limbo Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 Hi guys, Just trying to get a picture here. If I wanna buy a new laptop, with plenty of memory, what should I be looking for. It's not gonna be a Mac. Toshiba or Sony are faves, don't like Compaq too much. What screen, memory, etc etc to look for? This may be not a lot of info, but I'm a bit at loss, if you ask me, I can tell you what I want or don't want. Thanks for the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 Well I currently have a Tosh, also have owned a Sony Vaio. They were both stunning machines to use and never had any problems with either, so I reckon your choice of brand is not far wrong. As for specs, I would be looking for a Pentium 4 or Centrino (for mobile internet) processor, at least 256mb (prefer 512mb) of ram, 30-40GB hard drive, 15inch XVGA screen (sufficient although larger are available), DVD/CD writer combo drive (DVD only if required) Floppy disk drive (I find them essential, although some dont) Infra red or bluetooth adaptor (great for backing up mobile phone data) LAN and USB ports are pretty important these days, along with a couple of PCMCIA slots. As for graphics and sound capabilities that is really up to you, for me just the standard package seems to do me just fine. Good luck in your search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straycat Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 Look around at Dell and see what options they offer. They're usually on top of things and it'll give you a feel for 'what's in' at the moment! www.dell.com (I have a Dell Inpiron 8000 myself, which I've been very happy with. That particular model though is prolly stone age by now...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 The figure I hear is that laptops are at about a 25% DOA rate. What you wan't is a dealer that you like. The best possibility of local service and a good warranty. Toshibas are the best selling laptops in Asia at the moment, (last I heard). I personally favor IBMs though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummigut Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 Well, I just recently bought a new laptop, but that doesn't say very much. You need to define what you are going to use it for and what features are important to you. I needed something relatively fast (no celerons) with a decent amount of ram. I think the difference between 30gb and 40gb, or even 20gb is pretty small if you are going to use it only for work (unless your doing graphics, video editing, etc...). Network connectivity, a decent screen (as I'll be staring at it for hours at a time). Floppy (as yes I still use them, especially as I consult for others, but thinking of picking up a memory device I can plug into USB ports for a quick Xfer of files. Sound wasn't important to me. What is extremely important to me is keyboard layout and construction. I used to be a touch typist, but then I had a compaq for an office computer and you had to pound the keyboard to make it work. Never got back to touch typing (makes it hard to make 100+ wpms). I also use shortcut keys extensively. I need the control key and alt keys located like they are on a normal keyboard. This fact ruled out a LOT of laptops because they stuck the function key on the lower left side of the keyboard. Weight wasn't one of my least concerns. I was willing to spend up to around 60K for a machine. I really wanted to get an IBM machine as they are pretty sturdy, but they all have fucked up control/function key placement. I ended up with an Acer Aspire 1353FLC. Spent a little over 42k all in and I got: an athlon 2.4 processor (haven't benchmarked it), 512mb of ram, wireless optical mouse, internal DVD combo drive, floppy, NIC, fax/modem, 15" screen, S3 Graphics Savage4TM AGP 4x graphics (64mb shared), 40gb, 2pcmcia slots, 4usb, s-vhs out, and a battery that lasts atleast 2.5 hours. Closer to three. Heavy as hell though at 3.6 kgs (though I haven't weighed it). 1-year warranty. 2-hour service turnaround guaranty (yah right!). Haven't tested any of that. Things I may miss in the future: No infrared (least I don't think so) or blue tooth. It is heavy. Pretty happy with it right now, and if it doesn't fall apart within 2-years of my abuse, I'll be satisfied. Sad thing is that it's taken the place of my stick in that you'll rarely see me without it Much rather be carrying my stick!!! <<burp>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 >>> Things I may miss in the future: No infrared (least I don't think so) or blue tooth. <<< Just incase you do end up missing them, dont forget you can buy USB plug in infra red or bluetooth adaptors from any decent PC accessories shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 Limbo, Take a look at the new IBM T41 laptop. It is well rated by C/net and uses the Centrino processor. It is among the thinest and lightest laptops available. They also like the Fujitsu Lifebook series. BKK22 - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 OK, one more opinion I have a Toshiba, 60 GB HD, 2.0 GHz mobile processor, 512 RAM (max. 1024), CD/ DVD RW, modem, network-card .... I am satisfied with my choice so far, reliable machine, loyal friend for my trips to SEA. A built-in WLAN-card and a smaller and lighter notebook with a better display would be fine though. The new small Centrino-based ones seems to be the latest choice, but I have no experience when it comes to value for money. As Gummigut already said, it is very important that you do your homework regarding your requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibblies Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 What the others said, plus I'd emphasize the importance of being comfortable with the keyboard and screen if you're going to be using it a lot. Those are the two main elements you'll be noticing all day - the screen size and quality especially - and any defiency in those will be noticed (and rued) very quickly. By comparison, you probably won't miss a bit of processor speed (unless you're a graphic artist or programmer) and memory/more disk space can be added later on if necessary quite easily. (Actually, it's usually much cheaper to add that stuff later on if you find you need it). I've got a Dell Inspiron 8200 myself as a main machine. Bought it a year ago, mainly because it had such an excellent screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted November 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 gummigut said:Well, I just recently bought a new laptop, but that doesn't say very much. [color:"blue"] Hi guys, thanks for all your replies. I'll take Gummigut's post as answer abck, since it has a lot of info in it. [/color] You need to define what you are going to use it for and what features are important to you. [color:"blue"] The main reason for using it is data storage, (like in a real expensive typewriter, 55) and communication. I need it also for presentations, like in Powerpoint. I need to save a lot of data (again), so a lot of memory is essential, 512RAM sounds to me like unlimted amounts compared to my old one. A burner is high on the list as well[/color] I needed something relatively fast (no celerons) with a decent amount of ram. I think the difference between 30gb and 40gb, or even 20gb is pretty small if you are going to use it only for work (unless your doing graphics, video editing, etc...). Network connectivity, a decent screen (as I'll be staring at it for hours at a time). Floppy (as yes I still use them, especially as I consult for others, but thinking of picking up a memory device I can plug into USB ports for a quick Xfer of files. [color:"blue"] Ram's are more importatnt than gb's. Screen is importatant as well. [/color] Sound wasn't important to me. [color:"blue"] Not really, as long as I can show some vdo clips in presentations, if this makes sense [/color] What is extremely important to me is keyboard layout and construction. I used to be a touch typist, but then I had a compaq for an office computer and you had to pound the keyboard to make it work. Never got back to touch typing (makes it hard to make 100+ wpms). I also use shortcut keys extensively. I need the control key and alt keys located like they are on a normal keyboard. This fact ruled out a LOT of laptops because they stuck the function key on the lower left side of the keyboard. Weight wasn't one of my least concerns. [color:"blue"] Keyboard is flexible. Not too heavy possibly. [/color] I was willing to spend up to around 60K for a machine. [color:"blue"] My budget is between 40K and 50K, would it make any difference to hold off for a month or two and get the machine in Singapore. How will that affect service and guarantees and Thai script? [/color] I really wanted to get an IBM machine as they are pretty sturdy, but they all have fucked up control/function key placement. I ended up with an Acer Aspire 1353FLC. Spent a little over 42k all in and I got: an athlon 2.4 processor (haven't benchmarked it), 512mb of ram, wireless optical mouse, internal DVD combo drive, floppy, NIC, fax/modem, 15" screen, S3 Graphics Savage4TM AGP 4x graphics (64mb shared), 40gb, 2pcmcia slots, 4usb, s-vhs out, and a battery that lasts atleast 2.5 hours. Closer to three. Heavy as hell though at 3.6 kgs (though I haven't weighed it). [color:"blue"] That sounds good to me, a DVD combo does that inlcude a burner? Battery life is interesting possibly, is 2,5 hrs average since mine is about 2 nanoseconds right now [/color] 1-year warranty. 2-hour service turnaround guaranty (yah right!). Haven't tested any of that. Things I may miss in the future: No infrared (least I don't think so) or blue tooth. It is heavy. [color:"blue"] Infrared is really good for my presentations, but can hook that up later seperately [/color] Pretty happy with it right now, and if it doesn't fall apart within 2-years of my abuse, I'll be satisfied. Sad thing is that it's taken the place of my stick in that you'll rarely see me without it Much rather be carrying my stick!!! <<burp>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.