My First Laptop (1 Viewer)

[your.knee]

So as the title suggests, I'm going to buy a laptop to "assist" in the whole HSC thing. I'm looking for a relatively cheap (<$1350) but well, fairly decent laptop. I've been around a few shops today picking up some specs and stuff but nothing really struck me because I live in an electronically deprived town. I want at least 1GB ram and most of them had that or less. I've also had a look on the Dell website and they seem to have pretty good prices for what I'm looking for.

Basically, I am asking anyone out there to comment on any laptop which you might feel would suit me. Do you have a laptop? If so, what are the specs and how much did it cost? Does anyone have a Dell laptop? Or are there brands to steer away from?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[Excalibur_]

Dells are quite good, but their after sales support can vary quite a bit (from rather crap to bloody extraordinary - guess it depends on who answers your call).

Laptops are generally all overpriced compared to desktops anyway. That said, I do remember seeing some well-spec'ed ASUS laptops at a bargain basement price. I can't vouch for their support though.

Have you considered Macintosh?

 

[your.knee]

Hopefully I won't need to contact any after sales support crew ha.
I'm not getting a Mac because my games are all PC based and well I might accidentally want to install them. Plus, I already have two iMacs at home. /brag

Oh and I also have a query about Vista. Is it any good? I've only fiddled around with it briefly on friends comps but it sorta seems the same as XP. I heard it takes a lot more to run it though. Is Vista better than XP?

Thanks for replying and have a nice day

 

[Excalibur_]

Oh dear, yes.

Dell OMCI pisses me off at work. Supposedly, every single hard drive is about to fail 'because the size has reduced' :O

I'm currently taking the plunge with Vista and haven't found much issues with it so far. That said, I'd stick to my guns and say XP or Linux (as Schreodinger hath said) if you want something solid to work with.

 

[Pace_T]

my laptop came with vista and i think its the best operating system so far. of course if you buy a shit laptop vista will make it go slow but mine goes fast

 

[ZEROtheHERO]

Buy a Vaio! They come in pretty colours. =3

Nahh, i don't know.

 

[your.knee]

Warning: this post does not contain any information relevant to tomorrow's election

Anyway,
what are your thoughts on this lappy, so far its my favourite.

HP Pavilion dv2533TX
Cost = $1249

- Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 (Dual Core 1.66 GHz, Cache 2MB, Bus Speed 533 MHz)
- 1GB (2x512) DDR2 (max 2GB)
- 160GB* Hard Drive, LightScribe Dual Layer DVD RW SuperMulti
- Screen: 14.1" WXGA w/ Brightview
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce Go 8400M with up to 319MB Turbocache Video Memory - with 64MB dedicated graphics
- Comms: Intel PRO wireless 802.11a/b/g; Bluetooth, 10/00 LAN
- Ports, slots: 3xUSB 2.0, 1xFirewire, 5-in-1 card reader, S-Video, EpxressCard/54 slot
- Battery: 6 Cell Lithium Ion**
- Weight: 2.41kg
- Software: Windows Vista Home Premium, Microsoft Works 8.5, Muvee AutoProducer Basic Edition, Roxio Creator Basic, Norton Internet Security (60 day trial), HP QuicklyPlay Direct 3.0
- Other: Built-in 1.3MP webcam, included remote control
I also find it quite sexy.

*Accessible capacity of hard drive may be less due to preinstalled software and or recovery partition
** Battery life is quoted as a max and is dependant on usage and configuration


Post your thoughts. Both positive and negative!

 

[Evilo]

Its probably going to be a cute little laptop..but!

1GB of ram and running on vista? No way! (you will need at least 2++-3gb of ram for vista, or 1gb would be appropiate on XP)
2 USB ports? I'm going crazy and ive got 3 and its making me crazy

I don't know about graphics, but for that sort of price i don't think it will be too crash hot.

At the end of the day, you could always do what i did. Buy XP and upgrade to office 2007 (therefore all the vista files recieved will open correctly).

 

[Excalibur_]

Warning: this post does not contain any information relevant to tomorrow's election

Anyway,
what are your thoughts on this lappy, so far its my favourite.

HP Pavilion dv2533TX
Cost = $1249

- Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 (Dual Core 1.66 GHz, Cache 2MB, Bus Speed 533 MHz)
- 1GB (2x512) DDR2 (max 2GB)
- 160GB* Hard Drive, LightScribe Dual Layer DVD RW SuperMulti
- Screen: 14.1" WXGA w/ Brightview
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce Go 8400M with up to 319MB Turbocache Video Memory - with 64MB dedicated graphics
- Comms: Intel PRO wireless 802.11a/b/g; Bluetooth, 10/00 LAN
- Ports, slots:2xUSB 2.0, 1xFirewire, 5-in-1 card reader, S-Video, EpxressCard/54 slot
- Battery: 6 Cell Lithium Ion**
- Weight: 2.41kg
- Software: Windows Vista Home Premium, Microsoft Works 8.5, Muvee AutoProducer Basic Edition, Roxio Creator Basic, Norton Internet Security (60 day trial), HP QuicklyPlay Direct 3.0
- Other: Built-in 1.3MP webcam, included remote control
I also find it quite sexy.

*Accessible capacity of hard drive may be less due to preinstalled software and or recovery partition
** Battery life is quoted as a max and is dependant on usage and configuration


Post your thoughts. Both positive and negative!

If you like the look of it, and can afford it - go for it!

It's a bit like mobile phones...some see it as a way to express themselves. It's pretty hard to get a bargain without going brand-name which means cost (eg, VAIOs are ridiculously overpriced).

I'm not sure of HP's build quality but their computers look quite nice and aren't too ridiculously overpriced. That model that you've selected is such an example (though, don't expect to play many games on there with the 8400 Go).

I'd take battery life with a grain of salt - they usually quote the MAXIMUM battery life. This means that they turn can it on without any OS, wireless, screen on to minimum etc...real life use will definitely make it worse. For most laptops, expect around 1.5-2 hours of use before recharge.

Vista usually isn't a problem for new computers and it is much more secure (so far) than XP at similar release time. Of course, nothing beats OS X/Linux in that department though - but I reckon Microsoft's given it a fair shot (by copying everyone else).

I'd note again that you won't get a huge deal of performance out of that machine though. It will get you by with simple browsing, word processing etc but don't expect any games...especially on Vista. Consider getting 2GB of RAM.

To Evilo: You won't need anymore than 2GB for any OS really. No-one needs that much RAM bar servers or scientific computers.

But if you want more performance - I'd do a bit more research.

 

[your.knee]

but I reckon Microsoft's given it a fair shot (by copying everyone else).

Good ol' Microsoft!

I wouldn't, because the speed of my PC would make the laptop performance seem shit

Well my PC at the moment is quite crap. I mean its OK, but not good. Plus, I really want a laptop for its portability e.g so I can type agonizing essays in the comfort of my bed. I would use it for word processing and browsing but would it also take music (my iTunes Music folder is only 2.30GB) and a Sims 2 game?
Also, would I be able to uninstall Vista and install XP and how much is it for a ram upgrade to 2GB (approx)?

Thanks for the replies

 

[Evilo]

To run peak, 2GB is what you want for Vista.

mmmmmm actually i looked it up, its 512mb for vista home and 1gb for the rest as the "recommended system requirements". but everyone knows that will be heaps slow! I think 2gb would be fine, but i reckon once you get a few apps going it will be slow as fuk.

My mate has 1.5GB ram and its hell slow (with more than a few programs). I'd want to double that (ideally). but for word processing i might want 2gb.

 

[Pace_T]

fucken relax about the ram you can upgrade it whenever you want, geez
mine runs exactly the same as my cousins laptop which is almost identical in specs (same brand too) but has 2x 1gb ram sticks and mine has 2x 512mb. both in applications and games.
in the near future if you find it slow, you can spend about $40 for each 1gb notebook ram stick and get 2gb in total.
dont let the fact that its only got 1gb of ram have any weight in your decision. just make sure it can support at least 2gb in total (all new laptops nowadays support 2gb) and you might not even have to upgrade at all!
i dont suggest uninstalling vista and installing xp.
firstly, its going to have many complications in terms of getting the right drivers for your hardware. lots of issues and very stressful. secondly, vista is better anyway. only geeks complain about vista in favour of xp. just like how they complain windows is shit and linux (or whatever its called) is better.

 

[sXcGuRl69aU]

i have vista on my laptop and the battery life is absolutely rubbish compared to when it had XP

 

[your.knee]

Thanks for all your replies, I bought the HP one and its great
So far I haven't done much school work on it though hahaha