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What I Recommend
I should state here that I don't get any compensation for recommending any product. So, I can tell you what I think.
Isn't life grand!
Which laptop do you think is best?
On several occasions I have been asked, “Which laptop do you think is best?” I truly can’t answer with out asking a few questions.
1) What are you going to use it for?
2) How much do you want to spend?
3) Will you be leaving it at on your desk or taking it everywhere?
If I know these, I can usually give an answer that I think will work for that person. Buying a notebook is a lot like buying a vehicle. It really depends. You wouldn’t buy a sub-compact to haul dirt. So you don’t want to buy an ultra thin to do large number crunching.
In general, it all boils down to what do you want it to do. If you just plan to use it for the Internet that’s one thing. If you plan to do a lot of spacecraft design work, that’s another.
Lightweight Notebooks
The days of setting the computer on your lap to do anything are gone. So unless you’re planning to do a lot of computing while in class, on a plane, bus, or train, lightweights are a waste of money. I say that because the lightweights don’t usually have the features of the hefty cousins. The lightweights are more prone to damage to the plastics and are more prone to LCD breakage due to the lack of support from the lid covers. They are more prone to damage to the motherboard simply by picking they up. This is again due to the weak base cover and the flexing of the motherboard. This flexing causes the parts soldered to the motherboard to pop loose and that “kills” the system. This usually happens just before the huge paper is due and you don’t have a hard copy back up. The lightweights also are prone to heat related problems. The CPU heat exchanger clogs more often than the heavier “notebooks” (the new term for laptops).
If you must have a lightweight, chose one that has lots of memory, 80GB hard drive or better, and an Intel mobile CPU. The mobile CPU is most important because it uses less power and thereby produces less heat, which is a greater problem with the lightweights. It also extends the battery life so you don’t have to charge as often.
I could go wild for the desktop replacements. I love the large displays and the many features, which are built into the newer ones. They are portable, and have all the stuff that you desktop has. Just more compact. Want wireless? You’ve got it. Want web cam? You’ve got it. Anything you could want for your desktop, you can get in your desktop replacement. Large 17” displays, full keyboards with number key pads all built in. So which one do I recommend?
Quality of the product, and quality of service are a big deal with me. While Dell helps keep me in the laptop repair business, I’d not recommend that my friends and customers buy one. Not so much because of the poor product quality control, but because of the very poor customer service. I don’t think that a person should have to replace their computer every other year to get the greatest new thing. Buy what you need now and in the far seeable future. Up grade only when it doesn’t meet your needs any longer or when the maintenance is greater than replacement costs. I’d rather buy something once and be done with it.
But that’s just my opinion.
"laptop Willie" Stovall
08/19/2010
©12/07/06 laptopwillie.com