I.t. Question (laptop Choice)

BF MKII UTE · 15-08-2005, 08:37 PM

Calling all you IT Guru's, i am currently in the market for a new laptop computer. What should i be looking for in a laptop ? What is a good brand, what isn't etc ? What sort of speed, chips etc ? Any info would be great.
I mainly plan to use it for internet(wireless), word processing, photos, burning music, downloading music, photoshop and presentation work.
Been looking at Dell, Toshiba, Sony, Asus and Acer.

Thanks
Alan

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parawolf · 15-08-2005, 08:41 PM

Apple Powerbook or on a budget, Apple iBook. Rockin' devices, i've got one of each.
One is 3 years old and it is still plenty fast to do _ANYTHING_ apart from playing the latest games, but laptops generally aren't that good at that.

Otherwise, at the top end for a reasonable product I like Acer Ferrari 4000 for top of the line, or an Acer 3610 for a regular laptop.

Sony's are good for bling value, similar to Apple's products.

Dell, stay away.

Toshiba, no longer the quality they had. Perhaps their high end are still good.

Steffo · 15-08-2005, 08:48 PM

Toshiba and HP-Compaq are very good. Acer are OK. Dell was good once, dunno about now. Basically, IMO, anything with an Intel Pentium M (Centrino) processor, over 512MB RAM (at least 768MB), and half decent GFX (at least some kind of mobile Radeon or GeForce card) and you're set.

b2tf · 15-08-2005, 08:49 PM

I will never buy a Compaq PC ever again. Had 2 and they were the biggest pieces of junk ever. Slow to perform, very difficult and expensive to repair and not worth the money i paid for them.

Perana · 15-08-2005, 09:24 PM

Apple are making some nice notebooks nowdays... If your not into gaming which IMO a laptop is no good for anyway Apple would be my pick...

Otherwise HP, Sony, Toshiba and Acer seem to be good.

the_scotsman · 15-08-2005, 09:26 PM

Yea, stay away from Compaq, they aint what they used to be...
Im with Steffo, anything Centrino, at least 512MB RAM, and a decent graphics card (ATI or nVidia).
Dell prices are very good, and customer support is great too.
Acer are good, Asus not bad either...a lot of it may come down to which ones look and feel good...thats what I look for, since they are all similar feature wise.
Just dont go buying from big stores like Harvey Norman, they are an absolute rip-off for laptops...eBay has so many good deals its not funny...

Casper · 15-08-2005, 09:27 PM

I have an Acer Travelmate 8000... cant fault it myself. Excellent little unit.

parawolf · 15-08-2005, 09:28 PM

Next best part about Apple laptops, no viruses, no malware, no spyware. I haven't reloaded the OS in 2 years... yet my work laptop I picked up in March, 3 times Win XP has had to be installed because some application killed something else, which in turn killed Windows.

For portable computing, I reckon Apple can't be beat.

AUII_Forte · 15-08-2005, 09:42 PM

I am using a Compaq Presario 2200 at the moment. Haven't had any problems with it at all, seems to be doing a great job for what we paid for it ($1270). Performance wise, it seems pretty good for just about anything except high end games. I also have a Compaq Presario SR1030AN desktop that powers through anything the laptop can't handle, haven't had any trouble with it either.

The only thing that I don't like about the laptop is that it gets extremely hot on your legs after a while. Don't know whether this is typical of all laptops or just this model.

Perana · 15-08-2005, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AUII_Forte

The only thing that I don't like about the laptop is that it gets extremely hot on your legs after a while. Don't know whether this is typical of all laptops or just this model.

That is fairly typical of all Laptops.. Pentium 4's seem to be the worst but My Pentium M (Centrino) would get quite warm still though..

AUII_Forte · 15-08-2005, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perana XR8

That is fairly typical of all Laptops.. Pentium 4's seem to be the worst but My Pentium M (Centrino) would get quite warm still though..

This is only a Celeron 1.5Ghz. It actually burns exposed flesh!! lol.

BlueRaven · 15-08-2005, 09:53 PM

Few pointers..

Acer has quality issues... so I'd avoid at all costs (Every single Acer product i've known first hand has had issues)

IBMs might be a little harder to get hold of, but i've never seen any laptop as strong.

Something that may seem a little strange, but MAKE SURE YOU GET A 3 YEAR WARRANTY!

It may save you a LOT of money.

johnydep · 15-08-2005, 11:27 PM

I've had two toshiba's now and both have been fantastic, never crashed & I've even done some video editing on my this one (18 months old now), but the keys feel a little loose now and three of the arrow keys have fallen off, this is due to my 8 year old playing games.
I like the sony Vaio.
My next laptop may be an Apple.

Almost forgot;
512MB ram is the minimum these days, the more the merrier.
A seperate graphics card is better than 'shared graphics'.
Get DVD writer with it.
Check out the screen before buying, you want large, bright & clear.
Battery life, how long & what type?

Franky · 15-08-2005, 11:52 PM

I own an LG LS50 atm and it's a very nice machine and does the job very well. I use it for all the reasons you meantioned and it does them with ease. For what you want a centrino is the way to go and 1.6ghz should be the minimum.

parawolf, don't know what you have against Dell but their notebooks are very well built and usually come with a great dell. Compaq and good will never be heard in the same sentence.

The most important thing is that the laptop is slim and well built (not flimsy and fragile) Make sure you get a burner because if you want one later they are generally dearer and harder to find (ebay!) :1syellow1

Steve_T · 16-08-2005, 12:12 AM

I agree with parawolf re. the Apple notebooks. I have an older G3 500 dual usb iBook 12" - I got it second hand and a bit beat up and knocked around but have never had a prob with it. I haven't rebooted in many months or even logged out (I just shut it and let it sleep). I have a mate with another iBook and three mates with 12" Powerbooks. They all love 'em (and they are ex windows users). The latest iBooks are very cheap and the latest versions have great specs. Check www.apple.com.au for details/pricing. If you want a DVD burner you'd have to get 14" iBook or any size Powerbook but if you just want CD burner and don't need a huge screen then the 12" models can't be beat for portability and screen is more than adequete for pretty much anything IMHO. 12" iBook is great value and the latest versions of OS X a very impressive - it has now become my equal favourite OS with Linux.

Steve.

DOC · 16-08-2005, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casper

I have an Acer Travelmate 8000... cant fault it myself. Excellent little unit.

As above top unit. also have 2 compaq laptops as well and they have all stood the test of time ( all models are ( or were when new top line )) so may be a reason why they have stood up.

Also Have a what was supposed to be top line toshiba laptop that would make a good sinker when i next go out fishing, unreliable and destined for the bin.

jmc-007 · 16-08-2005, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parawolf

Toshiba, no longer the quality they had. Perhaps their high end are still good.

I just brought a High End Toshiba Laptop and I am not happy one bit with it.

Its spent the last Month and 2 days in repairs.

Died 1 day after the DOA period.

New Motherboard
New CPU
New Ram
New Wireless Card
New HDD

IMO if you can get a HP or Compaq with Business Next day replacement or Repair

Dont bother with the other stuff. IMO dell isnt too bad but the Tech Support / RMA department sucks

parawolf · 16-08-2005, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devil Racer

parawolf, don't know what you have against Dell but their notebooks are very well built and usually come with a great deal. Compaq and good will never be heard in the same sentence.

Dell are useless. On this work Dell laptop i've had the motherboard replaced twice, hard disk twice, screen once and keyboard/trackpad combo once. And that is in a 4 month period. Based on that experience these are crap. I've had Apple iBook's and Powerbooks for the past 4 years (started with a G3 500MHz and now have a PB G4 800MHz and a iBook G4 1.2Ghz) and both have never had a fault and they get used daily. The dell basically sits on my desk all day and gets used there. Whereas the Apple products get carted with me interstate and overseas for a travelling laptop because I just don't want to get caught out with a laptop that could break down when I can least afford it.

Also this Dell has ongoing issues which Dell just cannot fix even though they can replicate it. On this experience i'd never suggest someone buy one.

My previous employment gave out Toshiba TE2100's to everyone, however they were worse than this Dell. It had fundamental design flaws which means the screen just kept on playing up. There was no work around - no offer to extend the warranty - just once they were out of warranty that was it.

I've seen 100's (literally) of people at my previous place of work across many countries buy Acer Ferrari's (3400 model at the time) and if I was going to buy a PC i'd probably buy one of those (but the newer 4000 model). Acer have a reputably good after sales service in Melbourne (can be 2 hour turn around for a complete refreshed unit if they cannot fix it).

Pilch · 16-08-2005, 10:17 AM

I've just got hold of a Toshiba notebook, and it seems pretty solid in all areas including gaming. But than i've only had it for 4 days so time will tell....

I'd argee that 512mb ram is important, and a Centrino processor is also a good idea. Really comes down to your budget and requirements.... you could probably get adequate performance for your requirements out of a $1k notebook.

Quasi · 16-08-2005, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by back2thefutura

I will never buy a Compaq PC ever again. Had 2 and they were the biggest pieces of junk ever. Slow to perform, very difficult and expensive to repair and not worth the money i paid for them.

The first thing you should do with a new Compaq package is format the hard drive. The problem with them is software related, because they are imaged with a crapload of advertising rubbish. When I had my shop I proved it to someone, by ghosting a customers Compaq, (from Retravision) and building it off a 'Normal' Windows XP Home CD.

The thing ran like a dream, with Office XP, Nortons Anti Virus, and a few other bits and pieces.

We then reimaged it with the Compaq stuff and it was a D-O-G!