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Ask HN: Laptop recommendation?

7 points by kvh ↗ HN
for someone who spends 8 to 20 hrs in front of a laptop each day, purchasing a new one is a huge decision. i need some help. Here's where I stand: macbookpro: wanted one but the new gen have a mirror where the screen should be and the old ones get hot enough to sear your skin

priorities are 1)screen (LED, matte, 14 x 9 or bigger) 2)touchpad/clit 3)linux compat 4)compact form

suggestions?

thanks in advance

10 comments

[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 27.3 ms ] thread
icey
If you don't like macs, the Lenovo Thinkpad T series are great. Dells are also fine.

Otherwise: http://searchyc.com/submissions/what+laptop+to+buy

dryicerx
Thinkpad T Series

I can swear by them, their powerful, built very sturdy and feels like a beast, not a plastic toy. Also their quite strong, I've dropped mine countless times, twice down the stairs without any problems. And their keyboards are quite nice for long hours of work. I am on my 3rd T series, T61p at the moment and looking to buy another in a few months.

Also Google around for coupons/deals they always have them, you can stack them very nicely.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/notebooks/thinkpad/t-series

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki

mtm
You can get the 17" MacBook Pro (which is a 14x9 screen) with a matte finish (extra $50). If you don't mind a 2.66ghz proc (vs. 2.8) and a 320gb HD (vs. a 500) you can get one of the previous gen 17" pros for $2300
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ScottWhigham
I bought an HP dv9000 about 18 months ago and, aside from a few problems, the laptop itself is pure awesome. What I like most is the dual hard drives.
rcoder
I suspect you'll get the same answers that usually come up when laptop recommendations are discussed here:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=249579 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=268438 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=159153 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=197182

(etc., etc.)

To summarize: the MacBook Pro + Thinkpad T/X series machines are widely liked, with people tending to make their choice between them on whether they prefer to run OS X or something else.

You may get a smattering of other recommendations, but honestly, any other manufacturer appears to be fairly hit-or-miss, while Apple and Lenovo tend to produce solid models year after year.

russell
When I bought my laptop a couple of years ago one of the primary considerations was disk drive speed. 7200rpm is zippy, 5400 is molasses, flash should be even better. I bought a Dell and have been happy with it. My adult kids all have Macs and are happy with them.
bitwize
About three years ago was the summer of 2006. This was about the time the first Intel-based MacBooks dropped. Everyone in the office bought one, it seems. Within a month they were all in the shop.

I bought a Compaq Presario v3000 with dual-core AMD Turion. It was my primary machine for three years. Not a single hardware issue to date. (Admittedly, shiny screen.)

The quality of Intel Macs has improved since then, of course. But if your wallet isn't that thick, from what I hear from friends who bought them, Compaq/HP still produce quality kit at an affordable price.

gregking
The MacBook Pro line is solid, especially with the unibody construction. You also have the choice of running Windows and/or OSX. I converted after the Intel switch and haven't looked back.