Advice on purchasing new laptop

CRAIG07

hi i currently have a dell 1520 laptop which i have had for about 2 years i think....

i feel its very slow at times , especially when i have a few programs running at once.....

i mainly use my computer for internet , ipod , downloading music or movies , photo uploading .....

i am open to the thought of moving from dell to another brand but i haven got a clue what spec i need for the above.....

i would be willing to spend between €800 - €1000 if it was a very good one....

thanks for all your help in advance...

Wilko121

Hey craig
First off what is the spec of your current laptop?
It might be just slow from usage and cleaning and defragmenting might speed it up.

You should be able to pick up a gem for the 700e mark

These are some iv been looking at myslef

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/asp/vers...=version&page=

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/asp/vers...=version&page=

http://www.ibood.com/site/eu/forum/index.php?action=vthread&forum=1&topic=23485

CRAIG07

this is some of it :

intel core 2 duo cpu T520 @ 1.5 GHz 1.5 GHz

memory ram 1.0 GB

system 32bit

i got it as a present for christmass 2 years ago.....

i like the acer one but i would like a bigger screen...

i think i should got out to pc world , currys and harvy normans and have a look....

it just that i havent got a clue what spec i should be looking out for ?

Wilko121

I think the laptop is fine craig, with a bit of work you should be able to get it running well i think

1
Try to have 30% of your hard drive free
Remove programs/delete old files ect
Run a disk defragment

2
asses your task bar on the bottom right see if you have any programs running that you dont use or need.

Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and see if there's any prosses running you recognize and don't need. Especially if there using allot of memory.

Go to Start->Run and type in "msconfig" goto the bootup tab and see if you can uncheck any of these unnessesary programs.


It will take a bit of time if you're not used to it but id should def work

Alanstrainor

I'd agree. Your pc seems the right spec for your needs. Personally i'd upgrade the ram to 2Gb, and probably do a reinstall of the OS.
But doing wilko121's suggestions would probably speed things up, and try running anti virus/spyware software too.

CRAIG07

thanks for your advice i will try it

Wilko121

Yeah if all faills reinstall the OS, this will remove all data on the laptop. I assume its running under windows xp?

CRAIG07

no it windows vista basic...

i am currently doing a disk defragment it says can take minutes to hours ?

Voodu Child

Id agree with all suggestions. The ram is the main point, if you're running Vista with 1Gb, it will be very slow, and that's probably your main problem.

-Up the ram to 2Gb (ie 2x1Gb sticks), ram is very cheap these days.
-Reinstall the OS from the discs (backup your important files first)
-Get rid of any crapware that comes with the OS disc install (yahoo toolbars and all that crap)
-Put a single anti-virus suite on there (I like AVG free)
-Only install what you need...again, stay away from crapware and toolbars etc

Simple maintenance (like keeping an eye on the startup programs, defrag every couple of weeks, run a virus scan fairly regularly, etc) should keep it running smooth.

You might have a small/slow hard-drive in there too, so that could be something to upgrade too, especially as they are pretty cheap.

Overheal

I fully agree that, if you havent yet reformatted the drive and done a clean install after 2 years, you can definitely get a speed boost by doing so. This is probably the most sure-fire way of doing so. But it might take you some time to backup all of your music and files to an external drive, and put them back when youre done; so its definitely the longest method. Still totally worth it.

Secondly, Keeping the desktop area clear of files can boost your startup times, since windows has to load this folder up in order to get you started. If you keep 12 1kb shortcuts on the desktop as opposed to 2GB of movies on the desktop, I can tell you which will run faster.

As well as doing the other mentioned maintenance (disk defrag, maybe a RAM upgrade, virus and spyware scans regularly) you should also go and download "CCleaner" and it will scan for broken Windows Registry Entries, and fix them. Again, the fewer entries you have, the faster you load; and theres no point in loading dead/old/broken entries (usually from old programs you have long since uninstalled)

As for the Vista Defrag: Best to leave it on its schedule. Mine runs once a week at 3AM on thursdays, and its done long before I wake up. Again, make sure you have 30% of disk space free.

If you need help deciding what to delete to get to 30%, download "WinDirStat" - It is one of the best free apps I have ever used.

CRAIG07

thanks lads....

what other brands would you recommend ?

my cousin has an acer and thinks its brilliant and hasent had any problems.....

im thinking of getting one in Harvey Normans anyone have any expierance of dealing with them , do they provide sound advice or a quick sale ?

is this a good option

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5800 (2.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English edit
MICROSOFT APPLICATION SOFTWARE Microsoft® Office 2007 Home and Student/ English - Microsoft® Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint edit
HARDWARE SUPPORT 1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return edit
WEBCAM 2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera - LED edit
COLORS, PATTERNS, & ARTIST DESIGNS Jet Black Colour with Matte Finish edit
LCD 17.0" Widescreen WXGA+ WLED (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™ edit
MEMORY 3072MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048 + 1x1024] edit
HARD DRIVE 320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3650 edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software edit
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery

Wilko121

If money is not a priority buy a laptop, any will do.
you will get this problem again in another two years.

imho
Give your laptop some Tender Loving Care. Back up what you want to keep and install windows xp.

Problem solved me thinks

glimmerman54

Your Laptop Spec is good for now you should try and get some more service out of it!
You could try a few utilities that will speed up your laptop

Clean up the registry
My personal favourite
http://www.ccleaner.com/
But you could try this one it has more features
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm

Have a look at this post
http://www.microsoft.com/AtWork/getstarted/speed.mspx

If your running out of hard drive space do a disk clean up

Next defrag your Hard Drive

and maybe take a look at your start up programs
http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/msconfig_xp.html