What laptop should I buy in the $1000 range?

[steelyjoe]

At work, I was given a Gateway laptop. It was garbage.
It was replaced with a Dell Latitude laptop. It's fair- locks up.
Both were/are "state of the art".

The one I own is a Toshiba- it's better. Customer service however is poor.

One tip: If you are eligible for a rebate - keep copies! CompUServe tried to renege on my deal and actually requested a copy of my receipt. If I had not retained the copy, I would have been screwed out of a couple hundred bucks.
Proceed with caution.

[teamcnabb05]

mac g4 ibook!!! the perfect laptop!

Originally Posted by dasanii19

I told my girlfriend I would ask on here for input on purchasing a new laptop. Hopefully you guys can help.. She wants to spend $1000 tops..

She will be using it mostly for internet and microsoft office. speed and memory would be nice.. Burning CDs would be nice as well..

So what do you think?

[retired]

IIRC Toshiba has been rated very good by Consumer Reports for years for their laptop reliability/performance.

[dasanii19]

Thanks guys!!

OK, im pretty sure she is going to get this one. Here is a review a guy did on it http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=133956

Every review ive read on the net has been positive, I see nothing but good reviews on it and it seems to be exactly what she is looking for as well as the price she wants to pay. Its on clearance at Best BUY right now for $599.99 + tax

My question is, should we buy the 3 year performance service plan for 249.99? Or will the free 1 year manufactures parts and labor warranty be fine?

Heres what the BEST BUY warranty offer is in exact words.

-Full MFG. Warranty Text available on request-
Warranty on parts may vary.
- 3 year performance service plan for only 249.99
-Free Geek Squad inspection & enhancment

So is everything stated above included in the 249.99 price? or is it all seperate offerings?

[Frenchy]

Great thread fellas. I too will be in the market for a laptop. I think I would prefer the versatility vs. a desktop.
My son has had a Toshiba for about 3 years now, and he has been overjoyed by the performance. The more knowledgeable computer folks I know, also tout the Toshiba and Sony.

[BillytheChamp]

i actually work at best buy.. i can give you the breakdown.. out of pc computers i do perfer a sony vaio.. but they do run a little more expensive.. some of the previous dells have been having battery recalls.. (some have actually exploded on people's laps).. i have owed currently 2 toshiba laptops.. and most of them generally are tanks and will run really well.. but if you are going to use it for alot of hard core stuff not just internet or word processing.. but things that will make it run hard generally will give the motherboard a lifespan of 3 years..

I currently now only own macs.. and trust me i was a huge anti-mac guy before because all the cocky mac users i have met.. but i recieved a mac book pro for free and am totally converted.. Mac's operating system osx is built on a firm foundation so you will never EVER need an antivirus.. even if you were to take a virus from an infected windows program and open it in a mac it will not affect the mac at all.. plus with the new core 2 duo processors you can actually run windows at the same time.. (of course if you use windows you can get a virus, so i only strictly use windows for programs that are windows only and surf the web, and download on my mac specifically) here i will show you a screen shot..
see i am running mac's operating system X and windows xp and the same time



macs are just so awesome.. it has a built in wireless network card where you can set up your own network.. for example.. someone in your class creates a network with just a click of a button from you mac.. all macs in the class room can connect and chat with each other and transfer files (music,movies etc.. at 2mb persec).. with out there even having an interenet connection available.. so while i am taking notes in class i get notes from all my friends in class and music and movies while i am learning.. it's it awesome..

Macs might take a little while to get use to.. but moving from pc to mac i learn how to do everything in 1 day.. the sad thing is that windows vista is a program that is trying to copy the features of mac os X.. but needs tons more ram to run..

negative things about the macs are they are usually more expensive.. but they dont loose thier values like pcs.. my friend sold his powerbook for 900.00 that was 3 years old.. i just sold my 3 year old toshiba for 200 dollars .. and apple also does deals.. where they will give you a student discount (depending on state/college) can be up to 400 dollars off and will sometimes give you free ipods/printers..


ok and on the best buy warranty thing.. if you buy a pc get the warranty.. also with lap tops.. dont keep the battery in the laptop if you have power cord going to it (if the battery is fully charged take it out) or it will kill the life of the battery..

just my 2 cents and my experience and working with computers.. if anyone has any other questions just feel free to ask.. only questions i probably cant answer is how to fix your broken computer.. take it to someone who can look at it..

Billy....