I agreed to buy my wife a lappie when she goes back to finish her degree. I asked (a while ago) George Hill from THR about >$1K laptops and was advised to stay away from em, as the reliability wasn't there. Is this still a legit beef? Anyone have any recomendations, not necessarily just low priced ones, but a solid, dependable machine that'll still be kicking a couple years from now?
In reality, there is very little difference in quality between the major brands. One thing I will warn you about is that dell laptops seem to have cooling issues due to where they put the cooling air intake. You make need to clean the dust out now and then.
I would avoid the off brands, just because the support level if you ever need it, is very spotty. its not that great with the major brands to begin with, but the off brands you might well be on your own.
I am not a huge fan of off lease stuff. You can often buy something new that is every bit as good for basically the same price.
Stick to XP for now if you can. Vista has a lot of issues, and very little in the way of increased functionality.
've also bought and resold the professional Dell counterparts. There's a world of difference between that level of computer and the home PCs sold by Gateway, Sony, etc.
Yep. Dell offers good higher grade computers.
I run a Dell laptop. One of the things that appeals to me about Dell is that you can heavily customize before purchasing. My sister has a Dell laptop, too.
Select Windows XP Pro during the selection process, and no worries about Windows Vista.
I purchased mine back in '06, and it is still running just great. I'll probably get a new laptop next year, though. Maybe a Toughbook. What are other heavy duty grade laptops out there? I will gladly accept increased weight for more durability. I'd prefer a 17 inch screen, though, with a 15.4 inch minimum.