Advice Please - Laptops

Shadow Leader

Shadow Leader

At the Start
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Nov 9, 2003
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I'm going to pick up a laptop in the near future & I wanted to ask for opinions on processors/makes. I'm not very techy so I wouldn't really know a lot about them to be honest. I'm not overly rich either - I'm looking at spending up to about a grand on one which knocks out the Panasonic toughbooks, unfortunately.

The main thing I want to know is about processors. I'm fussy & I think I really want a Pentium 4 even though they're more expensive - the others are pretty slow, aren't they? I know a little about the Celerons & if I had to I'd probably put up with one of those but what on earth are the Athlon & Semron's all about? Are they any good? They seem to me to be the cheap option and not very widespread so I'm guessing that they are probably best steered clear of.

When it comes to makes, I like Compaq & Dell, if I can pick up a Sony Vaio I'd be happy too. Are the Dell ones much value for money? I've been looking at their website & I must say I get pretty pissed off with the homepages that have a picture of a model with "Now!! From only £699 [or whatever]" whilst the price seemingly increases dramatically each time the bloody page refreshes!

I want the laptop for internet use and working mainly with excel spreadsheets.
 
Ok, on searching further I've found out more about the various processors & I now realise that the Athlon processor is pretty much AMD's version of Intel's Pentium (?) and the Sempron is pretty much AMD's version of Intel's Celeron; ie the latter named two are the cheaper versions. I've also gathered that the AMD Turion is another processor meant to be very good & I'm led to believe on the AMD website that it is better than the Athlon. Does anyone have experience with using any of these AMD processors & are they any good? I like to stick to what I know & I do like the Pentiums but I'd also like to know whether anyone thinks the AMD ones are worth chancing. I'd probably be looking more at the Athlon or Turion processor.
 
Dom, I bought a 17" screen Toshiba P30 last January, and it has been superb since day one. I bought mine for £850 brand new on E-bay when the lowest I could find it for at the time was £1150. I'd look at what you can afford from the Toshiba range as they are one of the oldest and best producers of laptops. Don't buy a Dell whatever you do. B)
 
the AMD processor is just brilliant its what I have used in access of 10yrs now I run a 2.8 mhz at present but have upgraded accordingly I had a pentium processor and had nothing but problems with it so its horses for courses DOM you can buy this stuff cheaper over there cant you????
 
I am very satisfied with my SONY VIAO with Centrino Technology.

You could do worse than buy this model.FS295V-OFFSM.ES2




With its superior graphics processing power, exclusive X-black screen technology and double layer DVD burner - providing twice the capacity of ordinary DVDs - this laptop offers everything the desktop entertainment centre can, with the added benefit of mobility.
Intel® Pentium® M processor 740 1.73 Ghz; 533 MHz FSB
Supports Enhanced Intel® SpeedStep® technology
Microsoft® Windows® XP Pro with Service Pack 2
80 GB (Ultra ATA / 100 4200 rpm) hard disk drive
Memory: 1*512 MB DDR SDRAM; maximum 1 GB DDR SDRAM
Widescreen 15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) X-black LCD screen
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6200 with TurboCache™ supporting 128 MB (NVIDIA® TurboCache™ technology combines the size and bandwidth of video memory and dynamically available system memory for optimal system performance)
DVD±RW dual layer drive
Dimensions (W x H x D): 364 x 25.4 - 35.9 x 264.5 mm
Weight with battery: 2.9 kg











Specifications Suggested Accessories


Operating system Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
Microprocessor Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 1.73 GHz
Microprocessor speed 1.73 GHz Enhanced Intel® SpeedStep™ technology
Language version Spanish
Main usage Business
Weight range (Kg) 2Kg - 3Kg
Standard memory (MB) 512
Hard disk drive capacity (GB) 80 GB
Display size 15.4" (39.1 cm)
Battery life up to 2 Hours
Wireless LAN Wireless LAN IEEE 802.11b/g
 
YES DEREK a very good spec equivalent to a lot of towers but how much in ££££ its obviously cheaper over there with no vat applicable................

is there an over-ride for the batteries if using it from home i.e. a plug in power pack from the mains? which does not restrict you to just two hours????..............
 
DON'T buy a Samsung.....

I also agree with Derek - my Sony VAIO desktop is fantastic and I know we have several Sony laptops for the sales staff in our company.
 
What's the problem with Dell? Every computer in my organisation is Dell and we have absolutely no problem with them.

That said, when I go to the website to price one for myself, the price seems to shoot up by a couple of hundred euro from the advertised price when I actually go to select one.

In the next couple of months I want to buy a dead cheap laptop to be used for writing the odd memo and internet usage - very little processing power required. Internet ready, Microsoft Office, cheap printer, limited support requirements. Dunnes Stores had one advertised (Fujitsu) at the weekend for under €800 (without the printer). Is it unwise to go this route?
 
I have a Sony Vaio Centrino and I have never had any problems with it - the screen is excellent.
 
Originally posted by Bar the Bull@Oct 17 2005, 12:41 PM
There are some great laptop dancers in The Sports Bar, near Liverpool St.

The girls go around with a pint glass into which 50p needs to be placed by all patrons before each one does here stuff.

Allegedly.
Click to expand...
The Nags Head just down the road from Aldgate East station does likewise.
 
Had two Dell laptops since 1995 and never had a problem but, the hinge part of the plastic has broken in both cases !
 
The computer still works but I cannot close the lid so it is fixed in the operating position, been like this for over a year.
 
This is related to SL's original query. If SL was not interested in computer gaming would you guys consider a graphics card an unnecessary extra. Considering that a good card (nVidia or Ge-Force 256mb) will add on a couple of hundred to the price is such a card an expensive folly or do you think it is a worthwhile investment and useful for ordinary computing needs?

Like SL, I am also considering the purchase of a lappy but am uncertain about a graphics card.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
its imperative ICEBREAKER to have a very good Graphics card I run a Nividia G FORCE FX57OOLE which is quite expensive £60 I paid for this card alone and that was in a cheap P/C outlet BUT ITS THE DOGS BOLLOX of Graphics cards its been superseeded since I bought mine in April 0-5............. :lol:
 
From experience, whilst they might not be particularly exciting, you can't go far wrong with a Tosh.
 
Cheers for that everyone, all info received helps when making a decision!

Interesting that you advise to steer away from Dell Dave - I've worked with Dell PCs at work for years now & always liked them. I'm not convinced that they offer any value for money though, especially as the price for each model goes up in 10 second intervals on their website!

Merlin, in answer to your question, unfortunately I can't get them cheaper over here. I certainly should be able to though as they are not subject to VAT here. However, the traders here are all thieving bastards and sell them at disgusting prices - they sell them at prices that would be consistent with VAT being applied & cream the extra profit. As a matter of principle I refuse to buy anything from them - I can buy cheaper in Spain inclusive of IVT (their equivalent of VAT)!! I am supposed to declare such items at the border into Gib however so that they can levy their own duty on top - work that one out for a country that is VAT-free!
 
DOM I called in my sons house and his wife has a TOSHIBA and I had a look at it and my son said they are very good it had a DVD BURNER, a PENTIUM a 3thou MHZ processor it has a stronger battery than the normal TOSHIBA(to give you extra time.....) and can be used off the mains etc when at home..... try one of these on line suppliers I have purchased stuff from them and they are much cheaper too........ :D good luck whatever you choose..............
 
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