My '03 Inspiron 5100 died. It worked great over the years.
I need some advice choosing a new laptop brand and which operating system to use.
I was using XP Pro, and have heard many negatives about Vista.
I have never used Vista, and I have heard Windows is coming out with a new OS.
Should I get a laptop with XP Pro and upgrade to the new OS when it comes out?
Your thoughts on OS's please
'03 Dell Laptop died: advise on new Laptop and OS
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I've heard and read a lot of negatives about Vista as well, but my Toshiba laptop running Vista 64 is rock solid stable, and has given me zero problems.
Bill in Utah
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I've got a Vostro 1400 (actually 2 of them) One with XP and one with Vista and Vista is ok. It works well. But what XP will do with a gig Vista REALLY needs 2 gig for the same speed.
Also Vista seems to like a dedicated video card *if* you use the AERO feature.
I've not seen the new Windows 7 but I'm sure it will have some "growing" pains once its released.
If it was me, I'd get a Dell with their upgrade XP to Vista deal.
I know XP and Vista works.
How did your Dell die?
Take care, Bill
Get a Toshiba, We have 4 of them in our family and they are rock solid can't kill 'em. Also the higher end Dell Laptops are good.
I got a toshiba satellite notebook for work recently. It runs OK, but the look&feel is kind of cheap/flashy. May be OK for a teenage girl, but I would never buy it for myself. I much prefer the more solid look, touch, and feel of Lenovo. I know a lot of people say Lenovo is not what it used to be when it was IBM-branded, but I still like them better than anything else in that price range. I've got a ThinkPad T61 at work that's rock-solid.
Bill in Utah
Staff member
We used to have Lenovo at work (state contract) and had a bunch of problems with them in the stands. They lasted about 9 months before Lenovo took them back. (the major problem was the power connector and video issues)
They went with the Dell Latitude XFR units and MAN they are nice. But pricey. I got a new one about 2 months ago for the truck.
I've had excellent service with the Vostro units (got too many) and an older Latitude 1425 (Mom has it) and 1525 (sold it).
I had a toshiba laptop a LONG time ago and while it was a nice unit, the battery life stunk (about 90 mins tops).
They are very popular unit. I hear that the Sony laptops are nice too.. A few guys at work have them for personal use.
Take care, bill
If you want to stick with Dell, go for a business class notebook like the Latitude. That model line has a much stronger shell. They are a bit pricey at times, but if you get them through the Dell Outlet store, you can easily get a three year warranty with damage protection for the same cost as a new one with a one year warranty.
I have been a big Dell supporter for years. I've had 4 of them, and they all were either higher-end home, gaming or business-class notebooks. Recently I was in a bind and needed a notebook immediately. I went to Best Buy and purchased a Gateway P-7805u. I've been pretty happy with it so far. I have no idea how well it will hold up over the long run, but so far so good.
A friend of mine is a programmer. He only buys gaming notebooks because of the amount of processing power and for how solid they are. His most recent purchase was an ASUS.
Moral of the story here IMO is that the most rock-solid notebooks are either gaming or business notebooks.
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Originally Posted By: Nyquist
If you want to stick with Dell, go for a business class notebook like the Latitude. That model line has a much stronger shell. They are a bit pricey at times, but if you get them through the Dell Outlet store, you can easily get a three year warranty with damage protection for the same cost as a new one with a one year warranty.
I have been a big Dell supporter for years. I've had 4 of them, and they all were either higher-end home, gaming or business-class notebooks. Recently I was in a bind and needed a notebook immediately. I went to Best Buy and purchased a Gateway P-7805u. I've been pretty happy with it so far. I have no idea how well it will hold up over the long run, but so far so good.
A friend of mine is a programmer. He only buys gaming notebooks because of the amount of processing power and for how solid they are. His most recent purchase was an ASUS.
Moral of the story here IMO is that the most rock-solid notebooks are either gaming or business notebooks.
OVERKILL
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Check out what ASUS has to offer. Great warranty (one year free replacement, two year standard) and many models come with BOTH XP AND Vista, so you get to choose.
They also BUILD many of the laptops that people associate with other brand names.
Dell Lattitude and Lenovo ThinkPad are both very durable and well build. Can't say the same about Inspiron, Vostro, or other brands.
Something with a mobile processor, because the less heat there is, the more reliable it is. You should know how heavy and how big of a screen you want, and whether you are going to use the battery much or not.
For me I'd keep a desktop and a netbook to complement each other.
Happy with my Toshiba and HP laptops.
Both together cost about a grand. Most laptops are disposable junk manufactured overseas. Rather have 2 or 3 cheaper ones then 1 fancy overpriced one. slickdeals, fatwallet, techbargains, xpbargains are some websites that you can follow for laptop bargains, rebates, deals....
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Dell Lattitude and Lenovo ThinkPad are both very durable and well build.
Generally, Thinkpads are about as sturdy as it gets at a reasonable price point. Panasonic toughbooks are a little more rugged, but are substantially more money.
Lenovo has done a good job keeping up quality since acquiring the line from IBM. They're not the flashiest, they don't have the most features, they're not the fastest or most powerful. But they are very well built and hold up to long and heavy use. The higher end models are also very light and portable.
I prefer XP over Vista. If you can hold out a few months, you may be able to get a Windows 7 upgrade voucher with a new system.
The Inspiron will not charge. The charger and cord is good. The lite is green on the charger.
I did some googling and found where the dc jack is it is hard wired to the mother board. So when the dc jack is blown, you have a paperweight.
A laptop shop may be able to fix it, but after parts and labor, I could be over halfway on buying a new laptop.
I'm kinda p!ssed about it because it ran great, it wasnt buggy, and never had a virus or spyware on it.
I was going to spend about $600-$800 and find a killer Memorial Day sale, but decided to go another route......
I bought a new laptop at Sam's Club yesterday.
The Acer One 8.9" mini-laptop w/ XP, Intel Atom 1.66, 160gb HHD, 1gb RAM, 3 USB ports, VGA port, Wi-Fi, 6 cell battery, multi-card reader + a 2nd dedicated SD card reader and a USB mouse included.
It was $241 out the door with tax.
I have wireless at home, and a Verizon USB data card when I am on the go, on a trip, or at work. Plus with a HP external DVD burner I have, the little Acer should be good for now.
I can even hook up my old ACER 17" LCD monitor to it @ my home office!
I'll keep you posted on how it runs!
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