Advice Needed

Well...

I need a laptop by Jan. 12th of next year because of a laptop requirement for the class at my university.

I've done a lot of research on laptops lately because I want to get something that is not only rock solid, but reliable, light, powerful, and something that will last me a long time.

I've narrowed it down to IBM and Sony. They both have pretty high prices on laptops, but they both seem to have amazing laptops. Which one do you think is better?

IBM is nice, yes...granted. But Sony has some pretty nice models that come near.

I'm looking specifically at the:

IBM t40p/t41p (doesn't matter which)

Sony Z1 Series (they all look quite nice)

Any help, thoughts, or suggestions on other *great* brands would be appreciated. I'm looking to hopefully spend under $2000, but the laptops I listed above are normally a few hundred dollars more than $2000 (and really, my limit should be lower than $2000, but...I guess I have an expensive eye with computers).

btw, iBooks aren't an option. XP Pro is required for these classes because of some programs that my college uses that I need to have for the class... Sorry folks (yes, sad fact isn't it?)

Help appreciated!

(oh yes, and where would be a good place to buy a laptop such as the ones listed above for a really great price?)

#86182

Is this your first laptop? I am a Toshiba devotee. I had a Vaio once for a few weeks then quickly resold it because the hardware was all crap. Slick design though. Vaios are mostly manufactured and assembled in China these days. Same for IBM.

The only issue I've noticed people having with Toshiba is that they bundle the OS into their own 'recovery cds,' which means reformatting takes longer, and there are some useless progz which you can remove no problem. If I weren't set on a Powerbook next, I would certainly buy my 3rd Toshiba.

#86187

Hospital I work at orders all IBM (desktop & laptops). Of course we get laptops that break, but most the time it was customer abuse. They dropped it, or just treated it like hell. It's not too often we have one that just has bad hardware. Usually just a lot of cracked LCD's.

I have a R32 at home, and LOVE it. It runs great. The new R40's are nice too. Built in mobile/wireless card, touchpad and trackpoint(?). All their models have a White LCD light you can turn on, on the top of the monitor. Shines down on the keyboard, so if you're in the dark it will light everything up nicely.

IBM all the way man, you wont regret it.

Oh, and I know you need XP on it, but if you partition it up, RH9.0 runs great on my R32. One day I'm gonna get off my ass and put gentoo on it.

#86188

You know you can run VirtualPC on a Mac, right? That way you could have an iBook (or even a PowerBook on that budget) and run Windows XP at the same time. Just a thought.

#86191

Well, I guess it all depends on what you want... really.

I'm currently still running a Toshiba Satellite (yup, quite an old model) but it's all still working extremely well for me. And it's still able to withstand all the modding I'm doing to it. Anyway, for PC-wise, I guess Toshiba is a good choice.

Of course, my next system will definitely be a MAC. iBook, or Powerbook... that depends on my budget then.

If you don't mind weight, I do believe that Dell offers quite a robust system. Acer seems to be coming on strong in competition as well.

There's something I heard about Fujitsu which I can't be sure of... the cooling system is not exactly that great. Got to check this out though. But slick designs as well.

As for Sony... well, looks good, ergonomic design. But as ji eun has mentioned,

Vaios are mostly manufactured and assembled in China these days. Same for IBM.

With regards to IBM, I think that will be a better choice (if you have to choose either of them, between Sony and IBM that is...). Doesn't look good, but definitely reliable.

And Compaq? Can be considered...

Just some thoughts. People, feel free to correct me if I am misunderstood in any sense. Let's help Paradox out. :canadian: He's going to school! :smartass:

#86196

Originally posted by Deleted@Dec 5 2003, 12:28 PM

Oh, and I know you need XP on it, but if you partition it up, RH9.0 runs great on my R32. One day I'm gonna get off my ass and put gentoo on it.

w00t!

Gentoo man...gentoo! Awesome

#86210

Haha silencedge: thanks for helping me be edumacated.

I had a compaq...it was huge and bulky, and I returned it 4 days later when I turned it on one mornign to be welcomed by a burning rubber smell coming from the bottom of the computer.

Out of curiosity (and it's probably just my ignorance): what's wrong with notebooks manufactured in China?

@Kurt:

Can't use a type of VirtualPC software...I already tried that

eBay seems to be a good option, but I'm nervous about dishinh out that much moohla on the web, ya know?

I wish they sold IBMs at a local retailer...I know that there's a Sony I have my eyes on at Best Buy -- but you can still find it significantly cheaper on eBay...

Where would y'all look to get a great deal on a laptop like a Sony/IBM?

Thanks again y'all

#86212

every review that i have seen favors the thinkpad T41, check sites like dealtime.com or

cnet.com.

#86285

my dad has a reason when he calls thinkpads stinkpads. their drivers suck and you need too many. the last time i heard him talking about "stinkpads" was about 5 years ago, though.

#86296

Interesting....

That's honestly the first bad comment I've heard about IBM.

I heard from a techie friend of mine that Sonys have their share of problems...

For the time being I'm probably going to go with an IBM thinkpad... My dad has had one for about a year (through his job) and its amazing...light, small...unbelievably durable.

#86317

HEYYYY! Who put iBook on my poll? I didn't!

Anyways... Does anybody have a good idea on where to buy a laptop for a good price?

I've been searching through eBay for the IBM ThinkPads and man...I keep finding good deals, but they're all scams!

#86378

Originally posted by Paradox@Dec 6 2003, 03:13 AM

Out of curiosity (and it's probably just my ignorance): what's wrong with notebooks manufactured in China?

Nothing, if you're a gambling man.

#86405

In Japan there is something called a "sony timer"

Basically what this means is that as soon as your warranty expires, the product will get damaged in one way or another.

I'll let you figure out how they came up with that.

#86455

Originally posted by Paradox@Dec 6 2003, 12:51 AM

HEYYYY!  Who put iBook on my poll?  I didn't!

No clue, but why the hell wouldnt you?

#86461

Originally posted by Duckie@Dec 6 2003, 01:51 PM

No clue, but why the hell wouldnt you?

Because he said "btw, iBooks aren't an option."? >.<

#86463

Sony aren't exactly the best or most reliable PC laptops, but the most expenisve, go for the ibook, which is also much cheaper. Also check out the 12" Powerbook, which has the superdrive option, something you don't routinely find in all but the biggest and most expensive PC laptops. I realized after a million crashes that one should never buy a PC, they are really crap, and on countless occasions I have lost important documents and papers I was writing for school; get the mac.

#86544

Originally posted by nrzero@Dec 6 2003, 06:34 PM

Sony aren't exactly the best or most reliable PC laptops

[..]

I realized after a million crashes that one should never buy a PC, they are really crap, and on countless occasions I have lost important documents and papers I was writing for school; get the mac. 

He said a Mac wasn't suitable, so why recommend a Mac?

Also, just because you had bad experiences with IBM-Compatible PCs (Macs are PCs too, remember?), doesn't mean that everyone has...

I currently have a Sony Vaio FX203K which is about 3 or 4 years old, and runs Windows XP fine, with no crashes or problems, except for a damaged power cord, which is my own stupid fault >.<

#86548

Originally posted by Stevie BM@Dec 6 2003, 08:57 AM

Because he said "btw, iBooks aren't an option."?  >.<

Precisely. Has to be a WinBlows machine. (yes, my college requires Windows XP Pro for the Computer Engineering classes I'm taking)

#86560

Alright...well moving away from the "Sony vs IBM vs iBook" (whoever the heck added the iBook option ), where's a good place to get a really great deal on one of these computers?

My college has some good educational pricing on IBMs. I can get a t40p for about $2,200

Honestly, I was looking at a limit of $2000 on the computer any given computer I buy. The Sony that I like is about $1995 or so, but that's ordering it off BestBuy.com or whatnot.

Nevertheless, I looked eBay and all I found were either (a) refurbished (I've had horrible experiences with refurbished computers), or (SCAMS!...I had a few people eMail me when I told them I was interesting in buying a computer telling me they'd close the auction just for me, etc... Hell no! I'm not stupid...definately a scam.

NewEgg is the only option I can think of that might have some really great deals. I dunno...what do you guys think? Input/thoughts/ideas appreciated.

btw, please don't suggest iBooks or PowerBooks. Really, they're really nice computers and if my the college of engineering I'm in wasn't so picky I'd get one...but Windows is what I have to run...

Thanks guys!

#86562

Originally posted by Paradox@Dec 6 2003, 06:27 PM

btw, please don't suggest iBooks or PowerBooks.  Really, they're really nice computers and if my the college of engineering I'm in wasn't so picky I'd get one...but Windows is what I have to run...

Like Kurt sed why can't u use V-PC? U can eve nF-Scrn it so u hav'nt got any of the OS X Desktop. That's what I'm intending to do when I go to uni after my A-Levels have come through...

(I've got a 15" iMac though so I can transfer Mac files as well as Win XP files to-an-fro. )

Just a thought.

If u really can't use iB or PB I'd go for the IBM one. It's more reliable and I don't really like the sound of this

as soon as your warranty expires, the product will get damaged in one way or another.

I'll let you figure out how they came up with that.

#86592

As said, if the only reason you need a non-Mac laptop is because you need to run WinXP, just buy VPC; Then you can enjoy the Mac luvverliness and still do your college work..

And an even better note; If XP crashes you can just relaunch it.. No restart.

#86639

Originally posted by es.xxi@Dec 6 2003, 10:09 PM

As said, if the only reason you need a non-Mac laptop is because you need to run WinXP, just buy VPC; Then you can enjoy the Mac luvverliness and still do your college work..

And an even better note; If XP crashes you can just relaunch it.. No restart.

Seriously the best thing about Mac. Never really crashes. Unlike the WinXP I'm using now... I guess now that the iBook has by one way or another got its way into the poll... It's getting higher and higher in terms of votes as well. Had I been here later, there will be one more vote on iBook and one less on IBM...

#86664

Originally posted by TheBigB@Dec 5 2003, 07:09 PM

my dad has a reason when he calls thinkpads stinkpads. their drivers suck and you need too many. the last time i heard him talking about "stinkpads" was about 5 years ago, though.

That's the silliest thing I've heard. So, on an IBM you need drivers for all your hardware. As opposed to a sony VAIO? You need a driver for every piece of hardware. I don't care WHO manufactured it. It needs drivers. Period.

Ontop of that, they all use P4's.. which means it's gonna be some intel i### motherboard (more then likely). Which means, INTEL made the drivers. Video card? Nah, IBM doesn't make them, nor does Sony. Guess what? Probably a ATI mobility card, who makes those drivers, you guess right! ATI! If drivers suck, it has nothing to do with the OEM manufacturer. It's all on the company who releases the hardware. And again, if there is some magical way a VAIO doesn't need drivers to work, and a IBM needs more.. then My name is harry potter and I play quiddich(sp).

#86669