I want to buy a laptop computer and suspect that if anyone knows what they are talking about, it is the participants here. Has anyone had a positive experience with a particular manufacturer? Who do you recommend? I am looking for a manufacturer that does not have a reputation for hardware failures. Durability matters.

Apple is out of the question because the price is too high.

In case this matters for judging customer support, I am located in the United States. Do you think refurbished laptops are generally worth the risk or does that typically depend on the specific deal?

Is there anywhere you recommend for a good price? Tiger Direct? Google Shopping comparison? Newegg? Best Buy?

For me, the larger the screen size is, the better. Would you personally prefer not to have a 17.3" screen because it is a battery hog? What is your screen size preference? What are your thoughts, if any, about the trade-off between screen size and battery life?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 03:18PM by idisappear.

We use lenovo because they run forever, my 1999 600x still works fine and I occasionally use it for pentests still (running freebsd 8.2). My current laptop is 5 years old and has been turned off only briefly in those 5 years.

I like a big screen too so I can work with many windows, but I also travel a lot, so 17 inch is out of the question. You can't use big laptops on airplanes (unless biz/1st class) and they get heavy hauling them around.

I've also had ok luck with Toshiba though that was quite a while ago and they did get way too hot.

Also laptop keyboards must have the nipple or I won't buy, I hate trackpads.

Go to bestbuy/frys/etc and figure out what you like, then find it online. I don't think newegg/tiger are that great for mid-level laptops, I've had better luck at amazon and buy.com.

For cheap and decent, I bought my mom an Asus referb, works great, but I'm sure that's a gamble, it was only $350.

-id

Thanks. I'll use this information to start my laptop search.

http://gizmodo.com/5895579/how-gizmodo-decides-which-laptop-to-buy

-id

Well dear you can use Dell inspiron laptop for better performance which is cheeper than Apple and also have good features such as best graphics, security, warranty and Malware Removal virus protection etc. You can take Dell Technical Support for better information.

Dell Technical Support
Malware Removal

Edit: Nevermind. I do not even think my assumption about the number of cores for the i7 was correct. You can ignore this post.

Suppose these are the options.

Core i5 2.53 Ghz (2 cores)
Core i7 1.46 Ghz (4 cores)

http://ark.intel.com/products/43544/Intel-Core-i5-540M-Processor-(3M-Cache-2_53-GHz)

http://ark.intel.com/products/49664/Intel-Core-i7-680UM-Processor-(4M-Cache-1_46-GHz)

Which one would you choose and why? If I sum up the Ghz of each core, the second options wins. If I consider that i7 is a later model, it wins there as well. But.. Are there programs that only use one core and the i5 would be favorable? Are there any advantages to an individual core having a faster speed?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2012 05:45PM by idisappear.

Most programs still only use one core, but if you have many programs going at once it pays to have more.

Also, higher clock speed on fewer cores is better for some things, mostly gaming, but any other program that is single threaded as well.

Personally, a few dollars more is worth it to enhance my productivity in anyway, so I always go for the fastest/most ram. And with lots of VMs running, more cores always helps.

-id

I've been researching for days and I'm getting ready to buy. I have been thinking about Lenovo. If anyone has a suggestion in $400 to $540 range, I will be most appreciated.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2012 09:13PM by idisappear.