I'm searching for a good laptop at a decent price. What do you guys think of this one? I am looking to surf the net, play music, flight simulator games, store pictures, burn CDs and DVDs, etc.
MJ
I'm searching for a good laptop at a decent price. What do you guys think of this one? I am looking to surf the net, play music, flight simulator games, store pictures, burn CDs and DVDs, etc.
MJ
> I'm searching for a good laptop at a decent price.
> What do you guys think of this one? I am looking to
> surf the net, play music, flight simulator games,
> store pictures, burn CDs and DVDs, etc.
These days, just about any laptop with a modern Core 2 Duo CPU and the Centrino peripherals will do the job. The AMD Turion 64 based systems are also good, but they seem to run a little hotter and use up the battery more quickly. I like AMD for desktops but not so much for laptops.
Keep in mind that nearly all modern laptops are made by about 6 factories in Taiwan or China. Quanta, Compal, Wistron, ASUS and Uniwill account for over 80% of the world's laptops, with a third of them being produced by Quanta alone.
To further complate matters, the larger laptop vendors may use different OEM manufacturers, depending on the model. A Dell, for example, may be made by Quanta, Compal, or Wistron.
Gateways are manufactured by Quanta, as is my Sony (and Apple PowerBooks).
I note that the Gateway that you link to comes with the 64-bit version of Windows Vista. Untill recently, a lot of 64 bit systems were shipping with the 32-bit version of Vista, which rather negates any advantage of 64 bit hardware. In addition, the 32-bit version cannot recognize more than 3.2 GB of RAM - sort of a 21st Century version of "640K ought to be enough for anybody."
Despite the fact that 64-bit Vista has a "32-bit compatibility mode," I have heard of some people having problems with some older 32-bit applications.
The Circuit City price seems reasonable, although I would do a little research (Google shopping, CNET Shopper, ebay, etc.) just to be on the safe side.
Doesn't specify a graphics card or HDMI port.
You want HDMI to play games and show photos on your
big screen HDTV. Several Gateways come with ATI or
nVidia graphics cards.
Not a bad unit, otherwise. Lots of main memory, and
a good size Hard drive.
BJinNJ
A number of years ago, I bought a Gateway desktop. They specs claimed their sound card was SoundBlaster compatible. It wasn't, as a program I had wouldn't work with it. I wanted it replaced, and they refused saying it wasn't broken, just design deficient. Interestingly, they were no longer using that particular SB clone card.
After I filed a lawsuit against them, they agreed to settle and replaced it with a true SB, reimbursed by legal expenses, and gave me a "private" 800 number for instant service, etc.
Granted, this was a long time ago, and something like this could happen with any company, but I still hold a grudge for the poor initial support.
I had a Gateway about eight years ago. It was a piece of crap. Bought several Dells since, and have not been particularly happy with them.
But, I bought a new, factory overclocked Gateway 18 months ago and it is very well built. No problems and a fantastic all-around PC. Of course it should be for $4,800.
But I don't abuse it.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one, if it has
the specs I want.
All PC vendors have problems, from time to time.
BJinNJ
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