What brand of Windows (PC) laptop would you recommend?

I’m a Mac guy too. But if I had to get a Windows based laptop I would get a Toshiba. Lenevo would be second on my list.

And the hard drives are (mostly) all the same. Some fail in a few months and some last for ten years. It is really a small part of the computer. I wouldn’t ignore dell because one part that they bought failed. It will happen to every hard drive. But I still wouldn’t buy a Dell for political reasons.

Or you could just save money and use http://www.parallels.com/de/products/desktop/ to run Windows on your Mac machine…or VirtualBox a free alternative…then you have full functionality and the best of both worlds without consuming another box…

@johnpowell

Is there anything specific about Toshiba that you like about it?

I am a Mac user and I currently use a MacBook Pro, but someday … I would like to get a Windows laptop.

Why?

Not only are you already aware that your Pro is a kajillion times more stable, useful, and pretty than anything else, you’ve owned a Dell, and it broke.

Yeah, maybe VMWare Fusion or Parallels or VirtualBox on your Mac is the right solution.

I have an HP laptop which has lasted quite a while. The machine itself is still sound, but the XP operating system that it came with sucks, but that’s not an issue any more as Win 7 is pretty good.

@DominicX :: They feel really solid. My sisters Acer feels like like a cheap piece of flimsy plastic. The ones from Toshiba feel well built.

But a word of advice. If you buy a Windows laptop buy a copy of Windows from your school and install in. Most laptops come with so much pre-installed crapware that it is easier to just install a clean version of Windows instead of removing all the crap.

@HungryGuy

HP was the brand I was strongly considering before I got the Mac. I’ve noticed that the majority of people here in college who have Windows laptops have HPs. It seems to be the most common brand.

@johnpowell

Yeah, the crapware was the complaint against Sony VAIOs (another brand that I was investigating that looks interesting).

How about buying a Windows 7 disc and using it with boot camp on your mac?

Otherwise I’ve got a Toshiba that has been used constantly for the last 3 years and without any problems although its as ugly as sin.

I wouldn’t look too hard until you are actually ready to buy. It’s kind of fruitless because the PCs on the shelf today will be discontinued in 6 months.

When you’re ready, figure out your priorities (battery life, size, weight, price, screen size, etc), list all the candidates and whittle down the list. It’s best to see them in person. I found a lot which had great features on paper but seemed chintzy on inspection.

FWIW, I bought an Acer Aspire Timeline recently. Sturdy metal case, very thin, super battery life and only $500.

PS
Here is some actual data on brands…

http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/laptop-reliability-1109
“SquareTrade analyzed failure rates for over 30,000 new laptop computers covered by SquareTrade Laptop Warranty plans and found that one-third of all laptops will fail within 3 years. SquareTrade also found that netbooks are 20% more unreliable than other laptops, and that Asus and Toshiba are the most reliable laptop brands.”

PPS
@johnpowell If you buy a Windows laptop buy a copy of Windows from your school
Actually, while you are in school, buy all the software you might ever want. Microsoft, for one, gives you about a 90% discount.

The brand doesn’t matter. Whatever YOU like is good. It’s all about what’s Inside! Just like in love. :)

That’s interesting abou Asus. My roommate has an Asus netbook and it’s had problems from day 1. You don’t know how many times he’s asked me to fix it. And yeah, I know they’ll be discontinued; that’s why I’m not looking for a specific model and just the brands in general.

Lenovos are built rock solid.

On an Acer Aspire one D250 right now running Jolicloud but it also has Windows 7 on, its built VERY well and previously i didn’t regard Acer for build quality but this model is bullet proof, just so small too, if your going for Windows you might as well take the netbook route seeing as you already have the best laptop on the market…

I’ld always go for a fresh install with Windows though, the bloat-ware EVERY manufacturer ships your new laptop with is the bane of my life.

PC’s are a crapshoot. One person can buy an HP and have it last for 10 years, another will buy the same exact model and it will last 3 months. The same can be said for every manufacturer. Toshibas and Lenovos are more physically sturdy, but you’ll pay for it in price, weight, and style. Acer and Dell laptops tend to be flimsy on the outside, but their components will most likely last just as long as anyone’s.

I would avoid HP like the plague. From what I’ve heard and from what people I know have experienced, they are not the same quality as they used to be. Asus is also on my “avoid” list since they tend to be sluggish and offer nothing I can’t get elsewhere.

Personally, I’ve had an Acer that lasted long enough to become obsolete, and my Toshiba is holding up pretty well, so I would recommend them. I know other people with Toshibas that lasted for years without any problems. While I am the only person I know that has experience with Acer, the reviews I’ve read seem in line with mine; solid machines and a great value for the money; Asus prices for Toshiba quality.

I am not fond of Dell, Lenova, or Sony simply because of their pricing. They are good machines, but you pay more than I feel they are worth for them.

@Ivan I don’t know about paying for Toshiba in price, weight, or style. I got my Toshiba T135 for $500 (as opposed to the MSRP of $650) and it holds it’s own against $800 competitors. It weighs under 4 pounds and IMO looks pretty snazzy. True, some of the older Toshibas were butt-ugly like most Lenovos I’ve seen, but they’ve changed that.

There is a nice 15.6’ Toshiba with a full keyboard, a 500 Gb Hard Drive, 4Gb RAM and an optical drive at Amazon. You can safely ignore the Mac fanbois.

I’m running a Commodore VIC-20 with 5k ram and external cassette drive.

i don’t really recommend it

@Blondesjon nice one!

I’d skip HP as well. Dealing with their proprietary shit is a pain in the ass. Two years on a Dell sounds about right- if they make it past that then they’re golden for years.

I love my Toshiba. It’s solid, expandable and hasn’t let me down and I’m a heavy user. I love the active cooling too. Mine is a bit heavy- but I needed the bigger screen. With Toshiba- look for last years model and you can still get a great machine.

Lenovo is another brand that gets good marks. The last two places I worked at used them and they lasted us quite a while with little issues. The only problem we had was with docking them- but that was about four years ago- the design has changed since then.

I do still covet a toughbook though… then again I think looking like a badass army commander/spy is pretty cool. Grain of salt and all that.

Now I want a toughbook.

@Blondesjon I think you need to do this, to your Vic :D

@gemiwing @dpworkin I question the actual toughness of those “Toughbooks”. I think my old Powerbook 180 could take it in a streetfight.

Since price isn’t an issue, I wonder if anyone here has any actual experience with an Alienware lappie. I know only one guy who had (and still has) one, but I hesitate to recommend anything based on one source.

@jerv . . . i wept. thank you.

@gemiwing

The Lenovo ThinkPad looks really interesting. I used to have an IBM ThinkPad way back in the day (just an old used computer that my dad’s office was throwing out and he gave it to me). I really liked it and I completely forgot that Lenovo now makes the ThinkPad.

Something else to look into…