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Picking new laptop Toshiba,Dell, or Hp

post #1 of 20
8/11/08 at 1:05pm
Thread Starter 
Ok so im looking for a new laptop my price range is $1300-1500
And im looking for a toshiba hp or dell, Im going to be using it for photoediting, minor gaming, school work, music(im a jr. audiophile so i need a good sound card), movies and i want a n wifi.
Ive heard good and bad things about them all and ive done research for the last month or so.
So far ive taken that toshiba is the best for multimedia and music, Dells are poorly built and there customer services sucks.
Hp are about the best but tend to be pricey.
So ive compiled 3 from each company for you guys to help me choose,
if anyone woulid like to configure me a laptop for my price and needs at an other company that would be appreciated.

Also my dad gets manufacture discount on dell from gulfstream so depending on the price of the laptop and confiuration he gets anywhere from 20-40% off dells.

EDIT: I know the toshibas say there 32-bit but i have a 64-bit disc so no worries
Toshiba
Satellite P300-ST3014
PSPC4UTCF53F
$1334.40
CPU: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.5GHz, 6MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic 32-Bit
Office Software: Microsoft® Office 2007 Suite Ready
Memory: 4096MB PC5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM (2048MBx2)
LCD: 17.0" Diagonal Widescreen WXGA+ TruBrite® display (1440x900)
Graphics Controller: ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3650 with 512MB DDR2 discrete memory
+ up to 255MB allocated shared graphics memory
HDD: 200GB HDD (5400rpm, Serial-ATA)
Optical Media: DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive
Mini-PCI/WiFi: Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965 AGN (802.11a/g/n)
Battery: Lithium Ion battery (9-Cell, 6000mAh)

Satellite M300-ST4060
PSMD4UTCFGS7
$1199.20
CPU: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.5GHz, 6MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic 32-Bit
Office Software: Microsoft® Office 2007 Suite Ready
Memory: 2048MB PC5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM (2048MBx1)
LCD: 14.1" Diagonal Widescreen WXGA TruBrite® display (1280x800)
Graphics Controller: ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3470 with 256MB DDR2 discrete memory
+ up to 255MB allocated shared graphics memory
HDD: 200GB HDD (5400rpm, Serial-ATA)
Optical Media: DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive
Mini-PCI/WiFi: Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965 AGN (802.11a/g/n)
Bluetooth: Bluetooth® Version 2.1 +EDR
Battery: Lithium Ion battery (9-Cell, 6000mAh)

Satellite A300-ST4004
PSAG4UTCF32P
$1350.40
CPU: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.5GHz, 6MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic 32-Bit
Office Software: Microsoft® Office 2007 Suite Ready
Memory: 4096MB PC5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM (2048MBx2)
LCD: 15.4" Diagonal Widescreen WXGA TruBrite® display (1280x800)
Graphics Controller: ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3650 with 512MB DDR2 discrete memory
+ up to 255MB allocated shared graphics memory
HDD: 250GB HDD (5400rpm, Serial-ATA)
Optical Media: DVD SuperMulti (DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) with Labelflash™ drive
Mini-PCI/WiFi: Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965 AGN (802.11a/g/n)
Bluetooth: Bluetooth® Version 2.1 +EDR
Battery: Lithium Ion battery (9-Cell, 6000mAh)

HP
HP Pavilion dv2700t Special Edition customizable Notebook PC
KQ656AV
$1,548.99
  • – Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
  • – Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T8100 (2.10GHz)
  • – 14.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
  • – 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
  • – 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
  • – 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
  • – Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
  • – Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network w/Bluetooth
  • – LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
  • – No TV Tuner w/remote control
  • – 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
  • – Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
  • – HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
HP Pavilion dv9700t customizable Notebook PC
KL086AV
$1,648.99
  • – Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
  • – Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T8100 (2.10GHz)
  • – 17.0" diagonal WXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1440 x 900)
  • – 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
  • – 50% OFF 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS
  • – 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
  • – Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
  • – Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
  • – LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
  • – No TV Tuner w/remote control
  • – High Capacity 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
  • – Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
  • – HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
HP Pavilion Entertainment dv5t customizable Notebook PC
KQ574AV
$1,592.99
  • – Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
  • – Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz)
  • – 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
  • – 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
  • – 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
  • – FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
  • – Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
  • – HP Color Matching Keyboard
  • – Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN and Bluetooth(TM)
  • – High speed 56K modem port
  • – LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
  • – HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
  • – High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
  • – Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
  • – $10 OFF Computrace LoJack for Notebooks, One Year
  • – HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Dell
INspiron 1720
$1,394
SYSTEM COLORMidnight Blue
PROCESSORIntel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEMGenuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
DISPLAYHigh Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1920 x 1200)
VIDEO CARD128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GS
MEMORY3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
HARD DRIVESize: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
OPTICAL DRIVECD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
WIRELESS NETWORK CARDSDell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card
BLUETOOTH AND WIRELESS USBBuilt-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
INTEGRATED WEBCAMIntegrated 2.0 Megapixel Webcam
BATTERY OPTIONS85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
SOUND OPTIONSExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi® Xtreme Audio Sound Card

Studio 17
$1,488
SYSTEM COLORGraphite Grey with Red Trim
PROCESSORIntel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEMGenuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
DISPLAYGlossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440x900)
VIDEO CARD256MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 3650
MEMORY3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2
HARD DRIVESize: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
OPTICAL DRIVE8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
WIRELESS NETWORK CARDSDell 1510 Wireless-N Card
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0)
INTEGRATED WEBCAMIntegrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
BATTERY OPTIONS85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
SOUND OPTIONSIntegrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ Advanced HD Software Edition
FINGER PRINT READERIntegrated Finger Print Reader
KEYBOARDBack-lit Keyboard
Studio 15
$1,563
SYSTEM COLORGraphite Grey with Red Trim
PROCESSORIntel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEMGenuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
HD DISPLAYGlossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
VIDEO CARD256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450
MEMORY3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2
HARD DRIVESize: 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
WIRELESS NETWORK CARDSDell 1510 Wireless-N Card
BLUETOOTHDell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0)
INTEGRATED WEBCAMIntegrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
BATTERY OPTIONS85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
SOUND OPTIONSExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi® Xtreme Audio Sound Card
FINGERPRINT SCANNERNO FINGER PRINT READER
KEYBOARDBack-lit Keyboard



Thanks for all your time and help in advanced

-red
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post #2 of 20
8/11/08 at 1:19pm
just get a maxed out dell since he gets a discount

be sure to get the in home warranty next day service
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post #3 of 20
8/11/08 at 2:24pm
Thread Starter 
its not to much the price im thinking about its the functionality, whats gonna last me the next 4 years, i dont want to have to wait for someone to come fix it i just dont want it to break.
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post #4 of 20
8/11/08 at 3:17pm
i'll pick toshiba m300, performance = price. Maybe you can spent the rest of money to memory and extra harddisk. :P toshiba also has best customer service as far i know.
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post #5 of 20
8/11/08 at 3:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by red350z View Post
its not to much the price im thinking about its the functionality, whats gonna last me the next 4 years, i dont want to have to wait for someone to come fix it i just dont want it to break.
the next day service: you talk to a tech via phone, then a live person comes out the next day and fixes it

so total downtime for me when my lcd was throwing dead pixels= 3 hours (cause i could still use it in the mean time)

id get the dell
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post #6 of 20
8/11/08 at 4:40pm
Definately Dell, with next day home service.
With ALL the rest, if you happen to get a lemon, which is always a possibility no matter how good the brand is, then you have to either, take it in somewhere (local fix it shop that contracts for that company) or worse (the more likely option) mail it in and wait for it to be fixed and mailed back to you.
With Dell you call them up and the next day you have someone show up @ your door to fix it for you while you watch tv.
If you can get a discount for Dell then get a Dell.
You would be foolish to get anything else.

Theres no option that I can see from your list that you can't get in a Dell.
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post #7 of 20
8/11/08 at 5:36pm
I might be missing something here, but why do you need a $1500 laptop to do what you said you needed to do:

Quote:
photoediting, minor gaming, school work, music(im a jr. audiophile so i need a good sound card), movies and i want a n wifi.
My hp cost me $700 8 months ago and does all that and has n wifi. And I bet my laptop will easily last me 4 more years.
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post #8 of 20
8/11/08 at 5:46pm
Thread Starter 
Because i dont want it to be completely outdated next year with new games etc. i want alot of memory because i tend to have photoshop fireworks dreamweaver flash, firefox and aim open at the same time. So if i get a prebuilt model most of them are 128 mb graphics card with 1gb of ram with 1gb of ram my current hp becomes very slow running all those programs at once at freezes alot, and i do keep everything cleand my registry spyware viruses and reagularly clean out my fans, so i need something that can basiclly doo all those at once and stay stable.

thanks for the help thus far
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post #9 of 20
8/11/08 at 5:54pm
Ahhh, thanks for the clear up. I like the studio 17. it seems to be the most balanced for the $$$.
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post #10 of 20
8/13/08 at 11:15pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all your help thus far everyone, and im really stuck between the m300 and the studio 17 i really like both and ive used both that are similarly configured, seems like the toshiba runs more processe better but the studio 17 has better graphics and faster connectione (and yes both internet econnections were the same). so im gonna talk to my dad and see what kind of discount he can get me.
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post #11 of 20
8/14/08 at 10:19pm
All I can say, if your Toshiba breaks out of warranty, you may as well trash it because you're NEVER going to get parts for it at anything close to a good price. Parts direct from Toshiba are expensive as all get out, and there is little to no used market for Toshiba parts...partly due to their low market share.

Dells being more popular tend to have a very solid 2nd hand parts selection and pretty decent prices.

If you're going to use this laptop for schoolwork at all. You should most DEFINITELY go with the company that can give you the fastest turn-around time. Now us field techs can't make it out the very next day 100% of the time due to being overbooked or parts were delayed in shipping....also because dispatch has some f***ed up priorities (I catch 10 kinds of hell for fixing a home user's laptop instead of XYZ Inc's printer). However, I'm certainly faster than mail in options from anybody. At least with an in home service warranty your laptop never leaves your posession, and neither does your data.

HP's mail in service has an alright turnaround time, however, if you send it in, you cannot remove ANY parts from it (can't remove the hard drive) and it WILL come back reformatted. One of my non-warranty customers wanted me to get her HP serviced on two different occasions. Being the smart tech I am I make sure I ghost a customer's system before messing with ANYTHING. Both times the system came back wiped with the factory software loaded, quick fix though since 20 minutes with Ghostcast and it's back like it was before leaving.
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post #12 of 20
8/15/08 at 5:16pm
Because a business is sooooooo much more important than a home user.....ahh capitalism....highest bidder and highest importance wins
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post #13 of 20
8/15/08 at 6:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dr/owned View Post
Because a business is sooooooo much more important than a home user.....ahh capitalism....highest bidder and highest importance wins
? is this random or what?
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post #14 of 20
8/15/08 at 11:10pm
From MrEvil's post:

"(I catch 10 kinds of hell for fixing a home user's laptop instead of XYZ Inc's printer)"
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post #15 of 20
8/17/08 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dr/owned View Post
From MrEvil's post:

"(I catch 10 kinds of hell for fixing a home user's laptop instead of XYZ Inc's printer)"
ohh i see ok sorry bout that
and yea the big company is always more important then the little guy
but its when the little guy kicks the big corporations butt. That always makes my day lol
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post #16 of 20
8/17/08 at 10:34pm
So did you order your laptop yet?
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post #17 of 20
8/20/08 at 9:20pm
Thread Starter 
Ok so in about 3 weeks I will be a proud owner of an Xps M1530
Heres the specs

PROCESSORIntel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9500 (2.6GHz/800Mhz FSB, 6MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEMGenuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
LCD AND CAMERAFull Hi Definition, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD (1920x1200) & 2.0 M
PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARESpecial Offer:Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007
PHOTO, VIDEO & BURN SOFTWAREAdobe Photoshop + Premiere Elements
GAMING ACCESSORIESMicrosoft Xbox 360 Controller - PC
POWER OPTIONSAuto/Air AC Adapter

WARRANTY AND SERVICEGet $70 Gift Card with 4 Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service
ACCIDENT AND THEFT PROTECTIONAdd Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 4Yr Warr.
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUPIncluded 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESSNo ISP requested
ENVIRONMENTAL OPTIONSFree Recycling Kit

Dell Printer DriverWindows Vista™ Premium
Software - AdobeAdobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Processor BrandingIntel Centrino Core Duo Processor
Plus a Bag Creative laptop speakers and headsets and a Dell 968 All-In-One Wireless Printer

With shipping and tax at the amazing price of $2,469.28 yea its over my budget but i feel its worth it for a computer that will likely last me 5-6 years

So thanks for all your help guys
Kudos!
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post #18 of 20
8/20/08 at 9:20pm
Thread Starter 
sorry bout it being all mushed i just copy pasted it
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post #19 of 20
8/20/08 at 11:11pm
thats with your dads discount?

seems a bit steep

can get newer technology for less the price really.....

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8660-...wconfigure=yes
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post #20 of 20
8/20/08 at 11:15pm
Yaaaaarrrrr she's a nice rig (where's my pirate emoticon?!?!)
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