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Laptop advice - what do I need?

  • 06-11-2008 4:45pm
    #1
    StudentC
    Closed Accounts Posts: 292 ✭✭


    Hi all

    I'll be buying a laptop some time over the next few months, so I'm looking for some advice. I've had a look through various older threads and found some useful answers, but what I'm actually trying to work out is not what specific laptop I need, but more what features I need.

    It'll be for college work (research), and will be in addition to a desktop (although it's likely to be my only computer at various times, depending where I'm working).

    The things I know I need/want it to be able to do are:
    -Run various software at the same time (eg Excel, some stats software, some graphing software, an internet browser)
    -Wireless card
    -DVD burner
    -I'd like XP rather than Vista if I could get it
    -I'd probably pay for a warranty package as well

    I won't be doing any gaming or mad graphics stuff - if i could watch DVDs that'd be nice but not essential.

    What I have no idea about, and need some advice, is the processor / hard drive / RAM - the important stuff! One thought I had was that I would like to get an extra external hard drive anyway for backing-up, so a big hard-drive mightn't be necessary? But if I'd only have to pay a small bit extra for a bigger hard drive I'd do that, and then be able to store photos etc i suppose. The processor and RAM I have no idea about, I just know that it's important...

    Another thing - is having a bigger screen a significant advantage? I'll probably be doing a lot of reading / staring at data on the screen, so whatever would be most comfortable.

    I've around e1000 to spend if I need to, and I amn't in any mad hurry so could wait take advantage of Dell special offers / chritstmas sales or whatever.

    Any advice gratefully received, thanks very much


Comments

  • #2
    carveone
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,306 ✭✭✭carveone


    If you are a UCD student (probably applies to Trinity and all the rest as well) they have some pretty good Dell offers as Universities are Large Customers (to say the least). "The Latitude D630 is available from €889" etc. I'm not plugging Dell, but I do have a Dell Latitude D520 and it's pretty nice (once you hurl all the trialware crap off it).

    At this point in hardware evolution, pretty much anything will do anything you want (gaming and being a big nerd excluded). Core 2 Duo is the standard processor, wireless cards come with every laptop as do DVD burners for a small price increase. I'd go for more memory vs more processor, but 1GB is standard now which is fine. XP can be a problem. With Dell, for example, a "home" user never gets the chance to order Latitudes or "downgrade" to XP (and a "business" user has to have a VAT number - this is just dumb). However if you phone them instead or order through your University you can have anything you want... Oh yeah, 120GB hard drive is about the smallest you get now and that's a hell of a lot of storage, especially on a laptop.


  • #3
    carveone
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,306 ✭✭✭carveone


    Oh yeah, and in my opinion any company who sells you a laptop should also provide the XP or Vista install media. This "install partition" nonsense is a waste of my time. Home users tend to get short shrift here as the profit margins are pared razor thin - all the more reason to go through your university if at all possible - to get some respect....


  • #4
    StudentC
    Closed Accounts Posts: 292 ✭✭StudentC


    Thanks for that carveone. Yep, I am in UCD so was thinking of using the Dell offer - but not just for the sake of it if I could get something else better. That's the other reason for XP - NAL and softwareforU and various other UCD things don't seem to be very compatible with Vista.

    Thanks again


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