Which laptop/computer brand do you use?

[-Elle-]

:sl:

Before anyone mentions it,:) I did use the search button and read what was available about this subject, but I need a bit more specific info,if anyone has any to offer...

Friends have been recommending sony vaio, but what makes it so good compared to others?

Many have been saying dell isn't good,and others say its good,why?

What should I look for when it comes to internal memory? I don't understand much when it comes to the technical side of computers, so basic things I should look for would be greatly appreciated...

Finally, which brand do you use,and would you recommend it?

Oh,by the way,in case it makes any difference,I am a student and I use my laptop to store many,many things. I need something durable and dependable, without fancy features...

Thanks!!!

[CosmicPathos]

it depends on what your needs are. Sony Vaios are hyped in my opinion and their stats are not justified by their high prices. I would only choose Ibm/Lenovo or Apple Macbook at this moment. I personally use Macbook at the moment.

[Danah]

I am using Dell latitude 610 and it has been with me for more than 4 years now, I think it's good for extensive use for students as I was shutting it down only when I sleep when i got many to work on sometimes. Of course there are much better computers than Dell. I am planning to get Mac book soon inshaAllah

Dell are good in general, just try to get the right one because they have many many types. Most of them are perfect for the extensive use for students. I will try to do some search for you when I will be on my computer inshaAllH

[CosmicPathos]

I am using Dell latitude 610 and it has been with me for more than 4 years now, I think it's good for extensive use for students as I was shutting it down only when I sleep when i got many to work on sometimes. Of course there are much better computers than Dell. I am planning to get Mac book soon inshaAllah

Dell are good in general, just try to get the right one because they have many many types. Most of them are perfect for the extensive use for students. I will try to do some search for you when I will be on my computer inshaAllH

i can vouch for that. I have good experience with Dell. Add that to + list.

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[Ramadhan]

try Toshiba.
It's durable, dependable and good design and good value.

[Danah]

i can vouch for that. I have good experience with Dell. Add that to + list.

Yes I think in Dell the latitude versions in general are better than the inspiron ones in terms of studying puroposes.
May I ask which Macbook you are using now and how did you find it? I am considering getting a Macbook now.

[KittenLover]

I have a little 12 inch note book it's so gorgeous I just look at it and admire it and think "soo cute" :(

it fits in my bag nicely and it's light so it doesn't feel heavy when I'm carrying it around.

I would recommend something small like 12-13 inch, I used to have a 15 inch laptop and it was so heavy to carry around, at the end of the day my shoulder was hurting.

so I bought a 11 inch notebook and I have to check in my bag now to make sure it's still there, that's how light it feels.

[ardianto]

I don't use laptop but local brand desktop.

[CosmicPathos]

Yes I think in Dell the latitude versions in general are better than the inspiron ones in terms of studying puroposes.
May I ask which Macbook you are using now and how did you find it? I am considering getting a Macbook now.

Hi,
I am using white macbook which was released in 2008 with intel processors etc. I got it in April 2008 and Allhamdulillah its been amazing. So far its about to be 2 years without any hardware problem. I previously had windows laptops (acer, ibm) and I had issues with them.

The only gripe with my macbook is that its made of plastic so not too durable in terms of outer material. Mine is cracked from 2 places, they are not that big but they are there. Also white color gets dirty and cannot be cleaned. i got the body and keyboard replaced once on warranty.

I heart the latest white ones can be cleaned as they have shiny plastic but please dont get the white plastic ones. If you want, get macbook pro 13 inches. Its only $100 more expensive I think but you get aluminum unibody. Very durable.

[Danah]

Hi,
I am using white macbook which was released in 2008 with intel processors etc. I got it in April 2008 and Allhamdulillah its been amazing. So far its about to be 2 years without any hardware problem. I previously had windows laptops (acer, ibm) and I had issues with them.

The only gripe with my macbook is that its made of plastic so not too durable in terms of outer material. Mine is cracked from 2 places, they are not that big but they are there. Also white color gets dirty and cannot be cleaned. i got the body and keyboard replaced once on warranty.

I heart the latest white ones can be cleaned as they have shiny plastic but please dont get the white plastic ones. If you want, get macbook pro 13 inches. Its only $100 more expensive I think but you get aluminum unibody. Very durable.

looks a good one. I was considering Macbook air, what do you know about it since you are a Mac user?


sister hoda....check this one:
if you dont use CDs then I guess Macbook Air can be a choice.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/features.html

[CosmicPathos]

looks a good one. I was considering Macbook air, what do you know about it since you are a Mac user?


sister hoda....check this one:
if you dont use CDs then I guess Macbook Air can be a choice.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/features.html

Macbook Air is very much of a hype sister. Why you need macbook air? Portability? Looks cool? Cuz its battery life is very small, there is no optical drive (cd/dvd rom) in it .. small hard drive and its display is not that great. Also it seems very fragile. Its also not amazingly fast to play HD movies etc. But if you want protability, you can get better laptops from IBM. But for normal usages, i'd suggest macbook pro 13inches screen.

[Raaina]

Macbooks are amazing - But i've always loved Mac's, but they are kind of pricey.

Sony Vaio - As someone else said, over hyped.
I'd recommend a Dell or a HP

As to the spec you need. It really depends on your requirements, for example if you were just using it for browsering the internet and word processing, then you could go with a less spec model then if you wanted to play games on it.

Important things to check:

Battery life - The longer battery life the better.

RAM - at least 1MB

Hard drive storage - Make sure you have a good amount if you need to save lots of work. However you can buy external hard drives - they are around £50-£70 online.

Things I wouldn't worry about:

Graphics card - unless you are wanting to play games, I wouldn't worry about this.

Processor make - AMD or Intel, personally I find both as good as each other. Usually Intel will cost you slightly more, but they are both just as good.

Hope that helps sister :)

[Danah]

Macbook Air is very much of a hype sister. Why you need macbook air? Portability? Looks cool? Cuz its battery life is very small, there is no optical drive (cd/dvd rom) in it .. small hard drive and its display is not that great. Also it seems very fragile. Its also not amazingly fast to play HD movies etc. But if you want protability, you can get better laptops from IBM. But for normal usages, i'd suggest macbook pro 13inches screen.

oh!! what a negative feedback is this?! Actually I didnt make a serious search about it, but it seems not that good. I knew about the storage and about the optical drive but didn't know about the other things....JazakAllah khair bro!

sis Hoda forget about the Macbook Air one now. My friend has Dell xps 1330 and its very good one.

[$tranger]

two words:

MACBOOK PRO!
:shade:

[★мαячαн★]

salams sis :)

well i have a sony vaio also like you friends. i dunno what model mine is but it does have these numbers on it...vgn-ns10l or PCG-7144M. they are really good alhumdullilah, i've had mine for about nearly a year now and its windows vista. Many other friend i no have it and they also love it. It has an integrated webcam and microphone and has efficient multimedia . It also has multimedia creation with exclusive vaio software. the screen i 15.4 X-black LCD for sharp and bright pictures. :)

I hope thats sold it to u ;)

[-Elle-]

jazak'Allah kheir for all the replies,for some reason multi-quote does not work here..:exhausted

it depends on what your needs are. Sony Vaios are hyped in my opinion and their stats are not justified by their high prices. I would only choose Ibm/Lenovo or Apple Macbook at this moment. I personally use Macbook at the moment

After looking into it I think you're right. I was told sony viaos are really good, but considering what I need(for my studies), they told me it wasn't appropriate,something about radeon Graphics...

Alot of you have been recommending macs, problem is, I use a program that is quite expensive,and if I buy a mac, I need to buy the version of this program which is adaptable to macs, and one of the people told me it would be a bit difficult to adapt the things i need to a mac...anyway, I also need one quite quickly before the semester starts, so no time to learn how to use a mac either:S...

Macbooks are amazing - But i've always loved Mac's, but they are kind of pricey.

Sony Vaio - As someone else said, over hyped.
I'd recommend a Dell or a HP

As to the spec you need. It really depends on your requirements, for example if you were just using it for browsering the internet and word processing, then you could go with a less spec model then if you wanted to play games on it.

Important things to check:

Battery life - The longer battery life the better.

RAM - at least 1MB

Hard drive storage - Make sure you have a good amount if you need to save lots of work. However you can buy external hard drives - they are around £50-£70 online.

Things I wouldn't worry about:

Graphics card - unless you are wanting to play games, I wouldn't worry about this.

Processor make - AMD or Intel, personally I find both as good as each other. Usually Intel will cost you slightly more, but they are both just as good.

Hope that helps sister

Jazak'Allah kheir very useful info sis!!:)

oh!! what a negative feedback is this?! Actually I didnt make a serious search about it, but it seems not that good. I knew about the storage and about the optical drive but didn't know about the other things....JazakAllah khair bro!

sis Hoda forget about the Macbook Air one now. My friend has Dell xps 1330 and its very good one.

thanks sis, your post helped me get a general idea on what I needed,when I got there I wasn't as lost as I appeared to be...haha!


I read the replies and took down the info you guys provided, and went to the store and talked to the *technical* people there...here's where I need someone that really understands computers in depth...
they told me I need a memory of 512 gb minimum for the video memory(graphic ATI?)..which I still have trouble comprehending its for....although I have a genral idea of it...

they told me that I need an intel core 2 duo processor, is that really necessary?

they told me an internal memory of 4 GB is what I should have,

and a radeon value of 4200 minimum....


help:(?

[north_malaysian]

I am using Acer

[KittenLover]

NO WAY YOU DON'T NEED ALL THAT FOR JUST UNI, sorry but they're trying to sell you the most expensive thing there, what do you wanna use it for? just studying and word processing and taking notes and going on internet??

if so you don't need all that,

[Italianguy]

I have had good luck with Dell in the past, maybe not the best laptops but good customer service, well at least for business owners like myself.

Lately i have been using Toshiba, they are pretty tough, i have dropped my newest one about 4 times with no problems.

I just bought Mohammad and some of my other employees Toshiba T135 laptops and Mohammad seems to love it.....well at least he takes care of his.....i can't say the same for all my employees:hmm:

[-Elle-]

NO WAY YOU DON'T NEED ALL THAT FOR JUST UNI, sorry but they're trying to sell you the most expensive thing there, what do you wanna use it for? just studying and word processing and taking notes and going on internet??

if so you don't need all that,

Lol well in my future job inshAllah I will constantly need a computer to do my work on*edit*...

gosh this is more complicated then I thought,inshAllah I will find the right thing in the end, I just need an idea as to whether they are trying to oversell of not:phew

[-Elle-]

I have had good luck with Dell in the past, maybe not the best laptops but good customer service, well at least for business owners like myself.

Lately i have been using Toshiba, they are pretty tough, i have dropped my newest one about 4 times with no problems.

I just bought Mohammad and some of my other employees Toshiba T135 laptops and Mohammad seems to love it.....well at least he takes care of his.....i can't say the same for all my employees:hmm:

Thanks for your imput, I was actually told keep toshiba out of my search...the salesperson never told me why though. I heard its quite good but dont know much about it. I tihnk I am leaning more towards HP.

[Italianguy]

Lol well in my future job inshAllah I will constantly need a computer to do my work on, for plans and building elevations and so on...therefore it requires a very heavy program I don't know if you are familiar with it, its called AUTOCAD, which is why im questioning myself as to whether I really need it or not..

I just looked up some of the info I was told, and people have actually been mentioning the same requirements for a laptop if autocad is to be installed on it..

gosh this is more complicated then I thought,inshAllah I will find the right thing in the end, I just need an idea as to whether they are trying to oversell of not:phew

Autocad is an excellent program I use it all the time for the same reasons. Apple or macs are good for that. You need a lot of memory and a good grafix card.

[KittenLover]

yeah if your going to use it for stuff like CAD then you need it, I have hp they're good but expensive to repair if they break, but that's with all laptops I guess.

[Italianguy]

Thanks for your imput, I was actually told keep toshiba out of my search...the salesperson never told me why though. I heard its quite good but dont know much about it. I tihnk I am leaning more towards HP.

Really? They recomended HP? They have the worst customer service and limited resources to back up there parts and warranty. Just my opinion though, others may feel differently.

[Snowflake]

assalamu alaykum,

I don't know anything about laptops/pcs. But durability wise, you can't beat a heavy-duty laptop used by those in the building trade. Whenever a repair man has turned up with one I've just gazed at it in awe lol.

This one might be more attractive.. a sporty model

[Danah]

Just one more note sis hoda, especially in Hp laptops, make sure that the laptop you will buy don't have only one processor fan in the bottom of it, because this will cause sudden shut down in the computer if you use it for long time as a result of heat, if it has the fan in the sides than that's okay, while if it has two fans that will be even more better.

When the fan is in the bottom, putting the laptop on your laps while working may block the air to come in and out the laptop and that will cause the heat then the sudden shut down.

[Italianguy]

assalamu alaykum,

I don't know anything about laptops/pcs. But durability wise, you can't beat a heavy-duty laptop used by those in the building trade. Whenever a repair man has turned up with one I've just gazed at it in awe lol.

This one might be more attractive.. a sporty model

I have 2 of those that i use for my company (I am a large contractor) And i can atest to their durability, we beat the heck out of those things and they never fail. They are caled "toughbooks" and the ones i have can be used as a tablet pc, like a note pad with a stylus you right on it like ts a notepad, really cool.:D

I should add, they are very expensive, when i bought mine 3 years ago they were $4,800.00 per 1!

[Snowflake]

lol thanks Italianguy! They look the business. I didn't know they are that expensive though. :phew

[Italianguy]

lol thanks Italianguy! They look the business. I didn't know they are that expensive though. :phew

Nooooooo problem, always hapy to help a brother out.....or a sister;D

[waji]

I have Toshiba satellite L500
i had also used cousin's Advent Laptop

[zakirs]

hi i have compaq laptop and i have one major advice.

AVOID HP/COMPAQ LAPTOPS, THEY ARE JUNK

Prefer vaio or Mac.If you need cheaper ones go to dell.

[Raaina]

hi i have compaq laptop and i have one major advice.

AVOID HP/COMPAQ LAPTOPS, THEY ARE JUNK

Prefer vaio or Mac.If you need cheaper ones go to dell.

Hey I have a HP laptop! It's actually been very good to me so far!

I would say though, avoid Acer, I don't believe they are to good.
You don't need a 4GB internal memory - that is just bluff. Not if you only want it for word processing and internet stuff. Don't be fobbed off with at!!

Have you tried eBay? You might be able to pick up a cheap reconditioned laptop. You can also look online, for companies who specialise in reconditioned laptops, you might even be able to buy a better one for your budget :)

[Italianguy]

hi i have compaq laptop and i have one major advice.

AVOID HP/COMPAQ LAPTOPS, THEY ARE JUNK

Prefer vaio or Mac.If you need cheaper ones go to dell.

Thats the truth!

[★мαячαн★]

Lol well in my future job inshAllah I will constantly need a computer to do my work on, for plans and building elevations and so on...therefore it requires a very heavy program I don't know if you are familiar with it, its called AUTOCAD, which is why im questioning myself as to whether I really need it or not..

I just looked up some of the info I was told, and people have actually been mentioning the same requirements for a laptop if autocad is to be installed on it..

gosh this is more complicated then I thought,inshAllah I will find the right thing in the end, I just need an idea as to whether they are trying to oversell of not:phew

salams sis :)
well basically you mentioned AUTOCAD and ii no that software very well seeing as my dad has been an engineer for the past 10 years or so and uses it all the time.
And when i mentioned your scenario to him he said that a normal laptop that has good rams on it would serve you well.. he sed the shop are just trying to make lots of you :D

soo he has a sony vaio laptop also like me, but before he had a sony vaio flat screen computer.. we dont have the computer anymore so i cant tell u that i'm afraid. However i hope this helps you a little bit :)

and goodluckk ! :)

[-Elle-]

Just one more note sis hoda, especially in Hp laptops, make sure that the laptop you will buy don't have only one processor fan in the bottom of it, because this will cause sudden shut down in the computer if you use it for long time as a result of heat, if it has the fan in the sides than that's okay, while if it has two fans that will be even more better.

When the fan is in the bottom, putting the laptop on your laps while working may block the air to come in and out the laptop and that will cause the heat then the sudden shut down.

thanks for the advice, yes I have noticed that also, I thought all laptops did that! Guess not...

salams sis :)
well basically you mentioned AUTOCAD and ii no that software very well seeing as my dad has been an engineer for the past 10 years or so and uses it all the time.
And when i mentioned your scenario to him he said that a normal laptop that has good rams on it would serve you well.. he sed the shop are just trying to make lots of you :D

soo he has a sony vaio laptop also like me, but before he had a sony vaio flat screen computer.. we dont have the computer anymore so i cant tell u that i'm afraid. However i hope this helps you a little bit :)

and goodluckk ! :)

wooow you're so considerate, thank you!!! I believe I will buy one inshAllah that has everything they suggested,but not at the quantity they recommended. I think 320 instead of 512 will be fine, and RAM inshAllah I will get 2 minimum...Jazak'Allah kheir,and thank your father for me:)!


thanks once again for everyone's imput!! I might not respond one by one but I do write down the info/remember the suggestions made, honestly helpful!
So...Im going to one last store tommorrow, then insh'Allah I will make my decision and purchase it before the beggining of next week...


Is it true that its better to buy a sony vaio from a sony store (Sony Style,its called here), or is any store alright?

:wa:

[zakirs]

Buy one which has a graphics card (nvidia or ati) as autocad would need 3d graphics a lot.

[-Elle-]

Buy one which has a graphics card (nvidia or ati) as autocad would need 3d graphics a lot.

thank you! I definetly kept the graphics card in mind.

AlhamdulillAh I found the perfect one today:D...


it's a..........................


Toshiba:)!

with all the features I need, at their best(well,for the most part)!:)

I stayed about houursss deciding between an HP and the Toshiba, with the technician helping me out the hole time...they were very friendly and informative, and knew what they were talking about. (and he didn't try to sell me the most expensive one they had either, unlike some other stores:mmokay:

Thanks again to everyone who replied, made my search alot easier!:D

[Italianguy]

thank you! I definetly kept the graphics card in mind.

AlhamdulillAh I found the perfect one today:D...


it's a..........................


Toshiba:)!

with all the features I need, at their best(well,for the most part)!:)

I stayed about houursss deciding between an HP and the Toshiba, with the technician helping me out the hole time...they were very friendly and informative, and knew what they were talking about. (and he didn't try to sell me the most expensive one they had either, unlike some other stores:mmokay:

Thanks again to everyone who replied, made my search alot easier!:D

Awesome! You will be happy with the Toshiba. It works well with Autocad and other relatede programs. Like I said we use a lot of Toshiba prodcts now at my company, and we have be happy with them thus far.

congratulazioni!!!!!!

[-Elle-]

thaaaaaaaaank you (Grazie?) :D I actually reread your post just now, since I couldn't remember who had suggested toshiba.lol.

anyway, can't wait to try it out and load it up.

[OurIslamic]

:sl: Sister,

Currently, I use a VIAO (Sony) laptop, the model is VGN-NS160E. (My favorite laptop/computer YET!).

You can read a full review here:
http://computershopper.com/laptops/r...o-vgn-ns160e-s

(Let me know if you're thinking of buying it, I highly recommend it. The laptop is durable, dependable, and doesn't have a few "high-tech" features (such as an HDMI port), but it still is quite nice.

I can send you or anyone else a link where you can purchase it online for cheaper than it's normal price).

My desktop (the family computer) is an HP dual-core...I don't remember the model off the top of my head, but it's a little older, so I doubt you'd be interested in buying that specific model, but I would recommend HP, in general.

:wa:

[Ramadhan]

thaaaaaaaaank you (Grazie?) :D I actually reread your post just now, since I couldn't remember who had suggested toshiba.lol.

anyway, can't wait to try it out and load it up.

I also suggested Toshiba :statisfie

I am glad you have decided and bought one.