Hi, I'm in market for a new laptop. What do you say about Compaq Presario R3470? http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&sku_id=0926INGFS10055770&catid=20354&newdeptid=20352#

Hi, I don't know much about laptops but I can tell you from what I hear about what other end users like. Some like the Toshiba's because they are multi-media driven. Others that use them for business and require a work horse go with Thinkpad. Others I know like Dell. I would think the best way to choose any machine, whether as laptop or PC, is to make an assessment of what your needs are first then look at what the machines offer. From there, evaluate which machine comes close to offering you all the things you need and then of course which price range offers you what you want. I hope this helps. Veets

I'd suggest Dell or Toshiba as I've had good experiences with both. I'd suggest avoiding Compaq and Gateway (and the super el-cheapo no-names) because I've had bad experience with them.

U might also consider the Acer series. We have used Acer whatever models (in a broadcast environment) for the last 3-4years and they have been very reliable workhorses. I know of one Italian outfit who use the Travelmate series - they're very happy with them. The Aspire series do seem to be slightly more geared to the domestic arena but are just as useful in the biz arena. Aspire series are generally larger display (wide-screen) and appear to have more options for input/output than the Travelmate? Note too that the Centrino based kit is noticeabley lighter than non-Centrino kit...; an item to consider if you are intendeing to really move the beast around frequently? Dell are now focusing more on the laptop arena than in the past, so some of their kit/prices are becoming more attractive too? HP/Compaq (same outift): I tend to avoid them like the plague; the Compaq recovery partition etc. does seem to cause folks problems on occasion (judging by post here and elsewhere); HP also may/may not provide a proper recovery CD - unlike other vendors? Toshiba (a while back) lost a decent name due to less than ideal after-sales support/part availability etc... From the little I've heard of them lately things are not all that different today...? IBM have become a little more competitive and do seem to have improved a little in their after-sales areas too. They had a period where their attitude was one of "tough-luck" and limited parts availability etc. if things went wrong with their kit... Useful to decide what you want to use it for; how much you are willing to spend; how often you are going to lug it around etc.? Then make your choice based on comments here and other forums/fora and reviews various??? So from the the above remarks you can see I would tend to consider Acer, IBM and Dell; and see who has what I need for a price I'm happy to pay... And then there's the Apple series: iBook and Powerbook. Current iBook specs. are those of last year's Powerbook more or less...; they're well built etc., and fast... The main drawback with Apple desktops/laptops - the limited software?

Thanks very much. I found two Acers that are in my price range $1500ish: 1) Acer Aspire 1670 Series, Model 1672WLCI-XPH-1MB http://www.mymicro.com/n_machines_details.cfm?PN=AC51672H-WLCI 2) Acer TravelMate 4000 Series, Model 4002WLMI-XPP http://www.mymicro.com/n_machines_details.cfm?PN=AC34002P-WLMI The first choice seems to weight tiny bit more and has more power. Sadly I had to google to find the weights. I think I should choose 1) since not much weight difference?

Hi Danty, If you're not a gamer, just wait for others to answer your questions about weight. On the other hand, I hope you're familiar with LCD native resolutions. i_XpUser

Hi Danty: If you are in the market for a laptop here are some things to consider: 1. Be sure you know what you will be using it for. This will make all other decisions easier. 2. Any laptop you buy you are more or less stuck with because they are almost impossible to upgrade. 3. I think that there are no bad laptops out there. Some may be better than others but look for the features you want before brand name. 4. Price - they cost. 5. Buy the best (most modern) one you can afford. See note 2. Avoid cheapies. 6. Try a white box seller. There is at least one company in Taiwan that sells bare bone systems to local Mon & Pops. These are good machines and you can talk to the person who puts it together. Maybe you can deal but the prices for the machines are lower than store bought ones for better features. 7. Try this web site to see if they have a seller near you. http://www.clevo.com.tw/ good luck steve