A laptop for people who hate laptops?

Question

Looking at buying a high performance laptop to replace my desktop. Will use external mouse, keyboard and monitor while at home. Am I going to be happy with it, or should I just keep my desktop? I've always thought laptop keypads and touchpads were useless for real work and never found their performance worth their portability. Suggestions for a durable user friendly laptop? I'm looking at Asus right now.

A Mac won't be a possiblity because I'll use it for gaming....real gaming.

Answer 1

I'm off to college soon and as much as I want to build my own desktop, I definately need the portability of a laptop to bring back and forth my stuff during vacations. I too don't really like doing regular work or gaming on a laptop's keyboard and touch pad, I don't really like using the screen either, so I will be bringing a wireless keyboard/mouse as well as an LCD monitor to supplement my use while in the dorm. Im not saying I dislike everything about the laptop, it's definately useful to bring around since it's portable.

I've set my sights on a sweet Sager NP2090. Don't let the unknown brand name fool you, they have been here for a while making laptops. What you don't know is that manufacturers like Dell, HP, Alienware, Compaq, etc all use the same parts from the same manufacturers as lesser known companies like Compal, Clevo, Sager, Quanta, PowerPro, etc. All the big names company do is put them together and slap an enormouse price tag. In fact, companies like Compal and Quanta produce more than half of the world's laptops. That's more than Dell, HP, Compaq, Alienware and the other brand's that you've ever heard of, COMBINED.

Check this out, the Sager NP2090 comes standard with 2MP webcam, biometric fingerprint reader, 4 in 1 card reader, a glossy exterior, wifi card, and lot's more. The one I'm getting is a gaming beast: Intel Core 2 Duo Centrino 2ghz, 1GB DDR2 RAM, nvidia 8600GT 512MB video, combo DVD dual layer burner, 80GB hdd, 9 cell battery (4hr + battery life), 3 year labor 1 year parts warranty. Heres the kicker, all this for $1135. If you decide to order this laptop be warned, it's a popular one among incoming college student's this summer so expect to wait until mid-late July to actually get the laptop.

Order from either www.xoticpc.com or www.powernotebooks.com. Both retailers have excellent prices and have the BEST customer service. Any questions, they will answer in person, either through email or phone, your choice. They will update you every step of the way about your order until you receive it. By the way, did I mention you talk to a real person?

Of course, you don't have to choose this particular model, it's just the one I want but you would be very happy with it as well. Good luck!

Answer 2

Hey!
I have used a laptop at home for quite a while and I think they are great. The touch pad isn't that lame, once you get used to working with it.The keypad is easier to use, trust me. And you can still use a mouse if you hate touch pads that much.
I have had a HP notebook and it was (and still is) horrible. Then I bought a Dell laptop and it was great... until it "died" unexpectedly soon. I own now a Mac and it's the greatest computer I've ever worked on. It's a Cuore Duo and I can work both on Windows and Mac OS (by the way, Mac OS is by far better than Windows and you can work faster and easier in this operating system).
You should buy a laptop and see how you "get along" with it. A disadvantage of a laptop may be that the screen is quite little and it's not that great when you want to watch a movie or when you want to create a web page. But it's easy to carry around and if you have a wireless internet connection you can do all the work while you are sitting in bed (that's very comfortable). And you can still work when the electric power dies.
So, you should think of buying a Mac laptop.
Good luck!

Answer 3

I happen to like sony vaio as I took mine to Iraq when I was in the military and it served me well over there. I bought an extended keyboard so that it has a number pad and the F command keys just like a regular keyboard and that was actually part of the laptop so all I had to carry with it was an external mouse. There are many kinds of laptops and durability of them is usually pretty good but only as good as the bag you purchase to carry it in. I would suggest if you want a laptop buy a laptop but keep your desktop you can actually network them together to share files and information so if you get tired of the laptop you still have your desktop. If you dont plan on taking your laptop anywhere, I suggest you stick with a desktop, they are easier to upgrade, troubleshoot, and much more cost effective performance vs cash spent. but this again is totally dependent on what you want to do with the computer. The only advantage I have seen for a laptop is its portability and space saving, if you are not concerned about either of them a desktop is in my opinion the best way to go, I have never had a laptop last as long as my desktops. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Your observations are outdated, wide screens and standard keyboard layouts are common now. Touchpads still suck, but a USB mouse solves the problem.

Go to the nearest big chain computer store and try them out, before you buy a laptop.

TIP: Google for laptop reviews and user ratings by Make and Model. Then, decide for yourself.

Answer 5

Macbook Pro is awesome. I use it for all my computing needs. I upgraded the RAM of course.