digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

See the original image at pcworld.com

The Best 10 All-Purpose Laptops

pcworld.com — These laptops can do it all and are a great choice for most on-the-go users.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • TimberWolfGirl, on 05/08/2008, -14/+3Aren't there only 10 types of laptops out there? *grin*
    • Claude1971, on 05/08/2008, -2/+2*winds up and gives swift kick to the balls*
  • revivalink, on 05/08/2008, -64/+60Too bad they're all PCs... My Macintosh powerbook is looks better and runs faster. Good article though. Dugg.
    • pevensen, on 05/08/2008, -25/+21And can run Windows as well as Mac OS X!
      • colonelpanic, on 05/08/2008, -8/+9He said powerbook. That means it's PowerPC. Can not run windows.
        • PabloMac, on 05/08/2008, -9/+2My PowerPC Powerbook can run WIndoze.
        • nicc, on 05/08/2008, -4/+3a Powerbook CAN run Windows. not natively, but through virtualization.
    • siphre, on 05/08/2008, -11/+51What? Pcworld has a PC bias? That's unheard of!
    • HillerMylife, on 07/24/2008, -25/+10I was honestly surprised that there wasn't a single Mac on the list. Weird.
    • Mackofalltrades, on 05/08/2008, -5/+40All-Purpose
      • Chirp08, on 05/08/2008, -12/+12Macbook Pro. Period.
        • jriggs420, on 05/08/2008, -2/+12Rip off! Exclamation Point.
        • sadilak, on 05/08/2008, -4/+5Macbook Pros are an annoyance. Try upgrading the HDD for instance,.worse, I upgraded the HDD and Apple Support told me - No support for you. Lenovo and Asus and Samsung( Yes, Samsung makes laptops too) kick ass
        • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -4/+7You can game on some of these. You can't game on a mac. Therefore, macs are NOT all purpose.
          • gordeh, on 05/08/2008, -2/+4Easy either play one of the mac games of which there are quite a few or reboot into windows...

            Oh and hard drive upgrades don't void the apple warantee. Just any damage caused by the upgrade wouldn't be covered.
          • ORBAT, on 05/08/2008, -3/+4"You can't play games on Macs" is getting a bit old, especially since it's *****.
          • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -4/+3@ORBAT
            So - you've gamed on a mac? An out of the box mac? I will admit my mac gaming is limited, but every time I've tried it (using a friend's macbook) - just doesn't work.
          • designerutah, on 05/08/2008, -2/+1Yep. Works either way. Game on the Mac OS X side, and there are some good games there. Or reboot and game on a purely Windows machine.
          • antdude, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2Try Crysis on a Mac? I don't think so.
          • wacomwacoff, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2Sure, I've got several great games for Mac. But since all Macs can run Windows natively now, I can just boot it into Windows mode and play any game I want. Including Crysis.
        • Continuum, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5Macbook Pro. Period. = Macbook Pro Ellipsis
      • theWrkncacnter, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Though a pc laptop is probably marginally better at playing games than a mac one, you really shouldn't be buying a laptop as your gaming rig. So what other purposes are you talking about?
    • iChuckles, on 05/08/2008, -18/+12How sad. An Apple user not knowing what they are talking about. There is no PowerBook that compares here. You meant MACBOOK! Please, if you are going to apply for fanboy, at least have a clue.
      • redwallhp, on 05/08/2008, -6/+4Perhaps he's a long-time Mac user, and is used to saying PowerBook instead of "MacBook Pro"?
    • prophetpimp, on 05/08/2008, -11/+36So that smugness? Was that an add on you paid for or was it built in with your Macbook?
      • krisscofield, on 05/08/2008, -7/+27iSnob comes preinstalled with iLife 08 now.
        • PabloMac, on 05/08/2008, -13/+7Yeah, there are so few Windoze snobs out there.
          • FuckThaMeme, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5Because *you're* totally unbiased aren't you...hence the name and avatar

            *rolls eyes ad infinitum*
          • 3tcp, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1It's not windows snobbery, it's not-mac snobbery. The advantage is the capacity and ease of customization, there are plenty of mac haters who are linux snobs
    • Chunken, on 05/08/2008, -16/+12It seems as though price was a factor and looks were not. So yeah, no macs.
      • Fastfuud, on 05/08/2008, -2/+8Well, the Sony VAIO VGN-SZ791N is in the $2,300+ price range. It's really hard to say what PC World was looking at.
        • TheKorn2, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4Duh. They were looking at who advertises in PC World. Clearly if Apple had taken out some ads they'd have been considered.
      • wacomwacoff, on 05/08/2008, -7/+4Seeing as how a MacBook will run you about $1000, and is faster and more powerful than lots of these machines, price isn't really a factor. Macs are often cheaper.
        • GQCarrick, on 05/08/2008, -4/+4What crack are you smoking? Often Macbooks are MORE expensive than PC Laptops, hate to break it to you.
          • wacomwacoff, on 05/08/2008, -2/+5I'm apparently smoking the kind of crack that lets me compare specs and see that a MacBook compared to a similar PC laptop is less expensive and has better features.
          • pyrates, on 05/08/2008, -3/+3Like the one button trackpad right?
          • theWrkncacnter, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1unless you're trying to play games, why do you need a 2 button trackpad? Use the 2 finger right click.
            The whole "macs don't have a right click" argument stopped being true years ago. Windows fanatics sound ***** stupid when they still use it.
    • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -9/+3I used to use a macBook Pro for my Linux machine.
      Lame keyboard and 1 button mouse drive me insane. I use a XPS 1530 now and am much happier.
      • wacomwacoff, on 05/08/2008, -4/+2Lame keyboard? OH.. you mean the fiber-optic backlit keyboard rated best in class? Right.
        • GQCarrick, on 05/08/2008, -3/+2No he got it right the first time when he said Lame.
        • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -4/+1Yeah, the lame keyboard that is missing keys like delete, page up, page down, home, end, right shift, right control, print screen, etc.

          Yeah, you can do finger gymnastics to access some of these, for the rest, too bad. It really doesn't help their case that they put 2 enter keys within 1 inch of each other. Idiots.

          The back light stopped working on mine after a few weeks and I never missed it.
          • wacomwacoff, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3Yes but: I never use those keys, because I'M ON A MAC. Things like "home", "end", "print screen" are part of the OS -- you don't need buttons for them.
          • Kamujin, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1Psst, Print Screen is no more a part of the OS on mac then on any other OS.

            On a Mac, you just get the "feature" of holding CMD + SHIFT + 3. Which is... lame.
        • FuckThaMeme, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4ownt
    • MalkyMalc, on 05/08/2008, -10/+7PC World do sell Macs so it's weird the MacBook isn't on the list. Because, y'know... it's basically a better choice. *ducks for cover*
      • sadilak, on 05/08/2008, -5/+6No, Macbook Pros heat up a lot and that annoying hum.
        • gordeh, on 05/08/2008, -0/+6That's funny as I have one sat here in front of me and there is no hum and its very cool to the touch. I grant you the first gen one I owned had both of those issues.
          • sadilak, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2It is a $1999 machine. I dont care if it is 1st gen or 2nd gen. At that cost, It should have ZERO issues.
          • fatdog789, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Ditto. For the price, and the absolute control it exercises over every step of the production process, it shouldn't have any damn problems, let alone serious generation-wide problems like the overheating and melting laptops. In relative terms, Macbooks have more problems than PC laptops (since the absolute numbers are the same.)
          • Kamujin, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1Damn, I can't believe no one mentioned the exploding ones.
          • theWrkncacnter, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Everything has problems
      • Lewiji, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5That's the ***** UK PC World store. This is the awesome US PC World magazine.
    • thelastknowngod, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3hell with apple... where is the system76?
    • Gregsaw, on 05/08/2008, -3/+2Macs are Personal Computers
  • Snakedal337, on 05/08/2008, -3/+10I love my T23, it's an oldie but a goodie
    • prophetpimp, on 05/08/2008, -1/+6I love my R40e. Those thinkpads are freaking durable.
    • killerofkiller, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2i love how they put the R series on there... why? The T series isn't that much more expensive and is much better

      also, i love my T60
    • Troy64, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2I love my C-400. 7 years old and running great.
    • iRelinquish, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3i love my trsh80
      • Troy64, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Not exactly a laptop but cool if you have one that still runs.
        • celticchrys, on 05/09/2008, -0/+2I have an old m100 that still runs just fine. Use it as a darkroom timer mostly.
    • passedoutghost, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1I wish I had a T series. They're freaking indestructible.
      • valentinb102, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1I hear the T1000 can reconstruct itself if broken.
  • YourSexyMama, on 05/08/2008, -4/+89Buried for PC World making me sift through ten pages, just so they can get more ad revenue...
  • slifty, on 05/08/2008, -8/+42I once bought an all-porpoise laptop, it smelled like fish.
    • ORBAT, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1Just don't take it to Delaware or they'll make soup out of it.
  • iRusty, on 05/08/2008, -39/+38One word...MacBook
    • eviljolly, on 05/08/2008, -9/+21I agree. I'm a PC user by nature, but for work I use a macbook since I have to support both Mac and PC environments.

      Sure they might not be the cheapest laptops out there, but they do run Windows and OSX (and Linux.) DVI/VGA out. Firewire 800 and USB 2.0.

      I would say that's very "all purpose"
      • PabloMac, on 05/08/2008, -5/+5You get what you pay for.
        • GQCarrick, on 05/08/2008, -5/+6Correct, and if I wanted to OVERpay then I would buy a Mac.
          • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I have a Toshiba very similar to the one shown here ( a few upgrades, and it runs XP pro instead of vista) and quite frankly, I got more than my money's worth.
      • FuckThaMeme, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3USB2.0!?!?! Wow!!
        • iRelinquish, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1dont worry there backward compatible with 1.1 : )
    • sagat, on 05/08/2008, -15/+6One word.... MaCunt
    • colonelpanic, on 05/08/2008, -11/+6Nope, sorry. I don't like my macbook really. I've been an apple fanboy for the longest time, but about a month ago I decided I'm not happy with it anymore. I even tried to sell the macbook, but nobody even wanted the damn thing. Thinkpad T /X series FTW.
      • eviljolly, on 05/08/2008, -2/+4 The only gripe I have is the trackpad only has one button, and two finger click, although not overly difficult, sometimes makes it harder to be precise. External mouse solves that problem though.

        What didn't you like about it though? Can you provide some examples?

        Every person I know who owns a Macbook loves it. I am curious to hear the actual reasons behind your logic.
        • colonelpanic, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1One button mouse. Ubuntu runs like ***** on it. This is my second macbook, and for the second time, A month after I bought the damn thing they came out with a new model. I purchased it after my first one took a total crap on me, and took a complete crap when I depended on it for school. Apple wouldn't help me out, or at the very least compensate by giving me the back to school deal (ipod nano with purchase) or something (which they didn't give me on the first one either) WHEN I'M BUYING THE POS FOR SCHOOL. I could have gotten a slightly better lenovo t61 14.1" for $400 less.
    • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -5/+11I did the macBook Pro thing.
      Overpriced
      Same guts as everyone else.
      Lame keyboard and 1 button mouse.

      I prefer my DELL XPS 1530 with is swank 1920x1200 screen.
      • eviljolly, on 05/08/2008, -5/+5Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking you. I agree that in your case, the Dell is the better buy, but the main advantage of a Macbook is the fact that it is....a Mac.

        OSX is awesome, and a lot of what you're paying for when you buy a Mac is knowing all of your hardware is supported directly by the same people who made your operating system. I never liked Macs until OSX was released, and after using it for a little while now I'd say that I would use it as my primary OS for Web browsing and general usage.

        The specs of your Dell XPS are very similar to a Macbook pro, although looking at Dell's website it says the 1530 still only has a 1440x900. My Macbook Pro cost me about another $600, but I wouldn't call that overpriced considering what you get. It's just not something that everyone wants, or needs.
        • mrsteve007, on 05/08/2008, -1/+9$600 more isn't overpriced for just an OS? Man, they really know how to drug the water in Cupertino
        • sadilak, on 05/08/2008, -2/+10Mac's are'nt ready for the real world. Apple is more evil than Microsoft or Dell or Sony put together.
        • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5XPS 1530 has up to 1920x1200 resolutions. I am using it now to run Ubuntu 8.04.

          OS X is a great FreeBSD fork, but until I can use it legally without giving away my choice of hardware vendors, I will use something else.

          I own the best XPS 1530 and macBook Pro on the market. The macBook pro is over $1000 higher when you max it out. Its a good machine, but the XPS is better. And honesty, the macBook Pro was VERY late to the market with its feature. The DELL M90 has the same specs almost a year earlier and for less money.
      • PhillyMJS, on 05/08/2008, -3/+5Buried for "1 button mouse" BS.

        Two-finger right-click FTW. Supported via driver even if you run Windows exclusively on the Mac, IIRC. Never have to worry about which button is under my thumb at a given moment, which I always found to be a real pain when I've used Windows laptops in the past.
        • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -4/+3Buried for being an Apple apologist.

          2 button > 1 button. Two finger right click is as stupid as the keyboard gymnastics that you need to do on its keyboard.

          Seriously, as if anyone uses a 1 button mouse when given the choice.
        • celticchrys, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1Totally agree. The FIRST thing I always do when in a situation where I must use a Mac is to replace the mouse, or add a regular mouse to a laptop.
        • theWrkncacnter, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1@Kamujin: not ***** true. Don't assume everyone thinks like you do -- FOR ME it's much easier not to worry about which button my thumb is on. The only time it's a problem is when I can't throw grenades in halo, but I have an external mouse for that, just like you'd use an external mouse for any game. So shut the ***** up.
    • mrsteve007, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3AKA, the ASUS G1S-B1. It's like a macbook pro, but faster, with more ports - for about half the cost. It's the laptop for those of us who prefer performance over looks. Yes, it's heavier and has a shorter reported battery life, but overall it blows away the macbook in performance and cost. They were recently selling for $1,399 on newegg.

      (hint, asus makes all the motherboards for Apple laptops, so don't biatch about build quality)
      • theandy1, on 05/09/2008, -0/+2I love my Asus a7k notebook. It was under 1k when i bought it 6 months ago and I can game on it. Ya maybe it's ugly and heavy, but people don't seem to notice as much when it's opened up with the 17 inch widescreen display.
      • passedoutghost, on 05/09/2008, -0/+0I was thinking of getting it. But that's not for a few years yet. Asus is probably going to release a newer gaming series laptop with the new T9000 processors and better graphics card (I hope). But for now I'm pretty happy with my F3JP. T5600, x1700 & 2 gigs of ram. Runs everything pretty well. HL2 aa and af maxed, COD 4 on medium & RV6 on medium - low.
  • djcreamy, on 05/08/2008, -30/+15Another vote for my Macbook Pro, which is currently running circles around all 10 of those.

    Look at it go, WEEEEEEEEE!
    • GQCarrick, on 05/08/2008, -1/+6Son, don't forget to take your ritalin.
    • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2So you can game on a machbook now? Cause, you know, otherwise it wouldn't be all purpose.
    • mossblaser, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1and at 1.3 grand (uk pounds) that's hardly in the same price band....
  • indiehead, on 05/08/2008, -15/+16or anything with linux, seriously ubuntu 8.04 is such a swiss army knife!
    • KMartSheriff, on 05/08/2008, -9/+6For what? Browsing the internet? Checking email? Running terminal?
      • krisscofield, on 05/08/2008, -5/+13Couldn't figure out Synaptic, could ya'?
        • iRelinquish, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3couldn't figure out terminal and the apt program could ya?
    • ORBAT, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Tried to install it on an old HP NX6110 laptop. For some reason it just crashed before it even got to the installer. Went with SuSE instead, and it works like a charm.
  • nickert0n, on 05/08/2008, -25/+11hahaha No macs, just the way I like it!
    • GnKnight1, on 05/08/2008, -2/+2Ignorance is bliss, I guess.
    • nickert0n, on 05/08/2008, -2/+1Macs are like the scooters there cool to mess around with but Id rather have my Harrier Jet Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04 to soar into the sky and shoot down Tom Cruise in his Scientologist Top Gun F-16 while hes idolizing Val Kilme as ther ICE MAN.
      That is my sole beefs with Macs, no Tom Cruise Destroying Capabilites, you bring that to the table and we will talk.
      • FuckThaMeme, on 05/08/2008, -1/+0That's kind of a homosexual metaphor...

        Where's Freud when you need him
  • VVho, on 05/08/2008, -22/+31Seriously, not including a Mac is crazy - they can take a real beating, they are fast, efficient, secure and you can do _anything_ on them that you can do on thos machines, plus more (they run Windows, remember). Just bad journalism not to inlcude 1 in 10....
    • xenuxenuts, on 05/08/2008, -5/+5how durable are the macbook airs? My wife is going to need a notebook starting this fall and it'll need to last 3 years.
      • PabloMac, on 05/08/2008, -5/+5Get her a MacBook Pro.
        • TheHayze, on 05/08/2008, -2/+6And spend 2+grand on it when a 1grand computer, like a lenovo, which are historically very tough little suckers. I'll put it this way: you can spend 2, 3grand on on a macbook pro, or macbook air and either have a power house, or portability.

          If you're planning on dropping 3 grand on a macbook air with the SSD, get the lenovo thinkpad, or ideapad if you want it to last those 3 years. So far Apple laptops have had terribad return rates. Lenovo has the best, lowest, return rates thus far.

          And just for the record: you can run OSx on a PC, as well as you can run Windows on a Mac. It just takes some creative thinking and getting your hands a little dity working with it.
          • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Yeah...I fell backwards the other day with my laptop backpack on. I weigh 220 pounds and all my weight landed directly onto my toshiba. Not even a scratch on the sucker when I fully expected a cracked screen. That's durability.
          • antdude, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1How did you fall back?
          • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1slipped while walking down some stairs in the rain.
          • xenuxenuts, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1thanks for the reply. Running OSx isn't an issue, neither of us could care less to be honest. The main thing is durability. We've been looking at lenovo's too and are actually leaning that way.
      • mossblaser, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2My macbook is good but it got scratched up prettey quick (the glossy outer shell doesn't last long as being scratch-free) and pieces of the plastic around the keyboard part of the laptop have snapped off leaving two small thin strips missing. 1 year in and that much damage, not bad given what I see most laptops look like after a year but still could be a lot better. I imagine the pro runs rings around it being made out of metal.
        • GreatDrok, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1It doesn't look like the MacBook is as robust as the iBook it replaced. I have used my G4 iBook really hard for four and a half years and it is still in pretty good shape. Nothing snapped off, scuffs on the plastic for sure but basically in much much better condition than any of the PC laptops I have had before it. You're right about the MacBook Pro. I bought one when they first appeared and have used that every day and it still looks like new.
    • EtherGnat, on 05/08/2008, -4/+10I believe you have PC World confused with Mac World.
      • MalkyMalc, on 05/08/2008, -2/+4They stock macs. They've got their own little section and everything.
        • celticchrys, on 05/09/2008, -0/+2How is it that a magazine stocks Macs? I believe you must have the magazine confused with some local store.
    • ultrafez, on 05/08/2008, -2/+3You can run OSX on PCs as well - with enough fiddling. But it does work.
      http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_P ...
      • stewartgorman, on 05/08/2008, -3/+0Yeah, and you can put a Ferrari engine into a Yugo. It's still a nasty little Yugo.
        • Kamujin, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1Man, I wonder how you would feel when you opened the hood of your "ferrari" and found it had the same engine as the "yugo".

          Apple smugness is immune to the fact that both the PowerPC and Apple OS have be tossed in the trash bin of history.

          OS X is a FreeBSD fork so you have nothing to brag about there.

      • zongamin, on 05/09/2008, -2/+2Just buy a mac and be done with it you cheap skate
        • ultrafez, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1So if you wanted to run Windows dual-booting on a real Mac, would I be perfectly allowed to say that you are being a cheapskate too?
    • GruntboyX, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4Macbook pro...yes i would say is durable...but a Macbook; NO. My wife's macbook is warping and the plastic is getting brittle. The thing has sat on a desk the whole time and never been dropped or mishandled and when you close the lid it closes crooked. Not to mention the whole thing feels cheep. The plastic case moves and warps.
    • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2Don't feel to slighted. They didn't include the XPS 1530 either.
      Quite frankly, the 1530 easily beats the macBook Pro IMO.
  • Treoinmypocket, on 05/08/2008, -4/+23pop-up survey spam....argh!

    I closed it immediately - dugg down for spam content.
    • smartazz, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Ever try firefox? I got no such pop up
  • absurdist, on 05/08/2008, -2/+34Almost completely content-free...
  • gdehms, on 05/08/2008, -2/+33So they just listed 10 laptops from 10 big computer companies... and they put them on 10 separate pages.
    • surfacewound, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4No, there were two Sonys and two Lenovos.
    • bobcrotch, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Yeah as opposed to 10 small computer companies on the same page. Because you know, theres a lot of small independent laptop manufactures.
  • slackerxpc, on 05/08/2008, -16/+10Macbook / MBP should have been included. Most of the ones they choose sucked (low battery life, heavy, big... etc)
    • bobcrotch, on 05/08/2008, -2/+5Yeah because the MBP isn't big, heavy and has low battery life.
    • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -3/+2macBook Pro is overpriced and under featured.

      XPS 1530 is much better.
  • Androfire, on 05/08/2008, -10/+24If ya come with Vista, I ain't buying ya.
    • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2I hear you. When I bought my toshiba I made sure to get an XP machine.
    • AngryBacon, on 05/09/2008, -0/+3I bought a Dell with Vista, but I immediately formatted it and installed Kubuntu.
    • passedoutghost, on 05/09/2008, -0/+0I would provided it was Business or Ultimate, then I could just downgrade to XP.
  • krisscofield, on 05/08/2008, -3/+8I'm running Ubuntu on that very HP dv2660e! But buried for ad-revenue crap :|
  • Noodleson, on 05/08/2008, -4/+9not a single asus either :-/
    • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -2/+1maybe check Uranus.
      • passedoutghost, on 05/09/2008, -0/+0huh? Are you suggesting that Asus sucks? Because they certainly don't. You'd be surprised to note that they manufacture parts for mainstream brands like Apple Macbooks. Also they offer fantastic support. I had a DVD super multi drive die on me within the warranty period. Asus replaced the drive within 3 days.
  • dantesfurnose, on 05/08/2008, -17/+6I love my MacBook Air. I've been a Mac owner since 1986 and this is the best one yet. Of course, it hasn't got the optical drive, but I have four other Macs at home, so that's not an issue.
  • danjal, on 05/08/2008, -3/+6while okay.. not really a laptop I have to say I'm totally impressed with my EEE PC, this thing is fantastic for a good all in one
  • Spoomeister, on 05/08/2008, -0/+42PCWorld decided to split this out over 10 pages, to increase ad revenue.
    Perhaps you'd like to skip giving them ad revenue and just see their list, so you can google these things yourself:

    1) Acer Aspire 5920-6954
    2) Lenovo IdeaPad Y510
    3) HP Pavilion dv2660se
    4) Dell Inspiron 1525
    5) Lenovo ThinkPad R61
    6) Fujitsu LifeBook A6120
    7) Toshiba Satellite Pro A210-EZ2201
    8) Sony VAIO VGN-SZ791N
    9) Sony VAIO VGN-FZ180E/B
    10) Toshiba Tecra M9-S5514

    The lower on the list you go, like from about #6 on, the more the comments were "well, battery life sucks, but it's cheap and benchmarked ok".
    • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2This list kind of sucks. The satellite pro is a low end one, and for just 150 bucks more, one can get a slightly upgraded version (more RAM, bigger HD, Longer battery life, and if you buy it from new egg, you can get XP instead of vista).
    • bradleyland, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1An Acer at #1? Are they out of their ***** minds? Acer is a perfect case study for a company that completely ***** up the Vista launch. Every Acer laptop I've worked on since the Vista launch (yes, over a year now) has been a complete pain in the ass. They simply do not work out of the box. They require driver updates, and the Acer website goes down like a leaded balloon. Total and complete frustration every time I encounter them. The only laptops on that list I'd consider owning are the Lenovo, the Fujitsu, and the Dell.
  • PHiZ187, on 05/08/2008, -2/+5I'm glad my Sony SZ was on there. I've been happy with it. You pay a little more of a premium for for Sony, but it's been a reliable machine.
  • mlrigsby, on 05/08/2008, -16/+14Seeing all those ugly notebooks makes me appreciate my MacBook Pro even more.
    • MalkyMalc, on 05/08/2008, -2/+2Mmmmmmm.... silvery
    • mrsteve007, on 05/08/2008, -4/+8Because looks are the most important feature in a laptop?
      • mlrigsby, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3I never said it was the most important. There are plenty of reasons I prefer my MBP. Aesthetics just happens to be one reason.
        • steviesteveo, on 05/08/2008, -1/+0Looks are fairly important in a laptop, I'm not sure many people buy a computer because it's been thoroughly savaged by the ugly stick.

          Performance and so on tends to matter to a smaller group of people, generally economics mean that the manufacturers will not dedicate production time to a computer which can't do at least the basic tasks that the majority need, so you can get by by picking one off the shel without dedicating hours to careful comparison of specs.

          If we're being honest we compare specs because it's kinda fun and we enjoy it or it's our job.
      • designerutah, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Steve, if the ergonomics of a product aren't important, go ahead and drive a Gremlin, or a truck if that's your need. Nothing wrong with it. But don't assume that's true for everyone. Some people prefer a product that's a little more refined, where the user experience was important. It may not be for you, anymore than every car out ther will suit your needs. That doesn't mean that someone like me, who has to work in both Windows and Mac OS X worlds doesn't find the simplicity and elegance (and cost savings/weight compared to buying one of each system) well worth it!
    • FuckThaMeme, on 05/08/2008, -4/+4Take Steve's dick out of your mouth. It's rude to talk when eating.
    • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -2/+2apples look like ikea designed them.
    • passedoutghost, on 05/09/2008, -0/+0Ugly ≠ nonfunctional or crap. I'd prefer a crappier looking laptop with more power underneath the hood than a Macbook pro. Probably cheaper too.Case in point: Asus G1 series. Maybe not the best looking laptop, but faster than your Macbook.
  • wolferz, on 05/08/2008, -4/+6well gee i duno... between the fact that they seem to only list one unit per company, the fact that the laptops being offered aren't even the best options from the companies (just the ones that they are currently running on specials on) (dell inspiron? wtf? dell VOSTRO, comes with half the dell software crap, many more on-the-go features, better button placement and design, and cost's 20% less to get the same features as any given inspiron), and the fact that this reads more like an advertisement than 10-best list... yeah, more of pc-worlds "hey did you know we sold out 10 years ago" bs articles.
    • GnKnight1, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Actually, there were 2 Lenovos, 2 Toshibas, and 2 Sony's. But still, I agree with you.
  • Samtherocker, on 05/08/2008, -17/+11A MacBook Pro is probably the most flexible 'all-purpose' laptop on the market at the minute.
    • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -4/+3XPS 1530 is better actually.
      • Samtherocker, on 05/08/2008, -3/+2I didn't try to proclaim that it is the *best* laptop out there… only that it is one of the most flexible: 802.11n WIFI, Bluetooth, Firewire 400/800 and the ability to run Mac OS X, Windows XP/Vista and Linux all come with the MacBook Pro as standard.

        Enjoy your XPS 1530…
        • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4The only thing that the macBook has in the "flexibility" department is the ability to run OS X. This is everything to some and nothing to others.

          For that 1 feature you lose things like a finger print reader, hdmi port, multimedia buttons, indicator lights, and an full sized express card slot and about $1000 at the high end.
        • edwartica, on 05/08/2008, -2/+1Someone needs to take a mydol!
    • MalkyMalc, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4Very, very true. I love my MBP. But they do cost ££££££/$$$$$$ (delete as appropriate).
  • kr9681, on 05/08/2008, -12/+6PCs are trash anyway

    come to the dark sideeee >_
  • GenericFoster, on 05/08/2008, -9/+6I was hoping to see a Mac on there, but the site is PC World, so what do you expect.
    • GnKnight1, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2But they've mentioned Macs before.
  • pinetree, on 05/08/2008, -0/+22This would have been SO much more useful if they provided a comparison grid with some specs. These are wildly different laptops, ranging from $500 to $2200. Simply slapping together a bunch of photos with such brief descriptions is really not very helpful.
    • josmtx, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Yeah but you would not have to click on these wonderful "Check the price" links that bring you... even more ads!
  • PenguinWrangler, on 05/08/2008, -13/+12My Macbook Pro is two years old now and it still makes most of this list look like Fisher-Price kids toys.
    • zephc, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4But does it have stickers indicating its both Intel Inside *and* designed for Windows Vista or Windows XP? I mean, how are you supposed to really be sure you have a Windows-capable laptop if you don't have the stickers??
    • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -2/+5Thats funny. I always use the "fisher price" analogy to describe the macBook's keyboard and 1 button mouse.

      BTW, the macBook Pro got is high res screen and processor options almost a year after its real competitors.

      It looks awesome, but Apple continues to sell yesterdays technology at tomorrows prices.
  • AtomicTheory, on 05/08/2008, -6/+8For those of you who hate these "ad traps" that make you load a new page of ads to view every single item, heres the list:
    1) Acer Aspire 5920-6954
    2) Lenovo IdeaPad Y510
    3) HP Pavilion dv2660se
    4) Dell Inspiron 1525
    5) Lenovo ThinkPad R61
    6) Fujitsu LifeBook A6120
    7) Toshiba Satellite Pro A210-EZ2201
    8) Sony VAIO VGN-SZ791N
    9) Sony VAIO VGN-FZ180E/B
    10 ) Toshiba Tecra M9-S5514
  • marc54, on 05/08/2008, -0/+10Buried, click, buried, click, buried, click, buried ...
  • stoperror, on 05/08/2008, -11/+6Dugg down for lack of a MacBook/Pro
    • Pittance, on 05/08/2008, -5/+1Dug down for this being a PC WORLD ARTICLE. Thank you, and goodnight.
      • GnKnight1, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3DUGG you down twice for not realizing that Macs have been mentioned in PC World articles before.
        • gdehms, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Doesn't PC just mean personal computer? How would a Mac not constitute as a personal computer?
        • mtekk, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1"Doesn't PC just mean personal computer? How would a Mac not constitute as a personal computer?"

          Haven't seen the "Get a mac" commercials have you?
      • designerutah, on 05/08/2008, -0/+0PC stopped meaning Windows only machines a while back. It's now been braodened to include Unix, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, etc. So the article is a little misleading. All it needed was a "Best all-aroudn Windows laptops" and the it wouldn't be getting so much talkback.
    • Pittance, on 05/08/2008, -3/+1Dug you down, I meant. Not the article.
  • forevernomad, on 05/08/2008, -1/+0I use my old dell l400 for web development and for my sofa surfin', can't play 3d games on it but damn, it's faster than my desktop with five times the specs. It even outclasses my G4 mac at work when I switch to my Ubuntu drive. It's all about craftsmanship. Something sorely missed in most areas of tech now.
  • jakobrowning, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5buried for shameless Vista promotion.
  • woody168, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5seriously, after 3 or 4 pages of this, I was like, wtf is this? definitely a bury for this terrible article.
  • SurrealEstate, on 05/08/2008, -0/+0Can anyone comment on the build quality of the Lenovo Thinkpads vs. the IBM ones? Has the quality slipped at all?

    I've owned a few Thinkpads in the past, and they're amazingly durable machines. I really hope that Lenovo hasn't tried to cut corners.
    • thebrain1288, on 05/08/2008, -0/+0I've had my Lenovo Z61m for over 2 years now and it's been through a beating, but it still runs just as nicely as it did from day one.
  • redwallhp, on 05/08/2008, -4/+3MacBook FTW!
  • invisiblehat, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2I get a pretty substantial discount on Dell products through my job. If you get an Inspiron and reformat the harddrive to remove all the crap before doing anything else, you will have a pretty solid machine. Good sound card too (get the upgrade).
    I have a friend with a MacBook, and when we plug our machines into the same PA, mine sounds WAY better. A much louder and fuller sound. This has actually been a great laptop for DJ'ing and live performance.
  • shanesemler, on 05/08/2008, -4/+310 lame Windows machines. Yawn. And how about having to click through all 10. Weeeeeee!
  • crapmatic, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2The best laptop is the one that doesn't have $100 power supplies, $100 batteries, and $200 hard drives that are impossible to find two years later. I'm damn serious too -- proprietary parts are something I've grown to abhor about laptops.

    I'd also like to see a massive survey done regularly for laptop reliability. I don't want to be picking up a model that is prone to things like video connector problems.
  • cbartlett, on 05/08/2008, -6/+3::diggs up each and every comment about the missing Mac::
  • MillionsLivio, on 05/08/2008, -2/+8People of Digg, nobody gives a ***** if you use, love and/or hate: Mac, Windows, and/or Linux.
  • bumblefoot, on 05/08/2008, -3/+4anyone else concerned that the majority of digg users seem to think pc = windows?

    pc = personal computer, so a windows computer is a pc, a linux computer is a pc and even a mac is a pc -_-
    • joltjake, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2Yes, pc technically stands for "Personal Computer", but it is also an abbreviation for a certain kind of computer, which evolved from IBM's original framework, which usually run windows or linux.
    • designerutah, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1And the industry has since moved beyond that definition typically. Only die-hard Windows fans still insist that "PC" means running Windows.
  • Lebrun, on 05/08/2008, -3/+1Windows? that's soooo 20th century....
  • wannaberockstar, on 05/08/2008, -4/+1In the words of Steve Jobs, all these notebooks "are sh*t!"
  • GruntboyX, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3This article sucked....they just went to a Big Box store and took a bunch of pictures. The Toshiba laptop was complete with display stickers!
  • diggopolous, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1I used to complain that I had no laptop until I met a man who had no lap.
  • iamjames, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1my new laptop is the pictured laptop and the first one on the list :) got it for $400 on ebay with the Geforce 8600M GT. Great laptop for the price! Video at http://youtube.com/watch?v=5AR6wBs_db0
  • CarzorStelatis, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1List articles split into 10 separate pages? What is this, 1995?
  • duffy89, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I got a sony vaio fz series it's amazing =)
    • medosin, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1Me too. I just wish the battery life were better and the touchpad has got issues, but otherwise I love it! it's lightweight, looks sharp, love the cam, and its light!
  • designerutah, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4The Windows v Linux v Mac OS X v everything else debate is several things:

    1. Old
    2. Not Winnable
    3. Waste of Time
    4. Unlikely to Change Anyone
    5. Sure sign that you're at least somewhat close minded.

    None of these machines/platforms is perfect. And different user's have different needs. You may think Macs are overpriced. Fine, don't buy. You may think Window's sucks. Fine, don't buy. But wasting your time trying to put down the system you don't like is a waste of time, and therefore just stupid.
    • Kamujin, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1"Can't we all just get along" argument is several things:

      1. Old
      2. Not Winnable
      3. Waste of Time
      4. Unlikely to Change Anyone
      5. Sure sign that you're at least somewhat close minded.

      See how that works? It almost looks like I said something.
      • slacks, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1How is it close minded?
        • Kamujin, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1Because it refuses to accept that some people do benefit from the exchange of information even if most aren't "converted". It's how human work.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 55 of 55 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.