I am thinking about getting a laptop. I saw a nice one that is an HP. I heard from a friend though that HP are not very good. He once had one and it broke repeatedly. I believe that the link below should direct you to the ad that came out in my town. I am thinking about getting one of them at the top of page 17. Please respond in a timely manner. Afterall, the ad is only good through the 26th of January. Thanks in advance.
I understand you are a CAD guy. I think you would definitely need a video card if you want to CAD on it.
I would definitely recommend a dell vostro, I have one and it has worked beautifully so far. There are some really good deals for them.
just my 2 cents, Vivek
You’ll need to be more specific, since there are several HP Laptops in that flyer.
I didn’t have very good luck with my HP laptops. One of them I damaged the PCMCIA slot after about a year(probably my fault), and the other had some type of power supply issue, after 2.5 years, where it drew so much current that is melted the end of the power cord that connected to the computer. I solved the problem on that one by removing the battery(other batteries did the same thing), and soldering the poser wire directly to the motherboard.
I’ve had very good luck with Gateway PCs. Me and my brother both have Gateway Convertable tablets, and we have a refurbished Gateway desktop. They have all been good.
EDIT
I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’ve found that RAM is more of a limitation than the graphics hardware. Don’t get me wrong, a good graphics card is important, but even with 2gb I find myself running out of ram long before I stress my middle of the line, for a laptop graphics hardware(ATI Mobility Radeon x1400 w/64mb deticated).
/EDIT
vivek, You are right. I definitely want a CAD capable laptop. Also, I pulled up the Dell Vostro through google and it came up with several. Could you send me a link to which one in particular you would suggest?
also, with dell, you can choose xp or vista, hp is all vista as I understand?
-vivek
EDIT: http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/vostronb?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
I got Vista with mine.
It’s like getting moldy fruitcake for Christmas.
yes, if you really like how it looks, there is an instructable on instructables.com about how to make xp look like vista.
-vivek
I have an Dell Inspiron 6400 (now replaced by the Vostro series) that can run CAD quite nicely.
Specs:
2.0Ghz Core 2
2 gigs DDR2-667
7200 rpm HDD
Nvidia Geforce go 7300
For me, it was a choice between either a Dell or an HP because they were the most reasonably priced laptops with discreet graphics. From my experience now, I would definitely recommend getting a Dell.
Ok, here’s the deal with HP and Vista. HP is awful, breaks down repeatedly, and customer support is lacking at best. Vista is THE largest waste of disk space ever invented, only making HP’s crappy hardware into an IED. It crashes often, has more security holes than an antivirus program written by a 10yr old, and provides so few features that can be debated as trivial. Most people who own Vista have been known to “upgrade” to XP, taking second place to pulling their skin off. To avoid either one at any possible cost would be the Understatement Of The Year.
Dude, you’re getting a Dell!
BTW, I agree that RAM is more limiting than the graphics, though it is still a major factor.
Yeah, I “upgraded” from Vista Ultimate to XP a couple of days after getting it…
I haven’t had any problems with my HP.
I’m quite happy with it in fact.
My wife who runs a classroom full of Dells will tell you how much she “loves” Dells.
We just bought 2 Dell Vostros 1500 for CAD.
Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 2.2GGz 800Mhz FSB, L2 Cache
2 GB Ram
256 NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
XP PRO
Runs both Inventor and Solid Works great.
There are rare cases where somebody is satisfied with an HP, which is fine. I was just stating what I’ve seen from most everyone I know (and don’t know).
I’m the [extended] family’s techie, and for some dumb reason, they only buy HP’s. Maybe it’s because my aunt works at Sam’s Club and everyone shops at Wal-Mart, which I’m also against. Anyway, the ones they buy are always high maintenance.
As for quality, get a toshiba. As for price, get an HP. I have had a toshiba for two years and never had any problems (except for windows problems). My friend on the other hand has an HP that he bought at the same time and has had nothing but trouble with it. He was lucky because when he bought it, he got the three year service plan with it which has come in really usfull in the past 5 times that it has been in the shop. Everytime his computer is finally given back to him, it stops working within a matter of weeks. I personally don’t think that HP is actually fixing it either other than taking his computer, putting it on a shelf for a month, and then sending it back. It is really inconvienient as it always takes a month plus to be fixed and then it just breaks down again.
My advice would be to not buy a dell, dell is the company for people who don’t know much about computers =. I’d look at computer sites too, like newegg or something, they usually have some nice deals. If you can customize your own to what you need, you can definitely save some money if you know you won’t need a lot of hard drive space or something like that.
Also think how badly you actually need a laptop, the longer you wait, the more prices go down and specs go up. The sale stuff like “OH NOES BUY QUICK ITS CHEAP BUT NOT FOR LONG” is just a trap, especially with something that evolves as much as technology. I personally would really like to get a new laptop now, but I know I’m going to need it for college and I don’t exactly “need” (although it would be usefull =\ ) it now, so I’m waiting till after graduation to get a new one.
everyone shops at Wal-Mart
Not to be paranoid or hijack the thread, but wal-mart has been known to cut prices by selling lesser/cheaper/inferior/“wal-mart” versions of certain products. They normally have the same or a similar serial number, but if you ask the company producing it, they will tell you that something was changed so that wal-mart could sell it cheaper. /tinfoil hat (although seriously you can google some articles on it or call some of their suppliers =P)
I disagree with that statement. I like to think that I know a decent amount about computers; I am industry certified in networking and work as a PHP programmer/web developer. I happen to find Dells to be very acceptable. Someone who really knows what they are doing know exactly what he/she needs and gets it at the best price, and I have yet to see a laptop that beats the Dell Vostros for bang to the buck. Newegg and other component sites (yes, I know Newegg sells whole computers too) are sometimes great for building desktops, but they aren’t the be-all and end-all.
In my experience the best way to get the ideal laptop is to buy one of the middle-of-the-road or business models with a good processor and graphics card (if you buy the stuff targeted at gamers and high-end non-business users [like Alienware] you often end up paying for the case, not what’s in it); then, you perform a large RAM upgrade, and possibly hard drive upgrade (to a 7200rpm drive, if applicable) from components purchased from one of the component places. Laptop manufacturers seem to love to overprice the ram for some reason…
EDIT: HPs annoy the heck out of me, but they are nowhere near as bad as Compaq… I would not purchase a Compaq even at a 50% off sale. I have had no experience with Toshiba. I have heard good things about Lenovos from people I know who own them, and Apples some of the nicest laptops I have used (overpriced though…).
hmm…
I just bought a dell vostro 1500 for CAD and in general use.
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.66GGz 800Mhz FSB, L2 Cache
2 GB Ram
128NVIDIA GeForce 8400
xp home
Runs Inventor. Which is more than I can say about the other two computers that my family owns :D.
It works like a charm and was a steal at 800 dollars. 
-vivek
p.s. Would definitely recommend!
i have a Toshiba Tecra and it has been pretty solid, but if you want to game, make sure you have name brand graphics card. I bought Dawn of war and found that my laptop didn’t have the name graphics and wouldn’t run it even though it was “good enough”
I would disagree with the Dell and HP bashing.
We have a 4 year old HP Desktop, and have owned 5 Dell PC’s (2 laptop, 3 desktop) over the last 9 years or so.
We have 3-5 HP laptops between team members, and all of them are mostly happy with them (I’d say the only ones that arent are because of Vista)
Who of the mainstream brands does anyone think is better than Dell? (Apple not withstanding). Every brand has it’s pros and cons. For the most part, none of these companies are making their own laptops anyways. Theyre all coming from third party companies, and then being rebranded by the mainstream brands.
I know a good deal about computers, and I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Dell. Yes, they occasionally sell lemons, but anyone doing such a volume of business is bound to. They have, in my experience, exceptional customer service. We received one machine that was DOA. Within 48 hours, we had a brand new machine on our doorstep. We had a problem with the graphics card of one machine, and had a tech and a brand new, upgraded card at our house the next day. Any problems have been taken care of swiftly and professionally.
I hate when people make blanket statements like “So and so company is terrible. Never buy from them”. If this was the case, they wouldn’t still be in business. For every person who has had a bad experience with Dell or HP, another has had a fantastic experience. However, if only the bad experiences are voiced, there is no perspective. If you do your research (beyond asking a bunch of probably biased people on CD [myself included]), you should be able to make a good, informed decision.
I have become very fond of Dell mainly because of their customer service. When something breaks, they will fix it fast depending on your service plan. If you get a vostros, you can possibly get it through Dell Business which offers even better customer service. The reason why customer service is a big deal to me is because we are all in robotics and something is bound to happen if we carry it around too much. I cannot say the same for HP because I have not had too much experience with them.