I was just talking with a Dell onsite tech guy and he pointed out that IBM's do not have onsite repair guys for their laptops. You have to send the thing in, sans hard drive, and wait at least 2 days. Dell will replace most anything onsite (he does support for IBM and Dell).

I have no idea about HP, but I would ahve thought that with the reputation IBM has with their laptops they'd have good support, guess not. Just something to check into. Eitherway, both are nice. I personally just like calling one place for tech support, so I go Dell.
Do you know the HP screen is nicer? From what I've read, the new Dell screen rocks.
Every laptop should come with multiple usb 2 slots, right? Firewire will die soon, esp. with the new, faster usb something-or-other coming out.

just get the HP dells brreak down easily. Yes they are cheaper in cost and and will get the job done jsut as well as any other computer. That I can no tdeny. but they will break down more often. I do believe they are like top 2 or 3 for break downs. anyways I know people who have that same hp and are happy and have had no major problems.

oh and the hard rive on the dell wont cut it. and jsut remember when buying one of these name brand computers there is thing called dead pixel and this means that pixels will not be as bright as they should or will not work at all. most cheaper computers have dead pixels or get them eventually and then you end up with a dull spot on your screen although hard to nitce if only maybe 50 pixels out of the thousnads that there are are dead.

trace,

not the case with IBM - I have had mine serviced numerous times, next day, onsite. For the record, I couldn't be happier with my laptop. (the service I've had done has, coincidentally, had to do with a dead pixel here or there, for which they've replaced my screen no questions asked!).

Bill Ding, what are the specs on your IBM?
Also, which to seek--a pentium M or 4?

Yeah, the dead pixel thing was mentioned to me at the computer store in which they will fix it if it happens so long as I buy a warranty; however, does this usually occur after 3 years in which my warranty wouldn't even cover it?

Bill - interesting. That's your laptop they are brining parts to and servicing, at your place? Wonder why that tech guy said otherwise, must be a contract with them.


Look into the reliability and service ratings, I believe you'll find Dell at the top, there, too. The largest issue is the price. With the www.techbargain.com discounts, the competition cannot come anywhere near the price of the Dells.
I'd make sure you get a 7200rpm hard drive.

The Alienware and Boxxtech laptops would be my top choices if money were no object, particularly the Boxx - just sweet specs and great support (possibly better than Dell's, but you pay for it).

Trace--is boxxtech only abailable online? Do they have the same tyoe of onsite service as Dell?

I'm running a 1.5Ghz Pentium M with 768 MB of RAM - its an R40 with a 15in screen w/ 1400x1050 resolution. My graphics card is a ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500.

So now that most of you are probably laughing at the specs on my computer (yeah, I purchased it nearly three years ago), you might find it interesting that i've encountered almost no problems while running numerous pieces of software at once. The exception to this is a few ridiculous autocad and illustrator files which get a little groggy at times. However, I actually just ordered 1G of RAM since its gotten so much cheaper and I'm hoping that these problems will be solved with the addition of the extra memory (i'm pretty sure they will be). As for software, I typically and running autocad, adobe products, and a ton of rhino. I don't do much rendering, animation or video.

Regarding the Pentium M or 4 question, I would definitely buy a M if you are going to get a laptop - the heat difference is extremely noticeable ( i think i have heard the fan on my computer go on a handful of times). If you think about it, the M is the only one that makes sense.

Regarding the service, yes, they came out to my place with the required parts and replaced them onsite.

yeah, I think boxxtech's are only online.

www.boxxtech.com

you can even get a RAID configuration (although I wouldn't for a laptop). Up to 4 gigs of ram, Quadro 1400 256mb, RAID 0 or 1. Nice stuff, but expensive.
I don't know the particulars of the warranties, just that they are very good and are familiar with all the top 3D programs, built very well, etc.

Just my thoughts:

I've owned both a Compaq (past) and an HP (present) laptop and will not be buying from HP again. The motherboard on the Compaq died within two years and cost more than the actual computer was worth to be replaced. The HP I have now I've had for a little over a year and have already had to send it in to get the motherboard replaced (it was still under warrenty at the time). Now I think there is something wrong with the hard drive because, at times, if I bump it, it will crash... hard. Sometimes it won't even boot up.

Maybe I've just had bad luck, but that's been my experience. If you get a nice, long warrenty or have a really good backup system, it may be worth it, but I'd try Dell.

Dell - and I've gone through about 10 since the inception of our office. You WILL have to replace the keyboard annually - this argument is supported by Dell dealers as well. That can be a real hang up, and you may not get full support unless you get their full warranty <- depending on the options available. Hence read the fine print or get the HP

Dont get a zd8000 - its an old machine. I was looking at a HpZD8004ap, brand new down here in Enzed, and an upgrade of the 8000. Its a nice, seductive machine, and has a 17 inch wide screen, but is pretty much a glammed up consumer laptop - which is fine, but its not a workstation.

I got an HP NW8240 and am very happy, as documented here. . It might be branded as a Compaq NW8240 in the US, as I could'nt find a whole lot of refernces to this machine on US sites. I also have another Compaq Evo laptop bought about 30 months ago and never had a problem.