The best PC

-Lurker- · 03-04-2008, 03:05 PM

We all know everyone on CC seems to have an unhealthy (maybe unwarranted?) obsession with the extremely expensive Macbook line. Now, I want to know what the best PC laptop is under $1400. Post your opinions

March · 03-04-2008, 03:13 PM

I use a macbook and love it, but I am interested in the PC market. Hopefully some PC-CCers will speak up.

(To be fair though, a macbook is $1,099, a few hundred below your price limit, and is less than $1,000 with a student discount.)

Chipmoney · 03-04-2008, 05:07 PM

what would you be using it for?

If you're not doing anything graphics intensive the sony viao's look nice and have pretty good processor speed and hard drive space for the price.

Newegg.com - SONY VAIO CR Series VGN-CR320E/T NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T7250(2.00GHz) 14.1" Wide XGA 2GB 250GB Dual layer DVD Burner Intel GMA X3100 - Retail

If you're doing much with graphics or want the ability to look at ASUS, they're cheap for the amount of power you get. Look around on newegg and you can find some good deal too.

Newegg.com - ASUS F8 Series F8SV-A1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T7500(2.20GHz) 14" Wide XGA 1GB 160GB DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT - Retail

lville · 03-08-2008, 08:42 PM

I would prefer to get a mac, but I am going somewhere where it is basically 100% pc so I will probably end up getting a pc. From what I have seen feature-wise, the best value is lenovo.

Lenovo T61 customized
2.4 GHz
2 GB RAM
160 GB HD
DVD recordable bay
etc.
$1000

You can change the customization on there website to other specs and see the prices. They have quite a few options and for what I consider very reasonable upgrade prices, especially compared to mac spec upgrade prices.

Dell is another option. The XPS line is fairly high quality but some of the upgrades require a $500 bluray drive upgrade as well. The inspiron line is cheaper than the XPS and the inspiron 1720 with the same upgrades as above is $1200. Not as good of value as lenovo.

I like HP over dell. There are more options to choose from depending on what you need.

Gateway doesn't let you customize online but the closest to the above stats is th Gateway M-151XL. It is $1300 with 2.4 GHz, 250 GB HD, and 3 GB RAM. It seems like a good value, but I don't know a lot about gateway.

These examples are just normal laptops with the specs I think I will end up getting. I don't know if you a concerned about multimedia/gaming one or an ultraportable. I think lenovo is the best value for regular computing but maybe less so on the other fronts. I would avoid sony because they always seem to be overpriced.

Bowler Hat · 03-09-2008, 04:19 AM

Quote:

I would avoid sony because they always seem to be overpriced.

This from someone who expresses a personal preference for Macbooks? C'mon, man. I'd take a Vaio over a Macbook/Macbook Pro any day =p

lville · 03-09-2008, 10:51 AM

I like the mac OS better than windows. I only need it for regular computing and macs are fairly quick even with worse specs than those above. The macbook pro, and the air are bad value in my opinion, but The macbook is a fairly good deal if you don't upgrade it and it is also fairly compact.

Either way, sony is overpriced compared to other pc's. I know that lenovo is a better value than other pc brands which is why I would go with a lenovo if I did not get a mac.

kyledavid80 · 03-09-2008, 09:28 PM

lville: you beat me to it! I just ordered the T61 yesterday. =)

Lenovo is the best for PCs, IMO. The T61 is currently like:

14-15" screen (WXGA or SXGA+)
2.1GHz 800MHz 3MBL2
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
14.1 WXGA TFT
Intel GMA X3100 GM965
1 GB RAM
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
80GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo 24X/24X/24X/8X Max, Ultrabay Slim
PC Card Slot & Express Card Slot
ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe US/EMEA/LA/ANZ
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
4 cell Li-Ion Battery
>>>>> $850

The one I just ordered:
14" WXGA
2.4GHz 800MHz 3MBL2
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
2 GB RAM
100GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim
6 cell Li-Ion Battery
>>>>> $960

Woohoo ThinkPad!

Chipmoney · 03-09-2008, 09:37 PM

the only thing I have against thinkpads is that they all have integrated video cards...

Coopjust · 03-10-2008, 10:37 AM

Most people would be better suited by integrated. I'm a power user who will probably build a separate bleeding edge desktop instead. It's a heck of a lot more price efficient and having a full workstation is nice.

Dedicated graphics cards in laptops are neat, but they aren't power efficient and they produce a ton of heat. I'm going to buyt a midrange laptop instead of a heavy duty one; usually, the battery life is better and you don't have a scorching hot laptop on your lap.

Dell: Low end sucks badly, mid range decent, high end decent. Get the warranty for sure, 3 yrs in home + 3 yrs accidental. Good coupons around graduation, back to school, and X-mas.

HP: Low end isn't great, midrange pretty good, high end decent.

Lenovo (ThinkPad): Higher priced. Excellent build quality, good preinstalled software and a good amount of driver availability. The laptop case is plain but it takes a beating. 10% discount for IBM stockholders (part of the agreement). They tend to be updated less in favor of stability. Coupons and stockholder discount (as of 03/07, they were still offering discounts to IBM stockholders) that sometimes combine make the pricing easier. Warranty service is supposed to be superb- I've heard many stories where damage caused by user negligence were covered for free, even after Lenovo took over (spills in keyboard and such)

Toshiba: Decent budget laptops, absolutely awful (F at the BBB at one point) warranty service.

Sony: Overpriced, poor reliability. Just no.

Apple: Since the switch to intel, a lot more price competitive.

There is no "perfect" PC, but for many users it will come down to Mac OS vs Windows and whether or not the help desk will support them at College.

Sheed30 · 03-10-2008, 08:07 PM

lenovo is coooool

or HP

viscious · 03-11-2008, 03:54 PM

"the only thing I have against thinkpads is that they all have integrated video cards..."

Umm they don't all have integrated video cards. Look on the website and customize one with "discrete graphics" I'm pretty sure they all come with at least an NVidia Quadro of some sort. I got mine in 2006 and it came with a Radeon Mobile x1300, its not THAT great graphics wise but it surely is not integrated.

Dabu · 03-11-2008, 04:10 PM

I do not believe that any current thinkpad has a graphics card capable of handling PC games. The cards they put in, while good, are more tuned for workstation/business usage. I am ordering a Dell XPS1530 for my college laptop. The price is pretty competitive, especially with the EPP Discount, and it has gotten very good reviews.

smitty541 · 03-11-2008, 06:01 PM

some schools tell you which comp they want you to use. check the school page. i know my school says NOT to go with macs

viscious · 03-12-2008, 09:18 AM

@Dabu

I am capable of playing Team Fortress 2 as well as all the Half-Life 2 titles in the Orange Box on my Radeon Mobile x1300 and it plays well. Those are the only games that I have installed on the laptop so I can't say about other games. I'd assume that the NVidia cards that they are using now are at least better than my Radeon Mobile x1300 so it seems like they can in fact play PC games. Definitely (even though I haven't tried) won't play a game like BioShock though.

Dabu · 03-12-2008, 04:33 PM

Right. I wouldn't exactly call HL2 and its subsequent games based on the same engine "current" games, as they will run on DirectX 9 w/o the advanced shaders stuff. I was more talking about games like Call of Duty 4, Crysis, etc.