Computer/best buy buying advice

[kerowo]

You may as well get Vista, it will be standard and apps will be written specifically for it before you get a new lappy. The interface is different enough from XP that I would highly recomend picking up a Vista book. Go to any large chain and thumb through a few of the 3" books on it till you see one you like the style of. Will run about 50 bucks.

[TexRef]

I've had lots of Dells and always been happy with them. I agree not to get it from Best Buy though -- you can probably get a MUCH better deal online. Look for some of the online coupons and deals at sites like gotapex.com, etc.

I had a Vaio laptop once and was very happy with it -- but Sony support sucks imo... At least it did 5-6 years ago when I needed support from them. Dell support is pretty awesome -- especially if you get the extended warranty that covers everything on your laptop, including spills, drops, etc.

If you have the money, I would definitely buy a Mac! It's going to run you at least $1100 though ... however, I would say that it is completely worth it. I got a Macbook Pro back in November after working (and programming) on PCs for years and I haven't regretted it one bit.

Macs are more stable and easier to use (from a standpoint of installing software, not having to configure drivers, etc.). You can also run VMWare Fusion or Parallels to run Windows (or run Bootcamp and dual-boot into Windows) when you want to run Windows only software like PokerStars (although they are working on a Beta), PokerTracker, HUD, etc.

[z28dreams]

Just a few thoughts - I bought a laptop last year and here are some things I'd want to make sure:

(1) Look at all the screens carefully. I hate my current laptop because the vertical viewing angle is REALLY picky and if you angle it just slightly the screen looks very different.

(2) Play with the keyboards a lot. If you don't like the feel of the keyboard, it's going to be annoying to use the laptop.

(3) Specs:
- AMD or intel doesn't really matter. Both are tons fast for most laptop users. The one processor I would avoid is the T2060/T2080 - this is the "crippled" intel chip with less cache. For the same money you'd probably be better off getting the AMD.
- Get at least 1gb of ram
- Get a 6-cell battery. A lot of the cheapo deals at best buy use a 4-cell and battery-life is quite short for these.
- Make sure it has s-video out. For some crazy reason, mine didn't.

There's no reason you can't get a great laptop for < $600 these days.

To reiterate, make sure you look at the screen from many angles and play with the keyboard. This will make a much bigger difference in your daily use than having 120gb of hd space vs. 100gb.

[anklebreaker]

Quick hijack:

If I use MANY windows-only programs, is it worth buying a mac?

[emon87]

So I just got one from Dell.

1 223-0553 Inspiron 1520, Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, 1.8GHz, 800Mhz, 2M L2 Cache $997.57
1 313-5395 Jet Black Color with Matte Finish $0.00
1 311-7213 1GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm $0.00
1 320-5462 High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1680x1050) $0.00
1 320-5457 Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 $0.00
1 341-4768 120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive $0.00
1 420-6556 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English $0.00
1 310-9093 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP INSP 1520 $0.00
1 420-5769 Internet Search and Portal $0.00
1 420-5924 Icon Consolidation Application $0.00
1 420-6436 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp $0.00
1 420-6995 DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP $0.00
1 463-2282 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access $0.00
1 420-7024 Media Direct 3.3 $0.00
1 420-7244 Dell Support Center 1.0 $0.00
1 430-0493 Integrated 10/100 Network Cardand Modem, for Inspiron $0.00
1 412-0917 Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0, for Inspiron $0.00
1 313-5197 8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive $0.00
1 420-6464 Roxio Creator Basic $0.00
1 313-4783 Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0 $0.00
1 430-2334 Intel 3945 WLAN (802.11a/g) Mini Card $0.00
1 320-5691 Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam $0.00
1 412-0968 Creative Earbud EP630 $0.00
1 412-0940 Security 30-day trial $0.00
1 312-0526 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for Inspiron 1520 $0.00
1 461-3063 No ISP Requested $0.00
1 420-6589 Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition $0.00
1 950-3337 1 Year Limited Warranty $0.00
1 950-9057 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3 $0.00
1 987-5437 Dell Hardware Warranty Plus Return To Depot, Initial Year $0.00
1 983-3090 Type 12- Mail-InService, 24x7 TechnicalSupport, Initial Year $0.00
1 960-2780 Warranty Support,Initial Year $0.00
1 466-7698 Thank you for choosing Dell $.00
1 430-2348 Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Mod $14.43
1 320-5806 Jet Black color w/ 2.0M pixel Camera $.00
1 310-9348 Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor $.00
1 310-8628 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System $.00
1 420-7091 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS $.00
1 420-7092 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 1YR-FREE $.00
1 987-4817 Insp Datasafe 3GB,1YR(Incl in price),DHS $0.00
1 988-0099 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online $.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
View My Orders

Sub-Total : $1012.00
Shipping : $.00
Tax : $63.26

Order Total :
$1075.26



I found a $325 off of Inspiron notebooks coupon, so I fell like I got a pretty good deal on this.

I can't wait for it to arrive!

[TheMetetron]

[ QUOTE ]
So I just got one from Dell.

1 223-0553 Inspiron 1520, Intel Core 2 Duo T7100, 1.8GHz, 800Mhz, 2M L2 Cache $997.57
1 313-5395 Jet Black Color with Matte Finish $0.00
1 311-7213 1GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm $0.00
1 320-5462 High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1680x1050) $0.00
1 320-5457 Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 $0.00
1 341-4768 120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive $0.00
1 420-6556 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English $0.00
1 310-9093 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP INSP 1520 $0.00
1 420-5769 Internet Search and Portal $0.00
1 420-5924 Icon Consolidation Application $0.00
1 420-6436 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp $0.00
1 420-6995 DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP $0.00
1 463-2282 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access $0.00
1 420-7024 Media Direct 3.3 $0.00
1 420-7244 Dell Support Center 1.0 $0.00
1 430-0493 Integrated 10/100 Network Cardand Modem, for Inspiron $0.00
1 412-0917 Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0, for Inspiron $0.00
1 313-5197 8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive $0.00
1 420-6464 Roxio Creator Basic $0.00
1 313-4783 Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0 $0.00
1 430-2334 Intel 3945 WLAN (802.11a/g) Mini Card $0.00
1 320-5691 Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam $0.00
1 412-0968 Creative Earbud EP630 $0.00
1 412-0940 Security 30-day trial $0.00
1 312-0526 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for Inspiron 1520 $0.00
1 461-3063 No ISP Requested $0.00
1 420-6589 Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition $0.00
1 950-3337 1 Year Limited Warranty $0.00
1 950-9057 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3 $0.00
1 987-5437 Dell Hardware Warranty Plus Return To Depot, Initial Year $0.00
1 983-3090 Type 12- Mail-InService, 24x7 TechnicalSupport, Initial Year $0.00
1 960-2780 Warranty Support,Initial Year $0.00
1 466-7698 Thank you for choosing Dell $.00
1 430-2348 Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Mod $14.43
1 320-5806 Jet Black color w/ 2.0M pixel Camera $.00
1 310-9348 Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor $.00
1 310-8628 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System $.00
1 420-7091 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS $.00
1 420-7092 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 1YR-FREE $.00
1 987-4817 Insp Datasafe 3GB,1YR(Incl in price),DHS $0.00
1 988-0099 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online $.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
View My Orders

Sub-Total : $1012.00
Shipping : $.00
Tax : $63.26

Order Total :
$1075.26



I found a $325 off of Inspiron notebooks coupon, so I fell like I got a pretty good deal on this.

I can't wait for it to arrive!

[/ QUOTE ]

Somehow it seems like you overpaid. I got almost the same computer with a slightly less powerful processor but a 17" widescreen 1920x1200 display for like $1k flat. I guess you paid for Office which seems dumb given the freeness of OpenOffice. I also got an extra battery which you didn't.

[z28dreams]

Emon: I think you overpaid by at least $200.

[TheMetetron]

For comparison here is what I got (left the dumb [censored] out):

1 223-0957 Inspiron 1720, Intel Core 2 Duo T5250, 1.5GHz, 667Mhz 2M L2 Cache
1 313-5473 Jet Black Color with Matte Finish
1 311-7217 1GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
1 320-5504 High Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1920 x 1200)
1 320-5467 128MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400
1 341-4708 120G 5400RPM SATA hard drive 5400RPM
1 430-0493 Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem, for Inspiron
1 341-4716 8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive
1 313-4783 Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
1 430-2307 Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card
1 312-0526 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for Inspiron 1520
1 312-0528 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery, for Inspiron 1520
1 430-2348 Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Mod

I paid $1,100 including tax, shipping, and retarded California environmental fees.

Also grabbed 4GB of RAM off of NewEgg for about $250.