bigandy
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| posted on 16/12/06 at 11:59 PM |
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What Laptop Advice??
Evening folks.
I have recently decided that the replacement for my aging Desktop PC is going to be a Notebook/laptop type this time round. I am reasonably familiar
with building desktop PCs (i built my own about 3 years ago) although I am little out of touch with the current technology, and even more so when it
comes to laptops. I was hoping that there may be some experts around that could offer a bit of advice.
I only have a few essential requirements, those being:
- A 17" screen, preferably widescreen format
- powerful enough to run MS flight simulator, and also Solidworks, Photoshop, Protel DXP (ECAD) and the usual web browsing and officey type stuff.
- The above point would suggest a minimum of 2Gb memory, and a decent processor. I run an AMD Xp2800 processor with 2Gb ram on win XP, and that is
plenty for now, although is starting to get a bit slow whne doing complex stuff on solidworks.
- bluetooth/Wifi cards built in and a good handful of USB sockets onboard.
I'm currently trying to find some decent sites explaining what is hot and what is not in the laptop world, but if anyone can offer any advice as
to good reliable brands of laptops, and what sort of machine would be the best investment (i typically look to keep a machine for around 3-4
years...).
I have had a look at a couple of Dell XPS systems, and they look pretty good, if a little pricey when you start specifying more memory, better
processors etc etc....
Cheers for any advice in advance!
Andy
Dammit! Too many decisions....
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kestrel1596
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| posted on 17/12/06 at 01:26 AM |
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All laptops break, and when they do we usually take them in to a shop for repair.
Call the nearest reputable laptop repair shop and ask which brands are easiest to get parts for.
Ask them how many of each type they see.
It was this type of advise that helped us settle on which laptop my wife just bought.
hth
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mookaloid
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| posted on 17/12/06 at 08:54 AM |
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There are probably the best
http://www.pc.ibm.com/uk/thinkpad/
Ive had one for nearly three years now - never had a single problem with it unlike the dells and HPs I've had in the past.
Cheers
Mark
"That thing you're thinking - it wont be that."
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oliwb
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| posted on 17/12/06 at 09:39 AM |
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What about a mac book pro? Seriously though it will do everything you want and probably better with less fuss than anything else out there! Why do
you think all these design houses use Mac's??? Oli.
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ecosse
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| posted on 17/12/06 at 10:42 AM |
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There is little to choose between any of the big name brands these days, although for build quality and longevity I would pick Toshiba (nearly every
time), closely followed by IBM and then Sony/HP (I've used/repaired them all  ).
Make sure you get an onsite warranty with whatever you choose though.
Cheers
Alex
PS
Sony kit is generally pretty good but the after sales isn't!
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greggors84
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| posted on 17/12/06 at 11:00 AM |
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I would definately go for a branded one, instead of a shops own brand (PcWorld - Advent) You will obviously pay more, but they are made sturdier and
the hardware will be more reliable.
Both my brothers have bought in the last year, one has a Sony Vaio and the other has a Fujitsu Siemans, both very nice and I think most laptops would
be up to running what you want. You will never beat a desktop for graphics power, but makes sure it has a half decent card in there and some decent
ram and it will run most things maybe not as fast as a desktop though.
Saying this I have had an Advent laptop for the last 6 years and its been used daily, it runs fine, I upgraded the ram to 736mb (+ 512mb) and runs
absolutely fine. Had some software issues and it can run a little hot sometimes if the fan gets clogged up. I even spilt beer over the keypad and
after drying it it works fine.
It just doesn't feel as sturdy as the Sony or Fujitsu Siemans though.
[Edited on 17/12/2006 by greggors84]
Chris
The Magnificent 7!
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viatron
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| posted on 17/12/06 at 11:44 AM |
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We only sell Fujitsu/Siemens laptops now and have for about 3 years, very low returns rate and good value for money, you will struggle to get a proper
17" screened laptop. For gaming etc you will need the best graphics card you can get and also a good cpu, currentley run a centrino due myself
and can run flight sim on it. Laptops are like printers, i will only sell hp as a rule and my mate will only sell epson. look more into the spec than
the brand but do go for a branded make as parts for generics can be a nightmare. also worth paying for the extended warranty if you are going to use
it a lot and rely on it.
HTH
oh and for gaming also look at the hard drive speed as well, newer laptops should all have SATA drives with a good cache.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 17/12/06 at 11:59 AM |
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Fujitsu-Siemens --- very very for good both desktops and laptops -- very good value too.
Sony good look terriffic but mega bucks
Tosh --- are the best but you pay for the brand
Dell --- not too shabby but when you phone up or go on to the web site you never get a computer at the advertised spec & price. Also watch out
for sky hugh delivery charges
Avoid at all cost Advent, Packard-Hell
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viatron
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| posted on 17/12/06 at 02:06 PM |
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second that on the packard bell, in fact anything from PC World.
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Avoneer
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| posted on 17/12/06 at 05:58 PM |
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Dell all the way once you reload XP without all the crap that manafacturers put on your machine.
Been working part time now as a computer man and once set up properly, not seen anything better than a dell and I've now played with quite a few
like Tosh, Acer etc.
Pat...
No trees were killed in the sending of this message.
However a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
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