Laptop Advice

benw · *by **benw** on Sun 13/Dec/09 7:56am*

RussS wrote:Not really benw - the cost difference of an nVidia chip and an Intel chip to a motherboard manufacturer is miniscule.

Yeah, I thought that too once upon a time but then I started working directly with a hardware vendor and was exposed to how thin their margins are. Even small differences add up when you are talking about hundreds of thousands or millions of units, throw in Intel's 'interesting to the FTC' pricing strategies and there is plenty of cost incentive to run with low end technology like the GMA 500 chipset.

ArjanH · *by **ArjanH** on Sun 13/Dec/09 8:41am*

benw wrote: but they do compile stuff very quickly

I bet ... I encoded a dvd with mine once .... did it in about a quater of the time my mates machine does it in.

phunk · *by **phunk** on Sun 13/Dec/09 9:36am*

Get a decent desktop (which are generally a bunch cheaper for the same performance). And if you must have portability, get a netbook to write your notes on and stuff...

thelivo · *by **thelivo** on Sun 13/Dec/09 9:46am*

chuckie34 wrote: Those that do feature avg, its the paid version not the free one. So your arguement of the free ones being as good as the paid ones is a bit dead in the water.

Its a sunny day, now lets get out there on our bikes.

Just been

Whoops my bad re the paid version, still, my point stands anyway, Norton WILL let stuff through, as will AVG, Mcaffee, etc etc etc. AVG does enough to keep the majority of people protected, and doesn't hog the system. Plus, i dont keep any data on my PC. Sure, i could take the "insurance" approach, but the cost benefit isn't worth it to me. The free software is still insurance, just with a slightly bigger excess.

fatwombat · *by **fatwombat** on Sun 13/Dec/09 7:14pm*

Fergie wrote:
Tugboat wrote:Why you shouldn't get a Mac... http://www.landoverbaptist.net/showthread.php?t=32383

... My new Dell Inspiron has Windows 7 which works great and has Norton Internet Security which hasn't caused any issues. Have had NIS, 360 and Nod and all were resource hungry monsters. I don't run Mac as most of the Sport Sci software I use (power meter analysis, game analysis, video analysis) are not supported. Judging by the above it seems clear I have made the right choice.

Sounds like a good choice to me. If I was to buy another laptop to replace my HP/Compaq 6710b, I'd be looking for a Dell. I saw a great looking deal in DSE Lyall bay today - Dell inspiron 15 with Win 7 Home Premium, Intel Dual Core CPU, 4GB RAM, $1199. I didn't know that Dell sold through dealers.

happybaboon · *by **happybaboon** on Sun 13/Dec/09 7:27pm*

Tugboat wrote:Why you shouldn't get a Mac... http://www.landoverbaptist.net/showthread.php?t=32383

Holy shit that's funny :lol:

benw · *by **benw** on Sun 13/Dec/09 7:31pm*

Best apple ad eva

thelivo · *by **thelivo** on Sun 13/Dec/09 7:49pm*

fatwombat wrote:
Fergie wrote:
Tugboat wrote:Why you shouldn't get a Mac... http://www.landoverbaptist.net/showthread.php?t=32383

... My new Dell Inspiron has Windows 7 which works great and has Norton Internet Security which hasn't caused any issues. Have had NIS, 360 and Nod and all were resource hungry monsters. I don't run Mac as most of the Sport Sci software I use (power meter analysis, game analysis, video analysis) are not supported. Judging by the above it seems clear I have made the right choice.

Sounds like a good choice to me. If I was to buy another laptop to replace my HP/Compaq 6710b, I'd be looking for a Dell. I saw a great looking deal in DSE Lyall bay today - Dell inspiron 15 with Win 7 Home Premium, Intel Dual Core CPU, 4GB RAM, $1199. I didn't know that Dell sold through dealers.

That sounds like a cracking deal especially with 4GB RAM

chuckie34 · *by **chuckie34** on Sun 13/Dec/09 7:54pm*

fatwombat wrote:Sounds like a good choice to me. If I was to buy another laptop to replace my HP/Compaq 6710b, I'd be looking for a Dell. I saw a great looking deal in DSE Lyall bay today - Dell inspiron 15 with Win 7 Home Premium, Intel Dual Core CPU, 4GB RAM, $1199. I didn't know that Dell sold through dealers.

When dealing with DSE, ask what they gonna throw into the deal to sweeten it. Last time, got a latpop case mouse and a gel rest mousepad thrown into the deal.

Stun · *by **Stun** on Thu 24/Dec/09 11:18pm*

Having owned Windows based machines and Macs... as well as having sold Windows laptop, I'd advise you to get a Mac.
However if you're certain you need a Windows PC to run your software for Uni, and don't want to dual boot a Mac, make sure you get a PC with a decent graphics card so you can actually run your CAD software without your new computer turning into a slow running slow thing. Get a 64bit version of Windows 7, put 4GB of RAM (or more) into it and go from there.

My advice is:
Figure out how big you want the screen to be, then look for...
Dual core duo processor.
Windows 7 (64 bit versions let you use more RAM than the 32 bit versions)
4GB+ RAM
250GB or larger drive (don't fuss too much about the drive space, as external drives are WELL cheap)
Dedicated graphics card.

Remember, if you're buying a laptop from a retail store, they will do deals on the things you need / will want like a laptop bag, external hard drive, anti-virus security, a mouse, USB sticks, DVD's, Microsoft Office etc. Oh yeah, if you're not 100% down with computers, make sure they tell you how to set up a system that will allow you to do a full system restore if required.

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