Need a new laptop - what to get?

[Socalgal]

I really need a new laptop and not sure where to begin looking.

I'm pretty sure I want to stay away from the Gateways and HPs, but would be interested in Dell, Toshiba, maybe Samsung, ?

Requirements:
. Smallish and lightweight, with full size kb;
. Minimum 4 hours battery life;
. Fast, powerful;
. Under $1000.
. No OS installed, if possible. (I can use my existing/old Dell WinXP OS, yes?)

Thanks guys.

[osprey4]

(I can use my existing/old Dell WinXP OS, yes?)

Technically, yes. Legally, no. But for practical purposes, you cannot save money buying a system without an OS.

You can get a Vostro 1014 (14") with Core 2 Duo, XP, DVD writer, etc. for under $1000 through the Dell Small Business Outlet. These are refurbished but come with a regular warranty.

[SarahLen]

I got an Acer Notebook.
They might be a bit cheaper than other ones but the quality is not that good. I don't want to say the are not good but not that good as samsung for example.

[RobRich]

I have been using HP notebooks for several years now. If you take care regarding build quality on certain models, HP can deliver a positive user experience.

Just to toss out an interesting alternative, I would say perhaps take a look at Fujitsu, but sub-$1000 for a decently equipped model might be difficult without a promotional sale.

Curious, have you examined offerings from Lenovo? Build quality is typically a little above average for a mainstream PC brand, and pricing on mid-range models has recently started to become more competitive with other tier-one brands.

[Socalgal]

Thanks for your suggestions There are so many options it's going to take some time to figure it all out, so thanks for narrowing it down some.

[MegalosSkylaki]

If you are looking to keep using XPpro, there are some business laptops that are sold with Win7 plus a downgrade to XP. You may have trouble using another laptops OS CD.Also, businesss laptops often come with three year rather than one year warentee.

By full-size KB, do you mean one with "regulation" size keys, or also has number pad. A number pad can be bought as an accessory item for use when needed. The problem with buying a laptop from the Inet is one doesn't get the feel of the KB. I've noticed many of the complaints involve the KB, which is an ideosyncratic type item, but drives people nuts if they don't like it. The flex of the screen also bothers people as does the touchpad/button operation/position.

Take a look at the open -box laptops in cages at some stores; I've been lucky with these. So try to actually handle before you buy and try to avoid buying unless handled first. Yeah, especially me without an opposing thumb. .

DOOOG

[butch81385]

Socal, last year I picked up a Dell Inspriron 1318 (?). It was a Core2Duo with 4gig of ram and a 250gig hard drive, and I upgraded the battery to a 9-cell so it can last up to 6 hours if I am not using the internet. I think it was around $800... The light weight and 13.3" screen are exactly what I was looking for. I found that the 13" size laptops are usually the cutoff for full size keyboards.

Just something to look at.

[mischastar]

This is some great advice. I too have been looking for a nw laptop. There are so many to choose from that it must be difficult to consider all the options available.

I think I will go back to the drawing board and take in all these words of advice to find the right one.

[DoubleK]

Socal I really agree with what RobRich is telling you. While I personally build and will always need the power of a desktop, will concede that I have been stealing alone time on my wife's HP-DV6. I am quite impressed as I have always despised their small cheap mini atx desktops and they are the very reason I started building my own.

With that said, and not knowing exactly what you need the laptop to do, feel that $1000 is VERY generous for a general purpose laptop unless you need it for powerful multimedia purposes ie video editing, transcoding or video gaming.

Here is a link to the laptop I purchased for my wife on sale last fall with an 8 hour battery:

HP Pavilion dv6-2157us Entertainment Laptop | Staples®

Her's is seemingly no longer available as it came with a faster processor and an 8 cell? 8 hour battery. All in all very solid except for the vibration of the dvdrw drive inherent to laptops but worse in this particular model.

**EDIT** Forgot to mention, I installed Windows 7 for her over Vista after using a XP desktop for years. All of her "Legacy" Macromedia Flash medical software runs again. While it is possible to use your coa (sticker key) to reinstall the same os on a new computer if you have a disc is it legal? That is for you to decide. Honestly you will not save money since all mainstream laptops come with an os installed. I can assure you that my whole family skipped Vista for all of the obvious reasons in the beginning. Microsoft really got it right with Windows 7 however!

[thephilosophizer]

You can get a white macbook for $900.
Don't know what you need it for, but the alienware m11x was supposed to be sub-$1000, don't know about the battery life though.

[StealthyV]

after almost a YEAR of drooling over, researching, comparing, and ultimately deciding on a netbook computer, I have to say I made a great purchase with the Asus Eee 1000HE netbook!

I've been building desktop computers since 1999 and never considered myself a laptop kind of guy- until I moved into a tiny studio apartment. I started borrowing my girlfriends' under-performing laptop and although it was heavier than a cinder block, and louder than a jet engine (clogged fans), it STILL was more fun to use than my turbo-charged AMD-64 system!

The 1000HE features a keyboard 94% (or so) the size of a standard keyboard, and with my large hands (I stand 6'2") I thought this would be an issue. It's not. In fact, I utilize hotkeys, the function (fn) + key shortcuts, and the trackpad with ease.

I use Linux Mint which is arguably the EASIEST to transition to Linux desktop for newbies, and it's free- which wouldn't affect the "don't buy a computer without an OS" argument mentioned above. It comes with Office, flash-enabled Firefox, and a whole host of programs & packages fully-supported by the community. I actually do not use WinXP anymore on this machine, even though I have it set up as a dual-boot.

One drawback to a netbook is the lack of optical drive. I was able to install my OS with a thumb drive, so it's not a big deal. There are 3 USB ports, but a hub can increase the options. At work, I have speakers to plug into, and battery life is approx 5 hours on Linux, 9 hours on WinXP with power options minimized. I don't worry about taking along my power cord anymore!

New, I paid $349 in spring 2009 for this netbook. It has a 10" screen (it's just right!!!), and although I am nearsighted, it's really not been an issue. Some web pages are difficult to view, as they're not optimized for small screens, but that's been getting better as it seems developers are designing for mobile markets more and more. The "chicklet" keyboard is quiet, clicks nicely, and has less range-of-motion for quicker typing. My fingers spend less time pressing and more time flying to the next key. It's great! My netbook is blue- also something other manufacturers don't understand- we want variety!

I also looked at Fujitsu laptops, but I wanted portability, battery life, TINY footprint, and solid user reviews, for less than $500- Fujitsu couldn't deliver on price.

I bought my netbook through newegg- the best way to find a match is to sort the results by "most reviews." the most reviewers, generally, the best product, IMHO.

Good luck in your search!

Not all bad reviews are worth considering- each user's experience is unique and not usually representative of the product's merits. That's why I sort on NUMBER of reviews, not HIGHEST review given.

~Branson