Planetarion Forums

Mong · 6 Aug 2004, 20:17

Hi,

My trusty old Athlon 1ghz is dying a slow and painfull death. So I think I'll get a laptop to replace it. Trying to stick to £1000 or less.

I want one with a nice screen. It's got to be around 1280x1024 else it's not worth bothering, as I want to run Reason and Traktor on it. I'll settle for a lower resolutuion if it supports dual displays (so I can plug a monitor in).

The screen is my only real stipulation. Everything else will be at least 'sufficent' for that price (and probably better).

So, what do you recommend?

Thanks,

M.

Demon Dave · 8 Aug 2004, 01:25

i got a Dell Inspiron 1100 for £711. 2.4GHz Celeron, 15.1" screen (supports dual moniter output) 30GB Hard Drive and 256MB RAM. however, it does appear that Dell have stopped doing the 1100, so any of the Inspirons should suit your needs

Vaio · 10 Aug 2004, 03:19

I always buy the most expensive Sony I can afford. I was given a Compaq Armada all singing all dancing thing with one job that lasted around a week before the hard drive failed. After the 2nd replacement had to go back because the screen failed I dug out my trusty F-807K from under the bed and refused all new machines until they got me a Sony.

I haven't decided what model to buy next. Probably a Centrino model when I get round to it.

~Vaio~

flapjack · 16 Aug 2004, 16:42

got a Toshiba satelite here, 2,4ghz P4 (not of those lousy celerons, 1 of those less lousy P4 mobile thingies), 220mb ram (don't ask me how they got it at 220, that's just what windows says). It supports dual screen, 1 CRT and the other being the LCD screen on the laptop itself.
oh and I got it for free :P

Demon Dave · 17 Aug 2004, 12:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by flapjack

got a Toshiba satelite here, 2,4ghz P4 (not of those lousy celerons, 1 of those less lousy P4 mobile thingies)

a Centrino is, i believe, the lousy mobile P4 of which you speak

Mong · 17 Aug 2004, 17:24

When I say "dual display" I mean like, so it can have the desktop expanded across multiple displays (I've got 3 CRT connected to my work box, each displaying different things :-) )

mist · 17 Aug 2004, 18:56

you'll be hard pressed to find a laptop that won't do dual displays. dunno if you'll find one that'll do 1280*1024 for under a grand tho.

i got my laptop, wierdly, from staples. so they might be worth a look

-mist

Luckeh!!!! · 19 Aug 2004, 12:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demon Dave

a Centrino is, i believe, the lousy mobile P4 of which you speak

There isn't a CPU called Centrino... Centrino is the collection of wireless capability + low power consumption CPU, that particular cpu in a Centrino laptop is called a P-M, Pentium Mobile, you might hear people call it "Banias", AFAIK that is just teh codename for the P-M with speeds upto 1.7GHz. P-M's 1.8GHz and above are codenamed Dothan.

You can get P4-M, P-M, and Celeron crap.

Celerons are the worst of the worst, especially for laptops.

P-M's are fairly good compared to P4-M's, the main reason for getting a P-M is for low power consumption and these CPUs trump over the "desktop P4's in a laptop P4-M" CPUs.

pig · 24 Aug 2004, 11:52

I have a samsung, p4 2.6, 512mb ram, 40 gb hd etc etc, nice screen, nice laptop, works fast does everything all good, if I was you id spend a decent amount on the laptop as i know someone who got one from time or whereevr it is, and it kept breaking down, in all honesty if i had the money id probably stick with the laptop i got, as its got insurance on it so if it gets nicked or broken ive got peace of mind, btw get insurance for ure laptop means you can be less careful rnd it so u can enjoy it more

CrashTester · 24 Aug 2004, 14:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by flapjack

220mb ram (don't ask me how they got it at 220, that's just what windows says

Some ranges of Toshiba use part of the RAM to shadow the BIOS (load the bios into the ram) to make them faster. There may be an option in the BIOS to switch this off if you really want to.

flapjack · 24 Aug 2004, 15:14

I know what you mean, this option however doesn't affect what windows says the memory is at, nor does it change how much the BIOS says is in there.
I also noticed that the change in performance is minimal and that some games actaully run faster if the BIOS isn't shadowed, could just be me tough :P

Kal · 24 Aug 2004, 15:53

its the main memory being used as graphics memory - its cheap and nasty

Mong · 30 Aug 2004, 12:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luckeh!!!!

You can get P4-M, P-M, and Celeron crap.

Celerons are the worst of the worst, especially for laptops.

Don't confuse Celeron with Celeron-M. Celeron-M is a very good option - pretty much the same performance as the P-M, but the battery life isn't as good (about 25% less).

Standard Celerys are pants, obviously.

M.

Androme · 30 Aug 2004, 16:17

Get a PC.

Mong · 31 Aug 2004, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androme2

Get a PC.

Get a new joke.

Androme · 31 Aug 2004, 18:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mong

Get a new joke.

I was being serious.

madman2k30 · 7 Sep 2004, 10:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demon Dave

a Centrino is, i believe, the lousy mobile P4 of which you speak

centrino is Intel's version of WI-Fi

Luckeh!!!! · 7 Sep 2004, 10:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by madman2k30

centrino is Intel's version of WI-Fi

it is the collection of integrated wireless and low power usage CPU

Structural Integrity · 7 Sep 2004, 10:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by madman2k30

centrino is Intel's version of WI-Fi

No, it's not exclusively.
Centrino is a big sticker they put on components that meet the requirements of a mobile platform. This includes standards for WiFi, but also energy consumption and dimensions and probably some more things.

I can't really recommend a notebook, but please get a decent brand. In my three days in a helpdesk for notebooks (amongst other things) I learned that those cheap wannabe notebooks are made up of cheap and exotic, custom made components. The "exotic" and "custom made" part means that if the warranty of the notebook expires, and something goes buggered, you are royally fecked, because it is often the case that there are no spare part available anymore for your particular notebook. Also, often it is not possible to refit with standard components because it simply does not fit.

Androme · 8 Sep 2004, 00:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Structural Integrity

No, it's not exclusively.
Centrino is a big sticker they put on components that meet the requirements of a mobile platform. This includes standards for WiFi, but also energy consumption and dimensions and probably some more things.

I can't really recommend a notebook, but please get a decent brand. In my three days in a helpdesk for notebooks (amongst other things) I learned that those cheap wannabe notebooks are made up of cheap and exotic, custom made components. The "exotic" and "custom made" part means that if the warranty of the notebook expires, and something goes buggered, you are royally fecked, because it is often the case that there are no spare part available anymore for your particular notebook. Also, often it is not possible to refit with standard components because it simply does not fit.

But aren't laptops generally much harder to fix anyway?

flapjack · 9 Sep 2004, 09:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androme2

But aren't laptops generally much harder to fix anyway?

Absolutely true, your best bet is to try and not break them.
So don't drop it, pour water over it, put it out in the desert while it's on, try to plug it into 230 volts directly, etc.

Oh and remember not to let destructive parents/brothers or sisters touch it, since at the very least you'll have to format it like I had to after my sister played on it for half an hour