New Laptop

On another thread I discuss my computer is not working. I've been thinking of getting a laptop now for some time. I mostly use it for web based stuff so I don't need any fancy graphic cards or anything. I want it to be wireless and I want to connect it to my TV.

Any recommendations?

Toshiba products......stay away from Dell. I do not know if you are a MacHead - they are nice machines too. You may want to look into the netbooks - smaller yes but they travel better.

No Macs for me. I've considered a netbook but have done zero research on them.

I like the net books for the size but I wonder about the keyboarding....depends on the size of one's finger tips. In terms of reliability I have found Toshiba to be a great choice.

What do you mean with connect to TV? If you want to use it as a source to watch video you may want to consider one that has large hard-drive, blu-ray, sufficient processing power, and a HDMI port that is compatible. Netbooks don't have that kind of stuff.

By connect to my TV I mean to alt-tab (?) and switch to my TV screen as a monitor.

Main differences between netbook and laptop, aside from size, is the limited processor power (with Atom) and the lack of an optical drive. If your are looking for a budget device and decent deal, and don't need the optical drive, there is an Acer 1410 available at Walmart for about 379 that has laptop power at netbook size.

If your going to want to switch over to using your TV as your monitor, then your going to require some horsepower (not a ton, but more than a netbook has to offer) to run the video on your larger monitor.

I'll second the "stay way from Dell" comments...

My bias is toward HP, but that's primarily due to expirence w/them @ work.
Try and stay tier one if you can (big names such as HP, Toshiba, etc.) stay away from eMachines, Panaphonics, Magnetbox, etc.


Should be able to find something in the $400-$600 rage I figure.

$400 - 600 seems reasonable...

The key will be finding a laptop that has dedicated video memory (not shared) AND has a HDMI port.

Just had a brief look at PutridShop, maybe wait a week or two, if you can. The current offerings are a little stingy for the money being asked in return.

I disagree with the stay away from Dell comments. My Dell machines have never given me any troubles, my 4 HP machines have all gone in for warranty work at some point. I have a dead 25 month old HP 17" laptop with a fried graphics card as we speak. Almost $1600 for 25 months. You do the math. That's the last HP for me ever. I have owned 4 Dells now over the last 6 years or so, all are still running, all have had ZERO problems. Every single HP I have owned (5 over the last 10 years or so) have all had at least 1 hardware failure.

There are a few high end netbooks with HDMI out and discreet graphics from both Asus and HP if you really need something that small. My recommendation for best bang for the buck at the moment is the newly revamped Studio XPS 16 if you don't need anything ultraportable. New Core i7, new ATI 5800 series graphics, great for use as a multimedia machine for a fraction of the price of a new MacBook Pro. The build quality on my wifes has been suberb thus far. No problems at all in 14 months or so she's had it, and she runs it HARD around 6 hours a day on average.

The HP laptop might be up for sale if your interested once I get it repaired. Let me know if your interested. You can google DV9854CA for the specs. Nice machine, stilly pretty current specs, including Blu-Ray and HDMI out with remote. I just don't trust HP anymore. For somewhere in that $400-600 range I'd probably sell, and it beats the crap out of a netbook.

Thanks Grumpyrom. I'll keep that in mind. When you get it repaired PM me, and if I'm ready maybe we can strike a deal.

JT Estoban wrote:The key will be finding a laptop that has dedicated video memory (not shared) AND has a HDMI port.

Why would he need a dedicated video card if he does not intend to watch HD movies or play fancy games? Integrated video should be fine - if he wants to watch HD movies he would also need a blu-ray player in the laptop which may put it in a different price segment.
I think an Acer available at Walmart for under $400 may work fine, for example:

http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/netbook/2010/Acer/Aspire/AspireOneAO752/AspireOneAO752hsp2.shtml

grumpy is right...DELL is generally a good product...ESPECIALLY with laptops (had one for 6 years that was great...and took a beating from me, which I sold for $200)

ALL manufacturers have the occasional "dud". Our office bought 3 IDENTICAL laptops (HP), and of them 2 worked great...the third picked up a glitch somewhere and would not recognize new hardware. So we just set it back to factory settings and it works fine now.

Couple of things to consider GOM.
1) Your TV. Does it have blutooth? Some laptops come with that now...if your TV has it, you don't have to worry so much about the HDMI cables (unless you want to watch HD movies through your laptop).
2) What do you REALLY want it for? internet browsing is fine...depending on what you view. If you watch lots of video/news stories...then you'll want a couple of upgrades, especially memory.
3) Harddrive size means little anymore. You can buy "external" drives cheap (I just got a 1TB external for $89)...so don't get sold on the size of the drive.
4) No matter WHERE you buy from, don't be afraid to ask for "extras". When I bought my laptop from DELL, they were having a special to get a free modular CD Burner...when I called to order though...they "threw in" a carrying case, a modular floppy drive, and a software package. (I had priced it online the way I wanted it...so I know it was addons that I was not charged extra for).
5) If you're buying new though...I'd recommend the warranty to 3 years...and make sure it covers physical damage. There's NOTHING worse than a laptop you've knocked off a table and cracked the screen on. Most standard warranties do NOT cover that kind of damage (nor the coffee spill across the keyboard)

Miz point wrote:Toshiba products......stay away from Dell. I do not know if you are a MacHead - they are nice machines too. You may want to look into the netbooks - smaller yes but they travel better.

My mother-in-law went through 2 faulty Toshiba laptops before switching to Dell.

I have had 3 Dell's in the past without issue.

Dell's are also great for people who want to be able to customize their specs before purchasing.

Something to consider.

Get a laptop that has a screen resolution that does better than 1200x800.

Nothing is worse than having to constantly scroll around because of a lack of screen real estate.

eViL tRoLl wrote:

JT Estoban wrote:The key will be finding a laptop that has dedicated video memory (not shared) AND has a HDMI port.

Why would he need a dedicated video card if he does not intend to watch HD movies or play fancy games? Integrated video should be fine - if he wants to watch HD movies he would also need a blu-ray player in the laptop which may put it in a different price segment.
I think an Acer available at Walmart for under $400 may work fine, for example:

http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/netbook/2010/Acer/Aspire/AspireOneAO752/AspireOneAO752hsp2.shtml

Glad you asked.

Sure, today the client says he won't be doing any HD video, or play fance games. However, that doesn't mean that in 6 months, the client will call back saying "this laptop you recomended doesn't do all the cool fancy things that I see my friends are able to do with their laptops, I want to do that!"....it's called future planning.

Most peeps don't want to plunk down several hundreds of dollars for a device that will be obsolete in very short order. IMO, laptops with integrated video adapters are already obsolete and should be sold at a cut-rate discount. In short, integrated vdeo = insuficent resources for much of anything. Hell, most integrated video cards max out with falsh animations from most internet websites.

Oh that's right, I forgot, we're in Winnipeg.... cheapest option possible = best.

sputnik wrote:Get a laptop that has a screen resolution that does better than 1200x800.

Nothing is worse than having to constantly scroll around because of a lack of screen real estate.

And then there are the older folks who like to set resolution at 800x600 (or lower) as they don't want to use a magnifying glass each time they use their device.

@ work we switched to HP after having nothing buy problems with Toshiba and Dell machines for years.

Pick a brand your happy with. It's much the same as buying a car.

another thing about resolutions (good point brought up by Sputnik) think about the resolution you'd prefer to have on your TV screen. Many people, especially those with poor eyesight (like my wife) have issues keeping the native resolution when switching from the laptop screen to the TV screen.

In short, I created a "TV" user account that has larger fonts, and a larger resolution so as to not have to sit 3' away from the TV to view the smaller text/menus etc. or have to switch back and forth between different resolutions and font sizes (which requires a reboot afterward if you using Windows)

I bought a new laptop about half year ago, for use as my only personal computer (i.e. desktop replacement). I picked a Lenovo Thinkpad as they have great deals for advanced technology and reputation for sturdiness. I would recommend this brand (though mine is a work machine and has no HDMI). My favourite source for laptop information is notebook review:
http://www.notebookreview.com/

eViL tRoLl wrote:

sputnik wrote:Get a laptop that has a screen resolution that does better than 1200x800.

Nothing is worse than having to constantly scroll around because of a lack of screen real estate.

And then there are the older folks who like to set resolution at 800x600 (or lower) as they don't want to use a magnifying glass each time they use their device.

OLDER FOLKS!!! whadya mean OLDER FOLKS!!!!

heh.. I cant go any higher then 1024x768. unless I want to plant my face right on the screen.

I bought a Gateway from Futue Shop about 2 months ago. It has HDMI output and my downloaded movies and shows look great on our TV. The laptop was $499, works great for what I use it for.

Excellent. How are you connecting it to the TV? Through a cable? Is wireless available?

HDMI cable.