help me pick a laptop! (1 Viewer)

[Espo15]

ok so i am moving out of home soon, and need to purchase a laptop. i have really no idea as to what specific things i should and shouldnt be looking for so if you IT heads could help me out it would be appreciated!

looking at spending around $1500, but i will go more expensive if its what i need. i will be primarily using it at my desk, so portability, weight and all that isn't a huge issue, but i will be using it as my primary computer so it should be able to handle playing/downloading/storing music and video, uni work, as well as just general internet use. im not a gamer or anything so i dont need 3d super duper graphics chips and stuff (i think, unless you need all that stuff for playing video?). but yeah, i basically want something that is pretty capable and isn't going to fuck me around and get really slow and glitchy. massive screen size isn't a huge priority but it would be nice i guess haha. also probably not a mac.

people have been reccommending dell alot, but as i said i have no idea. looking for specific models and stuff so yeah, anything you guys have to offer would be appreciated.

 

[mr_brightside]

If portability isnt an issue, why not get a desktop? More computer for less money.

I personally wouldnt buy a dell. Sure they are a tad cheaper and "customizable" but I hear technical support is horrid. Oh yes, and not to mention the exploding batteries saga.

I would go a HP. I work with them everyday and find them to be pretty good machines. HP tech support is fantastic IMO.

 

[Espo15]

hey thanks dan, desktop is definitely an option, not entirely sure why i didnt think of that. i mean, i would prefer a laptop cause i'd like the option of mobility, it would be handy to be able to take it to uni, work or anywhere else if i needed to, but it's not an absolute necessity.

so er, reccommend me a laptop preferrably, but a desktop if you think thats better too!

 

[woodwardbrett]

see this thread http://community.boredofstudies.org/123/central/120397/purchasing-laptop.html

 

[alby]

if you only want to take it to out of the house occasionally, just get a desktop & a thumbdrive

 

[mr_brightside]

You could get both

A cheaper, slightly older laptop for uni/work and a better more osum desktop for home.

 

[Espo15]

stop complicating things daniel.

everyone raves to me about ibooks, are they really that great? and how hard is getting used to the mac os? ive been a pc user all my life, and the thought of jumping on to a new and foreign os is pretty daunting

 

[pete_mate]

i do this day in and day out as a computer salesperson at work, but its a lot harder on the net. laptops are as much about the specs as the look and feel of them.

whathisface above is right in saying a desktop would be better for performance etc. but then you couldnt play with msn while your on the couch wirelessly or whatever = chained to desk. +more deskroom.

unless you create music eg. cubase, do lots of video editing, or gaming. kindof not that important how fast the thing is.

a core duo processor with 1gb of ram would be nice but. dont get a core 2 duo, they're like 8% better, = fuckall, than the core duo's which are hella-cheap right now cos they're being replaced.

therefore for lsame money you can afford a much higher clocked core 1 duo (eg. 2ghz) than core 2 duo = better performance

bang. done. just dont get an acer

just go into a store and look, preferably my one - jb hifi warringah

 

[mr_brightside]

blah, im still skeptical about wireless quality. besides, he's moving out of home. he's not going to have a connection fast enough to support wireless, and I doubt he could be bothered spending xxx on a wireless router.

Espo, being a pc user, mac is shit at first.
But after awhile you get into the hang of things, they really arent that bad. You can get most things you would need and want on a pc like office, msn, firefox. It is an awesome looking interface. And the more recent pentium mac's do have the ability to run XP, so you could have both OS on there if need be.

 

[pete_mate]

blah, im still skeptical about wireless quality. besides, he's moving out of home. he's not going to have a connection fast enough to support wireless, and I doubt he could be bothered spending xxx on a wireless router.

Espo, being a pc user, mac is shit at first.
But after awhile you get into the hang of things, they really arent that bad. You can get most things you would need and want on a pc like office, msn, firefox. It is an awesome looking interface. And the more recent pentium mac's do have the ability to run XP, so you could have both OS on there if need be.

wireless quality? i dont get idiots that fork out double the price for a 108mbps router when the 54mbps works fine, it has a range of like 50 metres, which is like 2 neighbours down.

furthermore, most adsl connections have a maximum capacity of 8mbps, usually less. thats like 800kb/s or whatever. for internet browsing you could be agetting an awful connection rate, 1mbps (ie. the rate which i get when stealing unprotected wireless networks across the street) and still download and browse without any noticeable speed differance.

but if you mean dialup internet, then yeah, thats a bitch to setup.

you're right about the macs they are very well-made (hardware and software), but hed want a macbook 2.0ghz, cos of the dvd burner, and that's like $1850 with discount.

 

[mr_brightside]

I still think its prone to bad reception, interence and lots of issues. I wouldn't go wireless without testing the area in which I would be using it. I used to get lots of dropouts and SLOW SLOW speeds when I was using a wireless card. So im not bothering with it at the moment.

 

[Collin]

If you want a laptop, I'd recommend Dell. You could get a pretty souped up Inspiron 6400 for $1,500. Specs should be around: Core 2 Duo T7200+, 1GB DDR2, 80GB HD+, 15.4 WXGA+.

If you're willing to get a desktop (especially one you're willing to build yourself), then expect an even better deal.

 

[jemsta]

haha collin loves his dell

 

[Collin]

I think they're great. I've owned Dell monitors and laptops and I've never ran into any trouble with them. Issues with their customer service, I won't comment on since that won't surprise me with their sometimes questionable build quality and cost-cutting business methods. For laptops I always go Dell because of their customisation options and extremely competitive pricing. I believe if you treat your Dell laptop well, it can go miles and miles. My current Dell Inspiron 6000 (10 months old) has been a fantastic piece of hardware. I especially love the 15.4" WSXGA+ resolution LCD - which I've found difficult to obtain on models of other brands, regardless of price.

They've ran into exploding battery issues as of late, but I think that's seriously the most overhyped crock of shit. Most people don't know that since Dell have announced their recall, Apple, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu and Hitachi have also announced recalls. The issue is certain Sony-manufactured batteries. Dell got it because they were the unlucky ones which had the incident photographed (and unleashed on the popular tech site INQ), arguably for the first time ever.

 

[pete_mate]

I think they're great. I've owned Dell monitors and laptops and I've never ran into any trouble with them. Issues with their customer service, I won't comment on since that won't surprise me with their sometimes questionable build quality and cost-cutting business methods. For laptops I always go Dell because of their customisation options and extremely competitive pricing. I believe if you treat your Dell laptop well, it can go miles and miles. My current Dell Inspiron 6000 (10 months old) has been a fantastic piece of hardware. I especially love the 15.4" WSXGA+ resolution LCD - which I've found difficult to obtain on models of other brands, regardless of price.

They've ran into exploding battery issues as of late, but I think that's seriously the most overhyped crock of shit. Most people don't know that since Dell have announced their recall, Apple, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu and Hitachi have also announced recalls. The issue is certain Sony-manufactured batteries. Dell got it because they were the unlucky ones which had the incident photographed (and unleashed on the popular tech site INQ), arguably for the first time ever.

i question the build quality of them, and their relative chunky-ness compared to toshiba, hp and compaq's, aswell as appearance. fan loudness? reliability, weight?

people think that laptops are all about the specs.

 

[mr_brightside]

Yeah. I would agree with Dan. Mac is teh awesome.
I wish I had a mac

 

[Collin]

i question the build quality of them, and their relative chunky-ness compared to toshiba, hp and compaq's, aswell as appearance. fan loudness? reliability, weight?

people think that laptops are all about the specs.

I definitely go for the specs when it comes to PCs. Why? Because that's where my money's going into and it's the biggest contributor to my satisfaction and productivity.

Like I already said, I also question the build quality of them.. however if treated right I don't think they'd give you any problems. They've never given me any problems.

Reliability.. well that's a mixed bag according to who you talk to.. but it seems more people complain about Dell's customer service more than their laptop's reliability. In other words, I doubt theres much to worry about in terms of it calling it the quits (compared to many other companies), but if it does die.. good luck with the Indians.

Chunkiness - it's slightly thicker, that's it. I think this should be a negligible factor in purchase compared to the savings you get (specs vs. price).

Fan loudness - average compared to machines of other brands.

Weight - average or slightly higher than models of other brands. My 15.4"w is 2.8kg, average for this size. I know the Inspiron 640M can be around 2.4kg (depends on specs), which is average for 14.1"w notebooks.

Looks - Seriously I could not give a flying fuck about looks. I use a laptop for work and productivity, not something to stare at. I'll admit that the new HP chassis looks very sexy, much more sexy compared to the current Inspiron bodies (infact I think the laptops from most brands look sexier and better build than Dell).. but am I gonna spend hundreds of extra dollars more to get a laptop with better looks? That would be like someone buying an iPOD because it looks fashionable rather than for it's DAP features and benefits.

So if other companies can offer similar specs at similar prices for PC notebooks, I'd consider them for sure. I'm simply a buyer searching for best bang/buck. If not, I'll keep buying Dell.

My next purchase will probably be a MacBook. I'm keen to explore Mac OSX.

 

[withoutaface]

http://www.surpass.com.au/content/standard.asp?name=Mitac_0004

According to a review on OCAU it's actually half decent, but I'm still suspicious of those specs for $2000...

 

[HotShot]

ASUS LAMBORGHINI Intel Core™ Dual 2.0Ghz Notebook (YELLOW)
$3,588.00 Inc GST

- now if you were rich, filthy rich - then definetly get the lamborghini notebook.

 

[mr_brightside]

ASUS LAMBORGHINI Intel Core™ Dual 2.0Ghz Notebook (YELLOW)
$3,588.00 Inc GST

- now if you were rich, filthy rich - then definetly get the lamborghini notebook.

.....yeah then you would definetly be a yuppie wanker (y)