College Student Looking For A Good High End Computer Engenering Notebook - Page 2

www.mitac.com maybe...i dunno...

http://www.mitac-mtc.com.tw/
Mitac Tech Corp.

Truthfully their website isn't much to look at, and they're not an extremely well known company (outside of Taiwan). For me I'm not one of those people who associates quality with names, I have to see it and use it for myself before I'll draw conclusions on it. Everyone that's reviewed the 8050 so far has said it is a solid machine, and here are some advantages over your other laptop choices:

--best GPU of all them: Radeon 9700/128Mb RAM
--smallest size / lowest weight (about tied with zt3000)
--best looking of all of them (except for the asus W1)

the dell 8600 is uglier and heavier. the zt3000 has a pathetic graphics card, its really no comparison. the asus W1 is probably a better system save for 64 Mb less of VRAM, but will cost you a lot more to get.

rjtech.com has the Mitac 8050.
Honestly, I am not sure why everyone is recommending the Mitac to you. They have no real track record. 2 or 3 people here have received them, no real problems. Yes, it has a 128MB 9700, and yes, it looks cute and smallish, but what do we know about Mitac:
They are a Taiwanese ODM that bought out Tyan (a motherboard manufacturer) a while back. Tyan was not a great, or well loved motherboard amongst enthusiasts.
We don't know much more. They are not an ASUS in terms of size, and have probably close to nothing in terms of market share. If you get one, and have good luck with it, you will, of course be fine. If you have problems, NOBODY HERE can tell you what your support experience will be.
I have been to their website several time, the Taiwan site and their other ones. Most of the items are broken links, there are no manuals, drivers, BIOS updates, or anything posted for any models, there is nothing about the 8050 anywhere except for a link to one 2 page slick brochure that is unfinished!!
I have been around PC's since the mid-1980's and I used to order 80286, 80386, 80486 motherboards (do you remember those CPU's??) from Taiwanese resellers on the west coast, where very little English was spoken. The vendors were all extremely nice, but there was no real support. If you had a problem with a motherboard, it was easier to toss it in the trash and buy another than to try to get it fixed by them. You have to ask yourself...is this the kind of support you want on a notebook PC????
I am sorry, folks, but I don't think it is fair if this is not mentioned.
This may be the best notebook computer EVER, but we have no real way of knowing this.
As for me, I have been looking for a notebook for 6+ weeks, and have made no decision, so...what the heck could I know!!
But, I do know that I am very unlikely to get a Mitac, unless someone can tell me something about Mitac that I don't already know now.
Andrew
Austin, TX

mitac
it has the best gpu and if you can get it from a solid reseller the support will be superior to dell/hp (not to mention build quality/reliability)

That depends on what kind of warranty you want. With HP, yes, they are a little (or a lot) more boring, but you have options, like additional money for next business day onsite warranties and accidental damage. (basically everything except theft, which your parents can add to their homeowner's policy) That can make a big difference. With ASUS, you will definately have a warranty, but you are going to have to box up the notebook, and send it FEDEX or UPS to them, then wait for the repair a few days (or weeks), then wait for them to FEDEX or UPS it back to you. If you have a spare PC or notebook, that is fine, otherwise next busines day onsite is better. HP, IBM, and Dell all offer those additional warranties (for more money of course). However, even though I now won't buy a Dell, my son had a Dell, spilled a coke into it, and got a new refurbished (upgraded) notebook under their Complete Care (accidental coverage) warranty. Basically, you can run your notebook over with a car, and, as long as it wasn't "intentional" and you have the pieces in a bag, you get a new system.
As a college student, that could make a big difference to you, as opposed to having the latest cutest notebook with the best GPU that can't be fixed when it breaks down.
I am NOT saying that a Mitac won't be fixed if broken, just saying (as I wrote) that nobody knows anything about them. Do a google search for the 8050, there is nothing there, and searches for Mitac don't get you a lot of information.
Andrew

I have been choosing a new notebook for 6+ weeks, since I EBAY'ed my damned Dell, and I am down, I think to the HP nc8000 and the ASUS M6N.
The HP is about $750 more, but has 3 years parts and labor, and I could add on-site and accidental damage protection after the sale.

OK, just checked the HP you are looking at (ZT3000) and for $349 additional cost you can get the "3-year HP Accidental Damage Protection with Express Repair extended service plan". That is not onsite, but it is 3 day turnaround (instead of normal 7-10) and HP pays shipping each way, and sends FEDEX or UPS to pick it up from you. I am sure you can also add onsite, just call the toll-free sales number.

If it were me, and I was in college, I would be worried about extended "down time" (as I am for my son who is in college).

Andrew
Austin, TX

hmm... mitac is fine. =0
sure aamsel, what you say is true. but uh... that's what they make extended warranties for.

RJtech, the vendor in 'question':
"You may purchase extended warranty (parts and labor), depot service, from 1 to 3 years additional to the original 1 year warranty."

it's a pretty simple idea: something goes wrong that you can't fix yourself or with phone help, you send it back to them, either they fix it or they give you a new system. that's why its called uhh... parts and labor. so if you want, you can insure that your laptop for four years. pretty long time in the hardware world, if you ask me.

you can ask laozx if richard wu (rjtech) speaks english, i'm pretty sure he does. =) as for the manufacturer / rjtech not fixing your laptop? hmm. this would be a very interesting concept, if people paid money for extended warranties and the insuring company had no obligation to fix the system.

JC, i'm an EE senior. it's really not like i'm some guy that doesn't know anything about hardware. i would never recommend a system to you that i wouldn't buy myself. i am considering buying the mitac in about 2 months, there are people on this forum that have bought it with no qualms and done full reviews. of course consider all the facts, surely take aamsel's comments into account-- the asus is a perfectly fine system also, go with that if it makes you happy.

anyway. i just wanted to say that piece, it's starting to bother me that some people keep insuinating that i am some noob.

seriously speaking if there are problems with the computer anything other than onsite service is going to be a pain, that's why you should buy from somebody reputable if you go the ODM route. Read reviews, talk to people who have bought there, etc. It's better to get a system that doesn't crap out than it is to have it die and even deal with the best service there is. Buying from an ODM is like building your own desktop: you won't get any resonable support except from the retailer you buy it from.

I spoke to Richard on the phone a couple of times, he speaks perfectly fine English.
As for Mitac, rjtech, etc. what you people have to understand is that warranties are only as good as the place that issues them. You can buy a "lifetime membership" to a health club, but when they go out of business, your lifetime membership is over.
I never wish for any company to go under, but who knows??
All you know is that it is very unlikely that your Dells, HP's, IBM's are going anywhere anytime soon.
Andrew
Austin, TX

http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=27827&page=2

you're also someone who is willing to pay upwards of $1000 for this peace of mind. i don't have that kind of money to blow. i'm a college student, and i have rent to pay. maybe JC has tons of his parents' money to do this also, but i was giving him the perspective of a college student, which he happens to be.

amen to that.

to add: yeah you can pay 50% more for that "peace of mind" but this is technology, not life insurance. Would you buy a dell desktop? For the extra you pay, you can get one twice as good if you build it yourself, and the quality will probably be better. I mean if you can't build your own okay, but if you can, why not?

I am sorry, but I have a son in college, and he is using my last darned Dell with the remainder of my Complete Care warranty. I already have said I don't like Dell, but at least I know that they will be there in 1 day to fix his system.
Also, he has a desktop as a backup, and a computer lab he can use.

However, I feel that it is not fair to not let a college student know the possible disadvantages of getting a notebook that doesn't have onsite warranty. We all know that if we had to send in a notebook UPS or FEDEX, that it could be several weeks before we get the system back.

By the same token, I would suggest to him that he backup data he cares about to CD's, an external drive or both. What I am saying is that looking for the best features in a notebook may not be the important thing for this user, and that he might be better served spending his money on service and support.

Onsite warranties are not perfect, and cost extra money, but some people really need them. I could easily be without a notebook (I have been for 6 weeks) but when I have one, I would much rather have it repaired quickly than slowly.

Andrew
Austin, TX

you can get on-site warranties for ODM notebooks too, like i said, it depends on who you buy from. discountlaptops for one offers this service for only 30 dollars more.

I have the utmost respect for poor college students, as my son is in college.
I don't have a ton of money either, some things are important to me, some are not.
My notebook is a gift, I won't go into details.
I wouldn't have the money to buy it for myself.
This member said his budget was $3,000, and one of his choices was an HP with a starting price of $999, so I figured he had some money for service and support.
Andrew
Austin, TX

Dell desktops are generally cheap, because they are built to hit a certain "price-point". I would spend far more building my own desktop, as I have done many hundreds of times for myself and others, but I put exactly the components I want into them.
Andrew
Austin, TX

stop arguing...some people are for extended warranties, some aren't...i don't think bickering about who is and who isn't is really going to persuade someone one way or another

lol you'd be surprised what college student nowadays will give up for a nice computer, a nice car, nice clothes, a bad girl, etc.

me personally, my apt during college was always filled with the latest mobos / vid cards / ram, and my kitchen was full of ramen.

if someone told me "here's how you can save $1000 on your hardware with minimal risk" i would have said HELLO FOOD! oh and maybe girls would call more =D

Where is this on the site? I cannot find it? Or do i have to contact them? And if so, how, there isn't any contact info on the website