Dell laptops of all varieties and only had
one that was returned and one that had a bad CD that was replaced.

I also personally own a Toshiba P4/3.2/80/1.5GB RAM/DVD+/-RW with a 17"
wide screen display - it took 3 units to get one without a dead pixel
(thank god for a no-questions-asked return policy at CircuitCity). I
bought a full P4/3.2/hyper threaded machine because I run Windows XP and
development tools and on a second drive I run Windows 2003 Advanced
server on it (with SQL server and Exchange Server).

I also bought laptops from www.powernotebooks.com and always found their
products and support to be better than any other vendors.


--

spam999free@rrohio.com
remove 999 in order to email me

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<phoephus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1124314405.627349.81070@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> >From the March 2005 Consumer Reports:
>
>
> Most reliable laptops: 1.Apple,2. Toshiba, 3.Sony, 4.IBM,5. HP, 6.Dell,
> 7.Compaq, 8.Gateway
>
> Best tech support, laptop: 1.Apple,2. IBM, 3. Toshiba,4. Dell,
> 5.Gateway, 6.HP,7.Compaq, 8.Sony
>
Toshiba should be about #27; they used to make nearly bulletproof notebooks,
but over the last 18 months or so, their quality has gone down dramatically;
The Qosimo boxes, while attractive, are all prone to hardware problems.

Sony should be rated last just for their horrendous Customer (non)Service.
HP/Compaq make very good, stable machines, and they are support AMD Turion64
processors, which put anything that Intel has to offer to shame.

Dell is a 50/50 proposition; if you happen to have a problem and get them
on a good day, you'll be taken care of; get them on a bad day (which they
have often), and hell will freeze over before you get any help.

Bobby

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Whatever happened to Alienware in the mix? ;-)

> <phoephus@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1124314405.627349.81070@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
>>> From the March 2005 Consumer Reports:
>>>
>> Most reliable laptops: 1.Apple,2. Toshiba, 3.Sony, 4.IBM,5. HP,
>> 6.Dell, 7.Compaq, 8.Gateway
>>
>> Best tech support, laptop: 1.Apple,2. IBM, 3. Toshiba,4. Dell,
>> 5.Gateway, 6.HP,7.Compaq, 8.Sony
>>
> Toshiba should be about #27; they used to make nearly bulletproof
> notebooks, but over the last 18 months or so, their quality has gone
> down dramatically; The Qosimo boxes, while attractive, are all prone
> to hardware problems.
>
> Sony should be rated last just for their horrendous Customer
> (non)Service. HP/Compaq make very good, stable machines, and they are
> support AMD Turion64 processors, which put anything that Intel has to
> offer to shame.
>
> Dell is a 50/50 proposition; if you happen to have a problem and get
> them on a good day, you'll be taken care of; get them on a bad day
> (which they have often), and hell will freeze over before you get any
> help.
>
> Bobby
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Kevin,

Seriously, I would check out either the Toshiba Libretto (nice and small
with a punch), the Dell Latitude series, or my top pick, the IBM Thinkpad's
(T42, or an X-series if you like them to be tiny).

-gg-

> Ok, seriously, I've been shopping for laptops. What is the deal with
> HP? Are they really bad? I bought an Inspiron (Dell) about 2.5 years
> back and the display went bad recently. I friend of mine who services
> computers told me that this was common with Inspirons. Is this true?
>
> Thanks
>
> "Gray Ghost" <grayghost@binarybrewery.comm> wrote in message
> news:a1545e692731e8c77178f7ebc222@news.verizon.net...
>
>> I'm going to have to go with Tom on this one.
>>
>> I won't dispute the Apple claim, but Toshiba, hmmm, me thinks that
>> they're probably tied with IBM. Sony is definitely not a reliable
>> laptop... HP, yeah, ummm, is this laptops? desktops? iPaqs? servers?
>>
>> -gg-
>>
>>>> From the March 2005 Consumer Reports:
>>>>
>>> Most reliable laptops: 1.Apple,2. Toshiba, 3.Sony, 4.IBM,5. HP,
>>> 6.Dell, 7.Compaq, 8.Gateway
>>>
>>> Best tech support, laptop: 1.Apple,2. IBM, 3. Toshiba,4. Dell,
>>> 5.Gateway, 6.HP,7.Compaq, 8.Sony
>>>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In article <a1545e69275118c7718e3053548a@news.verizon.net>,
grayghost@binarybrewery.comm says...
> Whatever happened to Alienware in the mix? ;-)

Why pay all that money for the name? You can build a system that blows
theirs out of the water for a lot less, you just don't get the pretty
case and Name.


--

spam999free@rrohio.com
remove 999 in order to email me

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Alienware laptops though? You have to admit that it's pretty sweet that
you can get a desktop on crack in a laptop case.

-gg-

> In article <a1545e69275118c7718e3053548a@news.verizon.net>,
> grayghost@binarybrewery.comm says...
>
>> Whatever happened to Alienware in the mix? ;-)
>>
> Why pay all that money for the name? You can build a system that blows
> theirs out of the water for a lot less, you just don't get the pretty
> case and Name.
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Erehwon" <Dont@spam.me> wrote in message
news:-Oqdne8ZythO6Z7eRVn-qw@netnitco.net...
> I've been satisfied with my year old Dell 8300 and am now looking for a
> laptop. Is Dell as good a choice as any for a Laptop or are there brands
> that are, on average, better quality? Some of the ratings seem to suggest
> Toshiba & IBM at the top (and IBM probably too $$$) Most of the ratings
> I've seen pertain to performance but don't say much about durability,
> owner satisfaction, rate of failures, etc. Probably looking for Pentium M
> with Centrino Tech. What else should I be looking for. Not into gaming
> or video, just a bit of photo editing, large databases, basic office
> programs and internet. I'm not going to be hauling this thing around on a
> daily basis, but want decent battery life when I do. Probably don't need
> much horsepower but want something that will last a while (hung on to last
> desktop for 7 years).
>


From what I've read, if you want the best of all offerings, then IBM is the
way to go.

In the Dell line, I'm very please with the Latitude (durability, warranty
options, build quality, etc....)

Bump the warranty up to 3 years onsite.


Stew