Almost bought a new laptop

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The Wizard Of OZ

Well-Known DJ
Dec 13, 2007
3,130
50
68
Tampa Bay Area
So I've been looking for a few months, I only want to spend like $500, the most $600. Unfortunately you don't get the latest and greatest for that amount of money. Last night I was browsing Buy . com and I found a machine that looked like it could work, but there were two things I wasn't 100% comfortable with. One- it was a Toshiba-I had a problem with a Toshiba laptop a couple of years ago, two-it had an AMD processor-the one I had a problem with had an AMD processor. BUT, it had mostly what I was looking for and the price was right-$500.

I went and looked at it at Office Depot and something just didn't quite feel right so I decided to wait. Went home and looked up benchmarks on the Turion II and on the Phenom II which was on a more expensive model. I'm glad I decided not to pull the trigger. AMD is lagging behind Intel in performance right now.

If I'm going to buy a new machine I want something significantly better and faster than my 1.66mhz Core 2 Duo and not just marginally faster.

Bottom line? I'm going to have to wait a bit longer and maybe I'l have to bite the bullet and spend $699 to get what I want. Even that will be a bit of a step down from the performance and long term speed I REALLY want, but hey, life is full of compromises . . .
 
Speaking as someone who is a cheap bastid; If you do a lot of work on your computer/depend on it for you business. Don't skimp over a $100 or $200. The frustration you'll face daily with a slow computer eclipses a few extra bucks. Think of it this way an extra $200 is less than $.20 over a the year life span. An $800 computer is $0.73 cents per day over a 3 year life span. I think you can invest that in your business. :)

I skimped on my netbook even though I bought a higher end model. I'm not unsatisfied with the netbook as I knew what I was getting myself into but I should know myself better. I'm not very patient in waiting on a computer the effect is I hate using it and use it much less than my old laptop.
 
If you wat a great laptop at a fair price look at the Acer brand. I have owned 4 Acers and not a problem with one.
 
I am working on a couple of "projects and if they work out then I'll splurge and get something better. Right now it looks pretty promising :)

My top brand preferences are Dell, Acer and even would consider Gateway. Sony is too expensive, don't feel comfortable with Lenovo, ASUS is somehow, hmmm, maybe more expensive, HP-not sure about their quality. Just started seeing MSI and their screens are SUPER bright.

Gotta have a 17" screen, that's a must, 500GB or 640GB drive, min 4GB RAM and at least 256mb graphics memory with a decent graphics chip. Also gotta have a VGA port for Kroakie. One thing I REALLY do like about certain Toshiba laptops is the backlit keyboard, VERY COOL!
 
A back lit laptop keyboard?

Now that's a feature all DJ's could use!

I could remove my full sized back lit keyboard from my rack.
 
I have had Toshiba lappys from the start and found they run way cool than some other friends laptops for what we do. HP being one that seemed to run very hot. Acer is fine my netbook is an Acer and my ex had one that seemed quite fine. Maestro had one which worked beautifully for him for a couple yrs.
 
Toshiba is the only laptop company I know of that has the backlit keyboard and I think it's awesome. That one feature might sway me at some point.

This might sound strange, but the main thing I don't like about Lenovo is that they're Chinese.

Acer is now one of the top PC manufacturers in the world and I've had good experiences with their LCD displays and a laptop.

I guess my gripe with ASUS is that they think their stuff-motherboards, laptops etc. is somehow better and deserves to priced at a premium.

As far as usage goes, DJing, doing my singing shows and karaoke hosting is a pretty small percentage of what I use the laptop for. I use it a lot more for viewing stock and currency charts, doing research, reading articles, viewing YouTube videos, email and chatboards.

Once I get the new laptop I may just use my old laptop for shows and use the new one for everything else.
 
I love my Mac too but you'll never get one for 500 - 600. I have no complaints with the higher end of the Toshiba's or Sony's. Don't like HP or Gateway. Other than that, I probably echo Rob's post.

1. Leveno (IBM)
2. Asus
3 Alienware
4. HP
5. Toshiba
6. Dell
7. Gateway
8. Acer (old Packard Bell company)
 
DJMAGNO said:
MacBook Pro:triwink:
Click to expand...

Don't buy a Mac -- you'll end up walking around with sequins on yer man purse, and Ricky Martin will be following you... :sqerr: :sqlaugh:


BTW, almost all are made in China -- no biggy.

$1000-1500 for a computer, is a small price IMHO. It can do the work of 100 people, that you would have to pay, and provide benefits to. Never skimp on what does your work for you, otherwise you'll end up doing the work... ;)
 
ittigger said:
I love my Mac too but you'll never get one for 500 - 600. I have no complaints with the higher end of the Toshiba's or Sony's. Don't like HP or Gateway. Other than that, I probably echo Rob's post.

1. Leveno (IBM)
2. Asus
3 Alienware
4. HP
5. Toshiba
6. Dell
7. Gateway
8. Acer (old Packard Bell company)
Click to expand...

I forgot about the price range... I was just reading the lit keyboard part... C what happens when I don't pay attention:triwink:
 
i've had a toshiba satellite for a few years now without any problems,i just upgraded it from vista to win7 ultimate and its still kicking strong,i remember paying $850 for it at the time when vista was just coming out.i would buy another toshiba any day.
 
Didn't even mention it because there is no way in hell I would ever buy a mac. Apple became what they started out raging against. I remember that great 1984esqe short film where they are the little guy, underdog going up against the big, bad corporation.

They get away with pricing their products two to three times higher that other companies and people pay it. Not me. Gotta give them credit, they are great at marketing, but I'm not buying what they're selling. The iPad IS really cool, but i just don't have a need for it. A laptop is the way to go for what I do and what I need.

What would be awesome is an iPad type of device with a 17" or 18" screen, now THAT I would buy. Hook up a bluetooth keyboard and mouse when you need it and you have something amazing.

I think touch screen technology and the Apple implementation of it on the iPad is very cool. I'm looking forward to the android devices coming out in the next year or two with the same functionality plus some things the iPad doesn't do.

But me buy a mac? NEVER gonna happen. Even if I had a million dollars.

Never gonna buy the iPhone or iPod either unless Apple stops forcing everyone to use their proprietary software. I don't approve of the way they do business, period.
 
The Wizard Of OZ said:
They get away with pricing their products two to three times higher that other companies and people pay it.
Click to expand...

People that do buy into the Apple world are finding that there is 2 to 3 times better engineering in their product too. Rule #1 applies here.

The Wizard Of OZ said:
Never gonna buy (the iPhone or iPod either) unless Apple stops forcing everyone to use their proprietary software.
Click to expand...

Having proprietary software has helped them keep control and support of the product. The OS is not proprietary. It is an open system. Ever try to get efficient help from MS?
 
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