Choosing a laptop. (1 Viewer)

Midzata®

Senior Member
Jan 26, 2007
1,152
#1
Hi, haven't write lately but I just can't find time.

I'm in US now, and I have problem selecting a laptop. Caz I work in Vermot, fu*king place doesn't have stores, peoples, fun or good food. Everything's plastic... A! Back on topic.

I am looking for an adivce what kind of laptop should I buy. Dell, Compaq, Toshiba... My sights are on Sony Vaio thou. Should I chose Intel or AMD. If someone had expirienced & compared both processors, can he tell me whichone is better?!?

I haven't read some computer magazinelately but I've heard that Core Duo is superior compared to FX-62. I have an issue about the processor & the RAM. Should I buy FIRST 2GB RAM, than to spend the rest of the money on what high as possible processor, or should look for more GHz first, than to take 1Gb... I think with 2GB RAM would work better.

I don't intend to play PC games on this thing, I more need it for programing, so I'll need procesing power as a priority, to have good display, long batery, and not to be heavy, I need bluetooth also...

Write your oppinions... Don't go off topic caz I will need more time to read comments

Best Regards, Thanks
 

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V

Senior Member
Jun 8, 2005
20,110
#4
  • V

    V

Acer, good value for the money. If you have the money go for a Vaio or some nifty Toshiba.
 

Cronios

Juventolog
Jun 7, 2004
27,412
#5
I recently had to buy a laptop for my girlfriend and i may help:
Dell has superior quality, it will definitly last for years, but they are too expensive.
Sony vaio are very very good too, the best notebooks around and the best performance/size ratio, most of them are good enough for games too, not only applications/programs.
I would recommend intel duo core processors, they are very powerful and with reduced consume.
It all depends on the money you have available and then you have to set your priorities.
Ram is very important but you can easily add more later, so i would recommend to buy the best CPU you can find now because you wont be able to upgrade later.
Another important issue for laptops is their limited HDD.
Have you decided what do you prefer mobility or performance?
Display dimensions is also a crucial factor here,
if you want to enjoy films and games you need a high contrast 17'' display,
if you prefer compact size and small weight you have to go with 15",
set your priorities...
Acer, turbo x and Fujitsu siemens are decent choices for the mid range and offer very good value for money.
For my gf, i have found an Acer 1 GB RAM, 160 HDD, 15.4'' WXGA TFT LCD, CrystalBrite display, bluetooth, web cam, wireless lan and a 6 cell li on battery,
it has vista home premium pre-installed though, a resource consumer but it copes pretty well. My gf prefered reduced dimensions, reduced price, 650 euro max, you can find much better prices in US for sure. This is not a laptop for games but it can handle any office application with ease while working 4-5 other programs in the same time
 

Boudz

Mercato Tourist
Aug 1, 2002
2,608
#6
Dell too expensive??? They're the cheapest, the have the best promotions.

Dell Cheap, good quality, not too good looking
Sony look good, price a bit above average, good quality.
HP Good price, very good quality, look elegant in a very simple way.

I believe these 3 are the best, now AMD vs Intel:
A few years ago the price difference was significant. AMD is still cheaper and if I had a choice I would go AMD, but in Lebanon they're not familiar with AMD and so I went with Intel. Got a HP 1.83 duo core, 100GB 1GB ram, 15 inch. It's looks elegant, could use some more options.

Make sure you have the basic things like a good graphics card and not the Intel made ones, go for Nvidea.
Most new laptops come with built-in webcam, s-video, bluetooth, WIFI, so make sure it has those things.
Whatever you do, pay extra for the extended warranty, it's worth it, cos prices of parts are veryyyyy expensive to replace.

and ya the link Chxta gave is excellent and will answer what questions you have.
 

V

Senior Member
Jun 8, 2005
20,110
#8
  • V

    V

Whatever you do, pay extra for the extended warranty, it's worth it, cos prices of parts are veryyyyy expensive to replace.
That was my line of thought when I bought my new laptop. Then I found out something interesting about the extended warranty...It's usually 2 extra years on top of the usual 1 year warranty, making it in total 3 years of warranty. Now chances of a HD, CPU, RAM, Display, etc. failure in the first 3 years are VERY minimal. The only thing that has a big possibility of dying in the first 3 years is the battery and, I bet you didn't know this, that's not included in the extended warranty. Point is, if any of the components are "damaged" it will fail in the first year, first month even, if it doesn't chances are it's not gonna show in the next 2 years as well. The battery is the most replaceable part in any laptop and they cost very much as well.

So think twice about the extended warranty, or read through it very carefully.
 

Boudz

Mercato Tourist
Aug 1, 2002
2,608
#9
. The only thing that has a big possibility of dying in the first 3 years is the battery and, I bet you didn't know this, that's not included in the extended warranty.
Actually, I have a 3 year warranty on my laptop, and the first year has a warranty for the battery and charger. The first year will end at the end of this month.
 

V

Senior Member
Jun 8, 2005
20,110
#11
  • V

    V

Actually, I have a 3 year warranty on my laptop, and the first year has a warranty for the battery and charger. The first year will end at the end of this month.
Same case here, in the first year yes, in the extended warranty, no.
 

JCK

Biased
JCK
May 11, 2004
123,562
#13
I am convinced that the best value for money one can get is an Acer. If one wants more sophisticated then go for something else. But Acers are really good.
 

Henry

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2003
5,517
#14
dell has good promos, often $300 plus on laptops above a certain price.
as for processors, the current intel offerings are FAR better than what AMD has. C2Ds are really excellent, although the price difference gets greater and greater as you get more and more powerful chips, although the prices go up sharply as you approach the top of the line. and of course RAM is extremely important. what operating system do you intend to use?
 

Geof

Senior Member
May 14, 2004
6,740
#16
I bought an Acer (TravelMate 4000) three years ago and it's still very good. Never had any problems with it.

The onyl downside is the crappy sound that comes out of the speakers, but as long as I use headphones/ external speakers, i'm happy.
 

JCK

Biased
JCK
May 11, 2004
123,562
#18
I bought an Acer (TravelMate 4000) three years ago and it's still very good. Never had any problems with it.

The onyl downside is the crappy sound that comes out of the speakers, but as long as I use headphones/ external speakers, i'm happy.
I don't know why Toshiba uses Herman Kardon and HP uses Altec Lansing. Fancy speakers on laptops is useless, who uses laptop speakers anyway?
 

Snoop

Sabet is a nasty virgin
Oct 2, 2001
28,186
#19
Never buy a Toshiba or HP specially the second. sure Sony Vaio is the best, but my Dell is doing great so far.
 

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