Laptop Recommendation

**cwtan12** · 24th Jun 2006, 11:27

Dont ever buy Compaq. Used Compaq presario before and blacklisted it ever since. Slower compared to other brands of same range and the parts spoil one after another after the warranty period. I also didnt get good feedback from most of the users I know.

As for Sony, my previous company had a few and they appeared to have lots of problems also.

Try Toshiba or IBM. Even Acer is not bad choice. I am using Apple ibook now and hasn't got any hardware/software problem for 2 years. Not even ever attacked by viruses. hehe..

**PeterGwee** · 24th Jun 2006, 14:56

In general, it also boils down to how good the user is. A bad user can "screw" even the best laptop.

Regards
Peter Gwee

**celticfish** · 24th Jun 2006, 16:15

caca,
i recommend to get at least 1GB ram to cater to future memory hungry applications.
even operating system is ram hungry imho.

**joelwong** · 24th Jun 2006, 16:26

Originally Posted by Cacatuoides

I'll be studying in SIM, looking for a notebook for office applications, surfing basically....budget below $2000

I got this offer of an apple book, win xp, core-dual, 512mb ram, 60Gb, 13.3" for $1899...any comments?

Don't get Apple unless you intend to use Original Microsoft Office...

For a notebook, most important thing would be the weight, don't forget, you will be using it 30% of the time, and carrying it around 70% of the time.

For surfing and office application wise, the processor speed and the graphics chipset does not matter at all.

Battery life is another important factor to consider although not very important as most of the notebooks would come with battery maximizing software which you can customize. Most of the battery benchmark are not so accurate also.

RAM wise, it's the more the merrier, make sure you have 1 more RAM slot for you to add memory. If it comes with 512mb, make sure it's 1 X 512, not 2 X 256. If it's 1GB it's ok to have 2 X 512 as 1GB would be more than enough for most applications, even light video editing.

Hard disk space does not matter at all, be it 60GB or 80GB, it is going to be filled up before you know it (movies, mp3s, porn etc) For serious school work, give you 5GB also more than enough.

IMO, if you want cheap, go for Dell, if you want good, go for ThinkPads.

I would think for your budget, don't even look at ThinkPads or other brands.

My personal recommendation would be the Dell 12.1 inch one (if I'm not wrong it's called XPS or something like that.) Go for the larger battery capacity and upgrade the graphics chip if you want to play game. Don't worry too much about the RAMS as they can be added later at a cheaper price. Before upgrade, it costs $1999, after the upgrade, I think less than $2200.

Another thing to take note would be, if you are going to log in into school domain, you would NEED to get Windows XP Professional, XP Home won't do.

Hope that helps

**joelwong** · 24th Jun 2006, 16:27

Originally Posted by PeterGwee

In general, it also boils down to how good the user is. A bad user can "screw" even the best laptop.

Regards
Peter Gwee

Most of the problems lie between the keyboard and the chair

**Cacatuoides** · 29th Jun 2006, 20:34

Thanks very much ppl and joel....

I'm deciding on dell's laptops....SIM got no notebook fair so far....
about the warranty, any advice?

**richietay** · 29th Jun 2006, 20:44

Dell having rebates if ordering their products via online. And normally comes with a year warranty coverage.

**Cacatuoides** · 29th Jun 2006, 20:57

should i extend the warranty to 3yrs? do they have the option to extend warranty within first year of purchase?

**Simon** · 29th Jun 2006, 21:10

Yes, extend the warranty, which model are you considering?

**avant** · 29th Jun 2006, 22:44

You can try Dell's Latitude. Search for notebooks under Small Businesses.

**Cacatuoides** · 1st Jul 2006, 01:34

I'm looking at Inspiron 640m or the new XP smth...

**Wackytpt** · 1st Jul 2006, 08:21

I also on the looking for a laptop for my studies too. So how are the reviews of the model you looking at. Most important I think is the weight issue.

**Simon** · 1st Jul 2006, 09:31

The specs on the Dell XPS M1210 looks pretty good, if you want it small, but 12" is abit too small for my taste though. 14" will be just nice, also opt to increase the ram to 1gb and a bigger HDD. I personal advice will be, if you intend to replace your desktop with your new purchase, then go with a bigger screen and a bigger HDD. Also, check the reviews below

nick, for reviews, check the sites below
http://www.notebookcheck.net/
http://www.notebookreview.com/

**Phillipians** · 2nd Jul 2006, 11:49

i personally recommend Toshibas laptop as i ve used them for a while and recently changed another one. 2k can get you M50 if i m not wrong, weight wise 2.26kg. 14.1 inch widescreen. So it depends on yourself.

I ll recommend also, brands like IBM, apple. Asus is also not bad, my gf just got one, working quite well. 1.7kg.

**kktan** · 2nd Jul 2006, 15:51

dell inspiron 6400 selling around $1.3K only

**joelwong** · 2nd Jul 2006, 19:57

Originally Posted by kktan

dell inspiron 6400 selling around $1.3K only

check out the weight before you get too excited

**kktan** · 2nd Jul 2006, 22:01

2.5kg is not so bad. He's on budget constraint, if not, everybody can suggest the lighter and expensive type.
Just give my suggestion.

**joelwong** · 2nd Jul 2006, 22:56

Originally Posted by kktan

2.5kg is not so bad. He's on budget constraint, if not, everybody can suggest the lighter and expensive type.
Just give my suggestion.

It's more than 3kg with battery

**avant** · 2nd Jul 2006, 23:51

well.. i'd still say that weight is a big consideration if you want to lug it around. it can be quite painful when it's more than 2.5kg with everything in, including battery, cdrom, power adapter etc.

**Cacatuoides** · 3rd Jul 2006, 00:16

My friend is recommending Acer Aspire 5540 or Travelmate 3280.....
pricewise is 400bucks difference....

Thread: Laptop Recommendation

Thread Tools

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions