FS: Calling all geeks, laptop help please.....

Dell has laptops that are in that price range new.

--Andre

ixnay on both of those. Check out slickdeals.net for deals on laptops. Just watch those that people are giving 3-4 "thumb-ups." I just helped my gf buy an IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad Z61t for $399 (brand new). She spent another $50 on 2gb of memory and it's one lickity-split machine. If I had to buy a new laptop right now, I'd spend $700 and get this Thinkpad T60 with a Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz, 1Gb memory, 80Gb hard drive, and 6-cell Li-Ion battery.

Yes.

Jon.

+1. And stay away from Vista, Athlon, and anything with less than a 6-cell battery. I'm recommending the Thinkpad because of the processor, OS, memory, hard drive, battery, and the fact that it's a Thinkpad.

ThinkPads are good. My recent experience with Dell makes me believe they suck ass. I order a new Dell through work. Every week or so they would send me an update pushing back the shipping date of the computer (presumably so their cost on parts would fall even though they're charging me the same amount). Finally, about a month and a half after the ship date they first promised, I receive the laptop. Build quality isn't all that hot. And the screen is a disaster. I paid for an upgraded, higher resolution screen -- what I got is a screen that can't deliver contrast between dark colors. Watching movies is like watching shadows move around. Lame.

You're not likely to get a Thinkpad by Xmas, at least if you order it from the Lenovo site. They ship from China and although they were pretty fast last month when I got mine, I'd be surprised if they could get it by then right now.

You might contact one of the other dealers that carries them and see if they have any of the preconfigured ones in the States.

I have both Dells and Thinkpads. The Thinkpads are better machines but the Dell XPS models are quite good.

Yeah, I think it's quite the nutz. You want a 6+ cell battery because the Core 2 Duo processor is hungry. Of course, you can get a slower processor that consumes less power, but are you a man, or aren't you?

I like my Thinkpad because it's reliable and has as much frills as a block of concrete. IBM/Lenovo service is top notch, and IMHO, probably the best in the industry. Aesthetically speaking, it ain't a flashy laptop. But it's solidly built, light, and thin.

If you want tits with your laptop, go elsewhere. But if you're after a fast and hassle free laptoping experience, you can't beat a Thinkpad.

The turnaround time for my gf's order was about a week, and it was also shipped from China.

Yes again.

+1 on slickdeals.net, also dealsofamerica.com.

My suggestion:
1) Thin the herd: Ask your son how large he wants the laptop. If possible, check out the keyboard layout. Some laptops have really shitty layouts. Some have better ones.

The enter key should be |---------------------------| big at least,
none of the shitty |------| like my brother's HP (which my dad bought despite my recommendations for a more powerful & cheaper laptop model).

2) Ask if he wants battery length or processor power. I've got an acer 5672, great laptop, (I wouldn't recommend acer unless people are familiar with computers b/c they're cheap, powerful but designed poorly. 5672 has heat issues and you have to be careful & trouble shoot in the beginning of owning it).

Generally, laptops that go for power have 2-3.5 hours of battery life. Good laptops go for 4-6? I've never had one go over 3 b/c that's not my goal. Sony has an 9-11 hour laptop but its $$$.

3) Soundcard/graphics card - probably can't be had for $500-600 range but among the laptops you choose, pick the ones w/ the best specs.

If your son is $9 years old, it's probably best to get him something reasonably small - 11-13 inches and not necessarily blazing fast. Something to play games like RO, Rose whatever quest, etc etc the kiddy games. He's not going to be playing games like CounterStrike source or anything that requires greater power. Plus; small guys with big laptops are just accidents waiting to happen.


peace out

Yeah, mine was a bit longer though it included 2 weekends and was a BTO, but I wouldn't count on that during the holiday season if it's super important that it be here ON Xmas.

Oh yeah, and be sure to get him a tough case for it that can handle a drop from a few feet up. Thinkpads are built very tough but obviously you don't want to test that. And I would suggest the next day in home service plan to avoid having to ship it around too much.