Computer guys

[ZDL]

Fellas-

I'm in need of a new laptop. If anyone could be of guidance I would greatly appreciate it. I want to use it as a home theater PC and also for work (not LE work.. my other job) Here are some bullet points.

1. Weight does not matter.

2. Screen size needs to be 17'' min.

3. Processing speed is crucial

4. Memory is crucial

5. HD needs to be respectable but have no use for a terabyte or even 500 gig.

6. TV tuner is mandatory

7. Bluray is mandatory.

I think that's all the specs I'm looking for. I've checked out a few but want to see the suggestion of those "in the know". Price is negligible as this is my first laptop purchase in years. I suppose if I knew what I needed as far as dual core vs quad core, 2gig v 4gig, etc. etc.

I don't think I need some massive power house but I also don't want it to be sweating just to get the job done.

Thanks.



HOLY SHIT GUYS!! I'm sorry for the multiple threads. It kept coming up database error. I had no idea. Mods please delete all duplicates. My apologies.

[BVickery]

What are you going to do with it for work besides a home theater?

[lalakai]

Ouch, helping another person with a computer purchase, can be nearly as bad as recommending a firearm platform for them (if you are into computers at the same intensity as firearms).

Check out this site for some good info http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3351 on laptop recommendations.

If at all possible, check your local stores to actually get a hands-on feeling for the unit and how well you like the screen. There are huge differences and personal viewing preferences, and if you plan on using the laptop alot, the screen will have a big impact. From your specs, it looks like you will be using this for portable entertainment, versus gaming or serious number crunching. Your graphics card may be more of a bottleneck then your cpu, so watch the balance there.

If you want to look at a good site that sells laptops, go here http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=32&name=Laptops-Notebooks. This is a very good site and one of the few that I trust when dealing with electronics and delicate computer gear. Look at the laptops and read the reviews, they will help.

good luck and keep us posted.

ps-i'm a hard core gamer, opting for desktop units that i build myself, which is why building the M4 was so much fun also.

[beaker]

I don't know if they have a machine that fits your specs, but I've always purchased IBM ThinkPads (now Lenovo) and I've always been happy with them.

[T3550N]

Hit up Dell.com and buid yourself what you need.
Just remember to get the 3 year Mail In Warranty and you'll be set.

Stear. Clear. Of. Sony. Compaq. HP.

[CarlosDJackal]

I don't know if I would recommend Dell. I currently own a DELL XPS M1330 which I chose for it's size and weight. The CAVEAT to this is I've owned it for less than a year and I've had two issues with it.

The first occured about a month after I got it when the Harddrive crashed just before tax time. I lost a lot of files as a result, but a local Computer guy did manager to recover a lot of the files I needed to file my Tax Returns.

The second issue occured just before Christmas when the video card died on me. While I did not loose any files, I was without the use of the laptop for about a week. Dell ended up replacing the Motherboard, video chip, and heatsink.

Despite all this, I must give Dell Kudos for their excellent Customer Service. I wish I could recommend a viable alternative, but the only other Computers I have owned were HPs and Compaqs neither of which I would even consider recommending.

My next laptop will most likely be a Toughbook (if I could afford one). YMMV.

[HAMMERDROP]

ZDL
Dont let your wife spill heavily sugered coffee on the keyboards or you'll mousing every letter just like I am now, keys aint that much $$
but we just cant afford new ones... I'd sell you this but you'd soon read about breast cancer patient shooting her husband Mozambique style with .40 Glasers. Ran about $3k but does everything you could ever imagine... if you want email your address and I'll send pics...21" flat screen real nice but this on line keyboard mouse typing only keeps my blood pressure higher than an overcharged handload... in fact I will probably either get carpel tunel or forget how to type entirely by the time we secure replacement keys.
You had 4 replies in the time took me to mouse this!

Michael

[tweakmeister]

Check out the forums at www.fatwallet.com for coupon codes. I've used a lot of notebooks and like Lenovo or Apple the best in terms of build quality (solid frames).

[scrh1]

ZDL...check out the lenovo / Thinkpad / ideapad line at www.lenovo.com. I can offer you an employee discount on the products through a buddy of mine's friends and family program. You may contact me through the forum or profile email if interested. -scrh1


Just a quick lookup... $2159...That is a 900ish dollar discount and usually have stackable coupons on top of the employee discount.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y710 - 40542BU


· Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme processor X9000 ( 2.80GHz 800MHz 6MB )

· Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium

· 17.0 WUXGA TFT with integrated camera LCD Glossy 1920x1200

· ATI Radeon HD 2600 512MB
· 4 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz

· 250GB 5400

· DVD Recordable/Blu-ray ROM 24X Max

[AirmanAtwood]

I am sort of a PC guru and I strongly advise against buying prebuilt pc's. If you can, get a custom order. It may be a bit more expensive but you get everything you want and nothing you dont. That being said, When looking at Graphics go with nvidia. Do not get integrated GPU's and try to stay away from the radeon. The 8 and 9 series Geforce cards *nvidia's gpu* are the best you can get right now. For HD space, you say you dont need the tera or 500 but the prices of HD's in that memory range are dropping so it might be a good idea to go ahead and pick up a large capacity drive. The benifit is that even if you dont need it, you'll have it for later in case you dont like deleting things. Ram is another point of interest. the more the better. Lately the DDR3 has become somewhat popular with real performance freaks. Its really pricey but damn does it perform. The DDR2 will work just fine and I would advise putting about 2 gigs worth in. And last but not least GET WINDOWS XP, vista is tooooooooo much of a waste IMO, I ran it once and did not like it. The only reason i would ever use it is for the directX 10. the vista OS is just to glichy and just too flashy for me. Maybe cuz i learned all my programming and nerding on XP but w/e it is Vista just doesnt cut it. I hope you find what you need and want

[BVickery]

I am sort of a PC guru and I strongly advise against buying prebuilt pc's. If you can, get a custom order. It may be a bit more expensive but you get everything you want and nothing you dont. That being said, When looking at Graphics go with nvidia. Do not get integrated GPU's and try to stay away from the radeon. The 8 and 9 series Geforce cards *nvidia's gpu* are the best you can get right now. For HD space, you say you dont need the tera or 500 but the prices of HD's in that memory range are dropping so it might be a good idea to go ahead and pick up a large capacity drive. The benifit is that even if you dont need it, you'll have it for later in case you dont like deleting things. Ram is another point of interest. the more the better. Lately the DDR3 has become somewhat popular with real performance freaks. Its really pricey but damn does it perform. The DDR2 will work just fine and I would advise putting about 2 gigs worth in. And last but not least GET WINDOWS XP, vista is tooooooooo much of a waste IMO, I ran it once and did not like it. The only reason i would ever use it is for the directX 10. the vista OS is just to glichy and just too flashy for me. Maybe cuz i learned all my programming and nerding on XP but w/e it is Vista just doesnt cut it. I hope you find what you need and want

Lots of good advice, but depending on what you wish to do Vista 64 MAY be better for you. The most important thing to remember about Windows XP is that it has a 4GB MAX for addressing and this includes the memory on your vid card. Some programs, like A/V, would thrive under a 64 Bit OS than a 32.

I admit Vista is a memory hog and as such should not be run on a machine with 2GB of RAM. Min. requirments just mean it will run but run slow as hell. 4GB Vista improves and the 6-8GB range it shines (I turned off page file so my system will actually run faster and utilize more of my RAM, and remember accessing the HDD for RAM drags performance way down.

I also agree with keeping with the nVidia chipset and away from intergrated graphics.

[chadbag]

Hit up Dell.com and buid yourself what you need.
Just remember to get the 3 year Mail In Warranty and you'll be set.

Stear. Clear. Of. Sony. Compaq. HP.

Funny, I would

Stay. Clear. Of. Dell.

Unless you want to enter Dell Hell.

[ZDL]

Guys, thanks for the help thus far. The more I learn the more confused I become. I'm not going to bog this forum down with all my inane questions, because trust me.........they are endless.

I wish there was just a simple chart...........................rob......? you there? :p

Some of you might be getting PMs. Thanks fellas.

[AirmanAtwood]

Funny, I would

Stay. Clear. Of. Dell.

Unless you want to enter Dell Hell.

I have a dell laptop and have had only 1 problem and that was from me overclocking the processor. If you know how to work pc's any brand will work.

[AirmanAtwood]

Guys, thanks for the help thus far. The more I learn the more confused I become. I'm not going to bog this forum down with all my inane questions, because trust me.........they are endless.

I wish there was just a simple chart...........................rob......? you there? :p

Some of you might be getting PMs. Thanks fellas.

If you have any questions dont be afraid to post them. Im sure you'll get the answers your looking for.

[Bad Voodoo]

Needs to be Microsoft OS?

At any rate, plug your requirements in here, and see what it spits out for a comparison: http://reviews.infosyncworld.com/laptops/

[Highway 55]

Thinkpad. (http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:expandcategory?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=8FA114A7D9FF4F38AE8E19B36EC665A7) By far the best/toughest PC based notebook on the market, IMHO.

IIRC, If you custom order, Lenovo will install WinXP if you dont like Vista...

[ToddG]

If not for the Bluray requirement I'd recommend a MacBook Pro. But if that's a capability you absolutely must have internal to the machine then certainly the Lenovo is probably the Colt of Wintel notebooks from what I've seen.

My personal experience with Dell was extremely negative and in fact it's what finally pushed me to switch to a Mac.

[ZDL]

Hows this?

HP HDX18t

Operating system Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) edit

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz) edit

Display 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p) edit

Memory 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) - For 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics edit

Graphics card 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT

Hard drive 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection edit

Personalization Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid) edit

Networking Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card

Primary DVD/CD drive Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer edit

TV & entertainment experience HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner

$1770

Let me know.

[ToddG]

I'd opt for a 7200rpm HDD if I were you.

And an 18" notebook is going to create really challenges when traveling. Most available cases and backpacks won't fit it without compromising protection.

[ZDL]

I'd opt for a 7200rpm HDD if I were you.

And an 18" notebook is going to create really challenges when traveling. Most available cases and backpacks won't fit it without compromising protection.

Why the 7200rpm HDD? I know nothing of the importance of speed on those things.

I travel a fair amount, but I think I'll enjoy the screen so I'll just have to make something work.

[shadowalker]

5400 and 7200 RPM is the rate at which the platters in the hard drive spin, 7200 RPM drives spin faster and so the hard drive can access data randomly faster which usually translates to a snappier feel on the computer. 7200 dominates desktop hard drives, 5400 is usually used for notebooks because they are more energy efficient and quieter. 4200 rpm used to be used in notebooks but was replaced by the faster 5400 a while back and is the standard now.

Any $299 - $500 or so laptop is going to have corners cut no matter who makes it. HP and Compaq make very good mid to upper end notebooks and acceptable value line. Just about everyone is probably building notebooks in China BUT Lenova is a Chinese company so I have made the decision not to do business with them.

I'd look for dual core (core 2 duo if you want to spend the money, the AMD and generic Intel Dual Core perform OK as well), at least 15.4 widescreen, dvd burner, 2-4 GB of memory (upgrade to 4 later if it comes with less) and a 250 GB or more hard drive.

I'd carefully consider a 17" notebook, battery life will be significantly less, the notebook will weigh more and in most cases resolution isn't much higher. You can easily hook an external monitor up to a notebook giving you a bigger screen and maintaining portability. Using an external monitor will also allow you to have higher resolution than an internal 17" would. Notebooks will never match a desktop for performance without spending considerably more and adding weight, and decreased battery life, trying to turn one into a desktop replacement eliminates a lot of the benefits of the notebook.

Also wide screen notebooks have 30 to 40% more viewing area than a traditional square monitor, a 15.4 gives quite a bit more real estate than the 15 of the old days.

I'd stay away from 3 year warranty's unless it is full coverage for drops and user abuse which usually adds around 20% or more to the purchase price and usually isn't worth it. Extra warranty's are almost always a waste of money and are a cash cow for retailers and manufacturers.

The majority of electronic devices that will fail will fail within the first 1 year. In 2007 Circuit City made the equivilent of ALL of their profit from extended warranties, they essentially sold the electronics at cost and made the profit on the warranty which is why they push the extended warranty so hard.

Also the parts most likely to fail such as hard drives are cheap to replace, hard drive performances doubles every 2 years even for the same capacity so it isn't a bad idea to replace it every few years anyway.

Solid state drives are advancing but are a quite a way away from replacing platter based hard drives for the majority of people, I'd give it another 18-24 months before going solid state one unless you are one of the few people that would really benefit from it and don't mind being an early adopter (and the obligatory getting screwed over that early adopters inherit :)).

64 bit is definately the future but most peoples needs are still met by 32 bit. We've had 64 bit processors for quite a few years and are just now starting to see people move to 64 in any large number.

Vista 32 bit supports rougly 3.7 GB of memory, it can't address the entire 4 GB. Vista runs acceptably well with 2 GB of memory for the average person (with Aero turned off). General rule is Vista needs 2X the memory of XP, so Vista with 2GB will feel about the same as XP with 1.

Right now 4 GB of notebook memory is about $35-$40 so don't let the amount of default memory be the limiting factor, it is very easy to replace the memory and be at a full 4 GB.

[Littlelebowski]

What Todd said. Personally, I don't see the need for Blue Ray and would strongly recommend the Macbook Pro.

The Lenovos are the best of the PC world.

FYI, this is a question I am very qualified to comment on. I'm a UNIX engineer and have been a sysadmin of mixed OS/platform networks for years. Get away from Windows if you can. You'll be happier and more productive. I run Linux on a Lenovo and also have a 1.25gz older Powerbook that 5 years later is still as fast as the day I bought it.