Computer help

[M73]

Anybody know a good online forum for laptop recommendations? Im looking for a new computer, and want some opinions.

[Driver_King]

I can help you.

[M73]

well anybody here that knows computer stuff is welcome also. I was thinking of switching to Apple, but i dont know. They seem to be pricey. I want something that won't crap out on me, but im not willing to spend for top of the line either cause i rather upgrade every few years.

[dadkins]

Is a Blu-ray drive a requirement?

[sw1tch]

I personally love APPLE. My 15 inch MBP is built like a tank and the Mac mini I have in the kitchen is amazing. You can get a 13 inch base line Macbook for $999 on their website. APPLE computers hold their retail value for quite a while. Unlike the 400 dollar dell laptop which you wont beable to get half that 6 months from now. I'm not saying macs are the best, because they do have their problems but you do get what you pay for.

[M73]

Originally Posted by dadkins

Is a Blu-ray drive a requirement?

It would be nice, but no not necessary at all.

[M73]

Is 13 inch a big enough screen?

[camper]

First, what's your budget?
Second, what do you want to do with it?

camper

[M73]

strictly for home use.... i have a computer for work. So its mainly going to be for internet use, music stuff (itunes, sonar-recording my music), and some gaming.

I don't want to put a budget on it really. But i can't see spending more then 1,500 on something i would probably upgrade in a few years, since computers get outdated.

[camper]

Originally Posted by M73

strictly for home use.... i have a computer for work. So its mainly going to be for internet use, music stuff (itunes, sonar-recording my music), and some gaming.

I don't want to put a budget on it really. But i can't see spending more then 1,500 on something i would probably upgrade in a few years, since computers get outdated.

Due to the gaming, you're pretty much eliminating Apple unless you want to run a dual boot or virtual system.

What you might want to consider, is looking at the Dell XPS gaming M1730 or M1530 from their outlet site. I picked up a refurbished M1730 for a little more than your budget ($1700) and its a powerhouse. For an extra $200 I could have gotten a BD, but opted out of it. It's got 512Meg video, 4 gigs of ram, 250 gig solid state HDD, DVD R/W, 2.33ghz dual core processor, integrated webcam, wifi, bluetooth, etc.

I know Dell is not looked at kindly here (pro sony, ant-microsoft--go figure), but it's a wonderful system and the picture is crystal clear. It's easily a $2,600 system. It has a slight ding on it, and one of the ambient lights doesn't work but I could care less. I've already figured that I'll get no less than 5 years out of it easily. (edit - for gaming. For a basic system, probably another 3 more after that)

The M1530's are similiar systems, just 15" monitors. You're budget will allow you to get a really good system for that price, and I'd suggest that you look into pre-owned/refurbished/overstock items because you really will get more bang for your buck. All come with warranties anyway, so you've got nothing to worry about.

Here's a site that I like for refurbished. I've bought a good bit of stuff from them, and am VERY happy with thier service and quality:

http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=NBB

The one thing to keep in mind, is that with pretty much any PC based laptop you get today, there will still be future value because someone will always want to run linux or will need a cheap travel laptop. I'm looking for one myself, but I don't want to pay more than $150 for one and it's got to have wireless. So far, I've had no luck other than Apple systems and they were lacking the airport card.

camper

[plowmanjoe]

i suggest looking into toshiba for laptops. can't go wrong with dell either.

what kind of gaming do you plan on doing?

i suggest getting at least a 15" screen unless you really want it to be compact for travel.

if you aren't in need for it to be some sort of super computer, just pay for what you need. 1000 is plenty for a very decent laptop.

[M73]

hmm well Dell is out of the question, i refuse to give them anymore of my money.

Umm just like online gaming, so i want a decent graphics card.

Also, why is apple not good for gaming, i thought they come with the NVIDIA GeForce card

[CyberVisions]

Originally Posted by M73

Anybody know a good online forum for laptop recommendations? Im looking for a new computer, and want some opinions.

I'm a regular contributer on the HDX Owners Forum at NotebookReview.com. Outstanding reviews and great community support. A lot of professional computer consultants, engineers, designers, etc. and others like myself spend a lot of time contributing there. You can always find good info on whatever system you're thinking about, or if you're not sure what you want, you can start from scratch.

As a minimum, what I tell my clients to think about when they're contemplating a new system is to determine the following:

1. How much can you afford to spend? That's the biggest determining factor in what you end up with.
2. Is it for work, home, or both?
3. Are your target programs media or design intensive? In other words, are you using it for standard computer use like word processing/database/financial stuff and 'net use, or are you like me and using it for media design and other memory/cpu intensive functions?
4. Are you using it for online gaming and / or streaming media to an external source, or do you contemplate doing it in the future?
5. Is there any particular hardware component you're absolutely interested in getting? By component I mean BD drive, certain GPU, CPU, etc.
6. What is your expertise level if something goes wrong? Can you fix it yourself, or would you need tech assistance?


If you can list these out you'll have a good starting point, especially at NBR.com, since a lot of the notebooks reviewed are listed out by MSRP. However, as a general rule, consider the following:

Your budget and intended use are the 2 biggest factors (budget being the first as I said previously) in what system you get. If it's strictly work related, and that work involves any media design or system development, then get a system with the best processing, OS, GPU and RAM configuration you can afford. For work or media intensive programs, forget Vista Home and Home Premium - upgrade it to Business or Ultimate, preferably Ultimate. If your programs are memory hogs, then consider upgrading your system to a 64bit system with Ultimate 64 for your OS. While the rest of the world is slowly catching up, those of us with 64bit systems know that you can get max RAM configurations out of a 64bit system. For example, my HDX will take and use up to 8gb of RAM, and although I only use 4gb, all my Adobe programs run without problems, and I use all their major programs, many simultaneously running at the same time. Of course I've got an X9000 CPU also, and that makes a big difference as well. Realistically though, if you can't spring for a top Duo, Extreme or Quad Core CPU, then get a mid-range CPU and maximize your RAM capability.

The other questions I listed to ask yourself will be apparent in your options after you figure out the first 2. If you're doing design work, contemplate getting a system with WUXGA display (1080p). If you haven't yet worked with one, it's great change.

Again, for configuration, based on your money and intended use, target the following (in order) for the biggest upgrades:
1. RAM - this means both the RAM type and supporting OS. Again, if your intended programs are RAM resource intensive, consider getting a 64bit system to capitalize on the amount of RAM you can get. Some would argue that CPU speed is the most important - not so, grasshopper. Programs need RAM to be loaded into and to run from, and if there's not enough to begin with, the system will compensate by using your disk drives for additional resource space, which will increase the overall load of your system. Sure, if you had a faster CPU you might not notice it - but if you had the RAM to begin with, you wouldn't have to worry about your CPU working overtime.

2. CPU - Basically what I just said in #1 applies. If it's a choice, pick RAM first, but always know what the requirements are for the programs you intend to use. Some require certain CPU speeds as a minimum, but that figure is normally pretty low - the higher value is in RAM configuration.

3. Hard Drive - NEVER get a system with only one hard drive as you're just asking for trouble. Sure, you can add one later, but some notebooks will only take certain drives and sizes based on BIOS setups. Many also make this mistake of getting only one drive, skimping also on RAM, which forces the system to constantly use the drive to compensate, rapidly lowering it's MTBF value. Add it as part of the original install.

4. Display - depends entirely on your intended use.

This should give you a good start. Come over to NotebookReview.com and you'll get some good info.