NationStates Jolt Archive

I have to buy a laptop soon and though I may aswell ask for advice from the NSG experts on what to look for/avoid/etc
before probably ignoring you all and making a stupid choice anyway

Primary use is for uni, so premium on reliability, wireless and internet capabilities. Bonus for games, graphics and all the additional funky stuff of that nature. Currently considering the Inspiron 1525 on the basis that it was at the top of a list I was browsing. Don't want to go above £400 if I can get anything decent for less.

So computer wizards of nsg, what should I buy?

And since I'm feeling generous, if you want to hijack the thread to argue about which laptop is the best based on reasons incomprehensible to mere mortals feel free. Or you can talk about pancakes, whichever.

The only laptop you'll ever need (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_1). It can run DBase II and the Colossal Cave Adventure, what else could anyone possibly want?

The only laptop you'll ever need (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_1). It can run DBase II and the Colossal Cave Adventure, what else could anyone possibly want?

Not to mention it doubles as an exercise weight.

Oh, god, Colossal Cave Adventure!

Just what I've always wanted, grandma!

Pcs good for games, Macs good for most everything else.

Pcs good for games, Macs good for most everything else.

Depends on your everything else I suppose

Anything from ASUStek.

Pcs good for games, Macs good for most everything else.

According to official Apple campaigns PCs are good only for spreadsheets, programming, business planning, you know, the "boring stuff" while Macs are good for "having a fun and interesting time".

Anyway, seriously...
Question n°1 is "How much you can/will spend".
If you don't have much money the Panasonic Toughbook or the MacBook Air are automatically out of the question.

Question n°2 is "Do you already own software running on some platform?"
Believe it or not I had a client complaining that their DOS accounting system wouldn't run on a Solaris platform.

Question n°3 is "What you really need your computer for?"
Gaming usually requires pretty high specs. Chatting/browsing/watching movies can do with low end machines. Anything in between depends on what you'll do, CAD programs require lots of RAM, DTP a nice grafics card, Audio editing...

According to official Apple campaigns PCs are good only for spreadsheets, programming, business planning, you know, the "boring stuff" while Macs are good for "having a fun and interesting time".

Apple doesn't think playing games are fun? No, I guess not when game makers stopped putting the extra effort in to make their games work with Mac since Apple are bastards about it.

Here you go:

Dell World of Warcraft Edition (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1730wow?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=bundlestab)

Yeah, ''experts''. I myself am looking for a computer now for home use, so can't give any advice.

It is a pretty good time to buy laptops, prices are coming down, You can get dual-core processor ones for very little money.

Primary use is for uni, so premium on reliability, wireless and internet capabilities. Bonus for games, graphics and all the additional funky stuff of that nature. Currently considering the Inspiron 1525 on the basis that it was at the top of a list I was browsing. Don't want to go above £400 if I can get anything decent for less.
Does size matter - you need 15", or better smaller, or better larger?

Generally Dells have a reputation for being a bit esoteric, i.e. having trouble with drivers in case of OS replacement. But today the manufacturer differences are much smaller than they used to be.


Yeah, ''experts''. I myself am looking for a computer now for home use, so can't give any advice.
I could help with that more than with laptops, unless you're being sarcastic.

Glitzi just recently got a Dell 1525 (iirc)

its good - reliable, light, fast and runs everything i've seen her run very well. [edit: and the battery lasts forever]

looked at the new Dell Studio laptops?

be wary with Dells at the mo though - some of their models have (along with a bunch of other manafacturers) the whole Nvidia fucked up chipset thing. thankfully my 1730 doesn't, but the latest nvidia driver did fuck up my system pretty bad - rolled it back and its ok now.


you could go for an Eee or similar? something like http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-9?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&ref=homepg or the excellent HP one?

I would advise stick to:
Dell (but only buisness models)
Asus
IBM


The reason I say only business models for dell is that they are manufactured with durability and reliability in mind. So look at the Latitudes or Vostros.

Steer clear of (in my opinion)
Toshiba
Acer
'Retail' stores (so don't buy your laptop from a retail joint, get it from a proper computer store or online shop)


Shop around a bit.

I recently had to do some laptop shopping to replace my old one; I ended up buying an Eee PC, and I'm incredibly happy with it. You'd want to do a bit of tweaking with it, most likely, (Installing software, for example, a bit trickier if you get it with Xandros rather than XP) but it's nothing too difficult. If you're using it for school, it's great, because:
Great battery life-- (on mine, the 901, I can get 6-7 hours depending on the settings--and you can overclock it or put it on power save mode with the touch of a button. It is similarly easy to toggle wireless and bluetooth).
Boots up quickly, allowing you to get to taking notes really quick.
And very small and light. It's like having another small book in your bag.
Solid state hard drive, so it can take a little bit of rough handling without damage.

The disadvantages (that I've encountered so far):
If you're not used to Linux, it takes a bit of getting used to. But the default setup is pretty simple to figure out. (I would like to stress that, if you do go with the Eee PC, don't be intimidated by Linux!)
No CD Drive, so if you want to use it for gaming/movies/etc, you're (mostly--there are some games available for it, and it comes with a handful) out of luck.
The Keyboard takes a bit of getting used to-- it's rather smaller than standard, though I got used to it pretty quick.
Also, apparently, the Eee PC 900 shipped with smaller batteries to certain locations (The UK, Singapore, and... Hong Kong, IIRC)

Overall, I'd strongly recommend it for a school computer. It's also within the price range you seem to be looking at-- even the most expensive, the Eee PC 1000, is around $660 / £335 (according to wikipedia).

In general, though, keep the following things in mind, beyond what you'd normally consider for a computer:
- Battery life. May seem obvious, but plenty of people have laptops with incredibly short battery life and can only use them for one or two classes in a day.
- Weight/size. It may seem trivial when you're at the store, but a seemingly small amount of extra weight or size really can make a difference if you're carrying around all day, especially if- like me- you have limited space in your bag once you have all sorts of textbooks in it.
- Durability. Laptops take a lot more punishment, so make sure you know about any problems they may have-- say, if the fans tend to break down after a while. You want a sturdy computer that will last you.

I have an EeePC 701, which I use on occasion at school.

Main gripes: The keyboard is very small. It's usable, but I'm not always the most accurate typist on it.
The battery life isn't the best. The new models do have much better batteries though.

Main plus points: The laptop is very small as well.
Very durable. I just throw it in a bag and head out with it
Debian runs like a breeze, and installing is a snap. There are problems with installing other distros on the new models which you might want to be aware of, as the default isn't the best.

Stay away from the Lenovo T-6x ThinkPad series. They are made poorly and equipped with even worse software.

I have an EeePC 701, which I use on occasion at school.

Main gripes: The keyboard is very small. It's usable, but I'm not always the most accurate typist on it.
The battery life isn't the best. The new models do have much better batteries though.

Main plus points: The laptop is very small as well.
Very durable. I just throw it in a bag and head out with it
Debian runs like a breeze, and installing is a snap. There are problems with installing other distros on the new models which you might want to be aware of, as the default isn't the best.

can you install ubuntu on an Eee pc? tis the only distro i'm used to... it might be a bit power-hungry for an Eee, perhaps?

wanna get an Eee for a toy. if i had a spare 300 quid lying around, i would. bah! *sleeps*

Here you go:

Dell World of Warcraft Edition (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1730wow?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=bundlestab)
lol...niceeee

Stay away from the Lenovo T-6x ThinkPad series. They are made poorly and equipped with even worse software.

uh...NO UR WRONG HAVE U EVER OWNED ONE? I've had mine 2 years spilled milk in it, runs fine

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook?mco=MTE3MjA

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air?mco=MTE4MTY

And the Granddaddy of them all...http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro?mco=MTIyMDM

uh...NO UR WRONG HAVE U EVER OWNED ONE? I've had mine 2 years spilled milk in it, runs fine
Mine has been replaced twice -- one hard drive crash, one case fell apart. Engineers in my department have had to have them replaced over and over again. Two replacements is the norm.

We do use them as portable computers and lug them all over -- including outside, but none of the failures has ever been attributed to abuse by one of the users.

Are you sure you own a T-60 or T-61?

According to official Apple campaigns PCs are good only for spreadsheets, programming, business planning, you know, the "boring stuff" while Macs are good for "having a fun and interesting time".

You know that drives me nuts, considering Apple has a subsite on its site dedicated to games (http://www.apple.com/games/)

can you install ubuntu on an Eee pc? tis the only distro i'm used to... it might be a bit power-hungry for an Eee, perhaps?

wanna get an Eee for a toy. if i had a spare 300 quid lying around, i would. bah! *sleeps*

I think you can. I've considered trying it on mine.

can you install ubuntu on an Eee pc? tis the only distro i'm used to... it might be a bit power-hungry for an Eee, perhaps?

wanna get an Eee for a toy. if i had a spare 300 quid lying around, i would. bah! *sleeps*

Probably. I have Debian on mine, which was fairly easy to install. I would imagine Ubuntu works, but I don't know anything specific about it. However, this site ("http://eeeuser.com) would know.

Just a word of warning. Very recent (2.6.26+, as far as I know) kernels don't play properly with the ACPI, and hardware changes in the 901 etc also make installing most EeePC specific distros a little more interesting.

Investigate before buying, is what I would do. Or go find an old 701 or something on Ebay.

Apple doesn't think playing games are fun? No, I guess not when game makers stopped putting the extra effort in to make their games work with Mac since Apple are bastards about it.

I think their decision had to do with a much smaller demographic and much lower profits which no longer justified the added complexity and expense, and not some sort of moral outrage against what mean people Apple are.

I've got a Dell Inspiron, it's pretty.

I'm getting the girls some Dell Mini-9's this fall, they are cheap and do what they need them to (get on the web and play music) and they come with Ubuntu which is good since that's what the kids are used to. I played with my neighbor's for a few days and it was pretty sweet (except I need more storage for my 10 gig of pictures and the keyboard isn't as big as I'm used to with my 17" laptop)

Probably. I have Debian on mine, which was fairly easy to install. I would imagine Ubuntu works, but I don't know anything specific about it. However, this site ("http://eeeuser.com) would know.

Just a word of warning. Very recent (2.6.26+, as far as I know) kernels don't play properly with the ACPI, and hardware changes in the 901 etc also make installing most EeePC specific distros a little more interesting.

Investigate before buying, is what I would do. Or go find an old 701 or something on Ebay.

hmm... i'd probably go for a Eee 1000 (the newer 10" screen one iirc), so i'd have to check for sure. or if the pretty looking mini Dell comes with ubuntu, that's pretty sweet.

but that all said, i have no hope of buying a mini laptop for quite some time. silly money :(

I just got a new laptop for uni, and went with the HP 2133 mini-note. Small and light, but with a decent sized keyboard so you can actually type on the damn thing, and toughter than the EEE or Wind, which both looked too plasticy for me. 2133 has a aluminium body, which is a bonus, as well as a hi-res screen and huuuuge HD. Downside, it gets hot, and make sure you get a 6 cell battery if you want to use it for more than 2 hours away from a main outlet... I lke it a lot though, and am really happy with mine.

I love my HP Pavilion tx1308nr Entertainment PC. Haven't had problems running or playing anything yet, love the conversion to tablet (though I don't use it too often), comes with a remote and a slot to put in an SD card. It's got a DVD rewritable drive with Lightscribe, too, and a webcam.

The only suggestion I would make is upgrade the RAM to 2GB -- Vista's a pig, after all. ;)

I have an Averatec...2100? Anyways, it's small, light, and somewhat affordable. The only issue is that i think the keyboard is being pushed upwards by something (CD drive?), because it starts randomly turning caps lock on and off, typing slashes, b's, and 0's. It's like "The Exorcist: Laptop Edition."

Stay away from the Lenovo T-6x ThinkPad series. They are made poorly and equipped with even worse software.

The ThinkPad was a good system once. The IBM T2x were, and still are great. If you don't need rock solid over ulta portability or horsepower, they are still a solid bet, and you can get grade A recon units for under £200. They were built for corporate rather than home use, which is always good.

Since the 2x series though, they have just gone downhill.

I just got a new laptop for uni, and went with the HP 2133 mini-note. Small and light, but with a decent sized keyboard so you can actually type on the damn thing, and toughter than the EEE or Wind, which both looked too plasticy for me. 2133 has a aluminium body, which is a bonus, as well as a hi-res screen and huuuuge HD. Downside, it gets hot, and make sure you get a 6 cell battery if you want to use it for more than 2 hours away from a main outlet... I lke it a lot though, and am really happy with mine.

i hear really good things about that one, but didn't know the battery life was so low :-S
its a bit dear though, iirc

I would advise stick to:
Dell (but only buisness models)
Asus
IBM


The reason I say only business models for dell is that they are manufactured with durability and reliability in mind. So look at the Latitudes or Vostros.

Steer clear of (in my opinion)
Toshiba
Acer
'Retail' stores (so don't buy your laptop from a retail joint, get it from a proper computer store or online shop)


Shop around a bit.

QFT
Avoid Acer as hell.

i hear really good things about that one, but didn't know the battery life was so low :-S
its a bit dear though, iirc

I think the VIA C7-M CPU is more power hungry (hence the heat, I guess) than the Intel Atom that some of the other ultra-portables use. You can get a 6-cell battery (4+ hours use) but I haven’t got round to it yet.

It is more expensive than the others, but if you do a lot of typing it's worth it for the decent keyboard and screen, as you can touch-type and not have to scroll. Sometimes you notice the lack of horsepower though, if you stick with Vista. I'd go for the Linux option, then put on WinXP or Win2k. It's fine with them, but Vista is too heavy.

What about some alienware?
http://www.alienware.com/products/notebook-computers.aspx

Their products are highly customizable, so it should suit your needs with a little tweaking. Try to take a look at their m15x.