Who makes a decent notebook?

[Mojo_Joe]

I was wondering if any of the folks in this group have any thoughts about who makes a decent notebook days. While I know all true computer geeks build their own computers, (and I have built a fair amount myslef), no one (as far as I know) builds their own notebooks so you are stuck with the mass market stuff.

I have had two notebooks in my life. I owned a Toshiba about six years ago that was built like a tank and is still running flawlessly for its third owner. I more recently purchased a high end Compaq that had more problems than any computer I have ever owned. My hard drive, cd-rom drive, power supply, and touchpad pointer all failed within barely more than a year of modest use. To be fair to Compaq, they did fix all of the problems, even several which occurred just after the warranty expired, but I did have a lot of problems with it.

I gather from all of the hate speech directed at Dell (which I also thought was decent product) that they have since slipped. I had good luck with Toshiba and have always heard good things about their notebooks, but I have not heard too much about any notebook vendor recently.

Any thoughts?

[Zero Tolerance]

i have owned 2 IBM Thinkpads......and if i were to buy a brand new one today...it would be a Thinkpad

no problems ever!

[JoeCool]

A stinkpad ZT ?! I love my Inspirion.

[Zero Tolerance]

yup a stinkpad...lol

and i like the executive line of stinkpads over the consumer class...they are absolutely bulletproof!

[rustyrzr]

:( Bullet-proof Just let me get my hands on it :(

[Dave420]

Dell sux -period.I have a customer that has a new dell and has had to have the motherboard replaced 3 times already.if you are going with a P4 notebook go with a toshiba -they invented the P4 cooling system and the dvd player/writer for notebooks.I have delt with very few problems with them -they cost a little more then a HP or Compaq but is well worth it (the most important thing with a laptop -next to its ability to not break down, is its warranty.after all it is not something you can fix your self in most cases)if you plan on going with a AMD(I am a AMD fan -but not in notebooks)or a celleron -then just look for the best deal and warranty.

[Zero Tolerance]

well rus....i had forgotten about how rough you can be on things

so ill have to rephrase that one

"absolutely bulletproof unless owned by rustyrzr!"

LMAO :D

[UniBonger]

There is a notebook made by FIC the motherboard company
that is a great value.I don't recall what they call it right now but it comes in 3-4 flavors now.
An intresting thing about this particular notebook is that it uses desktop componets sans the monitor.You can replace many of the componets with off the shelf parts with this baby. I'll have to look around for it again but if you do a google search you can find it on the FIC website. It was under 1K and comes in a couple of unusual colors for a notebook

[Greg]

FIC is junk, I've had bad experiences with them. In fact FIC cost me one of my best accounts.

[UniBonger]

MY bad" memory that is"
Actually the product I remembered not to clearly is made by ECS
and is named the " i-Buddie" it gets good reviews as far as I can find for it. Overall I have no opinion as to the quality of ECS products.
I am currently using a Soyo mb here and have a few MSI boards around and some from iWill as well.

Next MB will be a DFi mb LanParty nFII Ultra 400 if I don't talk myself into just saving my pennies untill the Athalon 64 is avalible

[Dave420]

Originally posted by UniBonger


Next MB will be a DFi mb LanParty nFII Ultra 400 if I don't talk myself into just saving my pennies untill the Athalon 64 is avalible

the Athlon 64 is kinda useless to you unless you are running server2003 64 bit version , windows xp64 or linux(though I doubt this if you are playing games). the new Athlon64 for desktops will run in 32bit mode if the os does not support 64bit operations(something painfully missing from intel's upcomming 64bit processor).If memory serves me right I think the first Athlon64 for windows is due out September 23, 2003.It will be intresting to see how it all works out.
for more info on the Athlon64 -
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_4699_7980,00.html

[UniBonger]

While i do game my current rig is set up for multimedia, desktop publishing , graphics design and dvd burning.I'm also doing photo restoration. I will probably add another hard drive soon with a Linux distro on it.I'm following the Linux developement more and more now in the hope that one day I will be able to dump microsoft once and for all.

[Dave420]

more Athlon64 info -

Description
According to analyst reports, which surfaced today, AMD are for the first time about to produce a processor range which is likely to make a serious dent in Intel's lead in the market. Investment newsletter publisher Fred Hickey, said that an endorsement by International Business Machines (IBM) of AMD's Opteron chip may make the difference by establishing the company in the business server sector of the market. According to Hickey, Intel is facing their biggest threat in history...

Only last week AMD launched details of its 64 bit which the company claims, defines a new class of computing by extending the industry-standard x86 instruction set architecture across 32- and 64-bit platforms. AMD64 is an AMD innovation designed to deliver compatibility with existing 32-bit x86 solutions and simultaneous high 64-bit performance. The AMD Opteron processor for servers and workstations is the first processor in this new class of computing. AMD plans to launch the AMD Athlon 64 processor for desktop and mobile personal computers on September 23, 2003, which is designed to enable pervasive adoption of the AMD64 architecture. AMD64 replaces terms such as Hammer (now, AMD64 technology) and x86-64 ISA (now, AMD64 ISA).

AMD have been struggling to make a dent in Intel's stronghold of the processor market and although widely accepted as having Intel-compatible chips at lower prices, the company's processors have so far remained out of the public and business mainstream.
Although Opteron chips will be used to build the fastest supercomputer in China, as well as a supercomputer that will monitor the U.S. stockpile of nuclear weapons, most of the largest computer makers such as Dell, have not yet offered to support the chip. Hickey however, said that the likelihood of widespread acceptance of AMD's chips has never been greater. He expects Sun Microsystems to use Opteron chips in some of its business computers.

Hickey also said he expects major PC manufacturers to adopt AMD's new Athlon64 line of chips for home computers. Intel has downplayed the need for 64-bit computers in the home, and has not announced any plans to sell 64-bit chips designed for home users.

Meanwhile, Apple today, became the first PC maker to ship a desktop computer that uses a 64-bit chip, saying it has received more than 100,000 orders for its Power Mac G5.

[Greg]

Intel is understating it's position on this. AMD's 64 bit chip runs 32 bit applications at the same speed as the 64 bit code almost, while Intel's 64 bit chip falls flat on it's face when given 32 bit code. This has been known for a while. Expect good things to come from this despite Intels failure to keep up and down play the significance of 64 bit computing for the home user.

[UniBonger]

I don't recall where I read this however , IBM is setting up a FAB in New York for AMD 64bit chip production AMD has been relocating a large engineer staff there and is hiring additional personal to meet projected needs.

Now I'm kind of excited about that because I would like AMD to be around for a long time especially since AMD cpu's are all that I purchase now. I know that intel makes a good product , expensive for my tastes though.

[Zero Tolerance]

ive never bought an intel chip in....

ummmmmmmmmmm

IN EVER!!!!

LOL :D

[Dave420]

I build intel machines all the time at a customers request-but when they listen to me and try the AMD chip -even the most hardcore Intel fan realizes where the real value is ..... isn't that right Toyotathon. ;)
in the end -clock for clock AMD walks all over intel now ,so imagine once the athlon 64 comes out........

[Zero Tolerance]

yeah...i may build me a new box after the hoopla blows over.....but will be looking forward to see the benchmarks


PS....heres ya a new avatar dave!

LMAO :D

[evilchester]

funny, i have a compaq now and it works great.....used to have a toshiba, and the lcd kept screwing up.......

[kittygator]

I love my dells, even though you have to call back sometimes for tech support, if ya can't understand the person you get, Dell still stands behind their products 250%. I go for the refurbished units.

My notebook is still kickin, latitude 800, she's been to Greece 4 times now, and taken all of my abuse.

Hopefully, i'll expand my horizons, but i do like the warranty.

Guess i just have a lot of patience

kitty:)