Looking for new notebook

[drew and not u]

My mom decided she's had it with the old HP laptop her company provided her and now she's looking for something new. I was thinking about just getting her a Dell and wiping it when it arrived, but I know there are several other lesser known manufacturers that probably have a superior product. I was thinking about Asus, but I'd like some other recommendations as well. Service/support isn't a HUGE issue because I'll be taking care of it. Mostly I'm looking for feature set and build quality vs price. Who should I be looking at?

Edit: We also want XP. Which seems hard to find preinstalled these days.

[gvblake22]

DREW! You're back from the dead!!!
Check out Sager, they still give you the option to select Windows XP on their laptops...

[Telexen]

Most notebooks from Acer, Sager, or Asus are going to be pretty good laptops.

take a look at PowerNotebooks to find some pretty good ones at good prices too.

[garetjax]

I'm in the same boat as Drew's mom. I want to get a new laptop as well, and have been scouring the web for information. Personally, I would stay away from Dell. Their laptops are built no differently than any other company with similar spec's. Gateway is a prime example of this. I would encourage you to price out a Dell laptop and then do the same with a Gateway. You will be suprised at the price difference between the two notebooks even though they are exactly the same, component wise.

I took the time one day a couple months back to call both Gateway and Dell to verify the part numbers of the components used in each of the similarily spec'd laptops. Come to find out, each and every part was exactly the same. The only thing you are paying for extra with Dell it would seem, is the name.

With that aside, let me try to help you with the information that I have come up with so far when buying a laptop. First things first, I would suggest that you go to THIS website and fill out the form there and post it both there and here so we can better help you figure out what your mom needs.

Secondly, I would like to direct you to THIS part of the website where it explains what a "whitebook" and ODM is. The following link contains a lot of great information about ODM's, specifically Sager and Clevo, along with a lot of different notebook computer resellers complete with their reseller ratings, discounts, BBB information, etc. It's really a comprehensive listing of some really great companies to buy a Clevo or Sager based laptop from.

Third, if your mom would like to stay with HP as a computer, HP is running a sweet ass deal on their dv6500t and dv9500t notebooks. Enter coupon code NB2770 and you will save 20% on a configured notebook. Check out the link HERE.

Finally, I posted a similar thread on HL awhile back about me looking to purchase a notebook. You can find that thread HERE. Other links that I think you may find useful here at HL are THIS and THIS.

It is also worth mentioning that if you are a student in an accredited university or college, HP will allow you to enroll in their APP program. This allows you to log-in to HP's website and obtain some pretty sweet discounts on HP products, including laptops.

But by far, I would seriously urge you to check out NotebookReview.com for some really great information on all things laptops, especially the Notebook Manufacturer part of the forum where it gives you all of the makes of today's notebooks, where to buy them and what to look for.

[Telexen]

Originally Posted by garetjax

I took the time one day a couple months back to call both Gateway and Dell to verify the part numbers of the components used in each of the similarily spec'd laptops. Come to find out, each and every part was exactly the same. The only thing you are paying for extra with Dell it would seem, is the name.

I'm no fan of either Dell or HP, but it should be noted that every HP notebook I've ever worked with has had heat/noise issues.

If it's not intended to be used as portable, and usually plugged in or run in just a few spots between work/home then that might not be a big issue.

[drew and not u]

Thanks guys, that definitely helps.

[SolarisCS]

Hey there, I agree that if you can build some of the stuff yourself, get a whitebook and put it together yourself. You can pick out any parts you like and get a computer you really want :). You wont have total warranty, but each part has a nice warranty from the manufacturer