mmm...new laptop...

[cybrpnk]

Just invested in a new laptop...needed it for work and uni...so the investment has its justifications...

Settled for a Dell m4300 which is built specifically for CAD stuffs...

Just wanted to find out...anyone have this laptop??? and if you do, have you had any issues with it yet???

[KIGO1987]

Im in the same situation as you Orange, i bought a Laptop for University studies, just at the start of this year.

What i bought was a Toshiba Satellite A200/GO1, piece of **** overheated several times wiping out all the contents on the HDD, as well the HDD on seperate occations corrupted itself since there is no protection inside the chassis on the Notebook. Not good if if take the your laptop in a bag on public transport where its going to get bumped around alot. Also i found out that the cheap bastards at the Toshiba repair center, replace the original Hard Disk Drive of my computer with an inferior HDD, in effect bringing down the windows index rating, and i could notice that my computer was less responsive as before, when had several applications running. Beware of Toshiba guys. If your a in the market for a new Notebook computer.

The problems didnt end there since this computer had an operating system of window Vista (a downgrade from Windows XP S2). Several programs wont work. And vista just gives me the shits all the time, when you are trying to close a page the **** restores for some dumb arse reason. But the most innoying thing about Vista is the driver for my Creative Nomad Zen NX Jukebox wont work on vista, as well as most of the software that comes on the installation disk. So ive occasionally used my old desktop which runs on XP to organise my music. Also Vista does not have a graphic equalizer so i cannot adjust the music settings. In my opinion Vista is a downgrade from XP.

You have a different Laptop to i Orange, but im assure that your Dell m4300 will not have as many problems as my Toshiba did. But you probably have a Vista operating system. Just make sure you back up all the contents on your Laptop onto an external HDD, this would prevent many heartache latter on since Vista is unpredicable.

[Darkdrium777]

I, as well as probably anyone else you ask, recommend 2GB of Ram and a dual core processor for Windows Vista. I, also as anyone else, recommend you make sure to get Windows Vista 64bits. These two things are of the utmost importance when you shop for a new computer (laptop or desktop). Vista demands a lot of resources, anything below 2GB of Ram might have some troubles. Also, most computers are dual cores, sometimes quad cores, and 32bits doesn't do quads (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I also think it doesn't support duals, but really unsure on that last bit), so 64bits is also a must. Good processor speeds is 2Ghz or around that, and up. Don't go below 1.8Ghz, you'll regret it in the long run. Video card doesn't matter only if you're going to do text, online surfing, e-mails, powerpoint, etc.. Anything more complex requires something better than the Intels integrated, like a low-middle range 8400GS or 8600GT (Which is pretty standard now in terms of GPUs). If you will play games, look for higher than 2GB of Ram and a 8800/9800/280, and a processor speed higher than 2Ghz.

[Lance]

Make sure you give Vista the Boot of Crushing Death and replace it with something better/older/Linux/XP/ME/98/2000Pro. XP is probably the easiest and best for your situation if you are not a Linux sort.

[cybrpnk]

Yeah I'm pretty lucky Dell gave me the option of either installing Vista or XP and I went XP on my bros recommendation...he's a computer tech guy...

However they also gave me a copy of Vista Business...

Been running real smooth...however it's crashed a few times...don't know if it's normal, but I think I was pushing it a little too hard to do too many things at the same time...

But for now...it's meeting my 2D and 3D needs very nicely...

PS...got AG-5Y5 in HD on my desktop...and the details look sweet in 1920 x 1200

mmm...

O...for those interested the specs are...

Intel Core 2 Duo T9300? (2.5Ghz)
4 Gb Ram
Nvidia Quadro something with 512 Ram or something...

Think I killed my last computer running too many games on it...so I have this zero game policy on this one this time around...see how far I can go with that...

[infoxicated]

I recently got an EeePC 1000H (http://eeepc.asus.com/global/) and it rocks. Built in wireless, Bluetooth, webcam, and a battery that keeps on trucking.

It's nice and small and portable, but can run Apache, MySQL, Notepad++ and Firefox at the same time with no trouble, meaning I can develop on the go for the first time in years.

Soon as I've finished the re-design of my personal site I'm going to use it to give this place a lick of paint, too. :)

[Hellfire_WZ]

What OS does the EeePC run on? I've been thinking about a laptop for the PGCE and if it can run Word, Powerpoint and Excel then it's perfect

[infoxicated]

My one runs Windows XP.

I'm down in London until next Wednesday, so if you want to meet up at some point I can whip it out and show you it. fnar. :D

[Hellfire_WZ]

That'd be great, the course starts Monday week so I'm free until then. That was one major problem I had working at the school, all the computers were always taken. Solves the problem in a handy little bitesize nugget :)

[KIGO1987]

I would kill to get my Notebook computer running onto Windows XP Media Center like my older Desktop. Someone i know who bought a beast of a Desktop (around the same time as i bought my computer) wants to go back to XP as well, but there is some inbuilt feature inside new computers (ive been informed by several people) preventing this backwards compatablity.. which is complete bullshit, hence why i hate Microsoft and its CntBox franchise.

The current Laptop ive got its quite meaty. Intel Dual Core 2.4GHz, a decent HDD 320GB, 256Dedicated Graphics, inbuilt wireless, bluetooth, etc. Only use it for studies and multimedia, got no games on it what so ever, the only thing i might put on it later on is SimCity. I rather stick with console games. Having a games on the Laptop is tempting for me to open it up and play on it, instead of studing.

[Lance]

I recently got an EeePC 1000H (http://eeepc.asus.com/global/) and it rocks.

I want one of those! They're very neat. Definitely is on my list of about 4 major pieces of electronic gear I wantneeddesire.

edit: um.. 5

[KIGO1987]

Those small PC's look pretty sweet, still not enough running power for me to be interested into purchasing one. What impresses me is the Solid State Drives they have inside of them, next gen stuff they are, when that tech becomes more practical and economically viable it would replace the conventional Hard Disk Drive unit sooner or later.

Heres an idea for the Sony PSP2 Console that is a few year away. What about having a small 20GB or 40GB SSD sized memory inside the units, it would make alot of sense with all the multimedia applications that requires alot of space XMB, as well a decent enough room for your entire music collection plus a few movies. What do you think of that idea Sony?

[Lance]

I think that SSDs are coming a lot sooner than most people expect. One company has just announced a new line of 2 inch SSDs that only cost 5 times as much per unit of memory as current harddrives. I think they go on sale in November [?]. Current max memory size in that line is 32 GB, but sizes are rapidly going up while prices are going down.

[KIGO1987]

The Mac Airbook has an SSD in it, the size in that one is 64GB. I think that size drive has been out for a while now. Doesnt SSDs have zero loading times and real live time responsive program running in them since that dont have mechanical moving parts which require loading times unlike the exsisting Hard Disk Drives.

[Lance]

Substantial time is still required for data transfer. In SSDs, read time is much faster than HDs, but write time to the SSD flash memory is currently slower, though advances are being made. The most obvious advantage other than lack of wearable moving parts is the reduction in initial access time, which in HDs requires movement of the head to find the track [seek time] and then a variable wait time for the data to rotate under the head [latency].

[Frances_Penfold]

The Mac Airbook has an SSD in it, the size in that one is 64GB. I think that size drive has been out for a while now. Doesnt SSDs have zero loading times and real live time responsive program running in them since that dont have mechanical moving parts which require loading times unlike the exsisting Hard Disk Drives.

For what it's worth, I have a Macbook Air with SSD and it's the best computer I have every used-- it's completely silent, it's fast, and very, very portable :)

On the other hand, it's expensive and for the cost, you can certainly buy a more tricked out machine (mac or PC). Moreover, it is not a machine for a "power-user" that wants to watch/store large amounts of video and other media files or run intense applications on a routine basis. My wife, for example, takes lots of photos and makes movies-- the macbook air would not be a good choice for her.

I use mine for writing and lecture preparation, light web browsing and email-- and will never go back to a desktop or clunkier laptop again :)

IMHO, the basic "macbook" line from Apple is an incredible value for what you get-- easy to use OS, sturdy hardware design, attractive and relatively light weight-- I'm surprised more folks (especially students) don't consider that as an option.

[KIGO1987]

You know what Frances, i probably would of purchased a Mac Airbook instead of this mobile problem unit i have now. The Airbook seems to be aimed at the market for high school and Uni students. Just thinking, having an OS that wasnt Vista would of solved half my problems and having and SSD instead of a HDD would of solved even more issues even though the Airbook has less space and less power than the Toshi i have now. Also the Mac Airbook would fit nicely into my bag since i sometimes catch public transport instead of the driving the car. Maybe next time im in the market for a new Notebook i might ask you guys here and get a second opinion.

[Darkdrium777]

Hp is a very good brand to buy, my mother just got a nice laptop with Vista for work (Web browsing, online conferences, power point and word, e-mails) and it works well. Dual core, 2GB of RAM and a good size HDD (Even though she won't use it all I am sure). There have been no problems so far. I don't remember the model number though, but I recommend it to everyone who won't do games (It has crap intel GPU inside).