Good laptop recommendations?

[icedoverfire]

Anyone got any?

Price range: $800, tops
Necessities: 5lbs max weight, integrated webcam, somewhat durable, travels well.
Usually used for: Browsing B&B , word processing, the occasional DVD watching, music listening

Thanks,

- ice

 

[crankymoose]

Well since you didn't mention OS here are 5 Linux choices in your price range, you can get a few different versions of Linux on them although Ubuntu is most popular they also have mint and Fedora.

Obviously your not finding an Apple for that price, for a windows pc you may want to check out Acer or Sony they have a few models right under that price and are very light weight also

 

[maxman]

I just bought a Sony and I like it very much.
The fit and finish is tight. A good quality build overall.
The guts these days are very similar.
be sure to have a look at the keyboard. Most nowadays have the keypad to the right, so the entire keyboard is shifted to the left a bit. It takes a little getting used to.

I'm sure in a little bit the Apple fans will come by telling you to buy an apple.
I've had one for many years and I don't find them any better than a Windows 7 PC. I'm not saying they're not good, I do own one after all. They're just not any better.

Linux is a good choice if you want to be an outcast. (hee hee)

 

[nickelsig229]

I have purchased 2 laptops in the last 2 years. One was an HP from bestbuy with blueRay and all the bells and whistles. !7 inch latest processor 6gig ram 500gig storage etc etc.

This machine has been flawless in 1.5 years of daily use

The second was purchased at bestbuy, a Sony Vaio with all the same specs as the HP. It failed in 3 months, sony sent a local vendor to my house to repair it. The replacement motherboard failed about 4 months later and sony sent the same vendor to replace the motherboard again. 3 days after the warranty expired it had the same failure. Sony wanted 650 dollars to repair it. It is currently growing mold in my compost pile.

These both cost about 900 dollars with tax and what not.

 

[mcat1906]

I work as an Enterprise IT Administrator for a very large International Business Machines Corporation. I have always used Thinkpads… Mine stays on 24x7 365.

 

[TimeWeaver]

Costco has some good ones in your stated price range.
Every single one of them, if you choose, you could rip Win7 off of and replace with some flavour of Linux.
Or just use Win7, 'cause it's easy and already pre-installed.

 

[LinuxMintyFresh]

With what you're looking to do, you probably don't need to spend $800. That being said, I like the Toshiba I bought a few months back, but it is incompatible with Linux. I really like the Lenovos I've seen too.

I'd suggest researching what you want in terms of memory, hard drive space, processor speed, and extras. After you get an idea of what you want, shop around for something comparable. Black Friday is also coming up...

 

[DFrancis]

With what you're looking to do, you probably don't need to spend $800. That being said, I like the Toshiba I bought a few months back, but it is incompatible with Linux. I really like the Lenovos I've seen too.

My wife got herself a Toshiba and loves it, she's also been happy with Windows 7 as it in her words "actually works."

 

[george248]

Have always heard that Toshiba's are very dependable and durable. Kinda the Toyota Camry of laptops.

 

[Bertilak]

Just bought a Toshiba from Best Buy. Two of them as a matter of fact. One for me and one for my wife:

Toshiba L675D-S7052 (Don't know how long that link will last!)

Seems like it will do everything you are looking for it to do for about $630. DVD on its 1600 by 900 screen will not be up to the same standard as a full 1920 by 1080 screen but is still pretty good. (See "pluses and minuses below.). No Blu-Ray on this model. If you hunt around, there are many Toshiba models and some of those will have Blu-Ray and fancier screens, getting closer to your price point.

I am pretty satisfied with its quality and value and based on that do recommend the Toshiba brand. Be careful if buying directly from Toshiba. They are careful not to undercut their retail partners on price. They do have occasional sale prices which come pretty close to what you can get from a retailer.

I use it with its installed Win7 for:

• email
• web browsing,
• Quicken

Quicken and my Schwab account web page require Windows. Firefox works with the Schwab account, but only on Windows and not on my Linux system! Something about the Java version. These two are the reason I needed a Windows system.

Pluses and minuses:

• Plus: Works for the above applications!
• Plus: Super high quality screen (LED LCD?)
• Plus: cygwin (a kind of Unix on top of Windows" thing) works pretty well. I was able to write a bash script to automate a key piece of my backup strategy.
• Minus: Screen resolution of 1600x900 is not really up to the state of the art. Things seem a little cramped. Especially since Win7 doesn't support multiple desktops like I am used to with Linux.
• Minus: A little slow.
• Minus: All the other Linux things you don't get with Windows. Just try doing a "make all install" to get postgresql working!

 

[letterk]

I just went through this search. Ended up with a Lenovo Thinkpad T410s. You did not say what screen size you want. Finding a 15.6" under 5lbs will be tough. The T410s is 14.1" and around 4lbs and built very well. You may be scared by the price, but hang out on the Lenovo Outlet. They have brand new machines (as well as refurbs) for 50% off regularly.

 

[Edcculus]

I had a Thinkpad in college and it was a tank. My brother just got a new one a few weeks ago. I really dig it. A lot thinner and lighter than the one I had 5 years ago.

If you are ok with Mac and want to spend a grand more, the regular Mac Book is a good choice. I have one and have absolutely no complaints. I don't really have any specific preference of Mac over PC, I just work on Macs at work, so I decided to simplify and have a Mac at home too.

 

[M80]

I bought a Toshiba Satellite last year and have been very happy with it.

 

[PedroNavaja]

I've bought 5 Toshiba during the last 2 years (for family members), all for under $600 at Best Buy.
On one of them, I'm running Win Vista and Ubuntu (dual boot).
No problems with either one of them.

 

[LinuxMintyFresh]

Pluses and minuses:

• Plus: Works for the above applications!
• Plus: Super high quality screen (LED LCD?)
• Plus: cygwin (a kind of Unix on top of Windows" thing) works pretty well. I was able to write a bash script to automate a key piece of my backup strategy.
• Minus: Screen resolution of 1600x900 is not really up to the state of the art. Things seem a little cramped. Especially since Win7 doesn't support multiple desktops like I am used to with Linux.
• Minus: A little slow.
• Minus: All the other Linux things you don't get with Windows. Just try doing a "make all install" to get postgresql working!

Bolded: I understand this feeling all too well. One solution I'm quite happy with is a multiple desktop application called Dexpot. It isn't quite as nice as the Linux multiple desktop system, but it works. It even does the cube if you really want to waste the processing power on it.

 

[xpavar]

Lenovo. Currently typing this on my T61. I love mine.

 

[TonyH]

My wife got herself a Toshiba and loves it, she's also been happy with Windows 7 as it in her words "actually works."

+1

I have a Toshiba, and I'm very happy with it. Durable, good price, good specs, and not bad looking either.

 

[thunderball]

Save a bit more for a MacBook Pro. You won't be sorry.

 

[JellyFox]

I've had my Toshiba for almost two years now, and have been using it virtually daily. It still runs perfectly fine and doesn't have any visible damage (except some wear on the keys). I'd definitely recommend them for build quality.

 

[icedoverfire]

Thanks all for the recs.

I'm leaning towards a toshiba, actually.... Still shopping around at the moment.

I'll keep you guys posted.

- ice