Laptops

[Amildin]

Hi there, I am looking to buy a new laptop. Went into Currys (big UK electrical store) today and got completely baffled by all the stuff they were throwing at me and didnt know what to think. So i came here for a lovely unbiased opinion from you guys. So was just wondering if anyone could answer these few questions or link me to a site that compares laptops, i have never bought one before so not really sure how the brands compare. So:

Is Vista worth it? Whats new about it and is it full of problems?

What are the different types of screen, I understand all the computer jargon, but have no idea when it comes to screens. Do i get one now, or wait for HD to become a lot cheaper?

Is 2 gig memory worth it or will 1 gig suffice for the next year or two? I have 1 gig on desktop and it never really gets stretched, or are more games etc gonna need the 2 gig?

What ive looked at so far are mostly Sony Valo. They look very pretty but quite pricey. Looking to spend between £500-£800. Not decided on a size yet. Just wanting to see if anyone has any gems they would like to share

 

[Serbitar]

personally atm i would say vista is a big no no.

not only does it use over 300MB memory when doing nothing but its a new OS that is still pretty much untested in the outside world. leave it a year or two so that at least 1 major patch (i.e. SP1) has been released which should shore up some of the obligatory security holes.

I wouldn't go to somewhere like currys or pc world for a laptop/pc anyway, but if i did make sure you speak to someone who knows what they're talking about and not some spotty kid who just works weekends and knows less about pcs than he does about quantam physics - which if hes working in currys/pc world you can safely assume is very little.

 

[Overdriven]

Ignore all the "Vista is shit" comments, I've used it (finally) and the biggest problems (imo) is the searching/security warnings. It's a pretty secure operating system (For endusers, there's no point giving a fuck; since all the updates will be installed) - The UI is okay to use, but XP is generally better to use (no point going back to XP now) - If I was using it for home use, I'd get a vista-laptop, since I've got no reason to downgrade.

(@Anal people: Read security reports, Vista is quite alot better than most of the new Mac OSs)

When looking at laptops look for this:

CPU Speed (Core Duo/AMD X2s) - Usually likely to find 1.6-8Ghz
CPU Cache (For a duo/dc look for 2mb)
RAM (1gb+ is good)
HDD Size (60gb+ for a laptop is fine)
Screen size (Anything > 16" is good tbh)

Any specific questions?

 

[Amildin]

Cheers OD, not really any specific questions. I didnt go to Currys to buy, only to browse and see what laptops were like these days and actually pick one up and feel it. Last time i looked at laptops was about 99 or so

Just really now, what brands are well known to fuck up or which ones are good for money? Is Sony a lot for what it is?

And about screens really, are there different quality of them? Is HD widely available or only on top dog £2k laptops?

Cheers

 

[Congax]

You can never go wrong with an Acer or HP imo. Sony Vaio has quality aswell, but mostly in the higher pricerange.

 

[Overdriven]

Cheers OD, not really any specific questions. I didnt go to Currys to buy, only to browse and see what laptops were like these days and actually pick one up and feel it. Last time i looked at laptops was about 99 or so

Hehe, no problem. Yeah, I actually do the same thing. I was sorta pissed when they changed from Dixons to Currys though. I remember that time tbh.

Just really now, what brands are well known to fuck up or which ones are good for money? Is Sony a lot for what it is?

Well, Toshiba/Acer/Sony and a couple of others are pretty good. HP I tend to stay away from, though that's just because I don't like HP (Had bad experiences with hardware from them) - Honestly, I couldn't care about the make of the machine, as long as the hardware did what I wanted; generally what to look out for.

And about screens really, are there different quality of them? Is HD widely available or only on top dog £2k laptops?

Never really looked at HD screens before, though I'm guessing you're looking to spend quite alot of cash for it (Look how much they cost for desktop machines) - Yeah, stuff like resolution etc matters. (Bigger isn't allways better with laptops)

^^

 

[Bahumat]

Isn't High Definition just a 1024x780 on a normal television screen? And as PC monitors can go up to 1280x1024 you are technically already HD?

 

[Chronictank]

If you plan to play games on it make sure you dont get a shared memory (shares the memory between the gfx and the cpu), solution, get one with a real gfx cardon board

 

[Darksword]

In my opinion, get vista as i'm guessing alot of new laptops will come with vista pre loaded, but dont look at vista as a selling point. the big advantage is that if you dont get vista with your laptop now preloaded, you're going to probably pay however much vista costs in a few months time.

HD is very nice, but probably very expensive if laptops come with it built in now(?) so if you're looking at HD as a want/need then i'd wait off for as long as possible, technology and in particular laptop technology is growing very fast, and prices drop rather swiftly, i believe towards the end of summer laptop prices will be alot cheaper (as people start to buy them for uni, big stores/online places will have more deals up).

 

[Amildin]

Dunno, seen HD laptops in currys and they looked quality. Cheers guys, got an all round view of what im looking for now. Nice quick lesson in laptops. Now time to shop around, anyone know any sites/shops etc doing good deals?

 

[Darksword]

Well, Toshiba/Acer/Sony and a couple of others are pretty good. HP I tend to stay away from, though that's just because I don't like HP (Had bad experiences with hardware from them) - Honestly, I couldn't care about the make of the machine, as long as the hardware did what I wanted; generally what to look out for.

^^

Of these brands, I'd say Sony is the best, but obviously is the most expensive aswell, Sony Vaio laptops tend to use the most solid hardware and parts wihich is great quality, but expensive where as Toshiba may use some expensive parts and some cheaper parts to bring the cost down and so is a bit cheaper, but that isnt to say their laptops arent as good, just i personally feel sony is more reliable.

Of all these tho, i'd say look into Acer the most, from what i've seen they do very good laptops at quality prices, but dont look at the acer laptops in currys, did that once and i was very disillusioned with the brand till i later looked at their website. HP laptops are very good imo, have a friend with one which works brilliantly, although he has had some problems (needed to reformat it, and almost had the hardrive melt on him aswell as some other problems)

 

[Darksword]

Dunno, seen HD laptops in currys and they looked quality. Cheers guys, got an all round view of what im looking for now. Nice quick lesson in laptops. Now time to shop around, anyone know any sites/shops etc doing good deals?

I'll probably get a kick in for this, but, don't neglect PC world; they often have good deals on and it's always good to be able to negotiate prices/extras with sales reps. I got my laptop from there cheaper than i found on the internet because there was a deal on, and i also got a free carry case and some other bits and bobs.

i was told about dealtime.co.uk or some such site which is ment to be good?

 

[Overdriven]

I'll probably get a kick in for this, but, don't neglect PC world; they often have good deals on and it's always good to be able to negotiate prices/extras with sales reps. I got my laptop from there cheaper than i found on the internet because there was a deal on, and i also got a free carry case and some other bits and bobs.

i was told about dealtime.co.uk or some such site which is ment to be good?

Nah actually, if you know what you're looking for (and can deal with their staff) it's a good place to buy a laptop/PC - Since it IS generally cheaper than most online/local stores you're going to find around. Reason people hate PC world is because of the staff/tech support.

Also, at your other post: See, reason I don't like HP

http://www.overclockers.co.uk are good for machines (lil pricey, but ok)

@Bahu: HD == Amount of lines on screen (lamern term) - Normal TV is like, 512 lines of colour, HD is 1024

@Chron: Try explaining that to friends who know shit about computers =<

 

[Krait]

If you had the money then This would be superb.
If not then the same place also sells some pretty good laptops.

 

[Overdriven]

If you had the money then This would be superb.

You'd look like a cock driving one these days (atleast over here) and I'd suspect you'd look like one if you'd own that =D

If you're looking for really high priced laptops, look at some of the laptops in PC world do work...

Better

 

[Bahumat]

i retract my retarded statement. seems those HD lines are all close and cuddly, think its a bit sexual

 

[Saggy]

Hi there, I am looking to buy a new laptop. Went into Currys (big UK electrical store) today and got completely baffled by all the stuff they were throwing at me and didnt know what to think. So i came here for a lovely unbiased opinion from you guys. So was just wondering if anyone could answer these few questions or link me to a site that compares laptops, i have never bought one before so not really sure how the brands compare. So:

Is Vista worth it? Whats new about it and is it full of problems?

What are the different types of screen, I understand all the computer jargon, but have no idea when it comes to screens. Do i get one now, or wait for HD to become a lot cheaper?

Is 2 gig memory worth it or will 1 gig suffice for the next year or two? I have 1 gig on desktop and it never really gets stretched, or are more games etc gonna need the 2 gig?

What ive looked at so far are mostly Sony Valo. They look very pretty but quite pricey. Looking to spend between £500-£800. Not decided on a size yet. Just wanting to see if anyone has any gems they would like to share

Yes, that's a fairly long post...

...but asking "I'm looking for a laptop to play games with. It should be small enough to use in cafe or buss so no >15" monsters, please. Any recommendations?" would be more usefull

ASUS A8JR 14" WXGA/T5500/ATIX2300/1024/120GB ~1112€ - its small enough and you "can" play games with it. If gaming is what you are aiming with laptop then >15" is the way to go and Asus/Toshiba/LG has many good performing yet within your price range models.

 

[Congax]

14" is rather small imo, just take a good ol' 15,4"

 

[Saggy]

14" is rather small imo, just take a good ol' 15,4"

15.4" is too big to travel with really :S Ideal laptop would be 11" with good performance and battery life - that combination isn't all that easy to make though

 

[Overdriven]

15.4" is too big to travel with really :S Ideal laptop would be 11" with good performance and battery life - that combination isn't all that easy to make though

Well, there's "Laptop" which is <13" and "Laptop" which is >14" ;o - I think the 2nd one is more "Thightop"

 

[Vladamir]

Saggy = sexy

 

[Saggy]

Saggy = sexy

Love you too



Had 17", 15.4" and 13.3" (lost them all ;p) and that 13.3" was the only one I bothered to travel with. 11" and 10kg >>>> 15" and 2kg*, imo

(* wether we talk about laptops or something else. Oo)

 

[Himse]

My one word of advice about buying any form of electronic.


DONT GO TO PC WORLD, CURRY'S OR CURRYS DIGITAL, they are just a bunch of fuckwits with noclue trying to sell shit pc's and stuff

Hate going in there.

 

[Overdriven]

My one word of advice about buying any form of electronic.


DONT GO TO PC WORLD, CURRY'S OR CURRYS DIGITAL, they are just a bunch of fuckwits with noclue trying to sell shit pc's and stuff

Hate going in there.

As I've mentioned, if you go in there with a slight knowledge of what you want you'll have no problems, PC world is most probably the cheapest place to go in the UK.... Go in PC world and ask for something that isn't real, see what they do.