[rshaffer61]

I found these HERE on the site you gave me. Close but it looks like models before the one I gave you. Still good buys though for the money.

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Thanks, but should I be looking at laptops which also have good reviews too?

[jamboogy]

Thanks, but should I be looking at laptops which also have good reviews too?

[rshaffer61]

Yes that would be a good point also. I am just giving you a ideal where to start and at a price point to consider. The more your budget the more of a selection you can find.
I have always made sure my customers thought about what the main purpose of their system is first before buying then go with a budget allowing for some flexibility in it.
From there good common research, reading other reviews and not just from the manufacturers website. Third party review sites to me are invaluable since they hold no allegiance to any manufacturer.
From there then see about expandability and support that you can get. Check on the warranties available and how much extra will it cost to extend that warranty to include parts and labor. Make sure what that warranty will and will not include.
Do not be surprised if you decide on one and then you change your mind as I have seen it happen numerous times before.

[jamboogy]

Again, thanks for your help! I will be doing some research over the next few days to see what comes up.

[rshaffer61]

Good luck with your search and please let me know how it goes.
If you need any help comparing a system or two feel free to post here and I will get back with you ASAP.

[jamboogy]

Okay, I did a bit of research and these seem quite good:

Acer Aspire 5741
Samsung RV511
Sony Vaio E series (VPCEB3J0E/WI)
HP G62-B18SA

I get quite indecisive with things like this because what one doesn't have, the other will have, if you know what I mean. Some help on deciding which to choose would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks.

[rshaffer61]

Acer looks like a good all around system
Samsung seems to have a little issue with the sound needing to be turned up all the way to hear everything.
Sony seems to have a short battery life
The HP seems to get about a 50\50 split on being good or bad. The one thing they all agreed on was the trackball is worthless.

[jamboogy]

One question about the Aspire - sites have gone on about the quality of the screen. Should I really be worried about it?

Also I found this: Samsung R580, which seems quite good. Your thoughts please?

[rshaffer61]

Samsung R580 has gotten some good reviews and seems to be a great buy with the I5 cpu and the bluray dvd drive included with it. A good one to put up against the Acer for sure.
The screen quality would be important if you are watching movies and\or gaming. Other then that the Acer is good also.
If the price is close for both I would say the Samsung R580

[jamboogy]

Thanks for the reply.

I've been doing some checks and it appears that the hard drive still moves when I boot up the computer. I had a thought; would I be able to install windows on my portable hard drive and see if the 'dead' hard drive appears if I can run windows from the portable?

[rshaffer61]

If your system is capable of booting to a external drive then yes in theory.
Now if a Linux Live cd could not see the drive that would indicate to me that the drive has failed even though it still spins up the first sector of the actual disk may be corrupted and\or damaged.