Laptop

[Trance]

I use my MBP to do a lot of Audio & Video stuff so I usually eat up my battery in a few hours. The most annoying thing about the MBP is the magsafe power cord... it comes off way to easily... drives me nuts.

If you want to play Windows games just install XP (vista is a waste of time right now)

I gotta say though that this laptop is the most powerful computer I've ever had (until next month anyway).. has 3GB of RAM 2.33 core 2 duo... etc etc and it's just solid. I'd recommend staying away from the glossy screen though, unless you like having a mirror.

[Joe[x86]]

Get a Lenovo (formerly IBM) ThinkPad. I'm still using a ThinkPad 600 (think mid-90's) on a regular basis. They're indestructable and quiet, don't run hot, etc.

[Denial]

How long does a average battery last and how long does it take to charge it back up?

Also how long does it take till a battery dies completely?

I've never gotten a laptop before mostly pc based.

[topaz]

How long does a average battery last and how long does it take to charge it back up?

Also how long does it take till a battery dies completely?

I've never gotten a laptop before mostly pc based.

Seven-nine hours, three hours tops.

Total battery life? Several years, at the least.

[Banana fanna fo fanna]

I rock a first gen core duo top-of-the-line 17" MacBook Pro. Battery life is 3-5 hours depending on what you're doing. Pretty solid machine; I use it for hardcore programming, schoolwork, audio engineering for my band, and light gaming on my XP partition.

Essentially, if you want a big screen or a graphics card, get a Macbook Pro. Otherwise, I'd go for the straight MacBook. It's cheaper and has most of the same features.

[Trance]

It doesn't take long to charge up... but I can utterly destroy my battery if I use it for DJ'ing within an hour. I've had good experiances with Thinkpads as well.. however this was before they were purchased by China..

[Denial]

It doesn't take long to charge up... but I can utterly destroy my battery if I use it for DJ'ing within an hour. I've had good experiances with Thinkpads as well.. however this was before they were purchased by China..

so i guess if i do hardcore stuff i should have it plugged in?

[Trance]

Yeah, really hardcore stuff.. usually you'll be fine.. When I use the DJ'ing software I'm constantly using the HD so it eats up the battery at a rate of 1% a minute or so. If I'm encoding a DVD it usually won't kill the battery.

[Fapiko]

Yeah man.  Watching DVDs, porn, gaming, video editing, anything with intense hard drive usage, anything with intense network card usage - plug it in plug it in.

I have to say I agree with the Dell people.  I just got a Dell Inspiron Core 2 Duo.  It's quite nice.  Has a real gfx card in it so I'm running games like Battlefield 2142 and Oblivion with higher gfx settings and they run fine.  Dells are one of the top rated companies for laptops year after year.  Also, I hear Sony Vaios are good.  PC Magazine and PC World both review laptops about every six months.  You should check out their websites for more detailed info on some of the more popular models.

Btw.  Please, for the sake of yourself and your loved ones, don't get a Compaq (HP).  Unless you want to install a pirated version of Windows plan on using a spyware laden operating system because they ship with about 65 processes running on boot 

As for whoever made the statement about the Alienwares being bricks... Alienware laptops are just Dell XPS series laptops with cooler cases ever since Dell bought them about a year ago.

[Stealth]

Btw.  Please, for the sake of yourself and your loved ones, don't get a Compaq (HP).  Unless you want to install a pirated version of Windows plan on using a spyware laden operating system because they ship with about 65 processes running on boot 

Most major manufacturers preload your computer with a bunch of useless junk, though it's generally not spyware. HP also is not going to sell you a pirated copy of Windows; WGA is a controversial and really fairly inaccurate system. I have opted out of it on all my systems, which all have legal copies of XP Home or Pro. More likely something on the system failed WGA -- at any rate, HP techs should get you out of that mess without much trouble.

[Forged]

I think he meant format and reinstall, not that it shipped with pirated software.

[topaz]

I think he meant format and reinstall, not that it shipped with pirated software.

Btw.  Please, for the sake of yourself and your loved ones, don't get a Compaq (HP).  Unless you want to install a pirated version of Windows plan on using a spyware laden operating system because they ship with about 65 processes running on boot

Even though that's what he said?

LOL.

[Falcon[anti-yL]]

Don't get any of the Toshiba Satellite series, the standard battery that comes with them lasts about an hour.

[Kp]

I think he meant format and reinstall, not that it shipped with pirated software.

Btw.  Please, for the sake of yourself and your loved ones, don't get a Compaq (HP).  Unless you want to install a pirated version of Windows plan on using a spyware laden operating system because they ship with about 65 processes running on boot

Even though that's what he said?

LOL.

"Unless ... plan on ..." seems like an if/else construct.  if (you do NOT want to reinstall Windows) then {you will be using a spyware laden operating system}.  It's unfortunate that Fapiko assumed that a reinstall would necessarily be a pirated version, since it seems to have confused people.  Note: I have no experience with Compaq systems, and cannot attest to whether their default install is actually that burdened.  I am merely trying to clarify a statement that is causing parsing problems.

[Newby]

Heh. Even if you ask for no extra software, most companies will put it on there anyway.