What is THE BEST laptop????

[binrdow]

Ok! In your opinion, what is THE BEST laptop EVER for all round usage??? Power, weight, size, looks. Which is more important? :cool:

[Ashpool]

Thinkpad T-series

[ua549]

There is no "best" laptop because everyone's needs differ significantly.
Some major differences in laptops are:
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) - the ability to use SmartCards and biometrics.
Maximum memory - some can only handle 2GB while others can handle 4GB.
LCD - there are wide variations in both the sizes, resolution and technology used.
Video card/graphics performance - there are wide variations in performance and amounts of video memory.
Weight - weights vary from 2+ pounds to 10 pounds.
Battery Life - battery run times vary from an hour on up.
Reliability/Warranty - warranties vary from 90 days to several years.
Other - price, cellular, Bluetooth, WiFi, PCcard, USB, Firewire, Blueray, HD DVD, ...

The best really depends upon your needs so you must first define and rank your needs followed by the "nice to have" then the "don't care" features.

[wh666-666]

Thinkpad T-series

Id agree with thinkpad (any series) .... I have an x21 (laptop 3 in my sig) which is quite old, that im typing from at the mo, dual booting between xubuntu and xp pro sp2 ... Still after all these years doesnt have a single fault, faded to a grey/black colour yes but works like a charm!

As ua549 said though it depends what you demand from a laptop. For me its reliability and ruggedness at the top of the list which laptop 1 (hp pavillion dv series) in my sig fails at. Spent more time being repaired then using it! But it does have bluetooth, etc etc even if it never works properly!!

Battery life has never been a priority for me but its sure an annoyance when they dont last long at all. Thats what i like about dell latitudes (got one as well, laptop 2) because you can either have an optical drive and battery or two batteries inserted and slot in so easily as well. Really like that feature!

Would be interesting to know what everyone else sees as essential for a 'good' laptop?

[ua549]

In order of priority my notebook needs are:
LCD viewable in direct sunlight
Business grade
TPM
WiFi
100/1000 NIC
Bluetooth
SmartCard slot
PCcard slot
4GB memory capability
100+GB drive
DVD burner
3+ year warranty
Weigh < 5 pounds
4+ hours battery run time (actual, not advertised)

Nice to have the fastest, most energy efficient, multi-core mobile CPU.

The last 2 notebooks I purchased were Dell Latitude D620's.
HP did not have a competing product at the time

[PCJ]

I currently have my perfect laptop, though toshiba just released something better.
For me, the current order of preferences is:
1. Able to run WinXP and Office Software
2. Size (12")
3. Weight (Less than 3 pounds)
4. Battery Life (3 Hours of real-world usage with Wifi and decent brightness)
5. Decent HDD (80GB+)
6. 2GB RAM
7. A good keyboard
8. A nice screen (WXGA with sufficient brightness. Any higher resolution at 12" isn't very nice to look at)
9. Builtin Optical Drive
10. Performance

My current Q30 satisfies everything until 8, the new Toshiba also squeezed in an Optical drive.

edit: but for most people, I would agree that the T Series is pretty much the perfect notebook. Although I'd also nominate the MacBook Pro if the keyboard wasn't so bad.

[kpxgq]

if price wasnt a consideration i would go for a new 15" Powerbook with the santa rosa chipset, led screen, and 8600M... and run parallels

since price is a concern to me, im liking my new vostro 1400 for price/performance/portability... it does have its "cheap-build" qualities though.. a latitude D630 might be a better bet for quality

[binrdow]

I'm at a draw w/ the Mac books and the think pads, but Sony Vaio isn't bad either.

[hongsc]

Macbook Pro, Toshiba's 13.3" or Dell m1330 with SSD.

[MrDigital]

"best" notebook? Panasonic Toughbook. But as the above people have stated, everyone's needs are different. I'd say the Toughbook is probably the most impressive overall though.

[ImaNihilist]

I like the new 15" HP business notebooks. Baller.

[ChaosEnsues]

My perfect laptop is a gaming rig that's still portable. When I bought my Hypersonic it fit my needs perfectly - it plays all games at acceptable settings or better (Far Cry runs over a hundred frames per second, BF2142 runs at 40-50 at medium settings 2x AA). It's also not too heavy (6 pounds) and medium sized (15.4") which means I can still take it with me easily to class and on trips.

[Nater]

What I need

Ability to run Linux with little to no hackery (WiFi included)
Core 2 Duo
Santa Rosa
Moderate sized (13.3-15.4) LCD with good off angle visibility
Ability to accept two hard disks (one for SSD, the other 5.400rpm back-up)
In lieu of the above, 7,200 rpm hard disk
Large keyboard
TPM would be nice
Light weight (~5lbs or less)
4-5 hours of actual battery life
Decent looks, after all, a lot of people are going to see it

I'm currently looking at the Lenovo T61 series, Apple Macbook, Dell M1330. I'm going to take a look at HP's business class stuff here in a bit. I could deal with Linux difficulties on a Macbook as you already have a sweet Unix-based OS. I can't stand Windows anymore, it's relegated to the gaming machine for obvious reasons.

[dizzy49]

I'll chime in on the X series :)

I've got an X41 that I love. My only real wish is that it was widescreen.

It has a 12" screen and a 5-7hr battery life on it (7 if I turn down the brightness)

I'm looking to upgrade myself, and I narrowed it down to the Dell m1330 ($2200 gets you a lot), and the Sony Vaio TZ (Right around $2600)

[Norseman]

Anyone got an opinion about HP Pavilion dv6568se?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147484

I'm in the market for a inexpensive all-around laptop.

[EonX]

my own rules would be to pick a business class laptop. however, against my better judgement i am picking the Sony VGN-TZ11XN/B. but for an eye-watering £1580 ($3160) it's very steep. however, imo it's an absolute gem with 7+ hours battery life and extreme portability. since this is sony's first incarnation of this line, i think we can expect faster revisions in the not too distant future.

[dizzy49]

Is that the one with the LED screen? I think I looked at that one as well. Then I realized I could deck out a XPS m1330 for like $400 less. Weighs about 1lb more overall, and battery life isn't quite 7hrs, but still pretty good.

I'm also looking at the new Asus business line. The V2S I think. At 14" it's a little bigger than I wanted, and I think it's another 1lb on top of the XPS, but again, better specs and several hundred less.

The Asus isn't out, and the XPS has over a month build times currently, so I'm not in a huge rush to decide.

[EonX]

Is that the one with the LED screen?

yes it is. with a carbon fibre chassis to boot, it's quite durable. now, if sony will just release a model with a faster cpu, as in not just confine it to the ULV chips. i might actually consider one.

*can't believe i am considering a sony laptop lol*

[ua549]

The ULV chips are the basis for the long battery run times.

[EonX]

The ULV chips are the basis for the long battery run times.

very true, but i don't mind sacrificing a couple hours for a faster cpu. would be nice if sony gave us a choice.

[ua549]

Another thing is that those battery run times are advertised, not actual.
In a normal operating environment the battery run times are usually less than half of the advertised times.

I can get 6 hours runtime on my Latitude D620 w/C2D T-7200 (max power saving mode) in a totally darkened room with the backlight at its lowest setting, turning off the networks and running a single application that does not use the hard drive.

During normal use (max power saving mode) in natural sunlight with the backlight on automatic, 2 networks running and a handfull of applications running and accessing the hard drive 2 or 3 times a second, I can squeeze out 1 or 2 hours of run time if I'm lucky. Even with the backlight turned up full the LCD is barely readable.

[MrDigital]

I have the D630 w/ the 9 cell battery (looks like a mini-wrist rest sticking out the front) and I get about 4 hours of solid runtime, with bluetooth and wifi running (and even cellular if I'm using that card), 50% screen brightness and standard business usage (multiple apps open, internet traffic flow, etc). I'm actually highly impressed that I get so much run time out of it.

[ua549]

I have the same 9 cell battery as you have. I'm on the second one in 7 months. I'm usually running internal Bluetooth and 2 internal Wi-Fi cards, 7200 rpm drive and the DVD drive (read only). When indoors, I plug into a gigabit LAN and turn off one Wi-Fi card.

IMO Its the backlight that makes the difference. At 50% brightness my screen is not readable indoors during the day. At full brightness it is barely visible outdoors. The sun is much brighter 400+ miles further south than you are.