buying new laptop... (1 Viewer)

[J0n]

Well, I don't want create another laptop thread when this one is already here, so what do you guys think of this laptop:
http://agz.com.au/miniproduct.aspx?prod=6332 ($2500 on sony site)

It is a bit over my budget ($2200 approx), but I really like it .

I wouldn't use it much for games, mostly programming/internet/word processing (hoping to do comp sci at uni). I want it to be quite lightweight and portable. I also like it stylish (but don't want a mac) .

 

[Slidey]

^ Haha. Tablet PC would be PERFECT for you. Maybe you could even get one in a few years time when the price drops. Damn them.

I don't know much about Sony as a brand, but one thing: that one definitely IS light. It's 2.32KG, mine is 2KG and I can hold it with one arm and draw on it for medium periods of time. Given, for a tablet PC, mine isn't as light as I'd like, but for a notebook it certainly is, so is yours. I once saw a 7.5kg laptop. Uhg. Although it was a Pentium 4, 2gig ram, 256mb Radeon, et cetera - Desktop "replacement".

 

[neuro_logik]

I'm getting an Mac

iBook 12"

1.2Ghz PPC G4
768MB RAM
60G Hard Disk
Combo Drive (DVD/CD-RW)
Airport Extreme (802.11b/g)

Total = $1985

Pretty cheap, solidly built and compact.
This is going to last me 3 - 5 years of mainly programming, looking at websites, downloading stuff, and doing work for Uni.

 

[Slidey]

Oh, I'm hoping mine will last 5+ years, assuming its only purpose is programming, notes, browsing and maths.

I mean, I can't see those things outgrowing current technology.

 

[MoNNiE]

don't get a pc tablet as of yet, since they aren't that popular yet, repairing of such is harder and more dear.. i was planning to buy one then my friend saidi they arn't too sterdy~ --____--

anways my laptop is an MSI it was worth the money.. when i brought it in june..
http://www.i-tech.com.au/products/6966_MSI_Megabook_M510C_1_7GHZ_Centrino.asp
(similar but some of the specs have changed)

i wouldn't want to get a sony, yes very nice indeed, and quality.. but is it really worth the money your paying for the specs??

 

[Templar]

Also, while looking around the net, i saw the Dell offer....$1000 off the Dell 8600 or $500 off Dell 700m (with $5 upgrade to xp pro). Just wondering what do people think of these two models compared to the Acer Aspire 1682WLMi?? (btw, the offer ends 20 Dec. so please reply asap! )

Dell 700m is crap. Poor battery life for a 12 inch subportable. Integrated graphics.

Dell 8600 with $1000 off is very good value. Compared with Acer, slightly better performance in normal tasks, the 9600 Turbo isn't much off the 9700. Just don't shell out the extra 400 for a 765 just because it runs at 2.1GHz not 2.0 as it makes no difference on batteries whatsoever, and the increase in performance on AC could be obtained much cheaper by upgrading other parts.

 

[pyko]

hmm..the thing that annoyed me about the Dell is that it doesn't have firewire, and only 2 usb....

also, the HDD is only 4200rpm right?

 

[Slidey]

don't get a pc tablet as of yet, since they aren't that popular yet, repairing of such is harder and more dear.. i was planning to buy one then my friend saidi they arn't too sterdy~ --____--

Bullshit! Toshiba for one is very fast with its repairs. If they can't repair it, they replace it. And it is FREE that's the idea of a warranty. How could it possibly cost more?

Oh, and BTW, Tablet PC's are designed to take drops from table height, the screen is unscratchable glass - not pathetic plastic, and mine actually has functions which are performed when you shake it fast, such as opening an application or changing screen orientation.

Simply put, your friend is full of shit in regards to his/her Tablet PC information. Furthermore, mine, and those of most of my friends, have not yet had a single hitch - not even dead pixels!

 

[pyko]

hmm, yes, its rather annoying - the more i look the more laptops that look good!
I'm actually now looking at the:
Toshiba Tecra M2 715 (here are the specs...)

• Mobile Intel® Pentium® M Processor 715 (1.5GHz)
• Integrated 2MB on-die Level 2 cache
• Intel 82855PM + 82801DBM chipset
• 400MHz Front Side System Bus
• 40GB (5400rpm)
• 512MB PC2700 DDR333 expandable to 2GB
• 14.1” TFT Active Matrix XGA 1024x768 resolution
• nVIDIA® GeForce™ FX Go5200 graphics with 64MB DDR video memory
• RGB external VGA display, TV-Out (S-Video)
• CD-ROM (24x), CD-R (16x), CD-RW (8x), DVD-ROM (8x), DVD-R(4x), DVD-RW (2x), DVD+R (2.4x), DVD+RW (2.4x), DVD-RAM (2x)
• ADI AD1981B AC’97 Software Sound (Stereo speakers)
• SD slot, Two Type II PC card slots, parallel, Infrared, RGB,
• TV-Out (S-Video), 2 x USB 2.0, iLink (IEEE1394), modem,
• LAN, headphone port, microphone port, Slim SelectBay™,
• Expansion Bus for Port Replicator, one free memory slot
• RJ-11 modem and RJ45 Ethernet port
• 4xUSB 2.0, one parallel, one serial port
• PS/2® mouse/keyboard port
• RGB external VGA, DVI display port
• Audio line-in and line-out, IEEE 1394
• DC power in, AC adaptor and power cord
• Kensington cable lock slot
• V.90/92 modem, Intel 10/100/1000 Ethernet
• Integrated Bluetooth® antenna
• Integrated wireless LAN antenna
• Integrated Intel Wi-Fi mini PCI card 802.11b/g
• Windows XP Professional

(info copied from the Toshiba pdf file)

And just as a bit of extra information, at www.umart.net.au this laptop is selling for $2607 (though i'm not sure if its in stock :|)

would people recommend this Toshiba laptop over the Acer Aspire 1682WLMi???

thanks!
pyko

 

[Templar]

would people recommend this Toshiba laptop over the Acer Aspire 1682WLMi???

There are some people who prefer the Toshiba brand for their reputation. But in performance the Acer will blitz the Toshiba. If you want to have good gaming the GeForce Go 5200 is much worse than the Radeon 9700.

I don't know why Toshiba uses NVidia chips when they're so crap, even on their top line media laptops. Hopefully the investment in NVidia pays off when they upgrade to 6800.

 

[pyko]

hmm, when you say 'good gaming' do you mean high-end games??

what i'm planning to play is probably just Warcraft III, Starcraft....and maybe Rome Total War, will they run well with the GeForce Go 5200?

The reason i'm considering the Toshiba even though the Acer has a Radeon 9700 is because i've heard that the Acer laptop's HDD is 4200rpm which will load applications (eg. Photoshop) slow than Toshiba's 5200rpm HDD (or is the diff negliable??)

thanks!

 

[Slidey]

Half-Life 2 runs fine on my Geforce Go 5200. No anti-aliasing. My friend installed Rome: Total War and it ran fine, too. NWN2, SS2, FO2, KoTOR2, DD, BD, Morrowind - basically any RPG runs fine on it. Will be buying Deus Ex 2, soon. We'll see how that goes.

Still, I don't know what standard Templar is looking for. If it is no glitches and good-looking graphics, then Geforce Go is fine. If he speaks of top of the line graphics cards, then Radeon is probably the best, and definitely the 5200 is not going to be there anywhere, yeah.

You might want to have a look at some benchmarks. Granted, the 5200 go will likely score lowers than the other cards, but AFAIK, the 5200 is a low-end card. Does that mean it is crap? My experience tells me no.

BTW: Regarding HD speed: I have heard the difference IS noticeable, especially when playing music. Might want confirmation, though.

 

[pyko]

wow, thats nice to know that the Go5200 can run those games. As I don't think I'll have enough money to buy new games, I would be playing old ones, and with the games you have listed above, I am quite sure that it would be ok.

Not planning to play "super" high-end games, though obviously a good graphics card will be sweet

Yeah, the HDD was the main worry, as I would think that I wouldn't be playing games as much (err...i think) so the loading of applications etc is probably a tad more important than the graphics card.

hmm, such a difficult decision!

 

[Templar]

Will be buying Deus Ex 2, soon. We'll see how that goes.

Still, I don't know what standard Templar is looking for. If it is no glitches and good-looking graphics, then Geforce Go is fine. If he speaks of top of the line graphics cards, then Radeon is probably the best, and definitely the 5200 is not going to be there anywhere, yeah.

Love Deus Ex 2. Despite being old, its advanced shadow engine brings even the latest desktop cards to below 40fps (on AA and AS).

Agreed. There are about 5 games at the moment that really need a X800XT/6800 Ultra to run at standard mode (1024*768 no AA and AS), but you won't need to play at such high levels. But I particularly hate the FX 5200 because its architecture is horrible.

To pyko, for Adobe programs I'd worry more about CPU and RAM than HDD speed. Remember, slow HDD = longer loading time, but slow GPU = sloppy gameplay.

The Acer broke 10000 in 3DMark01 for the record.

 

[equiski]

As much as I love my FX5200, I would gladly swap a FX5200Go for a Mobility Radeon 9700 and sacrifice the 20% difference in hard drive read/write speeds. Hard drive speeds are only a factor in load times, the RAM and CPU are very important too.

 

[Templar]

You can always buy a faster HDD and stick it in. You can't do that with the GPU unless it's a PCIe and the standards are finalised.

 

[sunny]

BTW: Regarding HD speed: I have heard the difference IS noticeable, especially when playing music. Might want confirmation, though.

I'm not sure how this works. I hope a faster spindle speed doesn't make the music go faster

Regarding HDD spindle speeds - the difference between 4200 and 5400 shouldn't be majorly noticeable with normal usage. HDD speeds are not only a factor in load times - they become extremely important in memory intensive programs, like Photoshop, etc.

 

[neuro_logik]

I'm not sure how this works. I hope a faster spindle speed doesn't make the music go faster

Regarding HDD spindle speeds - the difference between 4200 and 5400 shouldn't be majorly noticeable with normal usage. HDD speeds are not only a factor in load times - they become extremely important in memory intensive programs, like Photoshop, etc.

they become important if you dont have enough memory

 

[sunny]

they become important if you dont have enough memory

....and more often than not, its never enough

 

[Slidey]

I'm not sure how this works. I hope a faster spindle speed doesn't make the music go faster

Regarding HDD spindle speeds - the difference between 4200 and 5400 shouldn't be majorly noticeable with normal usage. HDD speeds are not only a factor in load times - they become extremely important in memory intensive programs, like Photoshop, etc.

Well, I think media players read ahead to keep things going smoothly and they need memory for this. Presumably the guy who told me this has his memory full when he plays music, so virtual memory is used, which is when HD speed would come into play, as you said.

You know, two 5400 HD's with RAID would be pretty sweet.