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What laptop do you have?

WHat about this Sony Viao F1390X:
Intel® Core™ Quad i7-740QM processor (1.73GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit
500GB Hard Disk Drive (7200rpm)
8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333
Blu-ray Disc™ Read and Write Drive
16.4" VAIO Full HD Premium Display (1920x1080)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 425M GPU (1GB VRAM)
Adobe Bundle (Free - $448 value)
Microsoft® Office 2010 Starter (Click More Info for details.)
Norton Internet Security™ 2010 (30 Day Trial)

I actually ordered almost that exact same one a few days ago (smaller hard drive, normal blu-ray drive, not r/w). A combination of good display resolution, decent cuda card and a 10% off with purchase of service agreement for students deal that could potentially be arbed led me to this model. Dell studio 17 was a strong consideration, but I need my screen resolution (I really really do...), and dell just couldn't deliver....
 
I actually ordered almost that exact same one a few days ago (smaller hard drive, normal blu-ray drive, not r/w). A combination of good display resolution, decent cuda card and a 10% off with purchase of service agreement for students deal that could potentially be arbed led me to this model. Dell studio 17 was a strong consideration, but I need my screen resolution (I really really do...), and dell just couldn't deliver....
I entered to Education Store and saw the offer but at checkout, could not see it. All I see is $6 program saving.
By service agreement, u mean the Extended Service Plan? Because I got that too.
 
Please do not buy Sony - I have one. It is emitting some strange high frequency noises - I sent it to California to their repair shop (it's on the warranty) three times already but they cannot fix it. Actually, I receive it back with a note that your laptop was fixed but once I power it on I have the exactly same problem. Yes, it's been three times like that.

Talking to them on the phone -- arghhhhhhhhhhh -- wasted time waiting on the line, multiple transfers, completely incompetent technicians.

I have to say I have another Sony in the house that's has been working flawlessly since the day one for more than a year now. It's if something goes wrong with it you are screwed.
 
Please do not buy Sony - I have one. It is emitting some strange high frequency noises - I sent it to California to their repair shop (it's on the warranty) three times already but they cannot fix it. Actually, I receive it back with a note that your laptop was fixed but once I power it on I have the exactly same problem. Yes, it's been three times like that.

Talking to them on the phone -- arghhhhhhhhhhh -- wasted time waiting on the line, multiple transfers, completely incompetent technicians.

I have to say I have another Sony in the house that's has been working flawlessly since the day one for more than a year now. It's if something goes wrong with it you are screwed.
Can't find a laptop with similar configuration. What do you suggest?
 
The laptop that I have problems with is Sony F1190X/B - this year earlier release of F1390 - I wouldn't buy it.

I would suggest a business class laptop such as Dell Latitude E6510 or Lenovo Thinkpad T510 - they both come with 1080p screens and everything else you need. Fonts on 15" 1080p look not very much smaller than fonts on 16" 1080p. They might seem more expensive but you can always find coupons on the Internet that give substantial discounts, some discounts could be 30%. This is in the US. Also when you configure your laptop some upgrades can be expensive such as hard drive, memory, and blue-ray - so use the cheapest components and buy them from Amazon or Newegg. These are very simple swaps and will not void your warranty. The default Dell warranty is two years. The total price should not be more than what you configured with Sony F13. Also, Sony uses some finicky hardware so doing fresh install is not that easy, installing Linux is not easy either.

I wouldn't buy i7 on laptop - fan is spinning in high gears all the time and i7 eats the batteries much faster. I do not know what you'll be using your laptop for but not many applications can utilize multicores nowadays. e.g. MATLAB can but you have to use a special toolbox for it.

I hope this helps.

EDIT: I have to add some ppl are complaining about their T510 having high frequency noise - probably the same that I have on my Sony - I guess some motherboards suffer with this problem.

T510 + i5 540M = terrible whine noise! - Lenovo Community
 
my dad bought his first thinkpad in 2000. since thing he has purchased 3 more only to keep up with the new hardware - the one from 2000 is currently being used as a music server in his bedroom. the other 3 have their purposes around the house. mom has purchased 2 thinkpads since 2004. both are still kicking. i myself started out with a dell (because i was an idiot when i entered college and though i was going to sit there and game all day long) which proceeded to die on me exactly 3 days after the 1 year warranty was over and dell quoted me some absurd amount to fix it. that was trashed and then i got a thinkpad and recently got another one to replace it, again just to keep up with the hardware.

you can probably figure out what my suggestion is going to be.

tp's arent of the same build quality that they used to be - my t43 went down a flight of stairs on two separate occasions and both times, started right up and i never had to send it in for repairs.

your budget also dictates what the suggestions will be. if you have oodles of money then look for a macbook pro. i intend on buying one in may of this year when the new models roll out. with parallels and the ability to run osx and windows 7 at the same time, i dont think i will miss my pc that much. having been a hardcore thinkpad user for the past few years i think the change will require a bit of time but i think apple software and ui has really come a long way. now if only i could get a laptop which had the build quality and aesthetics of my old t43 and had the software and ui of a new mac...
 
tp's arent of the same build quality that they used to be - my t43 went down a flight of stairs on two separate occasions and both times, started right up and i never had to send it in for repairs.

your budget also dictates what the suggestions will be. if you have oodles of money then look for a macbook pro.
You do realize that you are preaching to a choir here, right? Myself and lot of people here are hardcore/power TP users. I have went through T20, T42, T60 (current one) and it's a shame that recent trends make majority of laptop towards media/movies crowd.

I just want one that WORKS when i need them and as much as I like TP, I may have to seriously look elsewhere. Not sure about MBP and how they will survive a flight of stairs fall. It's too much of a fragile gem for me to handle. And yes, I have oodles of money to spend. haha.

And Why Macbook Pro? Are you one of the people who tells me to buy iPhone as well? ;)
 
I have no Mac agenda. Have been a motorola razr user for 6 years and just got an iPhone. I like the interface. Don't like how closed it is but I think the stability is an inherent advantage of the non tweakability. As far as macs being too pretty I would have agreed until I read about that MacBook air surviving an airplane crash and looking like a wave. Then not just starting but actually functioning too. The whole unibody chassis have improved the street cred.

I think it is far too expensive - the Mbp. I can't seem to find a better machine than the new t410s. Great portable machine but with enough grunt for the heavy lifting too. If I can sell my 6 month old t410 I would get either the t410s or an updated MacBook pro.
 
Out of curiosity, I looked at MBP website and the 15" version starts at $1800.
MacBook Pro - Buy MacBook Pro notebook computers - Apple Store (U.S.)

I have been eye-balling the T410 a few times. It's the logical step up from the T6x series but not sure of their built and if it meets my need. Always love to hear more input.

What do you like about T410s?
 
Gateway NV5924, best bang for a buck. I got this laptop beginning of last year and paid only $800 including tax and shipping. Following is my laptop's spec:
CPU: Intel i5 M430 2.27Ghz
4 Gig Ram 1033Mhz
ATi Radeon HD 5650 1GB
500Gb Hard drive 5400Rpm
 
I have been using the t410 for the past 6 months without issue and I love it. Build quality is good. No keyboard flex. Not a finger print magnet. Most excellent keyboard. I love the 2 back/forward keys above the arrow keys. Makes browsing just amazing. I can go back and forth between pages without have to go to my mouse or pressing backspace. Fairly light and robust compared to other machines. The t410s is the same machine but in a thinner and lighter profile. Lenovo also just released a new battery that supposedly lasts for 22 hours. Now if real world testing gives even 10 hours of proper usage I'd be happy.

I dont have a desktop given that I have to sit in my graduate student office all day and I like the ability to take my work with me wherever I go without having to resort to memory sticks. So a laptop and a 27" LCD work fairly well for an office rig. Since it is the only machine I have I need it to the heavy stuff as well. It seems to me that you already have a desktop so power isn't really a concern for a laptop in your particular case. My suggestion would be to get a decent machine and upgrade ram and hard drive to a ssd yourself. They really do make a whole lot of difference and are a lot cheaper if you do it yourself. It seems that you might be able to get away with a lower end t410s or the stylish MacBook air. From a purely portable point of view I think I'd have a hard time picking one but power wise the tp wins hands down. I just cant get away from the professional tp and obviously it's hard to get away from 10 years of hardcore brand loyalty. I don't really need a MacBook. I just want to play around with one. Ideal machine would still be a t410s.


Out of curiosity, I looked at MBP website and the 15" version starts at $1800.
MacBook Pro - Buy MacBook Pro notebook computers - Apple Store (U.S.)

I have been eye-balling the T410 a few times. It's the logical step up from the T6x series but not sure of their built and if it meets my need. Always love to hear more input.

What do you like about T410s?
 
Oh and the nipple. Who can work on a laptop without the iconic keyboard nipple...heh.

I dont think I could ever give up the tp keyboard for the plastic clickity clck stuff macs seem to use. Just the layout makes me not want to switch. And then there's the back/forward keys. And the nipple!!! Tp4lyfe.

If you do go with tp make sure you opt for the crazy expensive tpp warranty. Mom dunked her laptop in bucket of dirty water. Laptop bricked. Lenovo replaced it for free. No questions asked. Sister dropped apple juice on keyboard. Laptop mobo kicked the bucket. Laptop replaced for free after a week.

I once sent mine in for a hard drive replacement. Called them on a Thursday night. Dhl dropped off the box Friday morning at 10 am. I shipped laptop at around 2 pm on Friday. It went to TN over the weekend and was delivered back to my house monday evening with a new hard drive. I have never ever seen that level of professional responsibility anywhere. Noyhing comes close IMO.
 
Oh and the nipple. Who can work on a laptop without the iconic keyboard nipple...heh.

I dont think I could ever give up the tp keyboard for the plastic clickity clck stuff macs seem to use. Just the layout makes me not want to switch. And then there's the back/forward keys. And the nipple!!! Tp4lyfe.

If you do go with tp make sure you opt for the crazy expensive tpp warranty. Mom dunked her laptop in bucket of dirty water. Laptop bricked. Lenovo replaced it for free. No questions asked. Sister dropped apple juice on keyboard. Laptop mobo kicked the bucket. Laptop replaced for free after a week.

I once sent mine in for a hard drive replacement. Called them on a Thursday night. Dhl dropped off the box Friday morning at 10 am. I shipped laptop at around 2 pm on Friday. It went to TN over the weekend and was delivered back to my house monday evening with a new hard drive. I have never ever seen that level of professional responsibility anywhere. Noyhing comes close IMO.
Again, you are talking to hardcore TP power user here ;)
And can you call it trackpoint instead of nipple, please. hhaha. See this TrackPoint Lovers Where is the Fan Club? | Martin Iturbide
I used them all and my fav is the soft rim cap, as pictured below.

I never used my trackpad. Given how much time I work on my laptop, it is estimated that the time saved using trackpoint over trackpad is days/year.

Lenovo+ThinkPad+TrackPoint+Soft+Rim.jpg


There is no debate about the TP level of service. To be fair, Apple service is right up there.

I have my mobo/keyboard/screen/hd services numerous times during the 3 years warranty I have. Upto few years ago, all Thinkpad T series comes with 3 years, now it's one year I believe.

It's a bummer that the leaked T420 has a wide screen. I have no need for it.
 
Apple customer service left me with a very bad taste in my mouth a few months back which makes me hesitant to try them again. Ordered 2 iPod touches. Got delivered to university supposedly but I personally never received them. Apple didnt replace them because they said they shipped them. Fedex didn't help as they said they delivered them but university had no record of delivery. I lost $500 and someone else got 2 free iPods. I just felt apple might have done a little bit more. Perhaps try to track down where they went. They were just very dismissive from the very beginning. This shouldn't reflect upon the whole company but usually when you are put off you tend not to see things rationally.
 
I know dell is not popular for among many people, but I recently got a dell vostro(business line) laptop. This laptop is lighter than mini. However, the keyboard and interface is not annoying. However, video output is vga, so watching tv from the laptop may not be the best experience.

I am running Fedora on this machine and I really love it. However, I am not a big gamer and I hardly use the graphical interface.

Vostro Laptops / Notebooks | Dell
 
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