Which Laptop to choose?

R

RonaldM

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Okay, I have never owned a Laptop, always been using a Desktop, but due to work reasons I now need to be mobile, but I need a Laptop that can double up as a Desktop replacement.

So having looked at many websites and prices, and having asked around. I have found two laptops that I think will work. However I would like some advice in terms of Quality, Build, and Overall reliability of either of these two.

Option 1:

Toshiba Satelite L775-124
Intel Core I5-2410M, 2.3/2.9 Turbo GHZ
4GB DDR3 RAM
17.3" TruBrite HD+ display with LED backlighting
nVidia GT525 1GB Graphic Card
Wifi
Blue Tooth
Numpad
Win7 HP
Price: R7 699.00

Option 2:

Dell Vostro 3750,
i5-2410M (2.30GHz)
4096MB (1x4096) 1333MHz DDR3,
500GB Serial ATA (7,200 Rpm),
8X DVD+/-RW,
6-cell battery,
Nvidia Geforce N12P-GE (128-bit) 1GB Graphics,
Bluetooth, 802.11n,
Fingerprint Reader,
2MP webcam,
17.3in Widescreen High Definition+ (1600X900) WLED Anti-Glare,
Windows 7 Professional (64 BIT) (includes MS Office 2010 Starter)
Price: R10 588.10

Please let me know if you have used any of these laptops, what your opinion is, or is you know of any known faults.

Thank You

Ronald
 
Toshiba

Dell is over priced and have a bad cap habit on their boards. I know replace 4 the other day
 
Hi,

I got a Mecer recently and am very happy with it after using a fem IBMs, Dells, Acers and HPs.

Mecer Xpression - W170HN
http://mecer.co.za/notebooks

Computer Mania in Cape Town are selling them for R7999 on special until end November. I upgraded my RAM to 6GB and Windows 7 Pro - in total paid about R8500 a few months ago.
 
Thank you for all the responses guys and dolls.

It's still a bit difficult to make a descision though.

Xera, I would love a Mac, but price is way over budget.

Danlr - What's the warranty like on the Mecer?

In fact, I only know that Dell offer a 3 year on site warranty. What does Toshiba, Mecer and the others offer?

Thank you in advance for your help everyone.

Ronald.
 
Ronald, 2 year carry in warranty. They have a centre opposite Civic Centre in Cape Town CBD which you can go to directly, no need to take it to company you bought it from to be sent away to be fixed. Haven't had any issues yet
 
You have to be careful with "brands" like Mecer though. It's not a brandname like Lenovo (IBM) or HP though, as Mecer "brands" are latops sourced by Mustek and the Mecer name slapped on it. Once a particular model goes off the market, it's difficult getting replacement parts like batteries and AC adaptors. In most cases batteries only have a 6 month warranty even though the laptop has a year warranty. Dell is also a problem getting replacement parts for. I prefer the Lenovo range cos even after 5 or 6 years then you can still get batteries and AC adaptors. They might have to order it and you might have to wait a week or 2 but at least the parts are available. The Lenovo IDEA range looks very nice though and it comes with a dedicated keypad like the normal desktop keyboards.
 
Mecer machines are rebranded Clevo machines. Clevo is a very well respected brand over the seas, btw.
In the US they are rebranded as Sager machines and Sager is pretty big there.
You won't have any issues with Mecer.
 
Hey Hey

With the laptop, is it going to be used as a desktop replacement at work and then taken home... or will it be used while mobile ? The thing with laptops is you need to identify the primary location of use... near a plug or away from a plug. If you are needing it on the road or mobile for most of the day, then battery life and durability should be deciding factors on the choice. If it only needs to be mobile between home / office desks, then you can look at performance as a draw card.

You also need to look at what you are going to be doing with it daily... 3D design or video editing will demand a completely different setup to the usual office stuff. This affects the cost of the laptop... and you will not want to be stuck with an under-performing cost-cutter or be saddled with an expensive over-the-top machine.

Do you really need a 17-inch laptop, or can you do with a 15-inch and a 2nd 19/20-inch monitor ?

All these are things to consider. I would recommend identifying your primary need for the laptop... then look at your budget, and then begin to look at what is available. Laptops are expensive to repair and not very upgradeable beyond RAM and HDD... so you will be stuck with what you paid for.

Perhaps give us all an idea of what you will be doing on it and whereabouts you are located, and I am sure the MyBB-anders will be able to give you a whole range of options!

EDIT: For example... I had a quick look and found a DELL similar to the one listed here, but with a fast quad core i7 CPU... and cheaper !

http://www.wootware.co.za/dell-vost...-1333-nvidia-gt-525m-750gb-17-3-notebook.html

Vostro V3750: Intel Core I7-2670QM 2.20GHz
17.3 Inch High Definition LED Display (1600 x 900) with Anti-glare,
2 Mega Pixel Camera,
nVidia GeForce GT 525M with 1GB VRAM,
4096MB (1x4096) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel,
750GB Serial ATA (7.200 RPM),
WLAN + BT, 8X DVD +/-RW, Windows 7 Pro (64 Bit),
3Yr on Site Warranty
R 9,600.00 Incl. VAT
Click to expand...
 
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