NationStates Jolt Archive

The hinge on my somewhat new (9 month old) laptop broke this morning... i'm pretty peeved about it. i could go back and get it fixed at the manafacturer, but their turnaround time is between 1 and 3 weeks, and considering i need this thing for work that's just not possible.

the weight of the screen is now being held entirely on the one remaining hinge, and if the build quality is bad enough that an integral metal part shears after 9 months, i have low expectations that this second hinge will do the job for very long.

so it looks like i'll be getting a new laptop. but i'm very much out of the whole computer thing, really. last time i actually read magazines about this stuff, the only thing that mattered was Ghz and a P4 was the shit. so i need help :)


first off, are there many remaining compatibility issues regarding Vista? particularly networking? how about software like Adobe CS2 and Dreamweaver?


here's what i currently have (copied & pasted from dxdiag)

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T7400 @ 2.16GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX
Max resoultion: 1920x1200 (*important to me)
DVD+-RW
120gb HD



and here's (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/nbrange.html?ALR) what i'm thinking of getting:

http://images.novatech.co.uk/pcex_ALR.jpg

15.4" 1280 x 800 Widescreen
Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2GHz 4MB Cache Dual Core Processor
2048MB DDR2 667MHz Memory
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
nVidia 8600 Go 256MB PCI Express Graphics
DVDR Multi Burner


the native resolution is a bit low, but i'd get a large TFT screen to go with it at work... something maybe like this (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?SAM-SM245B) (unless i can find a smaller/cheaper one that supports 1920x1200)


so is that a step up from my current computer or not, in terms of processing power and graphics? :confused:

alternatively, i'm considering a dell (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/4x_xps_m1330?c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&l=en&s=bsd) (one on the right).... however, unlike the ones from Novatech, i'd have to wait for a Dell one...

if notebook technology really hasn't moved on much in the last 9 months, should i go for a desktop instead or something? or this one (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/nbrange.html?X80)? help!

edit: btw my budget is preferably below £1,000

Heres what I do when I shop for a new PC, and please remember I work in It so consider this profesional advice.

Walk into shop with cash in my pocket, look around for PC that comes closest to the amount of cash I have to spend, make sure that the CPU is not a Celeron, make sure that it has at least 250GB hard disk space, and 1GB of Ram.

Go see the shop assitant, argue about discount due to a cash purchase, purchase, go home.

Happy shopping!

Heres what I do when I shop for a new PC, and please remember I work in It so consider this profesional advice.

Walk into shop with cash in my pocket, look around for PC that comes closest to the amount of cash I have to spend, make sure that the CPU is not a Celeron, make sure that it has at least 250GB hard disk space, and 1GB of Ram.

Go see the shop assitant, argue about discount due to a cash purchase, purchase, go home.

Happy shopping!

ah but i want a step up from the machine i'm working on now. i do a lot of graphics work, so a decent graphics card, good resolution, good RAM and decent processor are all musts. with this computer i've finally found the hardware is fast enough to satisfy about how fast i want it to work (generally), so getting a less-good PC - even if it is on the cheap - is not gonna work for me.

ah but i want a step up from the machine i'm working on now. i do a lot of graphics work, so a decent graphics card, good resolution, good RAM and decent processor are all musts. with this computer i've finally found the hardware is fast enough to satisfy about how fast i want it to work (generally), so getting a less-good PC - even if it is on the cheap - is not gonna work for me.

Of course fee free to add your own cash amount and spec you will not go under.

Umm by graphics work, you mean playing games don't you huh huh!

Of course fee free to add your own cash amount and spec you will not go under.

Umm by graphics work, you mean playing games don't you huh huh!

lol! no... don't have the disk space on these laptops to play games any more :( :(

tis why i bought my awesome Wii :D

lol! no... don't have the disk space on these laptops to play games any more :( :(

tis why i bought my awesome Wii :D

Heh well I'll belive you, it is though what I tell any end user who catches me at my desk playing, umm I mean using a graphicly intense package to test out this graphics card! Which is certianly within the remit of my duties:D

The 7900 GTX on the old laptop is actually faster the 8600!
What brand was the old laptop.

I've got three laptops (two working) and none have broken hinges.

The 7900 GTX on the old laptop is actually faster the 8600!
What brand was the old laptop.

I've got three laptops (two working) and none have broken hinges.

Depends on the drivers; for me, under *NIX, 8600 works beautifully.

Then again, hindsight I'd go Apple Macbook.

The 7900 GTX on the old laptop is actually faster the 8600!
What brand was the old laptop.

I've got three laptops (two working) and none have broken hinges.

really? hmph...

it is/was the same brand as the new one i'm looking at - Novatech. a local (as it happens) but fairly large internet seller in the UK.

really? hmph...

it is/was the same brand as the new one i'm looking at - Novatech. a local (as it happens) but fairly large internet seller in the UK.

The hinge is weak point of laptop and most only have two hinges.
I've got my hands on those "really expensive" tough notebooks a few times and the hinges are very strong (and the bloody things are hard to open). Oh yes, they are really heavy too.

I do treat my notebooks with a lot of care, as I paid for them and I don't want send them for repairs.

Depends on the drivers; for me, under *NIX, 8600 works beautifully.

Then again, hindsight I'd go Apple Macbook.

Or instead you can get a generally compatible Windows laptop :rolleyes:

Or instead you can get a generally compatible Windows laptop :rolleyes:

This laptop is 'Windows compatible' (HP dv6209tx) but I decided to go with UNIX instead of raging against the machine when running Windows.

The difference you'd notice between those two laptops would be tiny.

I'd suggest you bitch at Novatech until they get your laptop fixed or replaced then and there. Or get a desktop or just borrow a machine to use whilst it is getting fixed. (You can send me the £760 you save, if you like :D)

As for the Samsung screen: It's quite good, especially considering how cheap it is (for a 24" monitor), but if you need a high-quality screen with accurate colours you might want to consider one of the more expensive ones with better panels in (the Dell 2407WFP is now on revision 4 and has sorted out most, if not all, of its old issues - and can be had for £430, or £450 for the shiny brand-spanking-new High Colour version. Incidentally, you can easily get the Samsung for £40-50 less - try Overclockers (www.overclockers.co.uk) or Ebuyer (www.ebuyer.com).

I have a very similar system to you and I've been looking into buying a second notebook myself. As for now, performance wise, this exact moment is pretty shitty to upgrade in, as the 79xx-series of the geforce card are pretty much top of the line, with 7950 gtx being the big killer card. the 8400 and 8600 do have DirectX 10, but are weaker cards with fewer pixel pipelines and vertex pipelines. I'm not sure about the 8700, it might be better than the 7900 gts but I would either get a stationary computer or wait and cross my fingers that Nvidia doesn't wait too long before releasing their 8800m-card. That's when I'm getting a new one.

I do treat my notebooks with a lot of care, as I paid for them and I don't want send them for repairs.
i generally treat my computers well.... physically. and i don't actually know how this happened.

however, i do have something of a reputation for ruining computers. i get through them like tissue paper somehow. one of the reasons i "got into" computers when i was a kid was because i kept having to work out how i broke the damn things :p

The difference you'd notice between those two laptops would be tiny.

I'd suggest you bitch at Novatech until they get your laptop fixed or replaced then and there. Or get a desktop or just borrow a machine to use whilst it is getting fixed. (You can send me the £760 you save, if you like :D)

As for the Samsung screen: It's quite good, especially considering how cheap it is (for a 24" monitor), but if you need a high-quality screen with accurate colours you might want to consider one of the more expensive ones with better panels in (the Dell 2407WFP is now on revision 4 and has sorted out most, if not all, of its old issues - and can be had for £430, or £450 for the shiny brand-spanking-new High Colour version. Incidentally, you can easily get the Samsung for £40-50 less - try Overclockers (www.overclockers.co.uk) or Ebuyer (www.ebuyer.com).

lol :p i'd love to get this fixed rather than shell out for a new one, but cos i need it for work i can't spare the time away from the computer, and unfortunately nobody else in the office or that i know has the software i'd need, even for a short term replacement :( (i mostly use CS2, Dreamweaver, and other web/graphics programs)
might see if Novatech could fix it same-day or something. then again, a good excuse for a new computer doesn't come along too often ;) :D

as for the screen, i'll look into the Dell one :)

quite glad to hear the new laptop would be pretty much OK/same as this one - its what i thought but i had to ask:)