[GTX]

Leeeerooooyyyyy mmmmJennnnkkkkinnnnnnssssss!!!

Alright, gotta get a new laptop, which one should I get? I just read an article stating Asus and Toshiba have the lowest failure rates of laptops while Acer (the brand I have now) and HP have the worst. Oh, and don't buy a laptop from WalMart or buy a NEW warranty - they SUCK.

Okay, so here is the one I like the most-

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11502037&whse=BC&Ne=5000001+40 00000&eCat=BC|84|56670&N=4017745%204294900030&Mo=1 &No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc 1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

Good price, 2 year warranty through Costco, who I'm told has excellent warranty service, up to 12 hours battery life, small enough to carry around while bigger than a netbook. It has plenty of RAM and a decent HDD, don't need a super video card because all I do is surf, type papers, and do multimedia. It also has a DVD RW which is very nice since I still burn DVDs with movies, comes with Windows 7, Altec Lansing speakers and all of the inputs and card slots I need/like.

What do you guys think?

[TxFilmMkr]

Honestly, coming from a Dell to a Mac, I would at least look at the Macbook. It's not that much more expensive than the ASUS you linked to. You say you don't need a huge video card, so you probably don't play a lot of games. That's really the only advantage PCs have over Macs in my opinion. And when it comes to multimedia, forget about it. The Macs have the market cornered in that.

Sure, the Macbook costs $200 more, but after you go a full year without having to run virus/adware/spyware scans weekly if not daily, you'll appreciate where that extra money went.

Like I said, I was a die hard PC guy and didn't think I'd ever make the switch. Now there's no way in hell I'd ever buy another Windows based machine that wasn't an XBox 360.

"At least I got chicken."

[GTX]

Haha, nice quote.

Here's my dilemma with Apple - they are way too overprotective. You need to buy OUR charge kit, OUR A/V kit, OUR this, OUR that, blah blah blah. I can't stand that. I've used Mac's before, and had good success with it in multimedia projects. It wasn't my computer but at the same time I was happy to come home to a PC. Why? Because I know there's always another way around something. That's another reason I own a Zune and no longer have an iPod.

I'll take a look at them, but I didn't want to spend that much as I have other things I want to spend my money on and don't think a laptop deserves more than $700 when I'm just doing basic tasks.

[TxFilmMkr]

I've heard people say that, but I've never seen it. I had Applecare with my 17" Macbook Pro and had to use it twice. One time because my power cord burned through and another time my battery was on over 700 cycles and started swelling. I was a bit worried because I'd heard that if you did basically anything it would void your warranty and I had put a Texas flag emblem behind my Apple logo on the cover, much like my avatar. Well, I went into the Apple store and the apple techs not only didn't care, but they all loved my choice of logo and were all telling me what they chose to do to their own laptops! Then they replaced my cord and battery each time within about five minutes.

As for av kits and charge kits, you're going to find that with any laptop. My Dell's charge cord went out and I couldn't find another one outside of going to Dell for a $70 replacement. The kicker is that I had a warranty and the charger WASN'T covered by that? WTH?

[GTX]

Alright, so how much was your warranty and how hard was it to convert over? Everything I have runs on or is synch'ed with Windows - my Zune, Palm Pre (last I heard iTunes wasn't compatible anymore but would be awesome if it was again), camera (I want to replace it), WI-FI (how does this even work with Macs?), programs, etc etc. The good thing is the 1TB external drive I just bought is PC and Mac compatible so I'm good there.

EDIT: Just saw the warranty info. It's about $185, which isn't that bad for a 3 year program. I also need to be able to run CAD programs later on when I get into more engineering specific classes. Can a Mac do that?

Still, that price tag is killing me. I didn't want to spend that much. I actually didn't think I would have to spend any at all since my current laptop should've been replaced under the lemon law but they're screwing me over so I need to buy a new one

[TxFilmMkr]

I run GibbsCam on Windows XP through a partition set aside just for Windows. Bootcamp is an included program with Intel Macs that allows you to boot the computer up as a Windows machine. This comes in handy for some programs. I'm not sure what CAD programs run on Macs. I know there aren't any CAD/CAM programs, and that's what I use Gibbs for, programming CNC machines. I have seen a few CAD apps out there, but I don't remember specifics.

Everything else pretty much runs just like it does in Windows. Cameras are basically universal, as is WiFi. I can't speak for the Zune or Palm, but the only one I would imagine having a problem is the Zune for obvious reasons. However, I can't see MS setting itself up for the comparison that iPhones work on MS but not the other way around. It's expensive, but the computers last longer. My MBP is 3 1/2 years old now and still is faster and has less issues than my father in law's brand new Toshiba with Windows 7. He's kicking himself for not buying a Mac.

There is a learning curve and it takes a little to get used to, but after a week you'll have it down and love the fact that you don't even have to think about security. As usual though, your mileage may vary.

[GTX]

I see. I'll do more digging and see what I can find.

The good news is I get the student discount, so a MBP is about $1100 for me and the warranty is $183 instead of $250+. Here's what confuses me though - the difference between a pro and regular MB:

Regular Macbook:

* 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB DDR3 memory
* 250GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
* Built-in 7-hour battery2
* Polycarbonate unibody enclosure

Macbook Pro-

Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB memory
160GB hard drive1
SD card slot
Built-in 7-hour battery2
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics

What am I missing here? So it has firewire and a SD slot? Then it's got an illuminated keyboard, aluminum construction, and it's slightly smaller? That's it?!?! All that for an aluminum case? Is that the kicker?

[GTX]

WSolidWorks, one of the main mech eng programs, is only for Windows. So I would have to boot XP, Vista, or Windows 7 to get SolidWorks. I'm currently talking to a guy on one of my 4x4 boards about his issues and progress with all this and he seems to be loving his Macbook for this application. There's another guy who liked his for a similar situation.

Anyone know a thing or two about building your own laptop? I didn't realize that was an option now. I've been out of the PC thing for a while.

[Killerush]

Years ago it was cheaper to build your own computer, and it's still true for a PC, but laptops are getting so cheap now that it's not worth the effort in my opinion unless you want a serious gaming/multimedia machine. I have a Toshiba and love it, but my wife had nothing but problems with hers. She just got a new Sony for around $700 and it has all of the bells and whistles.

[GTX]

Yeah that's what it sounds like. I'm about to head out into the masses to Best Buy to try to look at some laptops. I'm taking my sword and shield.

[TxFilmMkr]

If you're looking at the smallest size, stick with the MacBook instead of the Pro. It's not worth the extra IMO. I've got a lot of friends with the regular 13" Macbook and they have no problems with it at all.

[GTX]

I don't see the need for a macbook when I have to boot windows anyway :/

Heres some 13" laptops I liked from newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834114710

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834114713

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220632

I think the Asus is a better deal, they stand behind their products with a two year warranty from the factory.

[GTX]

Got tired of waiting and found something big enough to be used as a desktop but thin and light enough to be carried around:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+L...&skuId=9556143

Picked it up today