Laptops

Thansal · April 2003

<div class="IPBDescription">one of the things I don't know much abou</div> ok, I have no first hand experiance with laptops and I am suposed to help my friend pick one out <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'>

here is the deal, all biases asiside I would like to know what companies tend to mach reliable devices, IE give me proof don't just say GateWay is evil (Though I will say that for Dell b/c I don't like em, but if you can prove that the make the best laptops, so be it)

Here is the rundown:
1) No macs simply b/c she dosn't know them and I don't want her to have to learn (not ripping on macs, this is just for ease)
2) She is going to Japan for a year, and she dosn't want to take her full comp with her (don't blame her)
3) It is primarily going to be used fo music/DVDs/Divx
4) It has to have a swapable drive (going to pick up 2 DVD drives b/c she will be picking up region 2 DVDs and I am not going to do anything illiegal)
5) It Has to have GOOD sound/video b/c of the desire for multimedia stuff
6) Probably the most system intesive game she will be playing is The Sims

so Things I want to know:
1) good sound from a laptop, can it happen? or are there good spkrs she could plug in?
2) Japanese TVs, would I have to have anything special to beable to turn TV out into a Japanese TVs video in? (IE do they use diff things then we (americans) DO?)

Yah any help would be great <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

~T

GWAR · April 2003

I think alienware has the best damn laptop i ever seen... Only if you have $$$$, and lots of it

FlatlineUTD · April 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (GWAR @ Apr 1 2003, 09:54 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> I think alienware has the best damn laptop i ever seen... Only if you have $$$$, and lots of it  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
And don't mind a 40-minute battery life.

Personally, I'm a fan of Toshiba (check out the Satellite series) and VPR Matrix laptops. Not too pricey, and I'm pretty sure you can swap out drives in both models (not totally sure though).

I can't help you much regarding the TV question, but as for the sound... you're better off getting separate speakers, because I've never found a laptop with decent sound.

redeemed_darkness · April 2003

my best advice is use google and do some looking around to find the model you want for x amuont of $$$$

Spooge · April 2003

I don't know what kind of price range you're looking in but here's a link to a laptop I'm getting for my girlfriend. She's graduating and starting her teaching career.

<a href='http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11215184&m=488&cat=494&scat=495' target='_blank'>AMD Compaq Presario</a>

tseepra · April 2003

And btw just remember to check that the recharger and laptop is compatible with Japanese electricity, because different countrys run on different "electricities" (the ammount of watts is different).

We got a dell at home and the sound quality is not bad but you can't hear it over a cars moter so it is quite.

I think you should consider a mac. Go chaeck out the new powerbooks <a href='http://www.apple.com/powerbook/index17.html' target='_blank'>here</a> like 17" on a laptop is amazing.

tbZBeAst · April 2003

You could always check the Dell factory outlet - machines that were orderde in error and returned. They've got the same warranty as the ones you specify yourself, so if you can find one of the right spec, then you could save yourself a couple of hundred quid / dollars / groats whatever.

Thansal · April 2003

as I said, no MACs, she is not that computer literate and going from one OS to another compleatly different one would be to much of a hassel

hmm, Toshiba, I will lok into it.

As for Japanes standard wall out lets, I seem to remember that they actualy do run off of the same as the US (It is primarily places in europe that don't I think)

Well Thanks for the help, I will probably poke at toshiba and have a look see

outerfroggy1 · April 2003

well mac sux anyways <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'>

ravan46 · April 2003

I work at a place that repairs computers and stuff. and i now that i think about it, i rarely see any vpr laptops go through there, mabye 1 in the past 6 months. toshiba's i see every now and then, and probably compaq's and hp's we fix the most

Confused · April 2003

i would trust and ibm laptop with my life if it isnt running any ms prooducts

also have good battery life amazing warantee and switch able drives the newer ones even run Serious sam2 at more than 30 fps:)

oh and they are generally build so you can abuse them though you shouldnt:)

EDit: sound is damn good on the high end though the cheeper ones well...
with such a nice video card (radeon7500 32 meg) the video screams again this is high end.
i have seen one pluged into a projector playing black hawk down straight though with sychronized audio and with out any fps chug at 10x7
the problem is the weight the are somewhat heavy but its cause they are so full of good stuff

FlatlineUTD · April 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (ravan46 @ Apr 2 2003, 02:04 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> I work at a place that repairs computers and stuff. and i now that i think about it, i rarely see any vpr laptops go through there, mabye 1 in the past 6 months. toshiba's i see every now and then, and probably compaq's and hp's we fix the most  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
That's saying something about VPR's quality right there.

Laptops

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