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Originally Posted by AIBob
I like laptops more in many situations.
The only two problems that I have when using peoples laptops is that they do not have mice(normally), and that they have an Fn Key where I like the Ctrl key.... this gets very annoying for my because I use the Ctrl key a lot, to copy, paste, undo, redo, cut, find, and so much more I cannot think of right now(I am too tired to remember them all), but desktops are very annoying because they are in one specific place all day...
I do not like this because I am never in one place throughout the day, excluding sleep, I spend at most maybe six hours in one place, sometimes more, sometimes less.
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The vast majority of laptops should have the ctrl key in the proper place, and the function key to the right of it.
As to the original question, if you don't care about having "Dell" "Gateway" "Toshiba" etc plastered all over your laptop, buy direct from the companies that make the laptops for all the big names(ODM's). I bought mine from the company that makes the basic chassis for Voodoo, and Velocity Micro laptops. It's the exact same stuff as you'd get (minus the fancy paint), and I paid like $400 less than the Velocity Micro would be, and around $1000 less than a similarly outfitted Dell. They come with the same warranty, and use the same tech support as all the big name companies use. Literally, the only difference between some of these computers is the stickers on them.
See this article.
http://www.powernotebooks.com/Name_Brand.php3
I bought from
www.discountlaptops.com I got the Compal CL-56. The real reason I liked the ODM's is because everything is user customizable. A lot of the bigger brands give you limited customization options, or just have a basic set of models to choose from. I got what I was looking for in a fast processor, good graphics card, lots of RAM, big, fast hard drive, etc. Most mainstream companies tend to skimp on the HD and the graphics card to cut costs.
I've had my laptop since July, and I haven't yet had to call tech support. Don't have a single complaint about it, which is more than I can say for the Gateway I used to have. It works great for CAD, games, general work. It's nice and thin and light which was a big selling point, and it gets around 4 hours of battery life with web browsing, word processing, etc.
Oh, if you're going to buy a laptop, wait a month or two until Intel releases their Sonoma platform of the Centrino chip, and PCI Express comes out.