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Ask HN: Buying a new laptop, any suggestions?

4 points by mdolon ↗ HN
I'm in the market for a new laptop this holiday season. I sold my old Macbook and was considering buying a new one, but I need a bigger resolution (1440x900 at the least) and more power.

My work primarily consists graphic design (Photoshop, Illustrator) and programming (Notepad++, Textmate), and I'm fine with any OS.

The Macbook Pro would've been nice if the screen wasn't glossy and it didn't cost so much. =/ My budget is about $1100 and right now, I'm looking at the Lenovo Thinkpad T400 or a Dell E6400. I've had a Thinkpad before but I've heard their quality has gone down. I've also owned a Dell desktop before and their quality used to suck, however I hear they've improved.

Anyone have any suggestions? I've been pulling my hair trying to find the ideal laptop for a week now.

10 comments

[ 848 ms ] story [ 442 ms ] thread
tkho
You'll need a friend at UCLA, but I just had a buddy pick up a previous gen Macbook Pro for me this morning for $1099+tax. It's definitely better bang for the buck than the current MBP.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/880148

Anyway, there should also be good deals coming up for Black Friday.

mdolon
Wow, that's a steal! Unfortunately I live on the opposite side of the country (NC) and don't have any friends at UCLA. I've looked at the laptops on sale on Black Friday but I haven't been able to find a decent one yet.. looks like all the big stores are running pretty weak promos this year.
pedalpete
try not to laugh, but I got a gateway a few months ago, and i'm crazy impressed with the specs for the price. I got the t-series, which doesn't output to the built in screen at the resolution you want on the 14", though i'm pretty sure it will bump up to that on an external monitor. but I think the 15" m series does.

From the looks on their site they are getting ready to upgrade the t-series, so the next version might have higher resolution.

qhoxie
I have been a content Dell Latitude user for about a year now. I have the D630 and it is fantastically rugged (on par with a thinkpad) and has great battery life. The new E series expands on these qualities.

Thinkpad quality has diminished slightly, but they are still good laptops.

shard
After my Thinkpad T30 got increasingly flaky (the memory slot failure issue hit me, then a MB flex issue (picking up the laptop on one specific corner causes the unit to freeze) as well as a cracked screw requiring a full disassembly to retrieve the loose metal), I did some extensive research online for a solid laptop which is not the newest model (so that bug reports can filter in).

I also ended up with a Dell Latitude D630. It's built like a tank, much more solid than my T30, easier to disassemble as well. I could not find any widely reported problems with this laptop. Note that because this is a business laptop, it only has a mono speaker buried under the keyboard, it's my only complaint.

whatusername
I've got a post-Lenovo Thinkpad (T60) - and it's been pretty solid for me. (At least as solid as my T30 / T43)
icey
I've got a Lenovo T61p that has been a tank for me so far.
safetytrick
My T61P's been a dream machine, no problems at all.
kalvin
A brand new, sealed, warrantied Macbook Pro (the previous version) can be had on eBay for $1200 shipped if you're willing to do the following and use both ebay and paypal:

a) sign up for a Live.com cashback account, do a search for "wii" or whatever the term is today (google for live.com cashback) on Live.com, and click through the eBay referral link offering 25% off, max $200 (it fluctuates, but has been 25 or 30 for most of the last few months)

b) find a new macbook pro (early 2008) offered by a reputable reseller (100+ feedback, 99%+) selling for $1400 or less with the Buy It Now option (required for live.com CB) and pay via Paypal. Make sure the 25% CB banner appears at the top of the ebay page.

I did this a few weeks ago for $1220, and I didn't spend any time at all waiting for lower-priced auction-- just bought one on the results page. I'd guess you could find one for $1100 ($1300) at this point, or at least $1150.

quellhorst
I would get new Macbook Pro or ThinkPad X301 if I wasn't using OS X. Both have 1440x900 resolution. For the amount of time I use my laptop I budget more $ then use it for ~2 years.