New laptop

[Hooz]

I have purchased (litterally) thousands of computers in my time as an admin/consultant. I have purchased HP, Dell, Toshiba, and IBM/Lenovo laptops over the years, and I keep coming back to Dell. My current laptop is a Dell Latitude D620 and I love it.

The thing you need to understand with laptops is that there are only a handful of companies in the world that actually make laptops. All of the big OEMs buy their laptops from one of those companies, and quite a few OEMs get their laptops from the same manufacturer, with the same internals. The only difference being the plastic (or metal) case that houses it all.

The most important thing to look for is warranty. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but Dell has one of the best warranties in the business, if you buy from the Small Business Division. Creating a Small Biz account is free and easy, the support is a LOT better than their "Home" support (Small Biz support is handled here in the US, Home support is outsourced over seas), and a lot of times you'll get a better deal on the same hardware buying it through a business account.

A few of the best deal sites out there are GotApex and Slick Deals. Both regularly post coupon codes and special deals for computers. Dell always seems to have a deal going but they are time limited, so check the sites frequently.

Don't waste your money on Alienware or VoodooPC laptops. Unless you just have a ton of money that you want to spend, the machines aren't worth the cost. As a side note, Alienware is owned by Dell, and VoodooPC is owned by HP.

[oklawall]

we have gotten 3 laptops from dell and something that most people don't do is call and talk to a person. We didn't want the package deal that they make so I told them to take this off or add this and it dropped the price of my last laptop by $800.00

[rockerz71]

check out xpbargains.com they usually find some awesome deals on computers

[Cuda]

I bought a 2 year old IBM T-23 with DVD and built in wireless on e-Bay 2 years ago cheap with 1 year left on the warrantee and it's been great.

[Mike TRT]

my new system is a dell, and we have a toshiba laptop, both are great thus far, but tigerdirect.com has tons of them and they have a great store (if you live in IL that is, their warehouse and everything is here)

[mike98t]

Thanks for all the help guys.

[Timmy44221]

It seems to me the general consensus is that the most important thing is customer service. Here is my take on that.

I own Medion laptops because they have treated me great. I broke my first one multiple times (I broke it, it was not defective) and they overnighted me a new one. They included postage for the broken one to be returned. They have been helpfull on the phone in dealing with issues that they dont have to (software issues).

I own an Emachine desktop. It got good specs and was dirt cheap. Do I trust the warrenty and survice it comes with, I dont know, and I dont realy wanna try it. I instead got the Bestbuy 3 year replacment warrenty. Why? Because if three things on it break within three years, they give you a brand new off the shelf PC. And of cource the one you own is obseleat, so they cant give you one of them. So they give you a comparible model. Meaning if you bought a mid grade computer 2 years ago, you get a mid grade computer now.

[ichy_trigger]

Ive had my Dell laptop for 3 years now and abused it as much as one person probably can. Its been ON 90% of its life and even though the battery wont hold more than a 15 minute charge, its been an outstanding computer. Im finally going to treat myself to a new one this spring and pass this one onto my wife. I had it built big and its still not outdated or worn out but I cant afford to have all my buisness stuff on here and have a crash, besides, I need a good tax write-off this year .