Hi I need your help to decide on a laptop for my son's school work

[cabbage]

Hello,
I feel a 15" laptop is what I should get for my son age 14 requesting for school related project [I know every 14 to 15 year will tell it for school work but they want to use it for watching YOU-TUBE,TV ] ect. That said a side,

What does those who come to this room think... Any suggestion>>>

How is Dell reliability?

I know very little about Toshiba, Sony or

Availability of forum support [User to User] I find helpful than contacting the company certain times to resolve issues. Also the possible downloads from the dedicated forum thread helps ...

Can any body share their positive or negative experience with a company that may help me in my purchasing a laptop computer.

Regards

 

[Register3D]

Hi

Well i am using a Asus laptop and it is perfect and I mean this dont buy Dell, my room mate has it and he says it sucks and it lags.. My Asus laptop cost about 500 € but i mean it was worth it!!

 

[The Howling Wolves]

With so many to choose from I would check out the reviews.
Laptop Computers & Notebook Reviews | Laptops & Notebooks Review | PCMag.com

Find out if one fits into your price range, battery life will be important, and what laptop will be used for.
THW

Edit: Find out what their return policy is and what kind of tech support is included.

 

[cabbage]

I felt this is the correct forum to find out about computer issues.

I seem to lean towards Dell.

Which line of Dell is more robust reliable and friendly for changing HD or RAM by a novice? I agree all computers will fail at some time in the future but hazzel free in the first year of useage is what I mean by above.

XPS or Inspiron or Latitude?

Though all of them got the Sandybridge Intel's CPU the chipset versions are displayed as
Inspiron with HM57 and XPS with HM67.

There were roumors that the USB 3 is a problem in some of the Dell's laptops and I do not know which of their make.:shock: XPS may be or all Dell's Laptops?

Anybody who'd recently bought a Dell and could share satisfaction would be greatly appreciated.
Regards

 

[theski232]

i have a dell as well, the only problem that ive had with it is that i installed mcafee on it
also, the only downside to dell that i found was their website is not very good if you want to find something specific.

 

[profdlp]

A price range would get you more specific suggestions.

Whatever you decide to go with, I would recommend making sure you get a "real" Windows 7 disk with it, even if you have to pay a few bucks extra.

Make sure you run the Recovery Disk program the minute you take it out of the box. We see people every day who "never got around to it..." and were sorry later. Since your son is a student, Murphy's Law says he'll need it the night before his final exams.

Run a program like PC Decrapifier right off the bat to clean out all the useless stuff the manufacturer will put on there. Ask for advice if you're not sure what to ditch and what to keep.

Make sure you have a good computer security plan in place; 14-year-olds are not noted for restraint when it comes to downloading "iffy" stuff. (I know, because I used to be one.)

Try to get one that's good enough to play a few decent games - all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. (And drives mom and dad nuts when he starts telling you that all his friends are playing ___________ and he can't because his computer is not as good as theirs.

 

[cabbage]

Hi profdip,
Sound suggestion. Thank you.

Price rage between £800 to £900.
I am from UK.
Any suggestion of the Dell's laptops?

Regards

 

[whs]

Dell looks nice on the outside but they are really cheap inside. I have 1 Dell but would never buy one again. My best laptop is a Sony. I also have 2 excellent Gateways - but they may not be available in the UK. My HP experience in laptops is not so great either - my HP desktop though is excellent.

If I had to choose, I would look into Sony, Toshiba and Asus - maybe even Samsung.

 

[strollin]

I currently use 2 Dell laptops. My personal is an Inspiron that is nearly 4 years old that has never given me any problems and is used on a daily basis. The other laptop is a Dimension provide by my employer which is about a year old and has also been flawless.

I have owned/used laptops from Toshiba, IBM, Fujitsu, Compaq/HP, Acer as well as Dell and all have been pretty equal in their reliability, none seem to particularly stand out as being worse than the other.

 

[cabbage]

Dell looks nice on the outside but they are really cheap inside. I have 1 Dell but would never buy one again. My best laptop is a Sony.

If I had to choose, I would look into Sony, Toshiba and Asus - maybe even Samsung.

Hi,
I looked at Sony & Dell
The Sony SB1V9E & Dell Vostro 3550 As both have Intel second generation i5 2430 2.3GHz CPU 4GB 1333MHz RAM but
HD on Sony is 500 GB [5400RPM] where as Dell has 500 GB [7200RPM]

Graphic on Sony is AMD Radeon HD 6470M [512MB] where as Dell has AMD Radeon HD 6630M [1GB]
Both Garphic cards are on the lower middle range but on the bench mark Sony's is 173rd where as Dell's 109th.

Naturally I am confused to say the least. Which is better value for money in your opinion? I am really asking advice as you are a well experienced in laptops [Where as I do not have a laptop in the house!!] and I am not critical of what you said and please do not take it the wrong way.

If you feel the above two are not comparable, would you be kind enough to tell me the one more similar to Dell Insprion 15R [Inspiron N5110] in Sony or Asus? I would greatly appreciate your input.
Thanking you.
Regards

 

[whs]

Right, you have to pay more for a Sony. If you want best beat for the buck, Dell is ahead. I bought this one anyhow - with the upgraded GPU and a high def screen: VPCF1390X | VAIO® F1390X Configure-to-Order | Sony | Sony Style USA

The HDD did not matter to me because I immediately replaced it with an SSD.

Here is a good site that gives you an idea what is on the market for good prices. I realize that most of that is different in the UK, but it may serve as reference: http://www.deals2buy.com/categories/laptop/deals

 

[quester12]

Whs, not bad advice ; i like sony products as well, Cabbage .... from what i have read , you have gotten some great advise. I want to add that most laptops or netbooks are a propitiatory build . meaning memory and software bundles upgrades are specifically made for those machines. yes you may replace certain components like the hard drive ; unless you know how i would not do it. please check on replacement warranties and conditions for replacement. compare pricing and shipping prices exchanges from the pound , euro dollar or u.s money.

hope you find a great laptop.

quester12

 

[strollin]

It's true that many parts of a laptop are proprietary, such as the display, keyboard, DVD drive, etc.... However, the 2 you listed, memory and software, are some that aren't. For memory, as long as you match the specs, it is irrelevant which mfr's memory you use. In regards to software, the only things that are truly proprietary are the drivers, other than that you can install whatever software you want. I have taken laptops that came with an OEM version of XP and installed a retail version of Win 7 or a Linux distro on them.

 

[quester12]

yes i agree to a point. like i said if you have the knowledge . some domestic memory modules are manufactured a bit differently from European brands; however .... most generic modules operate differently in different machines performance wise.

thanks strollin.

quester12

 

[winz]

Honestly man don't buy a dell... that's all I got, PEACE

 

[vspeck23]

Hey try something like a Toshiba satellite pro the are balanced performance with reliability.

HP Pavilions are pretty reliably and are not bad for performance

Sony vaio's Have brilliant in performance but lack in battery life and life span


acer aspires are a good all rounder but value for money

^^ al of the above i have in my house hold and all are still working