Recommend me a laptop!

October 15, 2008 4:54 PM

Are there any good notebook computers out there for a reasonable price?

I am in the market for a new laptop, but haven't been able to find one with all the characteristics I am looking for, for a reasonable price. Please recommend me one! Here are my requirements:

-A bright 15.4" screen, or possibly 14.1" but it must have a resolution HIGHER than my current screen, which is 1280x800. WSXGA+ would be perfect.
-An intel penryn (or better?) processor with 3 or more mb of L2 cache.
-At least 160gb hard drive, preferably 7200rpm. Or maybe a 250gb+ but slower hard drive.
-Discrete (nvidia or ati) graphics with at least 256mb. I don't really play games, but I want the option to play a nice new game once in a while.
-DVD RW drive
-Fast, rock-solid reliable wifi that is as up-to-date as possible. I don't know what standard is the latest, but I just don't want it to be obsolete for a very, very long time. Issues with wireless connectivity have been the bane of my existence on my current (4+ year old) notebook, so I want something that will work with every network out there and have no compatibility issues.
-Bluetooth
-A nice, clean, tasteful, business-like design
-A great, smooth touchpad
-Relatively light and thin, under 6 lbs would be nice
-Webcam
-I don't really care about the speakers


The closest I've been able to find at a reasonable price is the HP dv5t, which, with approximately all of the above specs, comes out to just under $1000 with a current 30% off coupon. That would be perfect, except I tried it in the store, and hated the look and feel. The whole thing is too shiny and ugly, the screen is too reflective, and the touchpad is glossy, which makes it much less smooth to use.

I love the look and feel of macbooks/macbook pros (and from what I can tell so far, especially the new ones) but they seem to be way overpriced for the specs you get - i.e. an HP or similar with comparable specs is several hundred dollars cheaper. I also like the Lenovo Thinkpad T series, but they are also much more expensive in general and I can't seem to configure them with any more than 128mb video. The Ideapads look pretty nice as well, but they don't come with high resolution screens.

Is there a notebook out there that satisfies these (admittedly picky) requirements? Or do I just have to shell out the extra cash for a Macbook? (I don't want to do this, I'd really rather have a PC, and not just because of the lower cost. I just can't find one I like).

Budget: I'm looking for something at the $1000 mark, but I'd be willing to pay up to $1400 for something that is exactly what I'm looking for.

Also, I can wait, if something good is coming out in the next few months.

posted by TSGlenn to technology (14 comments total)

The brand new Macbooks are down to $999 so the "shell out" isn't outside your price range.
posted by arniec at 4:59 PM on October 15, 2008

Keep an eye on deal sites. I like www.dealnews.com. Coupon codes come up all the time. I got an HP Pavilion tx 1000 that meets your specs last year for $500.
posted by k8t at 5:11 PM on October 15, 2008

Actually, the brand new Macbooks are starting at $1300, but the old white ones (with a slight spec bump) are at $999.
posted by tomcochrane at 5:18 PM on October 15, 2008

Seconding the new MacBooks. Lots of configs that meet your specs at less than $1400, and you have the sweet and untouchable option of running any Windows or OS X (or both) at your leisure.

(On my previous-gen MBP, I use Windows for games and a couple of oddball work apps, OSX for everything else day to day.)
posted by rokusan at 5:29 PM on October 15, 2008

Ideapad Y730? The screens are 17", but everything else seems in the neighborhood of your needs.
posted by ashabanapal at 5:30 PM on October 15, 2008

Seconding deal sites. Watch Hot Deals Club, too.
posted by cdmwebs at 5:33 PM on October 15, 2008

This fits the bill, no?

I'm talking out my arse a bit here, but I think Lenovo is still selling "redistributed" T61P's as T61s through their outlet. You could call them. They may even come down a bit on price.
posted by Kwantsar at 7:25 PM on October 15, 2008

Oh, and the trick to finding the thinkpad that matches your specs exactly is to go through the tabook. (3mb pdf) Maybe easiest to search pdf for "x16, 256mb" in your case.
posted by Kwantsar at 8:00 PM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

You can get a Lenovo T400 with a 256mb video card. From what I hear the screen is really nice as well.
posted by demon666 at 8:01 PM on October 15, 2008

i have been using the same macbook pro for over two years and have had NOT ONE problem with it. Yes, it cost me a pretty penny, but it has held up through thick and thin...I have dropped it, I have spilled nail polish on it, my dog has chewed endlessly on the corners, it has travelled with me, unfettered, to Europe and Africa. It seems that you can now get a macbook for much less than I paid in mid 2006, and when I do need to buy a new computer it will most certainly be a mac.
posted by junipero at 8:56 PM on October 15, 2008

My current laptop was from http://www.powernotebooks.com They generally start with barebones laptops and build them more or less to order. I had thought about building my own, but powernotebooks offered a 3 year warranty and the price was more than reasonable.

I've had my laptop for 2 years and the only problem I've had is the DVD laser going bad in some way (played CDs fine, just not some DVDs). They sent me a new drive and I sent the old one back in the same box.

Here's what sold me on this company when I was shopping 2 years ago:
1) One of their employees frequently hung out at http://forum.notebookreview.com/ and was always ready to answer questions about their products. He'd even help people who bought the same barebones system from another dealer

He even helped the people who wanted to overclock their video card (one company was intentionally throttling their video cards to increase battery life)

2) Price and flexibility. Their customization options are much better than Dell/HP/etc. Most importantly, ifI don't want to buy windows with my new laptop, I don't have to. You can have them install as many or as few of the components as you want (although only the ones they install will be covered by the warranty). I was also able to get a 9-cell battery instead of the standard 6-cell

3) Warranty - as I said, 3 year warranty and I don't think it added much to the price

4) Customer Service. This was a big one. I had a Dell before this laptop. I had to repeatedly call customer service. Worst phone experience of my life. When you call customer service (I believe it's 24/7), a real person answers the phone and says "Hello." Also, English seems to be this person's first language. Not only that, but they don't treat you like an idiot and I get the impression that the person who answers the phone actually does a lot of the work, because they've never had to transfer me when I tell them what I think the problem is and why.

I guess after my experience with Dell, the biggest things on my mind were warranty (since my dell died in little over a year) and customer service, but I didn't want to pay a ton for it. Powernotebooks was the way to go.

If you're worried about buying a generic brand, most of their laptops are (or at least used to be, haven't checked recently), built on Compal (which notebookreview says is the 2nd largest laptop maker) or MSI, whose motherboards I've always loved.

If you don't like powernotebooks.com, you could try http://www.xoticpc.com/, they sell systems built on a lot of the same barebones and I think they have similar pricing
posted by chndrcks at 10:58 PM on October 15, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

I should've answered the actual question..

I just built a PowerPro 12:15 on their site:
15.4" glossy 1680x1050 (there's matte on a different laptop if you prefer)
Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4Ghz 3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066 FSB)
2GB (2x1G) Kingston HyperX CL5 DDR2/800 (for $50 more you can go up to 4GB)
160GB SATA II HD 7200 (can get 250 SATA 1 @ 5400 for $5 LESS Or you could get an 80gb solid state drive for $650 more...)
DVD dual layer burner
Bluetooth
802.11a/g/n wireless
9-cell battery
No operating system
No bundled software
3 year warranty - next day business shipping (I think this is on warrantied work, not the original purchase, but I'm not sure) - Life time 24/7 domestic tech support

$1354 if you pay by credit card
$1313 if you pay by bank wire transfer (I was hesitant at first, but did it with no problems)
posted by chndrcks at 11:11 PM on October 15, 2008

Wow. Maybe I can't read or something, but TSGlenn specifically asked for a screen with resolution better than 1280 x 800. That rules out the Macbook. Macbook Pros have the required screen resolution, but are ludicrously overpriced for what they are.

Also, note that Lenovo notebooks also have low resolution screens on most of their line. Be sure to look carefully to make sure you're getting a higher resolution screen. Same goes for HP.

I'd personally recommend the Dell XPS 1530, which can be had with screen resolutions up to a luxurious 1920 x 1200, and options out the wazoo. With a higher resolution screen, you're looking at $1040 for the Red Model. This is a great laptop for the size. Check out the reviews on any number of tech sites such as Cnet or laptopreview for 3rd party opinions. I have personally owned the 1330 model, and it is amazing. Quality and support are great.

I could tell you lots of negative stories about powernotebooks.com, but I'll let you investigate on your own.
posted by kungfujoe at 3:48 AM on October 16, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I think Dell has their Days of Deals going on. If you are not all for quality, you can buy a Dell equivalent of the new Macs for only $999.
posted by rintako at 4:21 PM on October 16, 2008