Good Laptop Brands?

[Grimes]

I'm in the market for a laptop for school and soon to be career related usage. I'm in the field of computer graphics with a focus on animation and video editing. I've got a desktop setup that is quite useful for working on such things, however I have come in need of a mobile solution.

 

I've been looking at Sony, Asus, Sager, Apple, Toshiba, and Dell.

 

Any one have any sort of positive or negative feedback on any of these companies or any other company you might recommend?

[SuperKungFu]

sony was originally know for its quality and stuff, but my pro's laptop paint quality is already starting to fade and such, and its expensive as hell. Basically, you are paying just for the brand.

 

Apple, some people prefer apple but again, its expensive as well.

 

I can't really comment on the others except dell. I have the Dell Inspiron 1720, the specs are in my sig. It runs lock on pretty well and i like it

here's a pic of it

 

If you get the dell, I can provide some dell coupons on this site

http://www.notebookreview.com/dellCoupon.asp

 

Those coupons change every week so it fits a variety of needs. So you could get a fairly decent laptop for a good price. All the best. but one advice, if you are going to have it for school like I did for college, a 17 inch laptop is pretty heavy. But I bring it anyway because it can play lock on lol. Cheers and good luck.

[hitman]

I had an Asus G2 laptop which was pretty tight. They come out with better ones since I had that last one, but if I had to recommend them again, I should have kept that laptop. Just dont expect a whole lot of performance from them at all.

[Vekkinho]

I have HP 8510w, KE186EA, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.50 GHz, 6 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB), 15.4 WSXGA+ but I don't play any games with it.

 

Generally, it wasn't too expensive if I had to buy it (cca 2000U$ or 1500€) but I got it for free from the company I work with. So as you can imagine I use it for job purposes only. The only thing that bothers the sensitive is pretty small widescreen of 15,4" (15" visible). That's like the minimal screen you get today! It's not too heavy so easy to transport with rest of the peripherals (mouse, NumPad, external HDD, web cam) it fits my Lowepro backpack and I can travel around assured it won't get damaged or stolen!

 

I haven't had too much experience with laptops, I'm more of a table top fan, but I like this one as it serves me good, it doesn't overheat so I had no need for a docking vent station and battery autonomy is fair enough (screen isn't a size monster, remember). Keyborad is pretty good and silent!

[Vekkinho]

SKF- nice Tomcat there!

[SuperKungFu]

lol thanks, its good to look at once in a while.

[Vekkinho]

No prob m8,

I do some scale kit modelling too so I had to comment!

[Grimes]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

When do the new mobile graphics solutions generally get implemented? supposedly the 9600gt is out for notebooks, but I have yet to find any with it onboard.

[SuperKungFu]

dunno yet, I assume the 9xxx series will take a while before it enters laptops. They run at a pretty high temperature so it might cause laptops some problems. the highest I had seen was an 8800, I have an 8600 GT in my laptop.

[Mugatu]

Macbook Pro here dual 2.5GHz, 800MHz FSB, 4 Gig of ram GeForce 8600M GT, it's not that much more than the equivalent DELL if not cheaper, etc.

 

You'll never look back.

[Talon]

I have an old Sager 8790 (Desktop 3.2Ghz cpu, 2Gb DDR2, Raid-0, ATI 9700 256Mb) and it still works amazingly and plays LockON just fine.

Obviously todays laptops are getting even more powerful, but I suggest getting one with a Core2Duo cpu (Intel) and with a good strong video card you should be fine.

Good luck with your purchase!

[Grimes]

I have an old Sager 8790 (Desktop 3.2Ghz cpu, 2Gb DDR2, Raid-0, ATI 9700 256Mb) and it still works amazingly and plays LockON just fine.

Obviously todays laptops are getting even more powerful, but I suggest getting one with a Core2Duo cpu (Intel) and with a good strong video card you should be fine.

Good luck with your purchase!

 

I've pretty much got my heart set on a T9300 or T9500 intel dual core. Having seen benchmarks of what there older 65 nm processors can do with a 3d max rendering, im confident either of those processors will be outstanding for me needs. There was a great deal on a sager, but it seems the deal has now passed. :(

 

I have a feeling a few laptops are getting upgraded shortly. That sager laptop is no longer listed, and toshiba has a new line coming out soon.

 

@Mugs As much as I'd like to try an Apple out, theres just to many factors going against it. The cost is a primary issue as are known problems with 3d max registration. My classmates and a professor have invalidated their 3d max liscenses due to bootcamp.

[Mugatu]

re 3D Max, yeah understand it's a problem with the copy protection and the EFI. Thought it would be available nativiely for the mac given the earlier user community, graphic designers, artists, special effects etc.

[SuperKungFu]

Mugatu, how much did you pay for your macbook pro?

[Talon]

Grimes,

If at all possible, try to get one with the Intel Core2Duo ( not the Intel Dual Core ) since they are not the same (not even close) and the Core2Duos are a much stronger cpu, which is essential for you to be happy with it for LockON, games and 3DSMax.

Otherwise you might be surprised with the lack of performance of your new laptop in LockOn and other games.

 

I hope you find one that works for you.

 

A friend of mine has a MacBook Pro and runs in dual boot the MacOSX and WindowsXP on it ( I have an older 17" Powerbook and still use it daily). My buddy uses his for gaming and has nothing but high praise with it, playing titles like COD4, QuakeWars, GTR2 racing, rFactor, and IL2 1946. He does not own LockOn, but also plays Falcon4 Allied Force on it, and it is very smooth. So the new MacBook Pro's work just fine for all apps, as long as you load the WinXP OS on it in a dual boot, (not parrallels, he tried this and it uses too much resources as compared to just dual booting) into either XP or OSX. He has yet to buy then try to install Vista on it, so I can't report on how well it does on the MacBook Pro.

Edited July 11, 2008 by Talon

[muamshai]

My wife has LG S-900 19"

 

It seems quite good. However, I didn't try any games. The only complain: The drivers are available for Vista only.

[JimMack]

In the UK, I am using a DELL XPS M1730. It is fine for Flaming Cliffs, and testing DCS:Black Shark.

[Mugatu]

$1300 AUD, after salary sacrifice and 500 buck so developer discount.

 

Mugatu, how much did you pay for your macbook pro?