My Indecisiveness kills me!!!!

[vskid]

Well I need the Portability because My parents are divorced and I will be using it at both houses.

Thats the only reason I am getting a laptop instead of a Desktop.

Build an LCD into the side of a desktop? Not incredibly portable, but its cheap.

[AfroLH]

Well I need the Portability because My parents are divorced and I will be using it at both houses.

Thats the only reason I am getting a laptop instead of a Desktop.

Build an LCD into the side of a desktop? Not incredibly portable, but its cheap.

Hahahah.

I'll stick with a Laptop.

[Bibin]

I'm still considering the HP Pavilion though.

And at this, I can no longer participate in this discussion, because I need to go bang my head against my desk really hard.

[Black Six]

I'm still considering the HP Pavilion though.

And at this, I can no longer participate in this discussion, because I need to go bang my head against my desk really hard.

I agree, I've had nothing but bad luck with my HP laptop, and I know others that have had them and have had numerous motherboard failures and other issues. Personally, I've always had pretty good luck with Dell. My thoughts on other laptops: Compaq: part of HP, Lenovo: horrible since IBM sold their line, Toshiba: I've heard good things but never used one, and Sony: not bad but very expensive. Of course my first pick is Apple, who I think makes some of the best quality machines out there.

[XCVG]

Actually, Acer laptops feel pretty good in the store. Maybe Dell? Maybe Toshiba? But I agree, HP and Compaq are crap. So is Lenovo. Little story: My dad got a Lenovo/IBM tablet for work. The battery is supposed to be a grip. WELL it is held on by a bunch of little tabs that snap if you hold it there or drop it. Design fail.

Like I said, GO TO THE STORE AND TRY SOME! Then check out the specs. It could be the nicest laptop in the world but if it has a 1.8GHz single core processor and GMA 500 graphics then you obviously shouldn't buy it.

[bicostp]

If you're going to be bringing it between two houses only semi-regularly, and you're on a tight budget but still want power, build yourself a luggable. (Fairly compact case + attached LCD.)

Unfortunately, you're not really going to get decent gaming performance out of any $600 laptop. So far this is all I've found that would be halfway decent around your price range:

HP dv6z (AMD Athlon X2 2.1 ghz, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB HD, Radeon HD 3200, 16" 1366x768 LCD, 6 cell battery) - $580

Dell Inspiron 1420 (2.1 ghz C2D, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB HD, Nvidia 8400m, 14" 1280x800 display) - $700

MSI EX630-034US (AMD Turion X2 2.00GHz, 3GB Memory, 250GB HDD, Nvidia 9300M GS, 16" 1366 x 768 LCD) - $600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834152107" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Acer Aspire AS6530-5753 (AMD Turion X2 Ultra 2.20GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650, 16" 1366x768) - $650
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834115546" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RockNRoll!]

Toshiba doesn't know how to keep a laptop cool. If you live on the north pole, it might stand a chance of not overheating. Otherwise, get the other one.

[nevermind1534]

Toshiba: I've heard good things but never used one, and Sony: not bad but very expensive. Of course my first pick is Apple, who I think makes some of the best quality machines out there.

I've heard bad things about Toshiba. I own three Toshiba laptops, but they're all at least 15 years old. Sony loads the most crapware/bloatware on their computers, and apple had good build quality, but I don't care for the price or the OS.

[Kurt_]

For all those who are bashing lenovo, especially XVGS, have you even SEEN one? This doesn't include over the internet, or your friend seeing one one time.

Admittedly, they aren't as great as they were back in the day. I've had several problems with mine and I've owned it about a year now. The LCD cracked (my own fault, shoddy laptop pouch on a backpack and a concrete floor), and the M key slips off occasionally since it's missing a little prong. Beyond that, I have no complaints. It's got a little keyboard light for when you type in the dark (really handy in pitch black), a metal frame and an accelerometer/software system to protect it against accidents (I've dropped it from table height on the corner of the screen on to carpeted concrete without even scratching it), and all sorts of things you might take for granted, like a nub.

Toshiba: I have a Pentium 1 Toughbook still. Trackball and everything. Still works great.

I've heard bad things about HP, but to be honest, a LARGE (~25%) portion of people had bought new HPs this year, and I only remember one problem. This laptop just wouldn't turn on one day. Something had gone screwey with the electronics. Removing the battery and power cord and powering it on fixed it, but to me it's an example of inferior engineering. But still, many people are happy with theirs. Just buy a warranty.

[Triton]

my moms HP/compaq laptop has killed 2 power supplies and a battery in the ~2 years that she has owned it. also my everun has a 1.2ghz turion 64x2 processor and it DOES get hot, but thats more the fault of the manufacture doing a hit or miss job on the thermal paste than the processor itsself.

[ZN13]

Just 2?

My Compaq has gone through about 5 in a year and a half.

[AfroLH]

OK, so that rules out HP..

While researching a little I saw that they had an Asus Laptop for $899 (A little over my budget) that has some pretty good specs (I think?). Although it is a little big...

Intel® Centrino® 2 Core 2 Duo Mobile 2.13GHz
4g RAM
320G HDD
NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS
15.4" LCD Widescreen

Weight: 7.7 Lbs
Width: 14.8"

Opinions?

I havent heard bad things about Asus.
And I messed around with an Asus at Best Buy and I really like feel.

[XCVG]

I know the Eee is nice...

If you like it, it feels nice, has the ports you need, has specs you like, buy it.

[AfroLH]

Its not an Eee.

[XCVG]

Its not an Eee.

I know, I was just saying because it's an ASUS product, you know what, disregard that line.