I think the XPS line is overpriced for what you get. I’ve had an Inspirion for the last 2 years and it’s been great!!
I really don’t do alot of gaming (not enough time on my hands). I want something small, fits in a backpack so I can take it to class/work. Definately a lap top that will replace my desktop.

buying a dell is a stupid idea. horrible machines.

for a $1500 budget, I’d say get a Lenovo Thinkpad T61.
If you don’t game, then definitely go wth a Thinkpad.
For that money, and your uses of the computer, I would get a Macbook. Its small, it fits in your notebook, its instant on when you open it, has good battery life and has a better OS than windows.

Students get a $100 discount, and you get a free iPod too. Kinda nice.

OSx *is* better than windows….. but if you’re okay with Windows, you get more hardware and a better machine with the Thinkpad.

In this case the free iPod and the $100 discount make a pretty big difference too: Thats like $250 worth of value for him. And the ergonomics/sleekness of the Macbook are really good for pulling in/out of your bag between classes. Its small, no lines on the case to get hung, and the macbooks instant-un-sleep better than any computer I’ve ever used. Macbooks also help with college whores.

I mean, PC/Mac war aside: this particular guy really is a good candidate for a Macbook. For students they start at $999. He will probably want 2GB of RAM (its $90, so I would get it from Apple.com just for the warranty), and a larger HD so that puts it at more like $1200.
Thanks for the help. I’ve considered a mac before (never had one), only thing holding me back is the changing operating systems (had a PC all my life) but I’m sure I can adjust like everyone else.

The thinkpads sound cool too, but which model would you recommend? I’m looking at the lenovo website and should I just pick one of the lower priced ones and add stuff on till I get to around $1500 or pick one that’s near $1500?
Great battery life would be a plus, I like typing my notes during classes and If the laptop could go w/o having to be recharged in between that would be great. 4 classes a day, each one around 1:15 = 5 hours batt life? Anyone had a Lenovo that could shed some light for me?
Most people prefer OS X to Windows once they get used to it. In fact, that is the main reason people switch: OS X lacks most of the recurring problems people have with Windows.
@ $100 discount

I got like 20% off my Dell when I bought it through the Uni. Dell has some remarkable computers and they’re rock solid regardless of what other say.

I almost didn’t buy one because of the Dell hate here. But I’ve had mine for 2 years and it’s still rockin’. Had one prob but they came to my house the next day and fixed it.

Like I said tho, I would stay away from the XPS line and go for the Inspiron line.
[quote=Coottie;102537825] @ $100 discount[quote]

Its actually $100 + Free iPod, which is > 20% value. And its a much better machine than a Dell, and no Windows issues.

I would advise OP to try whatever he’s going to buy before he buys it.

You tried your mac before you bought it and IIRC you had to go without it for like a week before you got it back AND you had to take it to the store??

Where as I made one call, set the appt and BAM, they were on my doorstep the next day with parts in hand ready to fix my comp.

Not only that, I got 3 year warranty covering accidental spills, drops and other damage. It was a total of $50 with no additional charges and certainly no charge for hardware to fix whatever is broken. $50 and that’s it for 3 years. That’s a hell of a good warranty but then you throw in at home service and it’s flat out PIMP!!

I do like the free ipod idea tho. In fact, now that I’m gainfully employed, I’m thinking about picking up a macbook to see what all the fuss is about.

Unrelated to trying it before I bought it – my MBP has been in for service twice. I was without it for a week. It did suck. Macbooks are not exempt from the laws of physics, and do sometimes malfunction. The service is good, though.

If you’re not a student, you aren’t eligible for teh free iPod.

Yeah but let’s go back to the days when I was looking for a computer. You would spout, "Mac just work" or "Macs are teh best cuz the just work, they really do". And you do it at every opportunity…..never once even admitting that people had some serious problems with them.

You constantly gave the impression that they were bulletproof and rock solid machines when in fact, they’re just like any other computer.

Anyways, you’ve changed your tune but you still had to be coaxed into admitting that.

Macs are the most bulletproof computers available, but they are still subject to the laws of physics. They’re just like any other notebook available: but better.

And yes, that means they break and people get mad. Just less so than other brands. Thats why they are taking over the notebook market.

I don’t think I have read any more bullshit on this board in a long time if ever.

I’d recommend a thinkpad.

i have to disagree with this here. i have an Inspiron 1520 and while it is great and all, i would NEVER recommend it for what the OP is asking for. i don’t know why exactly, but the 15" Dell I have feels so much heavier than the 15" MBP i had recently with identical specs. i would never consider this a portable laptop. at around 6.4lbs, it is a full pound heavier than the MBP.

if you were comparing the 13" MB to the 14" Inspiron, you’ll find again that it is .4lbs or more heavier. if you want to bring this into class with you, then smaller and lighter wins.

EDIT: i think you can get a Thinkpad 14" laptop that is under 5lbs. i can’t be certain since i can’t find the actual specs on the lenovo site.

1 lb isn’t going to hurt anyone except the lightest and smallest among us.

I know because I carried around the E1705 for a full year while I was in school. It was only a pain for a week then I got used to it and don’t even notice it.

It’s a portable and very powerful computer and compared with a MBP price, way, way better.

So while YOU may not consider it to be a portable computer, it most certainly IS!

Not hardly….only for someone who isn’t concerned with the processing power, larger battery, bigger HD and all that. Smaller and lighter generally means trimmed down with less features.

Weight is an important consideration but it’s not the sole and only consideration. Price, warranty, components these are all much more important to me than weight. Sure I’d like it if my laptop was lighter but when I got it, it was an awesomely powerful machine.

FYI, the Dell 9 cell batter is what I got with my E1705. I could play games at full graphics and full brightness for almost 2 hours without needing to plug it in. If I turned down the brightness and actually tried to conserve my batteries, I could have gone much longer.
what about a good laptop for music production? I dont really plan on ‘gaming’ with it or getting on the internet or anything i just need a good processor and nice size ram. Which brands should I stay away from? Are toshiba Satellites any good? I really dont feel like blowing over a thousand on this but I hear Macs are the shit for my needs so any suggestions?
So do I look into a lower priced laptop and add on features or just get an expensive one ???????
If you’re carrying it with you you want a quality notebook with a sleek, small design that is light and durable. You also want it to instant-on really fast. I don’t know why, but that turns out to be HUGELY important. Let that guide you.
You go out an research for yourself because everyone is going to recommend what they bought. Having actually had my hands on a few brands myself and purchase on behalf of the company, I will second what Jolly has said, ThinkPads are the corporate standard for a reason.
A thinkpad would also be a good choice. I’m not just recommending what I bought: I don’t own a Macbook and one would NOT work for me.

I would strongly recommend against a Dell as I’ve never seen one that was very good at what he wants.

I work for a fairly large corporation and we’re a 100% Dell shop.

The impression that corporations ONLY buy IBM is one that is not supported by my experience or knowledge…yet it sure is popular on this forum.

Ok, good corporations…

Seriously, a lot corporations used Dell in the 90’s and early 2000’s but support wained from them a few years ago when they quality started to fall, and Lenovo started pricing their equipment at a reasonable price. We stayed away from IBM for latter reason for a number of years until it got to the point where you would be stupid not to spend a couple of hundred extra to get a quality machine. My respect for Dell disappeared when they started to sell in WalMart.

BTW, our parent company that bought us out is also a Dell house. Of the 3 Dells they sent us, 2 failed within a week – one had its processor disconnected from the MB. We are desperately trying to get them to wake up and smell the coffee – the Dell train has run its course
I’ve never seen a Dell laptop that isn’t big, plastic, heavy, hot, loud fan, etc. compared to other brands. Did that change?

The one we got actually looked pretty good – I was actually looking forward to playing around with it. Then I turned it on.

I’m currently working for a school district that issues all of the high school students Dell latitudes.

They’re pieces of shit.
There’s currently like a 40% off Thinkpads thing going on for stockholders. Buy a single share, and then shave off nearly half the price of the laptop.
Thanks again to everyone, so I think I’m gonna look into the thinkpads. I really don’t have much of a problem with windows since it does everything I need it to. The only dowloading I do is the occasional song or video clip, so should I invest in larger internal memory/hard drive or maybe get an external hard drive to keep it all on?
Funny thing is, I was in the OPs place about 2 years ago and I almost completely avoided a Dell because of this forum. I’m SOOO glad I thought about it more.

Here’s the thing, everyone here is telling you what they would do if they were buying another computer. The only reason I suggested only Dells is because everyone runs them down so much but the reality of Dell ownership is much different than the HATE you hear in this forum.

For me, the choice boiled down to a number of things….weight was NOT a huge criteria. Sure I didn’t want to haul around a load of bricks but someone is honestly complaining about 1 pound….one lousy, stinking pound. That is hysterical to me.

So I was more interested in longer battery life, large HD, large amounts of RAM and a kick ass video card. I’m into gaming and want to mobile game. Another HUGE consideration for me was the warranty. Laptops are a big investment and I didn’t want a 1 year warranty. I’ve described my warranty previously so I won’t do so again but that was a huge consideration.

Also another huge consideration, price. I found Dell was a much better value with their Inspiron line. I was able to go through my Universities IT department (something available to all students but you have to look for it on your Universities website. If you can’t find it….call the IT dept). My Uni had deals worked out with IBM, Dell, HP and others. I chose the Dell for the reasons above and because I didn’t like the think pads at all…..they just didn’t look good to me.

The financing options were the best also. I got 1 year NO Interest! NONE….as long as I paid off the computer in that year. Apple was 6 months only and no one else could match the 1 year deal.

So it’s funny to me….2 years ago, I was scared shitless to buy a Dell because of all the hate I read about them here. But then I talked with some real life friends that owned them and their experiences were totally different than I hear here. Not only that….3 years in home warranty and 1 year no interest was pimp!! So I bought a Dell and I’ve been very, very happy with it.

So do your own research and figure out what’s important to you. The applications you’re describing can be easily done on almost ANY computer. If you were a gamer I’d make more specific suggestions about the components you add but right now, pretty much any computer will fit your needs….or so it seems.

Anyways, good luck.
You should also look into a Lenovo Y510 Ideapad while you’re looking at T61s. I just picked one up last month and it’s a pretty sleek machine. Got 1.83 C2D, 4gigs of RAM, 250gig HD, Geforce 2600GT 256meg for $950 off of newegg. It beats the everliving shit out of the Macbook 2.0 C2D that it replaced.

I built a Macbook Pro with similar specs on Apple’s site. Fucking cost $2300.

I do have to warn the OP though: the one shitty thing about Lenovos… The box you get the laptop in is just plain brown cardboard, unlike the pimp looking Mac boxes.

the old ones were plain. the new ones actually look nice. It’s like a black box with colored lines runing at angles across it.

Advantages/disadvantages between having an ideapad or thinkpad? Is one better than the other or more preferred?

thinkpad is decades ahead.

ideapad is not really any diff than a gateway or hp.

thinkpad has magnesium chassis, spill tray/drain hole, aluminum hinges, drop sensor, etc.

well unfortunately the loudest and most opinionated individuals are the ones making sure their voice gets heard (mainly through trolling and whining) on this forum; and the most blatant of these individuals vehemently opposes dell…

yet sack-rides gateway

oh man that’s irony at its finest.
Why in god’s name do they put so many buttons on a thinkpad? They look ok other than that: WHO NEEDS 4 MOUSE BUTTONS? I mean, gimme a break!

Yep and I seem to recall he was also sack riding Asus.

I feel dirty defending Jolly, but the whole reason he does that is because manufacturers’ quality changes from year to year. Dell really was good a number of years ago, Gateway was really shitty, and Asus has fallen from where they started.

In other words, his opinions are based on the most current information collected both professionally and thru experience, not from sackriding one brand with blinders on. Like some of you.

I need a shower.

Thing is…he’s always been down on Dell as have most people in C&P.

So while your post makes it seem like he’s right because he’s current it ignores the empirical evidence that many of us have had and that is, Dell ain’t so bad afterall.

There’s nothing wrong with Dell at all. In fact, there’s a LOT going right with them and even Jolly admitted they’re coming around…..however, he still refuses to give them props. Seriously he sounds like a jilted lover that simply can’t get over the hurt.

But whatever, he’s entitled to his opinion. I’m just thrilled I didn’t listen to him.
For someone that doesn’t care about an extra pound here and there in a computer – there’s nothing wrong with a Dell. I can’t stand them because I carried one around for a year and it was big, heavy, plastic, loud and hot. I.e. a not very good portable.
You’ve been here two years, Dell has been shit for at least that long.

Just out of curiosty, you said your company is a Dell house. For how long have they been like that?

Most likely so you can search ALL the internets more effectively
Go to dell.com and configure one for yourself……..

You’ve always been more rational than Jolly.

Says you…..they haven’t been shit for me nor a lot of other people.

I know…it’s like you’re Al Gore trying to recount votes in Florida that just don’t add up. You just can’t accept that Dells are as bad as you want them to be.

Long time….from what I gather from others, about 10 years or so.

And before you say "That explains it, 10 years ago they were good and you guys just didn’t change" you need to understand the corporate culture where I work. We invest heavily in technology. We’re public and we’ve got lots of money to spend. If Dells weren’t reliable, we’d switch. I have absolutely NO doubt about that.

But like my mom always says, "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still" so you’ll likely discount everything said and still run down Dells.
We are an all Dell shop too… I’ve been at my job 6 years and back then we had about 90% Dells. Even our servers are Dells… Sure I’ve had to replace a hard drive here and there and some screen hinges, but zero problems overall. A couple of the machines that were new when I started are still being used.

I have the XPS M1210 and LOVE it…
I have a Sony Vaio SZ58, and I absolutely love everything about it! Pricey, sure, but I fucking love the simple design/ultra lightweight/ultra fast machine.

Can’t go wrong with an SZ

I do . You are most likely still with Dell because they give you a great price, and great service. Your IT group is quite complacent to keep things status quo – and to some degree, I don’t blame them. But it doesn’t mean it’s a better or even a good product.

If you seriously think that Dell has been at the top of the game for 10 years, YOU are deluding yourself. It’s not even possible if you look at it rationally. I run down Dell’s not because I’ve always hated them, I run them down because they’re quality has gone down the tubes.

see, you’ve just listed all the cons i considered when purchasing my dell laptop. it is big and heavy and plastic (all of which make it UGLY), although not very loud and not as hot as i’ve heard people complain about. it gets hot, but not hot enough that it’s going to burn your lap after prolonged use.

however i can say i’ve seen the new XPS laptops as well as inspirons and they have a much nicer form factor and are sleeker. although i think they’re still plastic. but that’s some of the problems fixed along with the nice prices still.

in fact i just helped my friend purchase an inspiron from best buy the other day for $600 even with a core2duo 2ghz, dvd burner, and all the other nice specs you could imagine (other than a crappy video card, although it still ran vista’s aero fine) and i was quite impressed with it. normally i wouldn’t condone buying from best buy but this was a slickdeal.

You do not know the culture and the company where I work nor do you even understand how competitive it is there. You literally have no idea what you’re talking about…..just accept that fact. You can’t know, you aren’t there yet you’re seriously trying to argue that you know what you’re talking about. In regards to the company where I work, it’s culture or what we would or would not do in a given situation…..you don’t….period.

I never said Dells were the best. I have however said they are no where near the worst and they are actually a hell of a lot better than most people say in this forum.

But lets examine this idea of "best". It’s a ridiculous notion that one company is best in some objective sense of the word. It’s totally subjective and what’s best to one person isn’t to another.

Look it’s OK if we disagree. The only reason I keep discussing it is because people sack ride the shit out of hating on Dell. It’s annoying and it’s unfair to Dell and people who visit this forum that don’t know this fact.
i am super happy with my sony

and i abuse the fuck out of it

Don’t try to convince the world that your corporation assesses their current IT needs and suppliers every year with an open mind and manage to come up with Dell as their choice. Every company and government agency who has ever done that has switched over the period of a decade. And I’m not picking on Dell when I say that – it’s simple fact.

Jesus….this shit gets annoying.

Never did I say we analyze your computers ever year and make a decision. Are you seriously incapable of reasoning this out for yourself?

Look if Dells were as shitty as the Dell haters here would like to believe, we’d have machines crapping out left and right. We don’t. If the comps crapped out on a regular basis or even semi-regular basis, we’d switch in a heartbeat. They don’t….so we stay with them.

There…I refuse to lead you around by the hand anymore.
In other words, your company is a de facto Dell house. Kinda what I’ve been saying all along…

like i said, i have a Dell 1520 and it is fine for me, but it is noticeably heavier than my MBP was which had identical specs. 1lb is not a lot on its own, but you are talking a 20% weight increase. i’d probably buy another Dell for what i use it for, but i definitely would not carry it back and forth to work like i did with my MBP or even my older 15" widescreen HP/Compaq laptop (i can’t remember which model, but it was a decent business model). i couldn’t even imagine carrying it around and taking it out regularly, especially when it is unnecessary with lighter laptops out from equally good vendors like Lenovo that are still within his budget.
For your purposes, I’d go with a T61 or MacBook. As a owner of both Leopard and Windows, OSX is not that much better than a well-maintained Windows system (not hard to do) in terms of security and stability. However, it’s visual aesthetics are eons ahead of Windows, even with the uxtheme.dll hacks and explorer.exe shell replacements. For that reason, I use my Mac the most for my work/internet browsing/media, and fire up my Windows box really only for some gaming here and there.

I’d suggest you test out OSX, and if you really like it, I’d get a MacBook.
ford vs chevy huh guys?

I think I can be of some help. I carry my laptop around at college often and I’m a heavy user. A lot of your concerns haven’t been addressed yet, so I’ll try and do that.

And, before I get started, I own a refurb Gateway (1 yr old). My girlfriend a macbook (1 yr old), my roommate a dell XPS 13” (1 yr old) and my suitemate a macbook (2 years old). I’ve used them all. Never used a Lenovo, but have heard good things – you probably won’t go wrong and you’ll have to do your own research when it comes to Lenovo.

I have a 15.4” c2d 2.0gh, 2gb ram, 160gb 5400 rpm hdd for $740 a year ago. it was a G R E A T deal. similar dells were costing me $300 more, and even more with a warranty, which i debated getting. If you’re willing to troubleshoot or do your own repairs (or you know a guy), then warranties aren’t worth it. Anyone who buys a dell warranty for full price is a n00b.

I looked at teh 1520 dell and through my school I also recieved a discount, but their back-to-school sale open to the public was better than the discount I recieved. It was something liek a flat rate off + 12% and my laptop came to be $1500 (with simialr spects to my gateway plus a graphics card, extra battery, bluetooth, some more stuff, it wasn’t bad for the price). And since it got to be that expensive, removing the warranty option made -$100 difference maybe (to $1400 – removing warranty also halved my discount). Then I had to factor in tax + shipping, which bumped it up to < $1700. It would be superior to my $740 gateway, but not enough to justify double the cost.
My Point: you really need to do your research. Shop around. Wait for the perfect deal, ESPECIALLY when looking at dells. It’s SUPER easy to get ripped off by them, but if you wait for a deal you can get good hardware for the best prices around.

Dell overprices liek hell and then gives you "discounts." Only sometimes are their discounts legit. Do your homework with dell.

Also, my roommate has an XPS 13” and my girlfriend a 13” macbook. They’re SO portable and it does make a difference when I go from my 15.4” to their laptops. Theirs are much more convinient to use around the dorms/campus. Also battery life on the macbook especially is SIX hours. The XPS is probably > 4. And screen brightness on the mac at the lowest setting is actually readable, whereas on my gateway the lowest setting is good only in the dark. For portability and battery life and quick startup from suspend mode, the macbook is the way to go. If you’re really into Windows look for the 13” XPS, but wait for a great deal OR look at another brand’s portable laptops.

Another plus of the macbook is that it has garageband, which is great for audio editing/playing around or even using as a guitar amp (great range of effects and what not). You should go try this program out.

The 13” screens a little small, but IMO worth it for portability and battery life, especially since gaming isn’t your think. For web browsing, word processing, audio work, it’s fine. Plus your budget allows for ram/hard drive/whatever else upgrades. Also, you’re guaranteed decent hardware and support for the price you pay. Go buy a laptop from Best Buy, and you might get hardware that was in its prime 4 years ago and pay WAY too much for it. Not to say you can’t get a good PC laptop, just shop around more because there are so many more options. If you’re looking for a simple solution go with the mac.

BTW, I never have, never will own a mac. Just not for me (Windows > Mac), but I think they are perfect for what you’re looking for.
Thats a solid post right there. OP should take note.

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