laptops for dummys (1 Viewer)

[hipsta_jess]

ok, I've done a bit of a search, but everything goes straight over my head..

I want this stuff in ENGLISH people!!

Ok, I may/may not be looking at buying a laptop. Basically, I just want something basic, to do all the typical uni stuff (word, excel, etc), internet surfing, maybe photo editing, nothing much more than that. I want it to be less than 2k (as much less as possible). My only real requirement is that it has a dual layer dvd burner. Oh, and I do NOT want an apple.
What should I get?

EDIT: oh and it will be stationed mainly at home (dial-up internet), and occasionally taken to uni (connected to the wall with a blue cable...I think the uni is on fibre optic)

EDIT 2: oh, and I'll probably download and save a fair few songs on it.

 

[fatmuscle]

minimum specs: (you'll see these when looking for a laptop.)

*Pentium M 1.6GHz
*512MB RAM
*40GB HDD
*your lovely dvd burner
*screen size will be up to you
*Network and Dial-Up sockets should come standard.
*I doubt you'll require firewire
*Windows XP HOME should be sufficient. although PRO is much better (thought i doubt you'll need it)

for basics... www.dell.com.au
check out the inspirons

 

[melsc]

I am thinking of getting one eventually...If u want to connect wirelessly @ home to your home broadband or wireless net when out should u get centrino...or just a router?

 

[fatmuscle]

you need both?
your wireless NIC will be for ur laptop side

and Router for your AP side. (Assuming ur setting up wireless at home)

 

[SashatheMan]

from what u said u need it for, i strongly recommend trying to sacrifice speed for the light wieght. the lighter the better u will feel when taking it to uni. My friend recently bought a laptop and he curses the weight of it everytime he takes it to uni/

 

[hipsta_jess]

Thanks guys!! (I'll give some love when I get back to uni, my home internet connection freaks out whenever I try to rep)

 

[fatmuscle]

freaks out?!?!

 

[hipsta_jess]

Yeah...I'm guessing it just has something to do with being on dial-up...I'll go to the button to give rep, and the page just freezes and I do the control-alt-delete thing, and it comes up 'not responding'

 

[melsc]

you need both?
your wireless NIC will be for ur laptop side

and Router for your AP side. (Assuming ur setting up wireless at home)

Thanks...What about if you connect wirelessly when you are out? I'd mostly connect @ home but does the router have to be different if u are connecting to broadband?

 

[melsc]

Yeah...I'm guessing it just has something to do with being on dial-up...I'll go to the button to give rep, and the page just freezes and I do the control-alt-delete thing, and it comes up 'not responding'

It might be that you are running too many applications at the same time and your ram/cpu cant cope?

 

[hipsta_jess]

hmm thanks guys
I've been doing a bit of online browsing...

*@ sashatheman: you said to get a light one...how heavy do you recommend?
*A dvd combo drive...thats not what I want, is it?
*Is there a noticeable difference between 1.3/1.4/1.5/1.6 GHz (and also 30/40 GB)
*Any brands I should avoid like the plague?

 

[fatmuscle]

melsc - u only need the Wireless card to be connected when outside your own network.
ur router at home is your AP, and can only reach a certain range.

your wifi card will pick up signals from other AP's, but you'll need the configurations to be connected to them.


Hipsta - a dvd combo drive is just a dvd drive/cd burner. You want a DVD+/-RW drive.
Unless if you fully drain your PC, there isn't much noticable difference. Like if you just use it for word processing, emailing, browsing, 1.5/1.6 u won't feel anything.

get the 40Gb

 

[hipsta_jess]

hmm, guys, after a bit of searching, I'm thinking about going for the Optima Centoris...I know it won't be the best machine ever, but I'm thinking it has all I need...what do you guys think of them?

http://www.optima.com.au/product_modelnb.asp?ModelID=49

EDIT: If I get this one, my local Good Guys has it advertised for $1699, with a 1.5 GHz Celeron, 256 mb memory, 60 gb harddrive, DVD +/- burner, 15.4" screen and XP Home

 

[ujuphleg]

You should get a memory upgrade through from 256 to 512 - it shouldn't cost you more than a $100.

 

[iamsickofyear12]

from what u said u need it for, i strongly recommend trying to sacrifice speed for the light wieght. the lighter the better u will feel when taking it to uni. My friend recently bought a laptop and he curses the weight of it everytime he takes it to uni/

That true. If you aren't really looking for something powerful then try to get something thin and light. I have an inspiron 6000, so its pretty heavy but I use it mainly as my home desktop so I just put up with the weight whenever I take it to uni. For me I'd much rather the power at home than having something I could carry to uni more easily.

And you said you don't want an apple. I reckon the powerbooks are alright but I wouldn't consider having one unless I have 80% of the hard drive partitioned and had XP on it which is really too much of a bother and they are pretty expensive aswell.

 

[Adrian.]

hmm, guys, after a bit of searching, I'm thinking about going for the Optima Centoris...I know it won't be the best machine ever, but I'm thinking it has all I need...what do you guys think of them?

http://www.optima.com.au/product_modelnb.asp?ModelID=49

EDIT: If I get this one, my local Good Guys has it advertised for $1699, with a 1.5 GHz Celeron, 256 mb memory, 60 gb harddrive, DVD +/- burner, 15.4" screen and XP Home

I don't seem to be able to open up the link you gave but if it says 'DVD +/- burner' then it's NOT a dual layer burner.

 

[JimmyK]

yea.. all these computers your being provided with links for - as far as i can tell - DONT have Dual Layer burners!!! I actually dont know of any laptops that Ive read about recently that do have a Dual Layer burner in them!!
I know it might be the dark side - but check out an Apple iBook - they are within your price range, the base price being $1 599. You can still get all the programs you need - Word etc, + iPhoto for your video editing - and you can get a SINGLE layer DVD burner in it as well.

 

[hipsta_jess]

Argh, so whats the difference with a +/- burner?

 

[JimmyK]

just different types of media .. some are +R some are -R - dont ask me what the difference is. A +/- burner will support both formats - which is probally what you will want

If your asking about the diff between +/- burners and Dual Layer burners.. +/- burners are SINGLE layer burning (4.7gb of storage on the disc) where Dual layer burners burn dual layer discs and have about 8Gb of storage.

 

[Adrian.]

A +/- burner can burn stuff to two types of DVDs; DVD-R/W and DVD+R/W. Neither of these are dual layer discs. I haven't heard of a laptop with a dual layer burner either (the Apple powerbooks and ibooks don't have a DL burner). If you really need the DL burner you'll either have to wait or get a PC. Maybe someone knows of a notebook with a DL burner though.