Purchasing A Laptop - Your Suggestions

Hi,
I am finally getting around to getting myself a laptop (the one that my friend gave me has finally bitten the dust! ) Anyway, I think I found one that isn't too bad and was hoping that everyone would be able to give some suggestions about what I'm looking at.


So all I'm asking for is just what you think of it, is it going to last me for a while, is it actually worth the $1,200 price tag, is there things that I could do without?
Thanks heaps,
-jimmy

 

 

 

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Those are decent specs as those offered here. I just came back from our PC fair here. The cheapest around here is RM1999, about $571, which is celeron processor. The one with similar spec, but 160GB hdd and ATI X300 VGA, it's RM2699, about $771.

Since most laptops nowadays are quite similar in specs, only 2 things you need to really look into. 1, processor. Core Duo is basically the mobile version of P4 Duo Core. Where as Core 2 Duo is the new Conroe series, which is the successor of Centrino's Pentium Mobile. It's diff from P4, and it's much much more efficient and faster. If you're looking into long term usage and performance, i would recommend getting a Core 2 Duo. Which is of cause slightly more expensive. You can trade that off with a slightly slower graphic chipset. Having a Geforce will shorten your battery life as well.

The second thing is battery. Some laptop only comes with 3 cells battery, which will last you 2 to 3 hours. Estimated Battery Life is not always right, as it calculated upon perfect condition and minimal usage. Ask for the number of cells, recommended one are 4 to 6 cells. Extended one are 8 to 9 cells. With 6 cells and Core 2 Duo, you can achieve 4 hours of battery life. Core Duo will be shorter.

Looks like your system is from Toshiba. Toshiba built good laptop, but they're also pricier. They're targeting medium to high end market. If you go for HP, Dell, Lenovo(IBM) and Acer they would be cheaper for the same specs, due to the better market penetration, which in turn give them a bigger production quantity, and so lower the cost of each unit. They're also the top few laptop manufacturer, and the coverage of their service center is also wider.

If you can get one with XP is also better, since Vista is still quite new, getting your existing application over to Vista, will also cost you some upgrade fees, as some older version software are not compatible with Vista. Further more, Vista is still quite slow for the current specs of laptop. Unless of cause you've been using Vista for your everyday works.

Another thing you might want to look into is the weight. 15" seems to be a bit heavier to lug around. 14" is more common, so the price is also cheaper. 12" is light to carry around. Also, if you can afford the 3 years extended warranty, get it. It's worth it. I've seen a lot of laptop die after 1 or 2 years.

I have a 12" twinhead, centrino, have been serving me for more than 4 years. Since i'm an electronic engineer, so I used to open it up and service it once in a while, that's what have been keeping it alive for so long.

 

 

 

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Thanks for your input! I have found another laptop, similar specs but with the core 2 duo. A little more expensive though! But for now, ill keep looking! Thanks again,
-jimmy

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You might want to stay back from Toshiba. In my experience, they are the ones that I have to fix the most, among my friends. Some just dies outright. Same with Dell and some Acers.

The specifications looks nice, but I bet this machine costs more than a USD$1000.

I recommend HP or Acer and I highly recommend Apple.

xboxrulz

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xboxrulz - that is AUD$1000, but actually AUD$1,274. And thanks, I'll have a look at some HP and Acer laptops. I was thinking about Apple, but there isn't that often that I would use the Mac, I more need windows for my development environment, but i'll still have a look - there just really expensive!

What do you think of Dell, cause I was looking at 'building-my-own' from their website? Is it a good brand, cause if it is I can get exactly what I want in the laptop.

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it seems like a decent laptop.

xboxrulz, i have an acer, im on my 3rd harddrive, second graphics card, second sound card and some other things i forgot.
i dont recommend acer at all.

jimmy, im considering buying a make your own dell, they seem alright, although i got it to $10,000 (AUS)

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I didn't notice you're from australia. So you might want to recalculate the price I mentioned earlier. I was referring to USD.

Dell seems good. I have a few friends using it, so far so good. But I would still prefer HP.

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oh jimmy ur from australia!

what kind of laptop is it? i might get one! i see its toshiba, i was considering getting a toshiba a200 or p200 maybe.
it was in the last diick (:l lol wot a bad name to call a shop) smiths or harvey norman catalogue i think.

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Dell is pretty ok. It does break down quite a lot.




True, aside from Toshiba, and Dell. Acer is the 2nd most broken laptops.

TOSHIBA - 1 CRIT, 2 MAJR, 1 MINR
DELL - 3 CRIT, 1 MAJR, 5 MINR
ACER - 2 CRIT, 1 MAJR, 0 MINR
APPLE - 0 CRIT, 0 MAJR, 1 MINR
HP - 0 CRIT, 0 MAJR, 0 MINR
SAMSUNG - 0 CRIT, 1 MAJR, 0 MINR
MDG - 0 CRIT, 0 MAJR, 0 MINR
LENOVO - 0 CRIT, 0 MAJR, 2 MINR

CRIT - Hardware faults
MAJR - Operating System faults, reinstall required
MINR - Just settings needs to be changed to work.

That's the history for laptop repairs. However, the approx. percentages of laptops I touched are (from 2006-2007 school year for those with laptops):

TOSHIBA - 2% of the student population
DELL - 50% of the student population
ACER - 10% of the student population
APPLE - 30% of the student population
HP - 3% of the student population
MDG - 1% of the student population
LENOVO 4% of the student population

I have yet to repair an HP or MDG machine.

xboxrulz

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I would say that Toshiba is a risky choice for a brand. I know several people, including my girlfriend, who have had trouble with Toshiba laptops. In her case, the optical drive, which had a dvd burner, stopped working, and there was no fix for it. I'm not sure if it's worth it to have to send back your laptop to get fixed, because that's a pain in the butt. The other thing about Toshiba is that the battery life, as far as the people I know (including the gf) is alot less than what it states. I would go with Apple, or even Sony or Lenovo.

As far as processors go, Core 2 Duo is a great choice of processor for a laptop. The apple store has refurbished laptops for pretty good prices, and if you're a college student, you can buy a mac and get a free ipod nano after rebate.
A Sony Vaio is also a great choice, but this can be a bit pricey. You can never go wrong with a Sony though, as these things are built like tanks.


I would stay away from Gateway, Emachines, Toshiba.
Dell and HP/Compaq are good if you get a great deal on them. Just prepare once more for having minor problems with them.


If you're dead set on getting that laptop, then nothing is gonna stop you. Good luck with your purchase!

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