cerbera
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| posted on 23/11/10 at 09:13 PM |
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New Laptop
Daughter wants a laptop for Xmas and although I settled on what spec/price I'd like to purchase I'm struggling on what screen size to get.
She currently has her computer plugged into a 19" widescreen TV and I'm a bit worried that 15.6" screen would be too small so have
been looking at 17". With buying a 17" laptop, for the money I'm prepared to pay, I will be sacrificing other specs of the
machine.
The laptop will only be used for the internet, music, maybe the odd DVD, some basic gaming and school work.
I've never owned or used a laptop so what's the general consensus out there? Is it worth getting 17" or should I plumb for the
15.6"?
Cheers in advance.
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r1_pete
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| posted on 23/11/10 at 09:27 PM |
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I cant remember the last time I used a desktop machine, home and business laptops are 15", and I have no problems, maybe its down to being a
little closer to the screen whilst using it.
Dont forget you can still connect the lappy to the big screen, along with a full size kbd and mouse.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 23/11/10 at 09:32 PM |
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With laptops/Notebooks/netbooks less is more.
A simple Netboot makes up for its lack of power and small screen with portability and battery charge life.
I use a Netbook for nearly everything these days ------- for serious work just add a decent desktop monitor + basic speakers, mouse,keyboard and
an external DVD drive.
[Edited on 23/11/10 by britishtrident]
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scootz
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| posted on 23/11/10 at 09:40 PM |
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Smaller screen but better spec every time!
It's Evolution Baby!
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stevebubs
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| posted on 23/11/10 at 11:26 PM |
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Look at the resolution of the screen.
My work laptop is 14" and it's fine for daily use.
Have been looking at personal laptops recently and it looks like the majority of the cheaper 14" laptops are lower resolution than their
15" equivalents and are more expensive. Similarly, most 17" laptops don't appear to offer any resolution increase over their
slightly cheaper 15" counterparts.
Had a play with a Dell 15" recently and was reasonably impressed.
£ for £, this Dell 15R with i3 370 looks pretty good value
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=HDP&l=en&m_30=321942&oc=N00N5051&rbc=N00N5051&am
p;s=dhs
Can't find much to match it.
If she uses a lot of 3D games, it may be worth spending the £100 more to get the better graphics card.
Don't forget, if she has a monitor on the desk, she can plug the laptop into this; she can then normally either use the external monitor
exclusively, or split her desktop across 2 screens....
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RK
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| posted on 24/11/10 at 12:12 AM |
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big heavy laptops defeat the purpose. if possible get a mac. much easier and the new airs are puny but fairly powerful.
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cadebytiger
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| posted on 24/11/10 at 12:13 AM |
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Smaller screen everytime. A 17 inch laptop will be massive and thus defeat the object of having a portable computer.
As above. Some of the really small netbooks are brilliant.
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blakep82
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| posted on 24/11/10 at 01:57 AM |
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smaller screen better spec, and she should still be able to plug it into the 19" tv at home anyway if she prefers
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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bj928
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| posted on 24/11/10 at 02:03 AM |
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some makers are doing an 18.3" screened laptop, i was looking for one for my truck so i could use it as a tv and a laptop, but ended up with a
i3, 500gb, 4gb,15.6 and a 32" tv to plug it into, paid £400 for the laptop (asus) and £200 for the 32" lcd tv, think i got a good deal,
you got to love American prices 
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dhutch
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| posted on 24/11/10 at 08:46 AM |
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All depends, my sister has an entry spec dell studio 17 and we have a 17inch laptop in the living room.
They are 'desktop replacments' in the full sense of the wording, neither ever leave the room they are used in, and although my sisters
goes to her uni flat and back three times a year thats it. However they can be folded to regain the desk space (sisters doing design, living room when
guests are about) which is something even mum can do (sorry mum!).
On the flip side, i have a 14.5inch (?) thinkpad t30 (£40 off a bloke on here or another forum) which is great because i can lugg it around. When at
home i have a pair of 19" samsung tft's hooked up to the computer (£200 6 years ago) which gives me huge desk space for
interneting/spotify/msn/etc
Daniel
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RazMan
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| posted on 24/11/10 at 09:08 AM |
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Depending on how she's going to be using the laptop, a desktop might suit her better. For example. is she going to literally have it on her lap?
If that is the case a 17" will be massive and cumbersome. Also bear in mind that a laptop requires cooling vents to be kept clear and it is
suprising how many manufacturers put them right where your knees go - my sister in law melted her HP 17" this way (her second one too!)
Laptops tend to be far more expensive than desktops and almost impossible to upgrade (and a lower spec to start with)
Why not compromise and get one of the many micro systems available? They take conventional components (graphic card, memory, hard drive etc) and can
be very small on a desk, although obviously not portable.
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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mikeb
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| posted on 24/11/10 at 10:25 AM |
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Most of the students at my uni seem to have 17" you can get a good spec 17" for under £400 dual core 2 or 3 gb of RAM.
They are heavy to lug around far though. I have a 14" for work which works well but when I'm working from home I'd prefer more
screen.
In summary if she isn't going to lug it around too much get a 17" a 2.0GHz dual core and 2 to 3gb of RAM will be perfect.
If she's carrying it around a lot a smaller one with one of the more power effecient processors so the battery life is better (i3 or i5 etc)
And here's a tip than none of the retail shops will tell you, Microsoft security essential (or other free stuff) does a good job on antivirus,
so don't bother with £40 for norton and best of all most new laptops now come with Microsoft Office Essentials.
Its absolutely pukka version (you loose track changes functionality) and it has some MS adverts running in the bottom right corner but on a 17"
you wouldn't worry about that, so don't buy office and give the esstential ago first.
[Edited on 24/11/10 by mikeb]
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cerbera
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| posted on 24/11/10 at 11:26 AM |
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Thanks guys for the input.
With your help I've decided to go for a 15" Asus running the i3 370 and 4GB Ram.
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dave
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| posted on 24/11/10 at 03:23 PM |
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I have a 17" widescreen Acer and its the biggest waste of money i have ever spent, battery is goosed mouse pad doesn't work veery good and
i now get the odd noise from the cd/dvd drive.
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