Which Laptop Do You Use / Would Buy

[som nam na 0]

I will soon change jobs and have to hand back my present laptop and therefore need to buy one. Advice from BM's as to which laptop they would buy if they were in my case would be appreciated.

 

Price is not the determining factor but important aspects are a good sized hard disk, screen not less than 12'', DVD/CD read write drive, wifi capable, and above all the laptop should be portable and not too heavy.

 

Thanks SNN

Edited October 21, 2006 by som nam na

[woody4 0]

I've used and abused a sony vaio when in los and its not missed a beat.

 

but just about anything thats reliable is the best to have.

[short 215]

Buy the Dell 12" laptop. The small size is worth the extra cost when you travel. The battery will last longer on a smaller screen. And you can choose longer life batteries when you order.

 

If you want a big keyboard and monitor for home/work use, buy those separately from the laptop.

[farangkwaiyai 46]

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products...;l=en&s=dhs

 

My family has always purchased from this site with DELL laptops no problems with any so far except the hard drive recently going after 5 years of abuse.

[anonsailor 0]

My choice would be a Apple MacBook Pro or MacBook, I prefer and use the MacBook Pro 15", I'm using it on the road, gave my company PC back as the thing weights far too much, mostly from all the bits and pieces required. On the MacBook Pro I carry it in an Oakley vertical style bag with the small power brick, Bluetooth mouse, and a small portable 100 Gb firewire hard drive...the unit is very thin with a large screen...work fine lasts a long time...better better life than my company supplied PC. I'm running Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Apple Aperture (photo management app).

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2006 by anonsailor

[ruskiehat 0]

Presently have a Apple G4 bought one for the 1st time in Pattaya Tuk center last year, have never looked back after buying an Apple. Bloody great machines, admit my one does not have everything. But the New version's out now that can run both OSX and shitty windows have got to be the best things on the market.

[ginseng 0]

If price is no object I'd go with Vaio. They always seem to be the best quality and have extra features.

[Gary 4,100]

Actually I just bought a new one. My old IBM Thinkpad still works after about six years but the keyboard gave up. I must use a remote keyboard now. I looked at reliability ratings and found that Apple and IBM (Lenovo) were at the top of the ratings. I just returned from a trip to the US and bought a tricked out IBM Thinkpad while there. It has a three year international warranty. I didn't want to be having problems here and have to look for someone to repair a laptop especially while it is under warranty. The model is a T43p. The retail was $3,600. Because it is a left over model without the Duo Core processor I was able to get it for $1,555. I especially wanted WiFi, Bluetooth, LAN and a standard modem built in. The hard drive is 100 gig and is 7,200 RPM. It has a gig of RAM and the Centrino 2.26 ghz processor. It is great so far and if it is anywhere as reliable as my old IBM I'll be quite happy.

[anonsailor 0]

If price is no object I'd go with Vaio. They always seem to be the best quality and have extra features.

 

 

and the batteries are on fire...Hmmmmm!

[ruskiehat 0]

and the batteries are on fire...Hmmmmm!

 

Carefull ... Apple, Dell and a few other's have similar problems.

 

Oh have to say something on this, my apple G4 needs a replacement battery found out from their website, it does run hot, but have been OK so far, however in LOS it takes 1 month for a replacement, not sure about other makes.

 

New models should be OK, be aware about this when buying, as there has been a massive battery re-call by a few manufacturer's

[dotcom_OD 0]

If price is no object. There is one laptop in Asia that I would love to have since it is not available here in the US.

 

Sony SZ92...I have a link to a Japanese website of Sony. It is what a souped up laptop should look like.

 

http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Style-a/Product/Sz92/

 

Here are the specs:

Sony Model: VGN-SZ92

Motherboard Features CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz

L2 Cache: 4 MB CPU integrated

RAM: 512MB (2 GB Max)

Chipset: Intel 945 GM Express

Storage HDD:

Optical Drives:

 

160 GB

DVD±RW

Graphic / Video Features

 

Chip:

VRAM:

Display:

Resolution:

Ext Resolution (RGB):

Ext Resolution (DVI):

NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 with NVIDIA TurboCache

128MB (shared with main memory)

13.3" WXGA TFT

up to 1280 x 800 pixels

up to 2048 x 1536 pixels

up to 1920 x 1200 pixels

Sound system Sound Card: Built-in Stereo Speaker

Interface PCMCIA:

Modem:

Integrated ports: Type II x 1 CardBus compatible

56K V.90/.92

802.11b/g Wireless LAN; RJ-11 x1; LAN x1 (RJ-45); USB2.0 x2; VGA x1; microphone x1; headphones x1; I.LINK x 1; Memory Stick Duo x 1, Finger print/Security sensor x 1, ExpressCard™ /34 x 1, PCMCIA x 1, SlotMotion Eye, Bluetooth

Input / Output Devices Keyboard:

Pointing Device:

Battery Life: 86 keys, 19mm pitch, 3mm stroke

Touch Pad

Standard Battery: 7.0 hours

Enhanced Battery: 10.5 hours

Power Consumption:

A/C adapter: 69W

100-240V / 50-60 Hz

Physical Features Size:

 

Weight: 12.4 x 9.2 x 0.90 - 1.33 [inch]

315 x 234.3 x 22.8 - 33.7[mm]

3.73 lbs / 1.69 kg

Other Package contains:

Operating System:

 

A/C adapter; standard battery; English manual;

Windows XP Home (English)

Windows XP Professional (Optional)

 

Personally, I travel with a subnotebook since I like the portablility of carrying only 2 plus LBS. I have a one year old Fujitsu, which I upgraded the ram and hard drive and put in MS Office Business plus a nice IPOD copy which is not available in the US...:)

 

That's my take on a dream lap, if price is no object.

[BigDUSA 71]

Cheap Charley says buy the cheapest major brand you can. This way if it get's stolen your not out a lot of money.

[ben99 0]

Ben says go to internet cafe on Soi 8 - after 11pm, 30 baht for one hour

 

Laptop can be nicked by BG when asleep

[dave_boo 0]

I have two laptops. One is a hardcore desktop replacement that weighs almost 10 kilos with the charger and mouse and etc. Definitely not something I like toting around. The other is a Twinhead toughbook style. Definitely the one I prefer. Has the magnesium shell, and is tough as everything. Poor thing has been abuse to hell and back, but keeps ticking.

[Larryst 7]

I have 2 laptops here. When i moved to Thailand I had a Toshiba Laptop. Toshiba 1115-S103. Worked pretty good. Not the best now a days. But did the job. The hard drive crashed on it and I replace it at the IT center with a 40 GB HD. Works fine now. Except when I went to the states my livein let the windows open and when it rained. It shorted out the keyboard. Now I use a external keyboard. I've tried to get a new one. Ordered one from Toshiba about 4 months ago. Still waiting. If any one has a replacement and want to sell the keyboard. I would be interested.

When i went back to the states in April 2006. I bought a Dell B130. Customized it. 80 GB HD, 1GB memory, DVD +- player etc. Paid about $675. U.S. Works Good. Except for one thing wrong with Dell. A lot of programs are on a trial version. So either you buy them from them or from the software manufactuer. Or go to the IT center & buy the software for 150 baht. Also if you buy a Dell. You get the one year warranty. I asked a simple question and they wanted about $95. To answer my question. Or buy the extended warranty. I went into the manual and figured it out what to do.

[anonsailor 0]

Carefull ... Apple, Dell and a few other's have similar problems.

 

Oh have to say something on this, my apple G4 needs a replacement battery found out from their website, it does run hot, but have been OK so far, however in LOS it takes 1 month for a replacement, not sure about other makes.

 

New models should be OK, be aware about this when buying, as there has been a massive battery re-call by a few manufacturer's

 

Yep, true but Dells are he one's virtually exploding, not just catching on fire...Apple recalled the CG Chem batteries in a number of PowerBook 12" and 15" for a SUSPECTED problem and then only as a precaution to the Dell issues. Dell ignored the problem for months until someone pointed out they a liability problem at hand...

 

Ben says go to internet cafe on Soi 8 - after 11pm, 30 baht for one hour

 

Laptop can be nicked by BG when asleep

 

 

quit picking up free lancers...

[Gary 4,100]

If you plan to do any movie editing or even watch DVD movies I would not buy one that the video card shares the main memory. A stand alone card is better. My IBM has;

 

ATI Mobility FIRE GL V3200

Installed Video Memory 128 MB

Graphic Bus Interface PCI Express

External Video Resolution 2048 x 1536

[casper_uk 12]

I've set our office up with cheapo Acer Laptops, mainly because i noticed a lot of clients using them and they never seem to have had any problems. I too have been running an Acer 4400 travelmate for the last 12 months fault free.

 

However, the month before coming here I noticed the Sony Shop had a few really good deals on Vaios so splashed out on a decent spec example.

 

Didn't last long though as I was struck by the apparently common bootup / closedown fault that has plagued many sony vaio owners. Do a google for it, it's a well known fault that i wish to god i'd heard of sooner!

 

I'm here in Pattaya with my trusty Acer

[Knighte 0]

With the Vaios, I suspect you get what you pay for. The more recent Vaios are significantly cheaper than what Vaios used to be priced at. When I bought mine two years ago, it was possible to get a cheaper version of the same model. A little research showed one was made in Japan and the other in China. A friend at work (IT department) ordered the cheap one from overseas. I splashed out and bought the expensive Japanese made one. I have never had a problem, and still use the laptop almost daily and in particular on business trips to hostile climates. The Chinese made one had many problems and didnt even come with an international warranty.

 

I've also had experience with Toshibas and feel the Portege's are not bad. Quite robust. One of mine was flung across a room and still runs well, although the hard drive did get a few bad sectors, but such little damage is a miracle given how hard it was flung.

[kesam1 0]

Acers for me for the last 3 times excellent support when I broke my screen, next day replacement. Currently using Travelmate 8200 and its perfect for me

[StefanH 3]

Took my ACER 1692 WLMI to Pattaya and the Carribean, never had problems

 

Built in speakers and microphone are pretty convenient for use with SKYPE and Msgr.

[som nam na 0]

Thanks guys for taking the time and trouble to post. There are some useful pointers and advice in the posts and while each one is the personal view of the BM who posted it is precisely the sort of feedback I was looking for. Yes I can read the computer mags but real first hand experince gives a good insight.

[jacko 8,766]

My ACER 4650 is beginning to look worn, but still works perfectly and has all the features I need. It is also a make that is common in Thailand. I think buying a cheaper brand is a fair decision, as the desire to upgrade will come along soon. Not sure I see the need to spend over $1500.

[vegasdave 0]

If you are looking for something just for the trip go cheap. There are lots of low end PC's that will do the job and last a year or two. thus if it gets stolen or damaged no big deal.

But if you are looking for a longer term unit then the best way to go is with a mac book pro. It allows you to run windows and mac os using a program called paralles (about $80 plus the cost of win xp) But the truth is you will find yourself avoiding the windoze os as much as possible.

in terms of value you can't beat it. It seems more up front but with a bit of looking into it you will find mac's to be a good value. A stable elegant OS. then you get the ilife suite that is second to none. You can do video editing, dvd burning, create music, archive and play music, achrive photos, create podcasts, and make really nice web pages. I know you are saying I can do this on my PC. Yes you can but they are different programs and are often "lite" versions. Not to mention that they dont work seamlessly together as in the ilife suite.

Then there is depreciation. Look on ebay and you will find that the value on used mac's is much better. I have PC's and mac's and I like to say I do my have to work on my PC and my want to work on the mac's

[wacmedia 277]

I'm here in Pattaya with my trusty Acer

 

I've set our office up with cheapo Acer Laptops, mainly because i noticed a lot of clients using them and they never seem to have had any problems. I too have been running an Acer 4400 travelmate for the last 12 months fault free.

 

My ACER 4650 is beginning to look worn, but still works perfectly and has all the features I need.

 

Hi,

 

I notice whenever I've mixed with the more geeky types an Acer has been one of several laptops they have had. Usually a Toshiba as well, which is my fav as they are rugged.