Laptop Question
07-26-2006, 11:03 AM
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Laptop Question
Been thinkin about buying a laptop pc, but I cant find what I want...My biggest use for it will be powerpoint presentation, video clips, and photos...But I want the capability to connect to a TV when a projector isnt available....Looking for a model with RCA video out, or possibly S-Video...But RCA is a must....New or used, dont care, but I cant seem to find any models with RCa outs...I've seem them before, I know they're out there, just dont know what brand/model to look for...
07-26-2006, 11:27 AM
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I've got an Hp NX9010 that has RC plugs, S-video, Firewire, etc... just about every port available. I believe with the S-video you can buy the adapter that will double as an RC port. If you go to Dells website you can build your own. They've got some pretty awesome deals going @ times.
07-26-2006, 12:04 PM
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That's what I was about to say. Try Dell out - never heard anything but good things. I thought that almost all laptops had a monitor out rca plug, guess I was wrong.
07-26-2006, 02:39 PM
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I've built my own @ Dell, but I didnt seem to see where I could spec a TV out....The new Media Center pc's have TV out, but man those things are expensive...I dunno I'll be lookin some more...
07-26-2006, 04:21 PM
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I run a few repair shops so ill give you a not so quick overview.. my notebook buying lesson summarized.
Wanting RCA out really limits the selection of laptops. Buy the laptop for other features instead. You can always buy a box to convert VGA to RCA and Svideo. Most laptops will have svideo, and small adapters are avaiable to convert svideo to rca as well.
With that said, take your pick:
Emachines - Most hardware problems, dont expect to last more than 6 months. If it does, its a miracle.
Dell - 2nd in line with hardware problems. Expect trouble within a few months. Dell isnt the easiest service to deal with, either, as any problem you have regardless they want you to format the system before stating its a problem. If the harddrive is *going bad* it doesnt count. It has to be completely dead. Great policy.
Compaq - Next in line. HP's lower end. Typically they have alot of hardware problems out of the box, but arent known for a little while. Run very slow for what they are.
Alienware - Expensive, but powerful. Offer many extras that others dont, mainly for performance. They have some hardware problems, but they are near the bottom because if you do have any problem, their support is useless and they hardly honor a warranty (usually chalk it up to user modifications, since most their target market is gamers).
HP - little better than compaq. The new media center ones (especially the 17" models), have motherboard failures often. Also are known for having bad ram sticks.
Toshiba - Significantly better in quality. Very rarely see one with a hardware problem, and when it is, its typically the usual hard drive (every model will have failed hd's sooner than later).
Sony - Very rarely see one of these come into the shop with a hardware problem. By far the best off the shelf notebook you can buy.
Of course, with most things in life, you get what you pay for.
Do not buy a machine from Costco, Walmart, or Sams Club. They come with restricted warranties and tech support.
Dead pixel policy- not a huge issue, but something to be aware of. The number of dead pixels allowed on a screen before able to return it. Some companies will only replace the screen if the dead spots are numbering 6 or higher and in the middle of the screen. Some say 7 no matter where they are. Some say 5 dark or 5 bright or 8 in combination.
Batteries. Cheap laptops will have 4 cell batteries. Inexpensive laptops will have 6 cell. Good laptops will have 9 cell. Some business models have option for high capacity batteries beyond 9 cell. Make sure you find out what you get before buying it. 1 hr of actual use on a laptop is pretty embarassing.
Processor to pick: Do not buy anything except Intel Core Duo. It will last the longest, gives the best performance on and off the battery, and battery life is superb compared to all others.
Screen size/resolution/type.
15.4" is the best all around. 17" models have horrible battery life. Anyone that says they get more than 2 hrs from a 17" is lying, or they play solitaire on it and let it idle. Anything smaller than 15.4" and the cost shoots up, as well as power and options go down.
Resolution; number of dots on screen. Cheap laptops are usually 1280x800. Better ones can go 1680x1050, sometimes higher.
Type; Glossy VS Matte. HUGE HUGE HUGE thing to consider.
Glossy screens look good at night, or in low light areas. Put them in a flourescent light area or sunlight, and they are so reflective you see yourself instead of the screen. Matte does not have that high gloss polished look, but is best overall if you use it in multiple lighting environments.
Harddrives;
cheaper models will have a 4200rpm. definetly want to make sure you do NOT get this. Everything will run slow on the machine with the 4200rpm drives. Good notebooks have 5400rpm drives. Better laptops have 5400rpm SATA drives (faster than older IDE), and the best now run 7200rpm SATA drives (pay a premium). 5400RPM sata is the best bang for the buck.
Wanting RCA out really limits the selection of laptops. Buy the laptop for other features instead. You can always buy a box to convert VGA to RCA and Svideo. Most laptops will have svideo, and small adapters are avaiable to convert svideo to rca as well.
With that said, take your pick:
Emachines - Most hardware problems, dont expect to last more than 6 months. If it does, its a miracle.
Dell - 2nd in line with hardware problems. Expect trouble within a few months. Dell isnt the easiest service to deal with, either, as any problem you have regardless they want you to format the system before stating its a problem. If the harddrive is *going bad* it doesnt count. It has to be completely dead. Great policy.
Compaq - Next in line. HP's lower end. Typically they have alot of hardware problems out of the box, but arent known for a little while. Run very slow for what they are.
Alienware - Expensive, but powerful. Offer many extras that others dont, mainly for performance. They have some hardware problems, but they are near the bottom because if you do have any problem, their support is useless and they hardly honor a warranty (usually chalk it up to user modifications, since most their target market is gamers).
HP - little better than compaq. The new media center ones (especially the 17" models), have motherboard failures often. Also are known for having bad ram sticks.
Toshiba - Significantly better in quality. Very rarely see one with a hardware problem, and when it is, its typically the usual hard drive (every model will have failed hd's sooner than later).
Sony - Very rarely see one of these come into the shop with a hardware problem. By far the best off the shelf notebook you can buy.
Of course, with most things in life, you get what you pay for.
Do not buy a machine from Costco, Walmart, or Sams Club. They come with restricted warranties and tech support.
Dead pixel policy- not a huge issue, but something to be aware of. The number of dead pixels allowed on a screen before able to return it. Some companies will only replace the screen if the dead spots are numbering 6 or higher and in the middle of the screen. Some say 7 no matter where they are. Some say 5 dark or 5 bright or 8 in combination.
Batteries. Cheap laptops will have 4 cell batteries. Inexpensive laptops will have 6 cell. Good laptops will have 9 cell. Some business models have option for high capacity batteries beyond 9 cell. Make sure you find out what you get before buying it. 1 hr of actual use on a laptop is pretty embarassing.
Processor to pick: Do not buy anything except Intel Core Duo. It will last the longest, gives the best performance on and off the battery, and battery life is superb compared to all others.
Screen size/resolution/type.
15.4" is the best all around. 17" models have horrible battery life. Anyone that says they get more than 2 hrs from a 17" is lying, or they play solitaire on it and let it idle. Anything smaller than 15.4" and the cost shoots up, as well as power and options go down.
Resolution; number of dots on screen. Cheap laptops are usually 1280x800. Better ones can go 1680x1050, sometimes higher.
Type; Glossy VS Matte. HUGE HUGE HUGE thing to consider.
Glossy screens look good at night, or in low light areas. Put them in a flourescent light area or sunlight, and they are so reflective you see yourself instead of the screen. Matte does not have that high gloss polished look, but is best overall if you use it in multiple lighting environments.
Harddrives;
cheaper models will have a 4200rpm. definetly want to make sure you do NOT get this. Everything will run slow on the machine with the 4200rpm drives. Good notebooks have 5400rpm drives. Better laptops have 5400rpm SATA drives (faster than older IDE), and the best now run 7200rpm SATA drives (pay a premium). 5400RPM sata is the best bang for the buck.
07-26-2006, 08:04 PM
#7
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I completely disagree with the comments of poor service for Dells. I work at the computer center at my university and all we have are dells. Call them up, get the parts overnighted and send them back. If it's major (in most cases it is with a laptop) if you have the right service plan, they will send parts to a local tech and send the tech to your house/work. How much easier can you get.
For the comment on the hard drive, there's diagnostics to run on it that does a complete test when it's on the fritz. It will show up if there is a problem. Call Dell with the error code and the HD will be on your porch in 24 hours.
I'd go Dell if I were you.
For the comment on the hard drive, there's diagnostics to run on it that does a complete test when it's on the fritz. It will show up if there is a problem. Call Dell with the error code and the HD will be on your porch in 24 hours.
I'd go Dell if I were you.
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07-26-2006, 08:25 PM
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Originally Posted by I PASS GAS
I completely disagree with the comments of poor service for Dells. I work at the computer center at my university and all we have are dells. Call them up, get the parts overnighted and send them back. If it's major (in most cases it is with a laptop) if you have the right service plan, they will send parts to a local tech and send the tech to your house/work. How much easier can you get.
For the comment on the hard drive, there's diagnostics to run on it that does a complete test when it's on the fritz. It will show up if there is a problem. Call Dell with the error code and the HD will be on your porch in 24 hours.
I'd go Dell if I were you.
For the comment on the hard drive, there's diagnostics to run on it that does a complete test when it's on the fritz. It will show up if there is a problem. Call Dell with the error code and the HD will be on your porch in 24 hours.
I'd go Dell if I were you.
You actually have the option to get treated nice by dell, its called the Premium or Plus service package.
I know this, ive called dell for end user help. Ive also called dell for power edge servers. You get an american who cuts right to the chase when you call for the servers.
Every company works like that, though. The higher up the ladder, the better youre treated.
07-26-2006, 08:34 PM
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I'm sure you can find a USB to RCA coverter on the web for less than $75. I actually had to get one because I run a webcam using a camera that just has RCA jacks and I have a Dell with only USB ports.
John
John
07-26-2006, 09:21 PM
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Dell would be my very last resort. I have friends that bought a Dell the same time I got my HP and paid a lot more and got a lot less, and have had problems.
I bought a Toshiba laptop and have had no problems, at all. There was an optional adapter that I could have bought that had all RCA connections and even converted everything for 5.1 surround sound.
But I will admit that HP has one out that is very close in price that will do the same thing without buying extra crap and has more memory than the Toshiba.
Mike
I bought a Toshiba laptop and have had no problems, at all. There was an optional adapter that I could have bought that had all RCA connections and even converted everything for 5.1 surround sound.
But I will admit that HP has one out that is very close in price that will do the same thing without buying extra crap and has more memory than the Toshiba.
Mike
07-26-2006, 09:28 PM
#11
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I have been through a lot of Laptops in my career. From Dell to Toshiba, Gateway, HP etc etc. Until I got my ThinkPad, I thought that the laptop was just always poor in quality and problems were to be expected. Since I've had my own ThinkPad R51 and my T43 from work, I have been VERY happy. This is absolutely the best laptop computer I have ever used and it's very easy to use with projectors etc. Mine doesn't have an RCA jack but there aren't many that do. I think some of the thinkpads do have them. I'm looking at the T60 for my next unit. I would take a trip to CDW and see what you can fine. They have a lot of configurations there and price ranges. I like their search functionality there too. www.cdw.com
Good luck.
Good luck.
07-26-2006, 09:44 PM
#13
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Ive had mine for a long, long time and Ive had no real issues with it yet.
The graphic card is not the best. Sometimes, when it gets shaken or moved quickly, the image will disappear for a while.
But it doesnt eat batteries.
Rich
The graphic card is not the best. Sometimes, when it gets shaken or moved quickly, the image will disappear for a while.
But it doesnt eat batteries.
Rich
07-26-2006, 09:59 PM
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My Toshiba has RCA output and it is tough as nails! Its lived abut 4 years with me beating and banging on it. Droped more times than I can count. Most recently, the dripping wet dog jumped on it after a bath when I forgot to close off the pet door. It quit for the rest of that day and then started working again the next day and I am typing on it now. You cant kill it.
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