[tavilach]

My sister needs a laptop for college. She can type a Word document, IM, email, surf, and download. That's pretty much it.

Would it be worth going with an IBM (err...Lenovo) for better build quality, or would the (not that much) cheaper Dell counterpart be a better deal?

Edit: How about the VAIO?

Edit: Getting a Mac is not an option. Please don't keep suggesting one. Thanks .

[goMac]

Originally Posted by tavilach

My sister needs a laptop for college. She can type a Word document, IM, email, surf, and download. That's pretty much it.

Would it be worth going with an IBM for better build quality, or would the (not that much) cheaper Dell counterpart be a better deal?

You're asking on a Macintosh board?

Dell sucks for build quality. IBM no longer makes laptops, they are made by Lenovo now, I have no idea what the build quality is on those.

[tavilach]

It's the Lounge, and I know that people know the answer, so why not ask?

I wasn't aware that Lenovo now makes the ThinkPads. Weird...

[goMac]

Originally Posted by tavilach

It's the Lounge, and I know that people know the answer, so why not ask?

I wasn't aware that Lenovo now makes the ThinkPads. Weird...

Well, with Macbooks running Windows now, I thought the answer from a Macintosh board would be obvious.

Yeah, IBM hasn't made the Thinkpad in a while.

[tavilach]

Originally Posted by goMac

Well, with Macbooks running Windows now, I thought the answer from a Macintosh board would be obvious. .

The concept of "dual boot" would confuse the crap out of her.

[Gossamer]

iBook G4. My 1.33/768MB is still more than capable, the battery still lasts for 4 hours of web browsing even after having it for almost two years. If you want something cheap, go this way.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by tavilach

The concept of "dual boot" would confuse the crap out of her.

From your list of activities she'd be doing, I doubt she'd need Windows anyway.

With laptops, my experience has been you get what you pay for. I had a friend who bought a laptop simply based on who could give him the best price for the specs he wanted. A year later he had no sound, his laptop overheated all the time, and the company refused to give him support. He just replaced it with a Macbook Pro. I don't know it I'd buy a sub-$1000 laptop.

[Buckaroo]

Originally Posted by tavilach

My sister needs a laptop for college. She can type a Word document, IM, email, surf, and download. That's pretty much it.

Would it be worth going with an IBM for better build quality, or would the (not that much) cheaper Dell counterpart be a better deal?

Get her one of the new MacBooks. She can run Windcrash programs on it.

[tavilach]

No Macs, people. Trust me . Really. Let's end that discussion.

How about the VAIO? Is that a better build than the Dell laptops?

Price range is around 1k.

[driven]

Lonovo has been making IBM laptops for a long time. The only difference is that they now own the company. The IBM name is slowly being dropped. As such I'm not concerned about quality (it's been good for a long time!) I am however concerned about support. IBM used to have unreal support. Hopefully Lonovo will follow that trend, but I'm concerned.

Dell however is obvious. Their quality is sub-par and their support has sucked for a few years now. I'd cross them off my list forthwith. I have one of their business laptops (Lattitude line) now as provided by my employer. Within a month of owning it the paint started to wear off the mouse-click button and the letters have worn off the keys within three months. I'd hate to see how bad the Inspiron line has gotten.

All that said: Look at the Macbooks as well. Based on your description I'd say it's the obvious solution.

[mduell]

IBM is out of the laptop biz; look to Lenovo if you want a ThinkPad.

I'd get her a Dell with CompleteCare; a lot of bad things happens to laptops in college, and CompleteCare covers just about everything short of theft (which renters insurance should cover).

[His Dudeness]

Originally Posted by tavilach

The concept of "dual boot" would confuse the crap out of her.

Yeah, I can't decide which car to drive in the morning.

[His Dudeness]

Originally Posted by tavilach

No Macs, people. Trust me . Really. Let's end that discussion.

How about the VAIO? Is that a better build than the Dell laptops?

Price range is around 1k.

I just bought a new Vaio FS-920 at Best Buy for 860. It was on sale and too good to pass up. About the same build quality as my Dell Inspiron 8600, but with a much nicer screen. It still runs Windows, which imho, is about as 75% as good as OS X.

[Velocity211]

If you really have to get a PC laptop, then get the Thinkpads. Dell laptops sucks. Cheap plastic, bad build quality, etc... the thinkpad's build quality is really good (for a PC laptop). Or...you can get a Macbook and run winblows on it.

[tavilach]

Originally Posted by Velocity211

If you really have to get a PC laptop, then get the Thinkpads. Dell laptops sucks. Cheap plastic, bad build quality, etc... the thinkpad's build quality is really good (for a PC laptop). Or...you can get a Macbook and run winblows on it.

What about VAIO's?

[goMac]

Originally Posted by tavilach

What about VAIO's?

I don't like Vaios. Too expensive, and the build quality always feels flimsy.

[CaseCom]

Dell's business-model laptops (the Latitude line) are a step up from their consumer models, although they're not as heavily price-discounted. You can get them from Dell's Small Business site, or from the Dell Outlet store, where they sell returned computers that have never been used (like from businesses that ordered 400 but only needed 377, so they returned 23 of them unused) as well as refurbs.

The Lenovo ThinkPads are still as good as they were under IBM, and their support is still excellent. Can't go wrong there, especially the T-series. I'd stay away from the non-ThinkPad Lenovos, though.

I bought a PC laptop recently for my niece, who is going off to college this fall. The Dell Latitude D620 and IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad T60 were at the top of my short list. But I took her shopping to some brick-and-mortar stores, to make sure what she wanted as far as size, features, etc., and she really liked the HP Pavilion dv5000t. I went online and it gets pretty good reviews, mostly because it gives you a lot of features for the price, even though it's not as solidly built as a ThinkPad. So I bought it for her.

Whatever you get, pony up for a 3- or 4-year manufacturer warranty with accidental damage protection.

And you probably know this, but look for an educational discount. If you can buy through her school, you can probably get a good laptop for a much better deal there than you can find through any retail outlet.

[Gossamer]

I think we need to come up with more derogatory name-alterations for Windows.

[production_coordinator]

Originally Posted by tavilach

The concept of "dual boot" would confuse the crap out of her.

If she can IM... she can dual boot using Bootcamp.

And quit being surprised that you are getting Mac recommendations. The current MacBook is a good price regardless of platform.

If it wasn't a MacBook... I would get the ThinkPad.

No way I would get a VAIO or Dell.

[christ]

Why is a mac not an option?

[TETENAL]

You don't have to dual-boot a MacBook. Just stick with Windows.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by goMac

From your list of activities she'd be doing, I doubt she'd need Windows anyway.

This is what I kept saying to myself as I made my way down every single comment on this thread.

If she needs Email, web browsing, IMing, and word processing, how could you recommend anything besides a MacBook? From your description of her, she wouldn't exactly be the type to continually run anti-virus and anti-spyware software. You can't get any simpler than a Mac.

Tell us why Macs aren't an option.

[goMac]

If you're looking at build quality, the Macbook build quality is the best I have seen in a long time. The rubber parts are molded into the plastic, including the feet. The Macbook's case is built like a tank considering how thin it is.

[tavilach]

Bah. I didn't want to get into the reasons behind Macs not being an option, but fine...

1. She likes using the OS that everyone else uses, so she isn't going to run Mac OS.
2. She doesn't want to learn a new OS, so she isn't going to run Mac OS.
3. Bootcamp is in Beta, and she isn't going to want Parallels. What if something goes wrong?
4. None of the screen sizes are appropriate. She feels that the MacBook's screen is too small, and the MacBook Pro is just too expensive.

You can't argue with the screen size.

Please, enough about the Macs. I'd be the first to suggest it if it were a good idea.

Now, what's this about the Dell Business laptops being better? If they're more reliable, we should go with that. Are they?

[Rumor]

VAIO's are actually a pretty solid laptop. Toshiba's have excellent shock absorption, which helps for a college student.

[Teronzhul]

I very recently picked up a Thinkpad R40 off of Ebay for $380 shipped. DVD/CDRW, 512 Ram, Pentium M 1.4ghz, 14.1 inch I think display. Integrated 802.11b. Onboard video sucks, and the hard drive is small at around 15GB, but I think it was a good deal for what I do with it. I am very happy with the IBM. My Aunt and Father both have Toshibas and they both have problems that my R40 is exempt from.

[driven]

Originally Posted by tavilach

Now, what's this about the Dell Business laptops being better? If they're more reliable, we should go with that. Are they?

See my previous post about the Dell business laptops. In short: They are still crap. I've got one that priced out at $2400+ and it's utter junk. If I were paying for it myself I would buy one.

[bstone]

get a macbook

[tavilach]

Originally Posted by bstone

get a macbook

[production_coordinator]

Originally Posted by tavilach

Please... what did you expect. This is a forum of Mac users. She is using elements of the OS that are VERY novice friendly... and we now have Bootcamp where you don't need to learn anything OS X (sure it's in beta... but feel free to name all the complaints, because there are very few).

You have been given a good number of comments regarding the ThinkPad... time to move on.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by tavilach

I can't recommend any PC laptops based on build quality. I'm sorry. A ThinkPad is as close as you will get. The Macbook is the top dog in build quality.

If you want a laptop with a different screen size, that's fine. But they're not going to have the build quality of the Macbook. You asked us for what we'd recommend based on build quality and we told you.

[production_coordinator]

Originally Posted by goMac

I can't recommend any PC laptops based on build quality. I'm sorry. A ThinkPad is as close as you will get. The Macbook is the top dog in build quality.

If you want a laptop with a different screen size, that's fine. But they're not going to have the build quality of the Macbook. You asked us for what we'd recommend based on build quality and we told you.

I wouldn't say the MacBook is the top of build quality, but it's good... has good customer service, bla bla bla.

It's hard to recommend something else when you know of a good product.

[iMOTOR]

Originally Posted by tavilach

1. She likes using the OS that everyone else uses, so she isn't going to run Mac OS.

Then she would prefer a Honda Civic over a Mercedes E Class, Right?

Originally Posted by tavilach

2. She doesn't want to learn a new OS, so she isn't going to run Mac OS.

Too stubborn to use the world's most intuitive operating system, alrighty then.

Originally Posted by tavilach

3. Bootcamp is in Beta, and she isn't going to want Parallels. What if something goes wrong?

Something will go wrong, with Windows.

Originally Posted by tavilach

She feels that the MacBook's screen is too small, and the MacBook Pro is just too expensive.[/b]

Sony FE670G
15.4 inch screen
1.66ghz Core Duo $1449.99

3 year protection plan $319.99

Microsoft Office $149.99

Norton Internet
Security $69.99 X 3 years $209.97

Webroot SpySweeper
$29.99 X 3 years $89.97

Grand Total $2219.91




MacBook Pro
15.4 inch screen
2.0ghz Core Duo
educational price $1799.99

Applecare
edu price $239.99

Microsoft OfficeMac $99.99 after 50 rebate


Grand Total $2139.97




This is what you get for posting this question on a Mac forum.

[Rob van dam]

Have you thought about Asus? They seem pretty good

[vmarks]

The Lenovo T43 is still the same as the IBM T43.

Lenovo is composed of mostly IBM employees in the US. They took the employees when they bought the division.

So far the build quality is the same. The laptops bear the IBM label on them, and IBM is holding Lenovo's feet to the fire to ensure quality is as good as ever.

And I can offer you the IBM employee discount if you want to get the Thinkpad. Private message me for details.

[His Dudeness]

Don't the MacBooks have a 15.4" screen? Isn't that the same size as a 15.4" screen on my Dell Inspiron 8600, which by the way, is almost two years old now? I don't get why everyone says Dell's build quality is bad. I've had mine for almost two years and it's never broke down.

I am using a Vaio right now that I bought for college. I think it's just fine for the money.

[christ]

Originally Posted by tavilach

Bah. I didn't want to get into the reasons behind Macs not being an option, but fine...

1. She likes using the OS that everyone else uses, so she isn't going to run Mac OS.
2. She doesn't want to learn a new OS, so she isn't going to run Mac OS.
3. Bootcamp is in Beta, and she isn't going to want Parallels. What if something goes wrong?
4. None of the screen sizes are appropriate. She feels that the MacBook's screen is too small, and the MacBook Pro is just too expensive.

You can't argue with the screen size.

Please, enough about the Macs. I'd be the first to suggest it if it were a good idea.

Now, what's this about the Dell Business laptops being better? If they're more reliable, we should go with that. Are they?

1) Or VISTA?
2) Or VISTA?
3) It is less likely than Windows going wrong, and easier to fix
4) Why didn't you ask for a laptop with screen size of ..., rather than what you did ask? Is resolution important, or just screen size?

I thought that build quality was important?

Just buy her a mac, and stop making up excuses not to.

[Jawbone54]

tavilach, sit your sister down and evangelize to her like a Mac user ought to. Preach the fear of Windows into her!

*plays the tamborine*

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54

tavilach, sit your sister down and evangelize to her like a Mac user ought to. Preach the fear of Windows into her!

*plays the tamborine*

Tell her Britney Spears uses one.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by production_coordinator

She is using elements of the OS that are VERY novice friendly...

Yeah, none of those functions require more than clicking an item in the dock. And as they said, she'll have to learn vista eventually anyway, might as well spend that time learning a real OS. (how much 'learning' is really involved?)

[villalobos]

Tell her the MacBook is from the company who created the iPod. That should do it.

[residentEvil]

- "That's pretty much it."

- "The concept of "dual boot" would confuse the crap out of her."

you say she is going to college... are you going to hold her hand for all her classes too?