New laptop advice
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Printed Date: June 11 2024 at 09:36
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Topic: New laptop advice
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Subject: New laptop advice
Date Posted: April 22 2008 at 21:59
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My current desktop machine is old and getting slower and slower, so I think it is time to invest in a new machine. However, I want to keep this machine running for the time being, so I am definitely thinking of purchasing a laptop, because I physically have space issues and cannot fit another desktop machine in. I have some preferences however and have found a machine that seems to fit my requirements and this is where I need advice: 1. It has to be an AMD chipset 2. I prefer nVidia GeForce over ATI Radeon 3. I am not yet ready for Vista, but want it installed on the machine, so I don't have to purchase a copy at a later juncture Now, is it possible to dual boot XP and Vista? I am pretty sure it is. However, how much will it affect the speed of the laptop? I have many applications and games that won't run on Vista apparently (some are older programmes that will never get updated or patched), so XP is the only real option for me here. I'm also fully aware that Vista is only on Service Pack 1 currently, so there are still many problems to iron out with it. Some of my software may run correctly in the future, or so I hope! If speed does not suffer too much with a dual boot, how difficult will it be to set-up? I preferably do not want to reformat the drive, so I am presuming an application like Partition Magic (or even Vista itself), will allow me to partition the drive without harming what's on the drive already? Because it is a laptop, I doubt I'll have installation CDs for everything, so I don't want to uninstall anything either. The machine I have been looking at has an AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 chipset, so it's not too bad and wlll be quite fast. AMD have yet to release their quadcore chipset in laptop format. Any help on this would be much appreciated. -------------   
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Replies:
Posted By: ClemofNazareth
Date Posted: April 22 2008 at 22:22
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Yes, you can dual boot XP and Vista. The setup isn't all that challenging, but you are going to need at least one of them already installed and the installation disk for the other. Might be a challenge if you received the operating system of your current PC with the PC itself, in which case the installation disk is probably a recovery disk that will only work on the same PC. You will have to create a partition for the other operating system. One thing you may be able to do if you act quickly is to call the vendor you purchase the laptop from and request that they install an OS downgrade. Typically this would mean you would buy Vista but they would install XP for you. They should also send you the Vista disks. That would give you an XP machine that you could then partition and install Vista into that partition for your dual-boot solution (see http://www.syschat.com/how-dual-boot-windows-xp-vista-1818.html - here or lots of other forums for instructions). I say act fast though because if I'm not mistaken Microsoft won't allow their resellers to do this after June 2008. At least my company (which installs and ships the very configuration I just described) has been notified by Microsoft that we can only ship Vista after June. ------------- "Peace is the only battle worth waging." Albert Camus |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 22 2008 at 22:37
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Thanks, Clem. Well my mother has XP on CD. I know it's not exactly legal to have more than one copy (with the same serial number) of it installed, but I don't want to have to purchase XP again. However, I don't have Vista (I'd like to avoid Vista all together, but as I said, if I get it now, at least I can play with it myself and wait for further upgrades to be released). Apparently it's not that bad an OS, but it's still in early stages and I want to use XP for a while longer yet. This machine I'm using has 2000 on it and I have the discs for that too somewhere. If I have the XP discs, is it possible to partition the drive and then install it as a dual booting machine? What will the performance be like, by the way? Oh, I missed a question earlier actually: If I decide eventually I don't need XP anymore, how difficult will it be to uninstall completely and restore it to one OS? I don't mind if it's partitioned still, it's sometimes easier to do that anyhow. I think the machine I was looking at has a 250 GB drive and I was going to purchase a LaCie 1 tb external drive anyhow. -------------
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Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 22 2008 at 23:03
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Something else also comes to mind: I have a lot of software on this current machine that I would like to put on my new laptop. A lot of these I have on CD, but some are downloaded freeware software, which is also easy to sort out, because I can re-download them. However, I have a lot saved games and addons (especially for Firefox, where I'd like to keep my profile) and all sorts for things, so it'd be easier to transfer everything across in one go. I do realise that installing software is the way to go though, because then it enters into the registry properly and everything. Anyhow, is there a way of making my laptop talk to this PC, without using a network cable? This machine doesn't have bluetooth, unfortunately. I'll have to move a lot of my install and saved files over to my external drive otherwise and I'd rather not do that if I can, because it could take ages. As I said, I'm getting a new 1 tb external drive and I have 250 gb one already. My 250 gb drive has over 100 gb of files on that I'd actually prefer to put on my 1 tb drive in the future, but my current PC has very small drives, so I won't be able to move them to there (that's why they're on the external in the first place -- lack of space). The only option I can think of for now, is to copy (not move) my files from my 250 gb external over to my new laptop's 250 gb drive and then move them all to the 1 tb drive. After all, I only want to use my laptop drive for installed software really and keep the external for saved files and the actually install files themselves. Plus my music, of course. I don't think I can plug in two large drives together. My brother tried it on this machine once and it reset my computer. Memory sticks and large storage devices are fine though. Any ideas on how to transfer my files quickly? -------------
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:02
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Why does it have to be AMD?
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to: 
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Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:08
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Because I prefer AMD. All my machines, except my very old 386, have been AMD and they've never let me down, so I want to stick with them. Besides, I've found a laptop that has an nVidea graphics card and an AMD chipset. I would wait for the quadcore AMD for laptops, but that could be a while yet. -------------
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Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:17
I recommend HP or Toshiba, but HP has a longer warranty. Just don't get the dv6000 series, because of a problem with their motherboards. had the dv6000 but it took two weeks to deliver my lappy and they won't touch your HDD. So your porn stash is safe. I use USB transfer cables, it's easy to use and fast or slow depending, I left running overnight. http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Transfer-Cable-Windows-Vista/dp/B000JJPZW0 - http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Transfer-Cable-Windows-Vista/dp/B000JJPZW0 |
Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:21
If not, why bother getting quad-core. A dual-core is suitable for light editing and recording. sheesh, I need sleep. Too many typos.  |
James wrote:Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:32
Erm, I was looking at an HP DV6710ea: http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4XVZ&CategorySelectedId=11105&NavigationKey=11105,50220000,387320000,387670000,49340000,49010000&InMerch=1#specifications - http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4XVZ&CategorySelectedId=11105&NavigationKey=11105,50220000,387320000,387670000,49340000,49010000&InMerch=1#specifications I'm presuming that is in the DV6000 series. Can you confirm if this doesn't have a dodgy motherboard? -------------
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Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:33
Maybe in the future, but not at the moment. I'm quite happy with a dualcore, besides, it's cheaper. -------------
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Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:38
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^ that's the one my brother has, US version though. Mobo failed within a week, the guy at the shop says that he's was getting a lot of them back. But after the repairs, it has been a trooper. Hey it's discontinued, what a surprise. Might try the 9700 series, a tad more expensive but you get a better graphics chip. |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:42
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Oh I know that, but I wanted an AMD/GeForce laptop and that's one of the few available. The new Pavilion series doesn't have a replacement for it.
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Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:44
US version. BTW, most people say that Intel is better than AMD for laptops. Now that I think of it the problem with the 6000 series might be only related to AMD. |
Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:48
Exactly, as I said earlier anyway. Intel has been making some good advances in Mobile CPU technology, AMD, well not so much lately as far I know. ------------- 
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Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:49
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How about this one? Seems to be a new model. It's got an ATI Radeon in it, but I can live with that, I'm sure it's compatible with most of my software. http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4JNK&CategorySelectedId=11105&NavigationKey=11105,50220000,387320000,50240 - http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4JNK&CategorySelectedId=11105&NavigationKey=11105,50220000,387320000,50240 It's a 6000 series again though... I don't think the 8000 series do an AMD machine, not than I can find anyhow. -------------
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Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:53
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Here we go, this is more like it. This is the one Siam was referring to and it has a GeForce card. http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4XW8&CategorySelectedId=11105&NavigationKey=11105,50220000,42880000,50240 - http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4XW8&CategorySelectedId=11105&NavigationKey=11105,50220000,42880000,50240 -------------
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Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:54
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http://www.intel.com/products/centrino/vpro/index.htm?iid=notebook_body+vpro - http://www.intel.com/products/centrino/vpro/index.htm?iid=notebook_body+vpro
Check it dawg. Some low energy consumption. -------------
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Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:57
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http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Radeon-Xpress-X1250.6946.0.html - http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Radeon-Xpress-X1250.6946.0.html not so much of a graphics card. What's your price range? |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:59
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Well, under £1000 (whatever that is in dollars) preferably. I also plan to get a 1 tb external drive as well.
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Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 02:59
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Lol, I think since it's just me, Siam and James, we might as well take this back to the Velvet Room. -------------
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Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 03:01
The one I linked, is ideal. The card in that is a GeForce 8400M GS, which isn't on that benchmark test. The GT version is though. -------------
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Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 03:06
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So there you have it. Although I'd ask around a bit more, do a little Google search, catch my drift? |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 03:09
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Well yes, I didn't say I was going to buy it from that particular company, that's just one of the sites I was looking at. It's strange how the 8400M GS isn't on the benchmark testing though, is it newer than the GT model? I'm guessing it is. I'll Google it. It was on the list, even though I did look... Google found it. It's below a GT. -------------
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Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 03:22
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Well, unless you intend on spending more than you said, you're probably not going to find any great performing graphics card on a laptop. |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 03:36
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Well I'm not a huge game player anyhow and the games I do have, or plan to have, should run fine anyhow. Stangely, that laptop is in clearance, yet it seems the be one of the fastest HP laptops they sell... peculiar. -------------
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 04:46
That doesn't make much sense to me. AMD on a laptop ... that's a bit experimental. Intel Core 2 Duo is the way to go IMO. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 06:55
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That's what I'm going to go for (Intel Core 2 Duo), Mike. I've been convinced. I've been reading about dual booting from a Vista pre-install and it's not straight forward at all! I might actually be better off sticking with an XP installation and avoiding Vista for ages. Dual booting is possible though, but it's fraught with issues, especially as early XP doesn't recognise SATA drives and my new laptop will likely have a SATA drive in it. There's also the issue with XP only being able to recognise a 150 gb partition. So I'm not sure what to do. I also have a sneaky suspicion the XP disc I have access to is an update disc, rather than a full install, so I might not be able to dual boot. -------------
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 07:04
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^ the 150g partition issue with XP has been fixed - the Maxtor website has the patch. ------------- What? |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 07:19
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Yes, but if I dual boot, when I'm installing XP, I won't have that fix to begin with, so it won't recognise the shrunken partition that Vista created... or so I've read. I also don't think the install disc I have (it may only be an update disc) has any updates on it. If it was an SP 2 install, it wouldn't be so bad. More problems... the video card in the laptop I'm looking at, won't support XP and it's also Direct X 10, which also apparently isn't supported in XP updates. There is a workaround, but I am not sure if the card will function as fully as it would in Vista. Microsoft really know how to screw their customers. I'm slowly regretting my decision... if only I could find a decent spec XP laptop new. -------------
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 10:57
One thing you could do ist to use Vista 64 and 4GB of RAM. Then you can install VMWare Server (it's free) and install your old copy of WinXP in a virtual machine. It's relatively straight forward to set up and use. You can also run most apps in Vista if you configure the compatibility mode correctly. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 13:07
Cool - didn't know VMWare had a free product. I used their workstation long ago (not free) and ran a Windows VM on a Linux host....I'll have to check out server to see if I can do similar now (beats dual boot). |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 16:03
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I've read that not all apps work in VMWare though when using XP under Vista. A dual boot would be the best way of doing it. Anyhow, I'm slowly going off the idea and I think I'll end up getting an XP machine. Only problem is, the ones I am looking at only have 120 Gb drives, which I guess is big enough for my requirements, but I'd prefer a 250 Gb. I will of course have an external drive (most likely 1 Tb -- if XP doesn't have issues with it, of course), but I don't want that plugged in all the time and of course, the main applications should be on the C: I'm also sure they have Intel GMA cards in and as I said, I'd rather an nVidia or an ATI. I don't think I have a full XP install anyhow. I'm completely frustrated now. I'm at a loss. -------------
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 16:14
hmm...a drive with pretty much apps only, 120 GB should be enough, if all your data will live on the external. you could always try to get the machine configured with the smallest drive they have and then buy another internal drive (>= 250 GB) from somewhere...they're not too expensive. |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 16:40
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I have a lot of applications as well as computer games that individually take up over a gigabyte without the expansions and other bits and bobs. Neverwinter Nights is a huge game and I plan to get Neverwinter Nights 2 in the future, so I'm going to need internal space. I really don't fancy running software from an external drive. My current machine has: C: 28.6 Gb (only 2.03 Gb left, with Neverwinter Nights installed) D: 3.90 Gb (with 1.72 Gb left) - this is a partition of C: I think F: 17.1 Gb (with 2.01 Gb left) - this is a separate drive As you can see, this current setup pushes my system fully. A 120 Gb drive would be sufficient for all this software, but do bear in mind I've uninstalled a lot of stuff to make space. XP may well take up more space than 2000 too, so I think a 120 Gb. would be almost full.... I will need a bigger drive. -------------
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 17:22
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James: http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/winxp_inspnnb?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs - http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/winxp_inspnnb?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs If you click on the "customize" button, you can select Windows XP for your OS, for another 50 quid. |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 18:32
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You're potentially a lifesaver! These look much better. Thanks! I'm just hoping XP and SATA will work together, I'm sure they will. I'm still worried about a high specification machine like this running XP without issues.... I don't know if nVidia even do drivers for XP in that range, I guess they do, otherwise Dell wouldn't be offering it. I have a lot of choices too... hmm, a better graphics card would be nice, just in case I ever do decide to buy graphics intensive games -------------
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Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 18:48
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Thanks. I'm not a business customer, so I'll see what I can do... that machine you pointed me to looks lovely. It's pretty top spec, has XP option and the GeForce Go 7950 GTX is for DirectX 9, which is perfect and will run on XP. I get the best of all worlds and with all those options, I don't care that it's over a grand. I may definitely get this.I know Dell are a huge company, so I hope to not envisage any issues here. Any bad experiences? -------------
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Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 18:54
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Those XPS' are really cool, one of my teachers has it. The only problem, he says is battery life. |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 18:56
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Hmm, do I decide to get Office 97... I plan to use OpenOffice from now on, but can I justify not having Office? It comes with Works, which is all integrated, but hmm... I hate decision making. -------------
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Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 18:58
That's not a huge issue for me, because I don't get out much. There's a few circumstances where I may require it though, such as at Family History Centres and such like.-------------
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Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 19:00
Really? No way! Office '97? jeez I was still in middle school when I last used that. |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 19:05
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That's why I'll likely not include it, because I will use OpenOffice. I also will use AVG, I've never had any issues with it, although I guess McAfee could be useful. It's an extra cost though and if I can keep the price down, I will. I didn't mean 97... 2007 I think. 97 is what I have on this 2000 machine. Although, as I said, I've been using OpenOffice without much of an issue.-------------
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Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 19:06
I really don't like the layout of the new version, but I got it for free since I'm a poor college student.
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 19:07
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I've built several XP desktops that only have SATA drives without problem. One solution for the dual boot issue is to install XP on a USB drive and boot from that.
Buy the battery upgrade whether you use it or not (though I do not see the logic in buying a laptop if you aren't going to be taking it out - you get more bang-for-your-buck in a desktop, a better keyboard and plenty of room for extra harddrives and other such fancy peripherals inside the goddam box - I see people use laptops with external keyboards, mice, and monitors littering their already crowded desk and scratch my head in bewilderment and wonder)
One other thing to remember with laptops is the harddrives do not last as long as those in a desktop. I've rebuilt several laptops where the harddrive has simply stopped working (you can do the iPod trick of giving them a slap to unstick them, but once you've had to do that you know it's time to replace it)
I have used Dell extensively in the past, but I am now going back to Novatech.co.uk since I have found no improved reliability or quality for the extra cost - I also find Dells to be just a little too non-standard and quirky for my personal tastes (minor things like the motherboard being upside down when compared to a "standard" pc - not the end of the world by any means, but it does mean Dell-only upgrades and replacements). Also the pre-installed crap that Dells are delivered with is a pain in the butt to remove when your buying several PCs at once - but for a one-off its not so much of a hassle. (Why do I want AOL pre-installed on a business machine??)
have fun  ------------- What? |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 19:19
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Well I want to keep this old dog (this 2000 run 1GHz. high speed (sic) desktop) running for a while yet. I still use older applications and do occasionally need to use DOS, so having this machine as a back up will be very useful. I also have space issues. I can barely put anything down on this computer table, from lack of space. I don't plan to use an extra screen or keyboard with it, but I will get an external mouse, as the laptops I've dabbled with I always find annoying with the touchpad. I guess I will get used to it though. The 1 Tb. external will have to wait, but that's not too much of an issue, because I have a 250 Gb. internal drive in an external case. However, the fan is crap and it's very noisy, so I probably am better off getting a proper external drive. I am having fun... I still cannot pluck up the courage to add it to the basket, although I have got Dell to tot it all up... now I need to justify thatI need all that. -------------
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 19:35
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You won't get use to the touch-pad - infact you might even want to disable it.
Laptop keyboards are not everyone's cup of tea - the travel and feel is not the same as a full keyboard and is not as comfortable if you do a lot of writing, especially as you cannot adjust the position and tilt as easily. Personally I miss the num-pad and cursor-keys as well. The other downer on a laptop is the monitor is a lot lower so ergonomically it is not in the best position for extended periods of used. (I'm not knocking your choice - I have both and use them regularly - nothing beats being able to take my laptop into the garden in the summer, even if I have to hide under a tarp to see the screen)
Once you've decided which Dell you'd like - look at the Novatech site and see what they have to offer (they've a showroom in Reading) ------------- What? |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 19:46
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Well eventually, when I've got the space and the funds, I'll get a new desktop as well. Being able to use it anywhere in the house is an advantage (as long as the wireless is able to find the router) and it means I can, if necessary, take it with me to Records Offices and other places I may do research at. I'm hoping it'll all work with the router upstairs and I won't need to purchase another router... I still can access the Internet via this machine, but I want online access with the laptop, obviously. Will it therefore work in conjunction with a Netgear Router? -------------
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 19:56
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My Netgear DG834G works with my laptop in any room in the house and out in the garden. But my laptop receives strong signals from both my neighbours routers.
The only issue I've had with the Netgear is I needed to put a high-gain aerial on my daughters desktop, but I think that was because of the amount of debris on her bedroom floor blocking the signal.
I know a few people who have had problems with Netgear MIMO routers (the ones without external aerials) where two or more solid walls stood between router and PC. ------------- What? |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 20:22
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I think we have a DG834G (it could be a different letter...), it's supposed to support 108 Mbps, but I'm only getting a connection on my wireless dongle (also a Netgear) at half of that speed. Plus the light always flashes on and off. I'm not sure what speed the router is currently at, as that is in my parent's room. I'll try and check tomorrow. My current connection speed is: 48 Mbps (occasionally going up to 54 Mbps) That's not good. I think it's the ISP, rather than the hardware. My wireless picks up my neighbours router, but it's only about 25% or less strength, but we have big thick walls between us. I just checked and a third connection has been found... interesting! That wasn't there before. Only 8% strength... I wonder if that's my other neighbour's son, who's moved back from his old digs in Staffordshire? -------------
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 20:38
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The 48Mbps is not your ISP as it is the wireless connection speed and not related to your broadband connection - the DG834G is a 54Mbps box - the DG834GT is the 108Mbps one - or it could be your dongle is a 54Mbps one. ------------- What? |
Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 20:57
That site was awesome - if I lived in the UK I'd be inclined to shop there. Check out their 17" laptop, James, it seems comparable to the Dell but at only £600*. * so much work to write that - I have to google "pound symbol" |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 21:13
Yes, we have the GT router. The dongle should work at 108 Mbps as well. I cannot remember the model number, let me see if I can find it. It's a Netgear WG111T 108Mbps Wireless USB 2.0, so I should be able to get speeds of 108 Mbps. I did upgrade the driver a while back and it caused all sorts of issues... I've sorted them out by downgrading again. The update supports WPA. I still couldn't get over 54 Mbps. Actually, I am using the newer driver. The old one was more stable and didn't fluctuate as much. I do know Tiscali have had annoying amounts of problems though and the Internet has gone down quite a few times. Pat: too late...  -------------
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 21:22
| Pulled the trigger, did you? Well you'll surely enjoy the upgrade...though to be honest, I'm still going strong (currently typing this on) with a 1200 MHz Athlon (512 MB RAM) box that I bought in 2001 - replaced hard drive and video card so far but that's it. |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 21:31
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Well mine's older than that... I have got an Athlon though, a K7 1 GHz with only 392k RAM. My graphics card though, although it's only PCI (not AGP or PCI Express) (which is one of the reasons I could do with a new machine) has 256 Mb RAM, so in that regard, it's quite healthy, although it's an old card now. HDD space is where I'm let down and moving and re-installing isn't really what I want to do. True, I have to do it on my laptop, but it'll be a fresh install and all the unnecessary crap (especially Win2k only installs) will not be required, so it should initially run quite smoothly. Even my current favourite computer game, Neverwinter Nights, struggles on this 1 GHz. (ideally it needs 1 .3 GHz. with the expansions as a minimum) and some Genealogy Software I've tried uses all my processor speed (it uses Java) and therefore slows my computer down to a halt. This poor machine isn't very well. The screensaver slows things down, AVG slows things down and when I put a Music CD on, if I'm using Firefox, it also makes my Music slowdown and sound peculiar. It means I'll also be able to use the XP version of WinAMP (my MP3 player of choice). -------------
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Posted By: Mikerinos
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 21:38
I'd recommend Fisher Price, their laptops are very cheap and really powerful! Plus you don't support the Windows regime this way, and you'll be the coolest kid in the UK.   ------------- 
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 21:41
If I can put Linux on it I'm all over this.  |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 23 2008 at 21:43
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Eet teetchis u 2 speel 2
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Posted By: Petrovsk Mizinski
Date Posted: April 24 2008 at 02:27
James is gunna get THE DELL... FROM HELL MWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA 
I just had to do that joke.
The Fisher Price doesn't look too shabby either, but perhaps a little slow for Neverwinter Nights. -------------
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Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: April 24 2008 at 02:30
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I doubt you could even play Sudoko on that thing. I can't play Sudoko on this, so how am I supposed to on a Fisher Price?
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: April 24 2008 at 03:00
Of course XP works on new (SATA) laptops ... the only potential problem is that if you need to re-install you're going to need a floppy disk with the SATA drivers which sucks because modern computers don't have floppy disk drives. There are ways though to modify the XP installation CD ROM so that it contains the drivers. About graphics intense games on laptops: It is possible, but of course the graphics card can't be upgraded so the time frame during which you can play new games is more limited than with a normal computer. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: bluesynight
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 08:52
its not just that, its take time for a card to become compatible with a laptop, so by the time it would become compatible , it would be all ready considered as average card. so basically you will buy an average card that will cost you more then it would for pc, and you cant upgrade it. as for AMD, Intel controlling the laptop market, and resistance is futile . its not that you cant find AMD, its just that Intel is better, and AMD is more hard to find. in my opinion buying laptop for gaming is really stupid. ------------- The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scotts as a joke, but the Scotts haven't seen the joke yet. (Oliver Herford) |
Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 09:12
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Time for my usual mantra on the subject. Get a Mac! ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: bluesynight
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 09:20
mac for gaming?  when he says that he want a gaming laptop, i dont think he meant that he wants to play "Solitaire". ------------- The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scotts as a joke, but the Scotts haven't seen the joke yet. (Oliver Herford) |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 09:34
..it's all academic anyway - he's already bought it.
 ------------- What? |
Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 09:43
Oh, I thought he needed a new computer. ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 10:08
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Guys, I'm not buying a machine for gaming! There's a few games I may play on it, but they're not that graphics intensive, it's just that I cannot play them on my current machine and the ones I can, are slow. Most of the time I'll be doing Internet related stuff and I always have a lot of tabs open in Firefox, plus a Genealogy program (with 10000+ records on it) and sometimes even some PDF files and Spreadsheets, so it's all about the multitasking for me. Currently, it's often a chore to have lots of stuff open simultaneously. I also may - at a future date - decide to dabble with music on it, so a relatively high-spec machine will last me hopefully a few years, unlike a cheaper and lower spec, which may last a year, or even less. I just don't want to have to buy another laptop within two years. The sort of things I'll be doing on it hopefully won't mean I'll need an upgrade any time soon. -------------
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Posted By: bluesynight
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 11:16
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then you should care about RAM, and not about your video card. ------------- The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scotts as a joke, but the Scotts haven't seen the joke yet. (Oliver Herford) |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 11:34
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It's going to have plenty of RAM in it as well. I get the best of both worlds that way.
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 12:31
Depends on which games you want to play. Not all games are that demanding in terms of graphics hardware ... for example you can play Half Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source or even Team Fortress 2 on any ~$1000 notebook which comes with Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and NVidia/AMD graphics chip. Of course if you're into games which also come out on consoles the way to go would be console + cheaper notebook.  ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: bluesynight
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 13:35
actually my friend got a nice DELL a week ago, yes you can buy one for 1000$ and play games, but we checked allot of laptops in this price area, and i can tell you that if you buy one with a nice video cards its mean that it would be heavier, and the battery dies really fast, and i mean REALLY fast. console  , not a bad idea. deepens on your taste, personally i love only RPG's and quests, so i dont like consoles. ------------- The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scotts as a joke, but the Scotts haven't seen the joke yet. (Oliver Herford) |
Posted By: GoldenSpiral
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 13:43
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I'm thinking about getting a Toshiba Satellite laptop. Does anyone have any experience with this brand? Probably 3G RAM, and the most storage I can find since I plan on dual-booting XP and Ubuntu. ------------- http://www.myspace.com/altaic" rel="nofollow - http://www.myspace.com/altaic ALTAIC "Oceans Down You'll Lie" coming soon |
Posted By: VanderGraafKommandöh
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 15:19
Well I'll certainly be getting Neverwinter Nights 2, as I'm also an RPG fan. I know it's not supposedly amazing, but I like a lot of the fan mode modules on Neverwinter Nights, so I'm hoping there's some goodies. Plus it's 3.5e rules, without the addition of made-up Bioware feats. Anyhow, I don't know what spec it is, but I know they said that it's been designed with SLI in mind, so it's not that behind the times. I'm the same with consoles. RPGs are better on PC and I know a lot of people seem to play RPGs on laptops, for some strange reason. As I said though, apart from the first NWN and NVM 2, I don't know what other games I'll be playing, except maybe Oblivion. -------------
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Posted By: Mikerinos
Date Posted: May 01 2008 at 21:40
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I'm probably getting a MacBook for college this summer. It's kind of crazy, even the basic white MacBook has 4x the amount of RAM as my current PC, the upgraded has 8x as much. The black looks cool too, but I don't think it justifies spending more money just for the colour. For the same amount of money (well technically, my parents are paying for most of it as a graduation/birthday present), I could buy an IBM or something with better specs, but using other peoples Macs and talking to them really makes me want to make the switch. The last computer game I purchased was Black & White so I'm not much of a PC gamer. -------------
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