So what Laptop would you buy?

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scuwp

3888 posts

Uber Geek

#107695 17-Aug-2012 13:57

Sorry, yet another opinion requested thread. My procrastination gene has taken over and I simply cant decide.

After a consumer laptop for a general home computer. Has to be able to handle a bit of everything, prefer above average storage, and reliability. Looking at $1200 ish mark seems to tick most boxes.

Narrowed it down to Toshiba:

Toshiba L850/092 - 15.6", Intel Core i5-2450M, DDR3 4GB, 750GB HDD, AMD Radeon HD7670M 2GB, DVD SuperMulti, HDMI, USB 3, Windows 7 32/64 bit Home Premium
http://www.bondandbond.co.nz/shop/computers/portable/pc-notebooks/toshiba-l850-092-15-6-notebook/prod116422.html

Or HP:

3rd generation Intel Core i7-3612QM Processor (2.1 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
4096MB 1333MHz DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
640GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 630M Graphics 1GB GDDR3
Beats Audio Quad speakers; Beats Audio Audio playback
15.6" diagonal Brightview LED-backlit Display (1366 x 768)
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector); 802.11b/g/n WLAN + Bluetooth
Windows 7
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with integrated dual array digital microphone

http://www.bondandbond.co.nz/shop/computers/portable/pc-notebooks/hp-dv6-7032tx-15-6-notebook/prod116313.html

Retailer linked is just an example but typical of the prices.

I like the HP personally, it looks flasher and has a faster processor, but sacrifice a bit of HDD space. Missus prefers Toshiba for reliability.

So...if you had to choose, which one would it be?

Thanks

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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#673692 17-Aug-2012 14:08

My experience with HP's consumer range of Notebooks is not good as are those on the Web Forum I administer. They are very prone to over heating they also come packed with rubbish software which takes to get rid of.

HP enterprise models are of better build quality.

Bee

732 posts

Ultimate Geek

#673699 17-Aug-2012 14:21

Hard choice - on specs Id definitely go with the HP, but Ive no idea on the quality or reliability of HP.

A Toshiba with an I7 CPU would win for me :)

Doing your best is much more important than being the best.

jonb

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#673701 17-Aug-2012 14:23

hmm.. probably the HP (presuming they've sorted their overheating issues). Could check out the Dell Inspiron 15R too for similar specs and price.

farcus

1558 posts

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#673718 17-Aug-2012 15:11

one of these

can't go past lenovo reliability.

CYaBro

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#673729 17-Aug-2012 15:31

Can't understand why they have these high spec'd machines and then go and put a 5400RPM HDD in them!!??
The price difference to go to a 7200RPM HDD in a laptop is not a lot these days.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

scuwp

3888 posts

Uber Geek

#673734 17-Aug-2012 15:36

Cheers for the opinions.

Yes I believe the "new generation" HP's have addressed the overheating issues, well at least they claim to have addressed them

I agree the Toshiba with the i7 would be the pick, unfortunately the only one I can find has a $400+ premium on the i5 model example.

No doubt the Lenovo for reliability. Unfortunately in that price range the specs are pretty basic.

Not sure on Dell. never owned one, reviews are ho-hum, and the models I have seen in that price range that are on display inn some shops, at least outside look decidedly 'cheap' and 'budget'. Also was not impressed with the screen.

Last Asus laptop we brought as a 'family' computer was a dud, despite it being a near premium model at the time. Considering it will have to last 3 - 4 years or more I don't want to make the same mistake, hence my conundrum.

(needless to say I wont be buying another Asus!)

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

scuwp

3888 posts

Uber Geek

#673737 17-Aug-2012 15:49

Arrggghhh! Its been one of those days. Just realised I posted the wrong Toshiba, going cross eyed looking at the plethora of models available. Should be these specs:

Toshiba L850/08N - 15.6", Intel Core i7-3610QM, DDR3 4GB, 750GB HDD, AMD Radeon HD7670M 2GB, DVD SuperMulti, HDMI, USB 3, Windows 7 32/64 bit Home Premium,

In other words near identical to the HP, for the exact same price.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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mxpress

376 posts

Ultimate Geek

#673741 17-Aug-2012 15:58

I would go for the Toshiba. As a dealer I have seen far too may HP's recently that have died due to overheating. I simply don't trust them any more where as the Toshba and samsung models seem to tick all of the required boxes but Samsung models seem to have a firmer feel to the keyboard. Less bounce than the Toshiba ones.

mxpress

MikeB4

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#673745 17-Aug-2012 16:07

I would look at the following,

Lenovo,
Dell,
Toshiba.

Depending on the use you are putting the Laptop the HP's may well be OK, but if you are going to push it the HP including the latest will get very hot. Some of the Samsung models are prone to over heating as well.

As for Sony I have yet to find a Sony Vaio that feels like it has been made well and they all have horrible trackpads.

Regs

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Snowflake

#673768 17-Aug-2012 17:35

if i was buying a laptop as a 'home' general computer, i'd be more inclined to look to one of the new Windows 8 optimised tablets thats on the way from microsft, lenovo, samsung and others.

something that works like an i pad from the couch, yet functions like a desktop when you dock it with a screen, keyboard and mouse.

use a network NAS device, or the cloud, for your storage :)

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khull

1245 posts

Uber Geek

#673806 17-Aug-2012 17:59

Toshiba is more reliable according to Consumer NZ.

Having local storage can be absurd with the cost of NAS dropping.

tigercorp

668 posts

Ultimate Geek

#673808 17-Aug-2012 18:36

I'd go the Toshiba and throw more RAM in it later down the track.

fyi you can get the same Toshiba from Expert Infotech for $1186 with 6GB RAM but with a crappier graphics card.

joutei

308 posts

Ultimate Geek

#673823 17-Aug-2012 19:16

I personally have had bad experiences with Hp Laptops, particularly the pavillion series.
The Probook series are not too bad. I would recommend Asus laptops, good value for money. Toshiba is pretty good aswell.

Why not try have a look at pbtech, they have pretty good prices on notebooks.
Never had a problem with them :)

scuwp

3888 posts

Uber Geek

#673836 17-Aug-2012 20:06

Thanks guys n gals, all great stuff.

Looks like the Toshiba is coming out on top.

I keep hearing good things about the Asus, but after the last one can't bring myself to go there again.

Win8 tab looks great but we already have a couple of ipads, the laptop really just needs to be a storage and access hub of sorts to bring our media together.

The Sony Vaio's look well spec'd, but can't get over the cheap plastic look of them however, just reminds me of my daughters 'Barbie' toy laptop game, and you can even get them in pink!

Yep, visited my local PB Tech a couple of times, they seem to have a lot of series 2 processors still, not much new stuff, and nothing in the same price bracket that can compare....I to was surprised as they are normally quite competitive.

Will go and have another shop tomorrow, Toshiba top of the list.

Cheers

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Technofreak

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#674088 18-Aug-2012 21:23

I've just bought one of these. http://www.dell.com/nz/p/inspiron-14z-5423/pd I bought the one with the i5 processor and 128Gb SSD.

Some may find the SSD a bit small, for me it's more than adequate as I have a 1TB USB drive plus a NAS. If you want to spend a bit more you can get the 256Gb SSD, I figured that the price of SSD's will fall fairly quickly and can upspec the SSD to a bigger one in the future if needed.

So far I'm very happy, it's relatively light (less than 1.8 kg) and thin (about 22 mm), has a good size screen (14") and has a quick boot up time. It has a CD/DVD drive which is unusual for a ultra book and also a ethernet port.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

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