[discord]

I'd like to know what you guys think of the following laptops:

IBM ThinkPad R52

and

Dell Inspiron 6000

Feel free to add any further suggestions that are under $1500 please! I'll be using this at school and possibly as a replacement for my PC here at home.

 

[bobeau]

Yes,

Asus Z70V

I love mine to death, _much_ better build quality than my old Inspiron 8100. Keep in mind this review is several months old, you can get significantly better specs/pricing.

 

[taylor]

I don't have any direct experience with those two, but I own several Dell computers and a Thinkpad T23.

All of my Dell computers have had serious problems. I've had two Optiplex GX-1s that totally ceased to function, a Dimension 2100 that had major issues with sound card compatability, and a Dimension 4300 motherboard die on me 6 months out of warranty. $150 to replace and it wasn't even the same model. Oh, that and my friend bought a Dimension XPS with a Radeon 9800. The card had all sorts of issues and eventually stopped working at all, he had to replace it. I personally will never buy a Dell product again, ever. I will do my best not to use a Dell product again.

Whereas my Thinkpad T23 has been abused more than all of those systems put together. Had it, running fine, a cousin spilled tons of soda on it while it was running. It freaked out and stopped booting up. With very little knowledge of laptop assembly, I completely took it apart and washed a few parts in the sink. I let it dry for awhile and when I put it back together, BAM, it worked 100% fine.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taylor Whereas my Thinkpad T23 has been abused more than all of those systems put together. Had it, running fine, a cousin spilled tons of soda on it while it was running. It freaked out and stopped booting up. With very little knowledge of laptop assembly, I completely took it apart and washed a few parts in the sink. I let it dry for awhile and when I put it back together, BAM, it worked 100% fine.

... don't do this at home, kids...

 

[Skipinder]

I second the Z70, its what I would buy if I were to buy a laptop, of course I would just buy the Z70 barbones and add the various parts myself, to cut down on cost.

IMO, IBM is a much better manufacturer than Dell and will probably last longer than the Dell. The construction quality on an IBM is really good.
However, I have to say Dells can be really good for the money, especially when you order from dell and use one of their online coupons. So I think you're better off ordering a dell directly from their website and using an online coupon.

 

[kyrie]

I don't know much about Asus, but

Toshiba > IBM >> Dell > Sony, IMO.

Incidentally, I've heard that IBM changed their manufacturing process recently, and all their parts are outsourced now. This may or may not cause problems in the build quality of recent models.

 

[jlo mein]

Personally I have an Asus Z71V and have never been more pleased. Asus makes very good barebones laptops that are configurable enough for desktop replacement and gaming.

For the cheapest barebone build get an Asus Z71V (vid is Nvidia 6600). For a better quality casing (carbon fiber) look into the Z70V (vid is ATI x600). If you like the Z70V and want a better vid card, you can also get the Z70Va, which has an ATI x700.

 

[ColStripe]

I don't know about the current Thinkpad situation, but having been the business for sometime Thinkpads were always head-and-shoulders above the rest in build quality and durability. Of course, it came at a price.

 

[discord]

The Dell is out the window so it's basically between IBM and Asus. Gonna go read more on the Asus laptops and then make the final decision. Thanks for all the comments so far!

 

[RedLeader]

Honestly, asus and acer are the only 2 companies I look at. Working in IT and having to buy these things for management (and the IT staff) anything other than those 2 brands is generally of poor quality, or overly expensive. Asus > Acer

 

[nysulli]

don't know much about asus laptops, but guys in my lab all have ibm T4x's, and haven't had a single problem with them, very solid, and i'm not sure what kinda deal you've been able to find, but my school offers some pretty good deals on ibm's as long as you take the 1 setup of R or T series they offer, heres a quick link to see the prices, they have no problem selling to someone not associated with the school

http://ubmicro.buffalo.edu/laptops.php

 

[Mr.Sneis]

I recommend the asus and acer ferrari series, great build quality. I myself own a Dell XPS2, cost me $1700 though which was on a 40% off sale

 

[jlo mein]

acer ferarri??? There are similar acer's price much lower simply because they don't have the ferarri name...

 

[Jmmmmm]

I don't know anything about asus, but I just got an ibm t43 to replace my dell 5150. I always had a good experience with dell, but the ibm is a much better built computer. So far I'm very pleased with the t43. I don't know about the r52, but if it's got the same qualities as the t series, you can't go wrong with it.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmmmmm I don't know anything about asus, but I just got an ibm t43 to replace my dell 5150. I always had a good experience with dell, but the ibm is a much better built computer. So far I'm very pleased with the t43. I don't know about the r52, but if it's got the same qualities as the t series, you can't go wrong with it.

Agreed, in fact you may be able to get a T series for right around $1500. I love the T series and I think that IBM build quality is second to none, which is VERY important in a laptop.