1. Hammer 2

    Hammer 2 Bobtail Member

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    Mar 16, 2010
    Middletown, OH
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    What is a good laptop to buy for use in a semi? As a team driver, I'd like to have one to email folks back home and watch tv/dvd movies. I'm concerned about vibration and shock, mainly.
     
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  3. truckerdaddy24

    truckerdaddy24 Road Train Member

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    Jan 24, 2010
    Avondale Az.
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    Hammer 2 I have heard on here that if you get a Laptop not to get a "Note Pad" They are the smaller ones and are a bit hard to see, I'm not sure if the person is speaking of seeing it when trying to drive or what? But I would not recommend it.
     
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  4. BIG RIGGER

    BIG RIGGER Road Train Member

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    Feb 25, 2010
    Fargo,ND.
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    I have had 4 different Toshibas.All them have been in trucks without problems.I never use them unless I was parked.I like the Toshiba brand because they run at a cool tempature and they have superior speakers.I currently have two having a back up works for me.
     
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  5. 25(2)+2

    25(2)+2 Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    the road less travelled
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    Whatever you end up getting, be sure not to leave it running with airflow obstructed, even a cool running Toshiba can fail.Those laptop stands have more to recommend them than just convenience, Don't set it up to use when driving, though.

    Don't run it on a fiber pad, carpet pad, or on the bunk.

    That being said, I prefer the business class computer of any make over the consumer grade, they tend to be more durable.

    I've had good luck with my Lenovo Thinkpad, the one I have has IBM on the cover.

    You can buy used machines for less, even a Panasonic Toughbook can be affordable if bought used.
     
  6. Hammer 2

    Hammer 2 Bobtail Member

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    Mar 16, 2010
    Middletown, OH
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    Thanks to you all for your input. I've been looking at the "rugged" laptops--whew! 3-4 grand is a bit steep for my budget. I was wanting one to install in the bunk for tv watching, removeable for bringing in the truck stop. I agree that using one while driving is very dangerous, at best--we won't be doing that! Maybe I could find a refurbished one that wouldn't cost so much. Aaahhhh technology!
     
  7. Broken Spoke

    Broken Spoke Medium Load Member

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    Mar 22, 2010
    Tucson Arizona
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    Less moving parts in a laptop is a good thing! My laptop hard drives are SSD they are loads faster in performance then a regular hard drive and because there are no moving parts vibration doesn't affect them. These SSD hard drives can be installed in any laptop and fit in the standard hard drive bay with ease!
     
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  8. BIG RIGGER

    BIG RIGGER Road Train Member

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    You can get a lot of computer right now for less than 400 bucks at Best Buy back to school sales and they all come with a one year warranty.
     
    bornagaintrucker Thanks this.
  9. 25(2)+2

    25(2)+2 Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

    18,750
    45,501
    Sep 18, 2006
    the road less travelled
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    You can get one with TV tuner installed, but you will have to look around for that.
     
  10. MrMustard

    MrMustard Road Train Member

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    Dayton, Ohio
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    You have to get the business models if you want rugged and inexpensive. That means in Toshiba, you want the Tecra, not the Satellite.In Dell's lineup, you want the Latitude. The business models are more durable and can hold up better to the abuses of traveling. Trust me, if you hold a Dell Inspiron in your hand then pick up a Latitude, you can feel the difference. They cost about the same, the only trade off is you aren't going to get the cutting edge hardware and software, but for most of us drivers, it's more than adequate. I'm on my third laptop in ten years. The first one I had was a Toshiba Tecra, the second a Dell Latitude. Those two laptops I bought used off of Ebay, and sold both of them on Ebay and got every penny of my money back after using them for a couple years. The third is a Latitude that I bought new 2 years ago, and it still runs like it did when it was new. Another advantage to these two models is parts are cheap if they ever break down. I replaced the LCD on the used Dell I had, it had some funky lines in it when I bought it, it only cost me $60. They are real easy to work on yourself too. The Dell breaks down like an M16 once you know how to take it apart.

    Toshiba:

    http://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/tecra


    Dell:

    http://www.dell.com/us/en/business/notebooks/latitude/ct.aspx?refid=latit&s=bsd&cs=04
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2010
  11. kajidono

    kajidono Road Train Member

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    I've had two HP laptops riding around with me, one for a couple years with no problems. I don't have ssd drives but I set the drives to shut off after a minute so it has the same effect. As long as you have enough ram, 2gb or so, it will load whatever you leave running into memory and leave the hdd off while you drive around. If you listen to mp3's just load them onto an external drive so it reads that instead of turning on the main drive.
     
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