buying a laptop ?

[GrahamL]

Got to grab a new one for my son .. and would like to hear of others experiances .. we are thinking of buying online .. maybe an asus or toshiba?
would local be better for waranty and such ?.

many thanks
graham

[Astrod00d]

Hi Graham,

If you know what brand/model you want, look up www.staticice.com.au to get an idea of the best price. Mail order is a good way to save money, but if you're worried about after sales service it may be worth going to a major retailer with a warranty/service plan. I'm sure others on this forum will have some stories to tell...

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Consider a Dell with extended warranty. Their aftersales onsite warranty service is fantastic. While I don't have a laptop through them I've had two desktops and I like what I got for the price at the time.

[leon]

Agreed Paul , definitly a Dell, you can customise it before you order, and it arrives with a choice of after sales warranty, to which they stand by.

I have bought 3 lappys this way and you couldn't ask for better service, will never buy any other way.

Just Google in Dell and go from there, it is so easy.

Leon

[madwayne (Wayne)]

I have to agree with others about Dell. Very easy to use website and the whole cusomisation of your product is just so simple.

[mdgodf (Mark)]

I agree with the recommendations for Dell, as a completly satisified recent purchaser of a laptop (Insperion 1520) and a desktop some time ago.

A tip though - I wanted a 12v/airport adaptor for the laptop - there isn't one on line at Dell.com for the 1520 and the Other brands don't properly work with Dell but a call to their supported sorted out that using one they supply for some of their other models works with the 1520 only it's 65w instead of 90w which just means it takes longer to charge the battery from 12v

Note that there are now some 'retail' outlets - just stands in shopping malls - run by Dell and that Officeworks now sells some Dell models, but maybe not up in Ballina (a nice place to be by the way). I prefer on line though as you can customise it to what you want. The delivery time is often faster then they quote too - about 5 days for my recent purchase though it may be different outside the Capitals.

[RB (Andrew)]

I'm very happy dealing with Dell.
I haven't bought a lappy from them but if I do decide to buy one, it will be from them probably.

[Gama]

As with any manyfacturer, theres good and bad.
On site warranty is what the guys might be talking about with DELL.
But it comes at a price, I also have a DELL (M2010) and it arrived with a dead hard drive, then in a week a faulty keyboard, then within 5 months the video card died. It was all replaced within 2 days, so it does have its pro's.
But you can also get next day or what ever type of warranty with many others. Shop around. I find the cheaper DELLS are very slow, so you get what you pay for. So maybe look the next model up.

Theo

[Ian Robinson]

My first notebook was a Highlander P3 ,which lasted me over 5 years without a problem until it was zapped one night by a lightning strike.

I replaced it (c/- my home contents insurance) with a Dell Inspiron 5100 (the fastest and best one they had at the time with max ram and the 15.5" UXGA ultra high resolution screen, if you buy a notebook , get at least 2 batteries , I got 3 of them and it paid off), about 4 years ago and only now the batteries are starting to loose mAh , so I bought a couple of 6600mAh batteries only last month.

When I buy another notebook , it'll be another Dell , maybe one of their Xtreme models. Not anytime soon.

[dannat (Daniel)]

Dell - smells , Apple macbook all the way - if you want the power macbook PRo, if you do go dell strip Win and install linux,

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

I just bought a Toshiba Satellite M200 today - and for $899 I'm very happy. It's not a screamer, and came with only 1Gb RAM on board and a 1.67GHz processor, but it has the required number of USB ports and a DVDR/W drive. The display is nice too. It's only for my astro stuff and will be running PHD Guiding and Images Plus concurrently to control the 350D and Nikon D40.

I think that the Satellite name has been around enough longer than pretty-well any other laptop series, so it's a well-and-truly tried and tested product. As much as I don't like proprietary systems, it's a tad difficult to get a generic system in the laptop game.

[Gargoyle_Steve (Steve)]

I'm a big fan of Dell as well, although I've not (yet) owned one of their laptops myself I have used plenty and been through the customising / ordering / using process through one of my previous jobs. I firmly beleive my next laptop WILL be a Dell.

Having said that, the 2 I have personally bought and owned have beeen Toshiba's and they have always been great machines. I also remember that many years ago one of the Aussie PC mags did a "hard knocks test" on various laptops: dropped them, froze them, overheated them, exposed them to conditions where there was almost less air than water vapour, etc - all the things you don't want to do - causing minor or fatal problems in some of the machines tested, the Toshiba came through as THE most reliable and durable machine tested, if I rememebr correctly it was the only one that survived fully unscathed.

[BTS (Brent)]

I've now had 5 laptops over the past 8yrs; 3 were Compaqs (never had problems with them), 1 HP, and now a Toshiba. All bought from ebay with NO problems at purchase.
The HP's motherboard fried itself just outside of warranty which was gonna cost $1000+ to fix and there is only 1 service centre in NSW, I was told (Prospect). The HPs are well known for being very hot; so hot that its almost possible to burn your fingers on them while typing! The fans were constantly cranking away, so was quite noisy. I would never buy another HP, period.
My Toshiba though runs so smoothly, silently and efficiently - you could swear it was a ninja of sorts. I've had it for about 18months now and have never had a problem (touch wood!!) AND they have many service centres around.
I would highly recommend a Toshiba but I am yet to deal with DELL (I'm looking at buying another laptop just for Astro work, so customizing it may be the way to go). I'll be checking their website to see what they offer.
All in all, I reckon you can get a great deal on ebay (for a new or used laptop) so don't rule out using them.
Just my 5 cents worth, hope it helps.
EDITED: Hmmmmm, just checked the DELL website and there's no way I could find to "dumb-down" their customizable laptops. Back to ebay.....

[hikerbob (Bob)]

After my desktop PC died recently I decided to replace it with a laptop (and some external storage).

PC Superstore have the Lonovo R61e Thinkpad for $599 with XP Pro. Delivery for me was next day and so far it's been a gem. I've not used it to drive telescopes and the like yet (just some basic play with a webcam and use of The Sky and Astroplanner). The only downside with this model so far is the lack of a pad for mouse operations, esternal mouse of the little toggle only.

I've had a few IBM thinkpads via work over the years, they are tough and so far reliable.

http://www.pcsuperstore.com.au/produ...roductID=11603

Specs as follows
Software Operating system provided Genuine Windows XP Professionalhttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Operating System Operating System Title Genuine Windows XP Professionalhttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Architecture Bus type/architecture PCI/PCI Express Bays Fixed Ultrabay Enhanced Form Factor Notebook Cover Material Magnesiumhttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Display/Monitor Screen Type Description WXGA TFT Viewable Image Size (Diagonal) Inches 15.4 Screen Illumination Backlit Grey Shades or Colours Max Built in Screen 16777216 Maximum Resolution 1280x800http://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Graphics Subsystem Graphics Chipset Intel Graphics Chipset Video RAM type DVMT Max resolution (with max video RAM) 2048x1536 16777216 colours Maximum Simultaneous Colours 16777216 Graphics bus interface PCI Express Graphic Features DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3.0 Graphics Processing Unit, Dual independent display option, Dynamic Display Detect, Open GL 1.4 support Connectors VGAhttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Processor BIOS type Flash ROM Processor Manufacturer Intel Processor Type Intel Celeron Processor 540 Processor internal clock speed[1] 1.86 GHz Front side bus 533 MHzhttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Memory Memory (RAM) std. / max.[8] 1 GB / 4 GB RAM slots total 2 SODIMM RAM slots available 1 SODIMM RAM speed supported 667 MHz Memory Type DDR2 SDRAMhttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Hard Disk Drives Hard disk size[4] 120 GB Hard disk type Serial ATAhttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Optical Devices Optical Drive Type DVD Recordable Interface Type EIDE Speed[5] 24X Maxhttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Audio Audio Chipset Intel High Definition Audio Data Width 24http://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Network Card Fax/modem 56K V.92 designed modem Fax/modem speed[3] 56Kbps data/14.4Kbps fax Infrared port No Description Integrated Gigabit Ethernet Network Speed 1000Mbps, 100Mbps, 10Mbps Interface Gigabit Ethernet- Integratedhttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Wireless Networking Components Wireless speed 11a:54Mbps, 11b:11Mbps, 11g:54Mbps *Wireless Speed 11a:54Mbps, 11b:11Mbps, 11g:54Mbps Wireless Standard[10] Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Wireless Type LAN Antenna UltraConnect II Description Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Frequency 802.11:2.4 to 5 GHz Wireless Implementation (Form Factor) Mini-PCIehttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Accessories Worldwide A/C compatibility Yeshttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Standard features Pointing Device Type TrackPoint Keyboard Type[11] Full size Keyboard light Yeshttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Expansion options Slots total (free) and type 1(1) PC Card, 1(0) Mini-PCIe, 1(0) Communication Daughter Card 2http://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Weight & dimensions Height 35.3 mm Depth 260 mm Width 358.5 mmhttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Security Security identification technology Nonehttp://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Warranty Type of service[13] Customer Carry-in Repair Warranty Period One year parts and labour (system battery: one year)http://www.lenovo.com/i/c.gif Battery Battery Types 6 Cell Lithium-Ion Battery Voltage 14.4 V

Bob

[Starkler (Geoff)]

I would like to hear if anyone still offers new laptops with a REAL serial port

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

If you find out let me know Geoff. I've been looking for a new laptop with a serial port for a 18mths or so now and haven't found one. How about a laptop with an ST4 port and built in Shoestring adapter

[Zuts]

Originally Posted by [1ponders]

If you find out let me know Geoff. I've been looking for a new laptop with a serial port for a 18mths or so now and haven't found one. How about a laptop with an ST4 port and built in Shoestring adapter

Hi,

They do make them but they are horribly expensive. http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp...l=Toughbook-19, if you check the specs it has one DB9 serial port.

If i had the money I would get a Panasonic fully rugged toughbook just for my outdoor astro work. It should eat up banging around in the car, dew, maybe even survive being struck by a meteorite.

Paul

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Now that looks like me Wonder if I can get it with xp.


Edit: Whoops, just read the specs. Yep you can.

[rogerg (Roger)]

Originally Posted by Starkler

I would like to hear if anyone still offers new laptops with a REAL serial port

I have been looking for a new notebook lately and have seen some with RS232. It sometimes comes in the larger ones (15.4" and bigger screens). I've been looking at Dell, Toshiba, ASUS, Sony. I'm pretty sure there were some Toshiba and ASUS that still had the 9 pin plugs, and even Parallel/LPT.

However I've been looking for an ultra-portable for my new computer (replacing my current laptop I use for everything) so haven't been taking particular note of the ones with DB9. I plan to get a Sony SZ or Dell XPS M1330. Undecided between them yet. Neither have DB9/RS232 but both have either Express PCMCIA or full PCMCIA (sony) and so can have a Serial PCMCIA card put in. However I expect to use USB to RS232 converters as I've been progressively moving over to them anyhow.

Haven't got time to dig up references to the laptops I've seen with DB9 sorry. Suggest checking the manufacturer sites and www.notebookreview.com

Roger.