American_4275 From United States of America, joined Aug 1999, 1076 posts, RR: 0 Posted (11 years 3 months 7 hours ago) and read 578 times:
Hey all,
My dad is looking for a laptop that is fast, slim, and well built. He doesn't need a gaming computer he just wants it for basic things. He prefers 1+ GIGS, 256 RAM, a zip drive (if possible), CD ROM and that's about it. It needs to be a PC, btw. I've been looking mainly at the Sony VAIO and some of the Dell. The VAIO looks better. Any other suggestions? Anyone own a laptop that they're very happy with?
Rolex01 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 2, posted (11 years 3 months 7 hours ago) and read 555 times:
I am shopping for one now, my brother in law works in the computer industry and also has an evening job at Best Buy for the discounts...
Anyway, he said Dell was the best... If you want to buy it from a store.. Go for Toshiba... Sony and Hewlett Packard and Compaq are the one that give people the most trouble with Glitches..
PHX-LJU From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (11 years 3 months 7 hours ago) and read 551 times:
I use a Sony VAIO and I'm very pleased with it.
You said you wanted your laptop to be well-build. Well, a week ago my VAIO fell from a table onto a marble floor (screen down, no less!). Hearing the crash, I thought the computer would, at best, need major repairs. But guess what? When I turned it on, it performed flawlessly. It wasn't even scratched! After having it for almost a year, I can say that using this computer has been a joy.
I don't have experiences with Dell, but I love my VAIO and would definitely recommended to you!
Mbmbos From United States of America, joined May 2000, 2561 posts, RR: 1 Reply 4, posted (11 years 3 months 7 hours ago) and read 548 times:
I am partial to the IBM ThinkPads, particularly the T-22/T-23 lines. This line features full form factor (i.e., decent screen size and a keyboard size) although they are thin and light. Given all the features offered, the T-22/T-23 notebooks weigh a reasonable 6 pounds. They also feature an ultra bay that can be used to swap out a variety of media components, including ZIP drives, DVD-ROM drives, CD-RW drives, floppy drives, etc.
The ThinkPads are not cheap, but then again, there's no reason to purchase top of the line. You can purchase one with a 1 Gig MHz processor, 30 Gigs disk, 128 MB RAM, running Windows XP Pro for about $2400. You can purchase a refurbished ThinkPad with similar features for about $1500.
I think that IBM produces the finest notebook keyboard and TFT screens. Their production quality is unmatched.
By the way, I'm also a fan of Dell Inspirons, but they generally weigh a couple of pounds more. If your dad is using his laptop while traveling every ounce of additional weight takes it toll. Believe me, I've been there.
BH346 From United States of America, joined Jan 2000, 3265 posts, RR: 17 Reply 7, posted (11 years 3 months 7 hours ago) and read 540 times:
The only laptop I've really experienced is an HP, but it was a piece of crap. I'd recommend a VAIO, too. Sony has a good reputation with me as a good brand.
Northwest Airlines - Some People Just Know How to Fly
PHX-LJU From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 11, posted (11 years 3 months 6 hours ago) and read 521 times:
TurbineBeaver,
If your dad wants a computer that is very light and still has plenty of features, he should consider the Sony VAIO R505 SuperSlim Pro (which, according to Sony, is "4.37 lbs. light, about 1" thin"):
Alessandro From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 12, posted (11 years 3 months 6 hours ago) and read 516 times:
Have any of you checked out www.transmeta.com they
company that make the chip inside of some of the mentioned laptops? Mr "Linux" Thorvalds works for transmeta developing the chip and the big gain according to them is the better battery life time and less heat...
PHX-LJU From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 13, posted (11 years 3 months 6 hours ago) and read 517 times:
As BH346 mentioned, even Sony's non-SuperSlim notebooks are pretty light (around 6 pounds) and they have more features than the R505. It depends on how light you need the computer to be...
PPGMD From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 2453 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (11 years 3 months 6 hours ago) and read 505 times:
Well I use the Dell Inspiron 8100, it has everything. CD-writer, DVD-ROM, Zip Drive, floppy drive 256MB RAM, 40 gig HDD. Mine is rather large, but your father can get one from one of the smaller lines that are smaller over all. I paid for one with everything $3,000
Well that just what I got from using this computer for the past 6 months.
Watewate From Canada, joined Nov 2000, 2283 posts, RR: 2 Reply 18, posted (11 years 2 months 4 weeks 1 day ago) and read 470 times:
If he's on the road a lot, he should go for the slim models on the market. Sony's Superslim line is probably the flashiest, but they're tad slow compared to other laptops. One caveat; make sure you're willing to fork out extra 300+ for extra set of batteries.
JetService From United States of America, joined Feb 2000, 4798 posts, RR: 13 Reply 19, posted (11 years 2 months 4 weeks 1 day ago) and read 467 times:
Too bad on the PC criteria. That rules out the best laptop on the planet - the Macintosh Titanium.
Eg777er From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2000, 1829 posts, RR: 13 Reply 21, posted (11 years 2 months 4 weeks 18 hours ago) and read 458 times:
I've had a Dell Inspiron 3700 for about 2 years now. Very reliable, good TFT screen. Not the most flashy or up to date machine, but very dependable and it handles the important thing well: air travel!!!
We have two Sony VAIO's in my family - my bro has the full-form-factor model with DVD etc and my mum has the slim one (T600 I think). Both are excellent machines.
Sponsor Message: 
From United States of America, joined Aug 1999, 1076 posts, 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
I wanted to say "After having it for almost a year, I can say that using this computer is a joy."
From Germany, joined Jul 2001, 20853 posts, 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
From Canada, joined Nov 2000, 2283 posts, 
From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2000, 1829 posts, 
From Ireland, joined Jan 2002, 1016 posts, 
Printer friendly format 
